May 26, 2011
Championship Central Website | Live Scoring and Streaming Video
STANFORD, Calif. - No. 23-ranked California women's tennis senior Mari Andersson shocked onlookers as she pulled off a 6-2, 6-3 upset victory over second-seeded and No. 2-ranked Maria Sanchez of USC in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships at the Taube Family Tennis Center on Thur., May 26.
No. 1-ranked and top-seeded junior Jana Juricova will join Andersson in the round of 16 after she dispatched of No. 42-ranked Joanna Mather of Florida, 6-2, 6-2, in the second round. The two Golden Bears also advanced to the round of 16 as the top-seeded and top-ranked duo in the doubles championship. Andersson teamed with Juricova to take out Tennessee's 28th-ranked team of Rosalia Alda and Millie Nichols, 6-3, 6-2.
Andersson draws a familiar opponent in the round of 16 where she will face No. 12 Jacqueline Cako of Arizona State in a 10 a.m. PT match on Fri., May 27. Juricova will also see a familiar opponent when she takes on No. 16 Venise Chan of Washington at 11 a.m. PT. In the doubles draw, Andersson and Juricova move on to draw the No. 21-ranked team of Kayla Duncan and Kathryn Talbert of Wake Forest.
Andersson opened up her singles match with ball in hand, and went up, 1-0. In the blink of an eye, Andersson had broken Sanchez, twice, to go up, 4-0, in the first set. Her aggressive serve surrendered just one point as she claimed a 5-0 lead, but Sanchez retaliated to stave off Andersson's push and tacked up her first game victory of the set to make the score, 5-1. Sanchez continued her strong play to come up with a break and take a second game, but Andersson flipped the script and put up a love-40 lead against the Trojan's serves before she secured a 6-2 win in the first set.
The second set was a complete tug-of-war for the two players as each broke the other's serve six straight times. Facing the prospect of going down, 3-1, Andersson forced two Sanchez errors to knot the set at two-all, and stood tall to nab the advantage against Sanchez's serve for a three-all tie. Andersson served her way to 40-love lead in seventh game, and earned the first hold of the set to go up, 4-3. Back to regularly-scheduled programming, Andersson turned away Sanchez's serve, once again, for a 5-3 lead. Holding serve, Andersson went up, 30-15, in the final game, but Sanchez put a shot into the net to give Andersson two match-points to work with. Sanchez saved one match point as she blasted a shot down the line, but ended the next rally with a ball into the net as Andersson secured the upset win, 6-2, 6-3.
Juricova opened up her match against Mather with a break of the Gator serve. Her consistent play put her up, 5-1, in the first set before Mather could hold her serve to win a second game, and trail, 5-2. Juricova came out, strong, in the next game to seal the first-set win, 6-2.
Mather and Juricova traded service breaks to the tune of a two-all tie before Juricova emerged from a deuce rally to break Mather once more for a 3-2 lead. In the next game, Juricova earned the first hold of the set to go up a break, 4-2, and wasted no time putting her choke hold on the match as she broke Mather for a 5-2 lead. In the final game, two unforced errors put Mather in an early love-30 deficit. Juricova went up, 40-15, with two match points to use. Mather fought off one match point, but Juricova finished things off with the second for a 6-2, 6-2 win.
In their doubles match, Andersson and Juricova surrendered the first two games of the match when Tennessee broke Juricova's serve. The Bears retaliated by breaking Nichols' serve in the third game to get on the board, down 2-1, and evened the score in the fourth game after they battled out several deuce points. Alda served up a 3-2 lead for the Lady Vols, but Juricova responded to tie the set, once more, at three-all. Cal seized momentum to break the Tennessee serve for its first lead of the set at 4-3, and went up, 5-3, on Andersson's serves. The Bears built a love-40 lead in the ninth game, but the Lady Vols forced deuce before Cal came through with the winner to seal a 6-3 first-set win.
The Bears went up, 1-0, in the second set as Juricova opened up with the serve, but the Lady Vols stayed the pace by holding serve in the second game. Cal went up, 2-1, but, again, Tennessee came back with a response to tie the set, two-all. Juricova pushed the Bears into a 3-2 lead before Cal broke Alda's serve to go up, a break, 4-2. Andersson's serve forced a Tennessee return to go long in the next game to put the Bears in the catbird's seat with a 5-2 lead. Cal put the jets on in the final game as the duo broke Nichols to complete the 6-3, 6-2 victory.
For complete schedules, results, scores, draws, and live streaming video, please visit www.GoStanford.com.
2011 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
Taube Family Tennis Center | Stanford, Calif.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Singles Round of 32 | May 26
[1] No. 1 Jana Juricova (CAL) def. No. 42 Joanna Mather (FLA) 6-2, 6-2
No. 23 Mari Andersson (CAL) def. [2] No. 2 Maria Sanchez (USC) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles Round of 32 | May 26
[1] No. 1 Andersson/Juricova (CAL) def. No. 28 Alda/Nichols (TENN) 6-3, 6-2
Singles Round of 16 | May 27
[1] No. 1 Jana Juricova (CAL) vs. No. 16 Venise Chan (WASH) - 11 a.m. PT
No. 23 Mari Andersson (CAL) vs. No. 12 Jacqueline Cako (ASU) - 10 a.m. PT
Doubles Round of 16 | May 27
[1] No. 1 Andersson/Juricova (CAL) vs. No. 21 Duncan/Talbert (WF) - 5:30 p.m. PT
Post-match Quotes
Head coach Amanda Augustus
On the performance of Mari Andersson and Jana Juricova in doubles play
"I think it was a good start to the tournament. It was sort of a straightforward type of match but it was a hard time of day to play with all the shadows on the court. That Tennessee team is a great team, and plays an aggressive net-style offense, so I was glad that we had to face that in the first round because it will help prepare them for that type of play down the road."
On Mari Andersson's upset win over second-seeded Maria Sanchez of USC
"What a great win. We've seen Sanchez a lot, but Mari had never played her. But we were able to tell her what to expect and to Mari's credit, she came in with that game plan and used it to put the pressure on Sanchez. She stepped up, big, and got a big win. It was really great to see her in her final NCAA tournament, take advantage of all of the opportunities that have been put in front of her."
Senior Mari Andersson
On her upset victory over second-seeded Maria Sanchez of USC
"I started really solid, and I was kind of waiting for her to put the pressure on me, but I think she didn't like the way I played and made a lot of mistakes because of that. She put herself in such a big hole that even when she started to play better and make it a match, it was too late. Once I managed to build a lead, I think mentally, she had a hard time getting back into the match. I felt like I played great today, and she didn't bring her `A' game, but I think my game fits her game well in terms of being able to break down her style. I'm really beginning to count down every match, now, like any match could be my last so I'm just trying to make the most of every chance I get."
Junior Jana Juricova
On her win over Joanna Mather of Florida
"I had never seen my opponent until this morning, so I think in our first few games, we were trying to figure each other out. I was trying some new things to figure her out, but once I did, I got comfortable. She was a great competitor and I knew that if I just stayed to my tactics, that I would be fine."
On the pressure of being the top-seeded singles player in the tournament
"Being the top seed doesn't bother me. I think because it's the last tournament of the season, and everyone here is so good, the pressure is on everybody. I know I've had a good season, so I know that everyone I face is going to bring their best game when they play me, but I need to prepare myself to show up, everyday."
