Oklahoma State Shocks Cal to Reach Women's D-1 Final Against Stanford, Virginia and Oklahoma Return to Men's Final; Top Seeds Emory Cruise to D-III Final Four, Chicago Ousts Defending Champions Again

©Colette Lewis 2016
Kalamazoo, MI--

The weather for the opening day of the NCAA Division III quarterfinals could not have been better, with temperatures in the 70s, low humidity and just a slight breeze from the south.  Emory's men's and women's teams, both of whom are the top seeds, took advantage of the perfect conditions, dropping just one point between them, with the men advancing over Kenyon 5-1 and the women shutting out Washington-St. Louis 5-0.

But before I get to more on the Division III championships, including Chicago's upset of defending champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, here's the latest from the Division I championships in Tulsa, which again dealt with rainy weather in today's semifinals.  Both women's matches were played inside, with No. 11 seed Oklahoma State starting off the day's action by stunning top seed Cal 4-3, with Viktoriya Lushkova clinching for the Cowgirls by defeating Lynn Chi 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 at line 3.  Oklahoma State has beaten No. 5 Georgia, No. 4 Ohio State and No. 1 Cal, so they have certainly earned the first Final Four appearance in school history.   For extensive coverage of the match, see Bobby Knight's post on College Tennis Today.

The day's second semifinal saw No. 15 Stanford oust defending champion and No. 6 seed Vanderbilt by a 4-2 score, with Caroline Lampl defeating Fernanda Contreras 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3 at line 5 for the clinch. Unlike Oklahoma State, Stanford has vast experience in NCAA finals, although on this team, only senior Krista Hardebeck played on the last Stanford team to win a title, in 2013. Stanford is aiming for the 18th NCAA team title in the program's history.

The men's final will be a repeat of last year's championship match in Waco, with top seed Virginia taking on No. 12 seed Oklahoma.  Virginia played its match against No. 13 seed Cal indoors, and had no trouble with the Bears, earning a 4-0 victory.  The rain finally stayed away long enough for a match to be played outside, and it turned into a late night thriller, with Oklahoma defeating No. 7 seed Georgia 4-3. Alex Ghilea closed out the match for the Sooners with a 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 win over Walker Duncan at line 4.  Bobby Knight will have a full report on Oklahoma's win at College Tennis Today.

The results of the semifinal matches are below. See the Tulsa tournament page for more on the semifinals including quotes.

Division I Women’s Semifinals:

#12 Oklahoma State(29-4) def. #1 California(23-2) 4-3
Head Coaches: Amanda Augustus (California) and Chris Young (Oklahoma State)
Doubles
1. #4 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (California) vs. #43 Maria Alvarez/Kelsey Laurente (Oklahoma State), 5-2 DNF
2. #54 Viktoriya Lushkova/Carla Tur Mari (Oklahoma State) def. #90 Klara Fabikova/Olivia Hauger (California), 6-2
3. #79 Katarina Adamovic/Vladica Babic (Oklahoma State) def. Lynn Chi/Maria Smith (California), 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 2

Singles
1. 47 Katarina Adamovic (Oklahoma State) def. #7 Maegan Manasse (California), 6-4, 6-2
2. #16 Klara Fabikova (California) def. #44 Vladica Babic (Oklahoma State), 6-3, 7-6(6)
3. #66 Viktoriya Lushkova (Oklahoma State) def. #80 Lynn Chi (California), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Kelsey Laurente (Oklahoma State) def. #88 Denise Starr (California), 6-4, 6-3
5. Olivia Hauger (California) def. Katarina Stresnakova (Oklahoma State), 6-2, 6-4
6. Karla Popovic (California) def. Carla Tur Mari (Oklahoma State), 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 1, 2, 3
==================================
#15 Stanford(19-5) def. #6 Vanderbilt(23-6) 4-2 
Head Coaches: Geoff Macdonald (Vanderbilt) and Lele Forood (Stanford)
Doubles
1. #14 Sydney Campbell/Courtney Colton (Vanderbilt) vs. #5 Taylor Davidson/Caroline Doyle (Stanford), 5-5 DNF
2. #31 Melissa Lord/Carol Zhao (Stanford) def. Frances Altick/Astra Sharma (Vanderbilt), 6-2
3. Krista Hardebeck/Caroline Lampl (Stanford) def. Fernanda Contreras/Georgina Sellyn (Vanderbilt), 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3

Singles
1. #25 Carol Zhao (Stanford) def. #18 Sydney Campbell (Vanderbilt), 6-4, 6-3
2. #46 Taylor Davidson (Stanford) vs. #14 Frances Altick (Vanderbilt), 6-4, 4-6, 2-2 DNF
3. #32 Astra Sharma (Vanderbilt) def. #67 Caroline Doyle (Stanford), 6-4, 6-2
4. Courtney Colton (Vanderbilt) def. #100 Krista Hardebeck (Stanford), 7-6(2), 6-4
5. Caroline Lampl (Stanford) def. Fernanda Contreras (Vanderbilt), 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3
6. Melissa Lord (Stanford) def. Georgina Sellyn (Vanderbilt), 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 6, 4, 5

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NCAA Division I Men’s Semifinals

#1 Virginia(29-4) def. #13 California(21-7) 4-0 
Head Coaches: Brian Boland (Virginia) and Peter Wright (California)
Doubles
1. #4 Luca Corinteli/Ryan Shane (Virginia) vs. #9 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (California), 4-4 DNF
2. #16 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Mac Styslinger (Virginia) def. Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (California), 6-3
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (Virginia) def. Mads Engsted/J.T. Nishimura (California), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2

Singles
1. #8 Ryan Shane (Virginia) vs. #30 Florian Lakat (California), 6-1, 6-6 DNF
2. #33 Collin Altamirano (Virginia) vs. #31 Andre Goransson (California), 6-4, 2-3 DNF
3. #9 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Virginia) def. #85 Billy Griffith (California), 6-3, 6-0
4. #119 Filip Bergevi (California) vs. #78 Alexander Ritschard (Virginia), 6-3, 4-3 DNF
5. #110 J.C. Aragone (Virginia) def. #124 Oskar Wikberg (California), 6-3, 6-4
6. Henrik Wiersholm (Virginia) def. Mads Engsted (California), 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 6
============================
#11 Oklahoma(20-10) def. #7 Georgia(24-5) 4-3 
Head Coaches: Manuel Diaz (Georgia) and John Roddick (Oklahoma)
Doubles
1. #24 Axel Alvarez/Andrew Harris (Oklahoma) vs. #11 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (Georgia), 5-4 DNF
2. Alex Ghilea/Spencer Papa (Oklahoma) def. Paul Oosterbaan/Jan Zielinski (Georgia), 6-4
3. Andre Biro/Austin Siegel (Oklahoma) def. Wayne Montgomery/Emil Reinberg (Georgia), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3

Singles
1. #17 Austin Smith (Georgia) def. #97 Andrew Harris (Oklahoma), 6-2, 6-4
2. #32 Wayne Montgomery (Georgia) def. #25 Axel Alvarez (Oklahoma), 1-6, 6-2, 7-5
3. #64 Paul Oosterbaan (Georgia) def. #82 Spencer Papa (Oklahoma), 6-4, 7-5
4. #61 Alex Ghilea (Oklahoma) def. #123 Walker Duncan (Georgia), 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-2
5. Florin Bragusi (Oklahoma) def. Jan Zielinski (Georgia), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
6. Andre Biro (Oklahoma) def. Nick Wood (Georgia), 7-6(5), 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 6, 2, 5, 4
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Now, back to the Division III tournament.  On quarterfinal day, half of the matches were played at Western Michigan University, with the top two seeds in both the men's and women's draws playing at Kalamazoo College's Stowe Stadium.  Staying at Stowe to watch the No. 1 and 2 seeds, I missed the day's thriller, which saw the fourth-seeded Bowdoin men defeat unseeded Johns Hopkins 5-4 after losing all three doubles points.  The match came down to a third-set tiebreaker at line 4, with Bowdoin's Jerry Jiang defeating David Perez 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5).  Bowdoin will play top seed Emory in tomorrow's 8:30 a.m. semifinal, after Emory took out unseeded Kenyon 5-1, with Jonathan Jemison clinching for the Eagles at line 2.

Defending champion and No. 2 seed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps did not fare as well, falling to No. 7 seed Chicago 5-2.  Chicago had beaten defending champion and No. 2 seed Amherst in last year's quarterfinals, so Chicago coach Jay Tee had his team ready for the same situation this year.

"I feel we really thrive in the role of underdog," said Tee, in his fourth year as Chicago coach. "It takes some pressure off us. We've been up and down all year with a young team, but we've been telling the guys all week, 'we're going to win, start believing we're going to win,' and once we got here, we got that mindset and it just felt like another tournament, not like we were at Nationals."

One of the downs Tee mentioned was a 7-2 loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps back in March, where the Maroons dropped all three doubles matches.

"They're such a tough, tough singles team, but we felt if we just get one or two [doubles points], we really have a shot," said Tee. "Getting a doubles match or two was the biggest key and we got that, and it let us play a little freer and a little looser."

Chicago won at line 2 doubles and nearly won at line 1 doubles, losing in a tiebreaker, and came out strong in singles, winning four first sets. They managed to win all four of those matches in straight sets, with freshman Charlie Pei clinching with a 6-2, 7-6(1) decision over Max Macey at line 4.  Chicago will play No. 3 seed Middlebury in the 11 a.m. semifinal, after Middlebury defeated No. 6 seed Washington-St. Louis 5-1 at Western Michigan.

Chicago is less than a three-hour drive from Kalamazoo, so Tee believes that allowed them to stay in a comfortable routine.

"We're not used to flying, to getting on an airplane and traveling across the country," said Tee. "So being able to leave campus yesterday at 10 a.m., go Starbucks, have lunch, take our time, have a hit, that was definitely a big advantage for us for sure."

Tee is also the coach of Chicago's women's team, the only coach this week doing double duty.  His women's team was not able to follow in the men's teams footsteps later in the day at Stowe Stadium, with the No. 7 seeds losing to No. 2 seed Williams 5-0.

"It's time consuming, but it's incredibly rewarding," Tee said of his dual role. "I feel fortunate and lucky that I get to come out here and experience it again on the same day, with a different group of people and see how they view it. I would never say it's a bad thing, or too much work.  I have one part-time assistant, and he does a great job, but actually I rely on the players. They have to be self-sufficient and they do a great, great job, up and down the lineup, so I lean on them as well."

Harding clinched at No. 1 for Emory Eagles

The Emory women will play unseeded Middlebury in Tuesday's 2 p.m. semifinal. Middlebury defeated No. 4 seed Amherst 5-2 at Western Michigan.  Williams, the defending champion and No. 2 seed, will face No. 6 seed Bowdoin in the 5 p.m. semifinal.

Williams coach Alison Swain congratulates Leah Bush after her clinch

All four semifinals will be played at Stowe Stadium on Tuesday.  Links to live scoring, and to the streaming on the front three courts, is available at the Kalamazoo College tournament page.  Complete results are below:

NCAA Division III Men’s Quarterfinals
May 23, 2016

#1 Emory University 5, #17 Kenyon College 1
Kalamazoo College

Doubles
1. Scott Rubinstein/James Spaulding (EU) def. Sam Geier/Tristan Kaye (KENM) 8-3
2. Michael Liu/Robert Turlington (KENM) def. Jonathan Jemison/Rafe Mosetick (EU) 9-7
3. Andrew Harrington/David Omsky (EU) def. Nicholas Paolucci/Ben Gelfand (KENM) 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles
1. Rafe Mosetick (EU) vs. Sam Geier (KENM) 7-6(11), 0-3, unfinished
2. Jonathan Jemison (EU) def. Michael Liu (KENM) 6-0, 6-4
3. Aman Manji (EU) vs. Robert Turlington (KENM) 6-1, 5-4, unfinished
4. Adrien Bouchet (EU) vs. Nicholas Paolucci (KENM) 3-6, 2-5, unfinished
5. Josh Goodman (EU) def. Max Smith (KENM) 6-0, 6-2
6. Andrew Harrington (EU) def. Pete Dakich (KENM) 6-1, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 5, 2

Notes:
Kenyon College 14-10; National ranking #17
Emory University 23-3; National ranking #1

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#8 University of Chicago 5, #2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 2
Kalamazoo College

Doubles
1. Skyler Butts/Daniel Morkovine (CMS) def. Nicolas Chua/David Liu (UCM) 9-8(4)
2. Peter Leung/ Charlie Pei (UCM) def. Julian Gordy/Oliver Seifert (CMS) 8-5
3. Glenn Hull/Lestter Yeh (CMS) def. Max Hawkins/Luke Tsai (UCM) 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1

Singles
1. Skyler Butts (CMS) vs. Nicolas Chua (UCM) 7-5, 2-2, unfinished
2. David Liu (UCM) def. Glenn Hull (CMS) 6-4, 6-4
3. Sven Kranz (UCM) def. Daniel Morkovine (CMS) 6-4, 6-2
4. Charlie Pei (UCM) def. Max Macey (CMS) 6-2, 7-6(1)
5. Patrick Wildman (CMS) vs. Tsai, Luke (UCM) 3-6, 6-3, unfinished
6. Peter Leung (UCM) def. Lestter Yeh (CMS) 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 6, 3, 2, 4

Match Notes
University of Chicago 18-6; National ranking #8
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 27-5; National ranking #2
============================================
#3 Middlebury 5, #6 Washington-St Louis 1
Western Michigan University

Doubles
1. Palmer Campbell/Hamid Derbani (MIDDMT) def. Jason Haugen/Konrad Kozlowski (WASHU) 8-3
2. Josh Cogan/Johnny Wu (WASHU) def. Noah Farrell/Ari Smolyar (MIDDMT) 9-8(5)
3. William de Quant/Kyle Schlanger (MIDDMT) def. Jeremy Bush/Tyler Kratky (WASHU) 8-4
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2

Singles
1. Noah Farrell (MIDDMT) def. John Carswell (WASHU) 6-4, 6-0
2. Ari Smolyar (MIDDMT) vs. Johnny Wu (WASHU) 6-6, unfinished
3. Palmer Campbell (MIDDMT) def. Tyler Kratky (WASHU) 6-3, 6-2
4. William de Quant (MIDDMT) def. Jason Haugen (WASHU) 6-0, 6-3
5. Hamid Derbani (MIDDMT) vs. Jeremy Bush (WASHU) 3-6, 3-3, unfinished
6. Kyle Schlanger (MIDDMT) vs. Jake Klein (WASHU) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 4, 1, 3

Match Notes
Washington U. 18-6; National ranking #6
Middlebury 19-2; National ranking #3
===========================================
#4 Bowdoin 5, #26 Johns Hopkins 4
Western Michigan University
Doubles
1. Mike Buxbaum/Jeremy Dubin (JHUM) def. Luke Tercek/Luke Trinka (BOW-M) 8-6
2. Nicholas Garcia/Emerson Walsh (JHUM) def. Jerry Jiang/Grant Urken (BOW-M) 8-5
3. David Perez/Scott Thygesen (JHUM) def. Gil Roddy/Chase Savage (BOW-M) 8-2
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2

Singles
1. Mike Buxbaum (JHUM) def. Luke Tercek (BOW-M) 7-5, 6-2
2. Kyle Wolfe (BOW-M) def. Jeremy Dubin (JHUM) 6-4, 6-4
3. Luke Trinka (BOW-M) def. Nicholas Garcia (JHUM) 6-3, 6-1
4. Jerry Jiang (BOW-M) def. David Perez (JHUM) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5)
5. Gil Roddy (BOW-M) def. Justin Kang (JHUM) 6-2, 6-2
6. Grant Urken (BOW-M) def. Emerson Walsh (JHUM) 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 5, 1, 3, 6, 4

Match Notes
Johns Hopkins 19-6; National ranking #26
Bowdoin 18-3; National ranking #4============================================

NCAA Division III Women’s Quarterfinals
May 26, 2016
#1 Emory University 5, #10 Washington St Louis 0
Kalamazoo College

Doubles
1. Anna Fuhr/Madison Gordon (EUW) def. Grace Deering/Jamie Silverberg (WASHUW) 8-5
2. Bridget Harding/Katarina Su (EUW) def. Lisa Chionis/Rebecca Ho (WASHUW) 8-0
3. Paula Castro/Michelle Satterfield (EUW) def. Aly Coran/Kaylan Griffith (WASHUW) 8-5
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles
1. Bridget Harding (EUW) def. Rebecca Ho (WASHUW) 6-1, 6-3
2. Michelle Satterfield (EUW) def. Jamie Silverberg (WASHUW) 6-1, 6-2
3. Beatrice Rosen (EUW) vs. Grace Deering (WASHUW) 6-3, 3-0, unfinished
4. Madison Gordon (EUW) vs. Aly Coran (WASHUW) 6-2, 3-2, unfinished
5. Katarina Su (EUW) vs. Kaylan Griffith (WASHUW) 6-0, 3-3, unfinished
6. Daniela Lopez (EUW) vs. Lisa Chionis (WASHUW) 6-6, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1

Match Notes
WashU 17-5; National ranking #10
Emory University 26-5; National ranking #1
==========================================
#5 Middlebury 5, #7 Amherst College 2
Western Michigan University

Doubles
1. Lily Bondy/Ria Gerger (MIDDWT) def. Sue Ghosh/Sarah Monteagudo (AMHW) 8-1
2. Kelsey Chen/Vickie Ip (AMHW) def. Kaysee Orozco/Sadie Shackelford (MIDDWT) 8-1
3. Alexandra Fields/Christina Puccinelli (MIDDWT) def. Rebecca L. Pol/Avery Wagman (AMHW) 9-7
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles
1. Ria Gerger (MIDDWT) def. Vickie Ip (AMHW) 7-5, 6-3
2. Sue Ghosh (AMHW) vs. Alexandra Fields (MIDDWT) 3-6, 6-3, 4-4, unfinished
3. Jackie Calla (AMHW) vs. Lily Bondy (MIDDWT) 6-2, 3-6, 2-0, unfinished
4. Christina Puccinelli (MIDDWT) def. Sarah Monteagudo (AMHW) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
5. Molly Paradies (MIDDWT) def. Kelsey Chen (AMHW) 7-6(4), 6-4
6. Avery Wagman (AMHW) def. Kaysee Orozco (MIDDWT) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 1,6,4,5

Match Notes
Middlebury 16-4; National ranking #5
Amherst College 14-8; National ranking #7
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#2 Williams 5, #9 University of Chicago 0
Kalamazoo College
Doubles
1. Juli Raventos/Linda Shin (WILLIAMS) def. Kim, Rachel/Tang, Lucy (UCW) 8-0
2. Hannah Atkinson/Julia Cancio (WILLIAMS) def. Chen, Tiffany/Lee, Stephanie (UCW) 8-4
3. Maya Hart/G. McDonnell Nieto (WILLIAMS) def. Iranpour, Ariana/Warren, Courtney (UCW) 8-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles
1. Juli Raventos (WILLIAMS) vs. Iranpour, Ariana (UCW) 6-0, 5-4, unfinished
2. Mia Gancayco (WILLIAMS) vs. Kim, Rachel (UCW) 3-6, 1-5, unfinished
3. Julia Cancio (WILLIAMS) vs. Tang, Lucy (UCW) 7-5, 1-0, unfinished
4. Hannah Atkinson (WILLIAMS) vs. Chen, Tiffany (UCW) 4-6, unfinished
5. Leah Bush (WILLIAMS) def. Bynoe, Kaela (UCW) 6-1, 6-3
6. G. McDonnell Nieto (WILLIAMS) def. Lee, Stephanie (UCW) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 5

Match Notes
University of Chicago 13-6; National ranking #9
Williams 21-3; National ranking #2

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#6 Bowdoin 5, #4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 1
Western Michigan
Doubles
1. Tiffany Cheng/Joulia Likhanskaia (BOW-W) def. Katie Kuosman/Caroline Ward (CMS) 9-7
2. Pilar Giffenig/Kyra Silitch (BOW-W) def. Jessie Cruz/Kyla Scott (CMS) 9-7
3. Samantha Stalder/Tess Trinka (BOW-W) def. Lindsay Brown/Bria Smith (CMS) 8-5
Order of finish: 1,3,2

Singles
1. Joulia Likhanskaia (BOW-W) def. Caroline Ward (CMS) 6-3, 6-4
2. Katie Kuosman (CMS) vs. Tiffany Cheng (BOW-W) 6-7(3), 7-6, unfinished
3. Lindsay Brown (CMS) vs. Kyra Silitch (BOW-W) 6-7(8), 6-3, 1-0, unfinished
4. Kyla Scott (CMS) def. Tess Trinka (BOW-W) 6-4, 6-0
5. Samantha Stalder (BOW-W) def. Jessie Cruz (CMS) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
6. Bria Smith (CMS) vs. Sarah Shadowens (BOW-W) 6-4, 3-6, 3-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 4, 1, 5

Match Notes
Bowdoin 15-6; National ranking #6
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 21-5; National ranking #4

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