University of Washington
Stanford
Carter Shines But No. 7 Women's Tennis Falls, 5-2, to No. 1 Stanford
March 26, 2004 | Women's Tennis
March 26, 2004
SEATTLE, Wash. -Senior All-American Claire Carter had a memorable day in the second-to-last home match of her career at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center, but the Huskies fell short of pulling the upset, losing 5-2 to undefeated and No. 1 Stanford. The Huskies (14-3, 1-1 Pac-10) trailed 3-0 before wins by Carter and senior Erin Hoe pulled them within striking distance, but Stanford escaped in the final two matches to remain perfect on the year. The Huskies gave Stanford its toughest test all season as no team had even scored more than one point on the Cardinal (15-0) all year.
Carter began her day by teaming with junior Dea Sumantri to hand the nation's No. 1 doubles team only its second loss of the year, and knocked off the defending NCAA singles champion for an encore. Stanford had already clinched the doubles point while Carter and Sumantri were battling Cardinal players Lauren Barnikow and Erin Burdette in the No. 1 doubles position. The Husky pair fought off three match points in forcing a tiebreaker, but would have to save three more in the tiebreak when they fell behind 6-3. Five stellar points later, Carter and Sumantri had stormed back to snare the tiebreaker, 8-6, snapping Barnikow and Burdette's 17-match win streak.
Despite dropping the doubles point, Washington still fought hard against Stanford's singles lineup, which is loaded with highly ranked talent. 88th-ranked senior Erin Hoe (Mililani, Hawaii) picked up one of the biggest wins of her career and gave UW its first point of the match when she drilled 19th-ranked Erin Burdette, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 3 singles. Hoe has strung together 11-straight victories and now leads the Huskies with 22 wins overall.
In the number one singles position, Carter faced the 2003 NCAA singles champ, Amber Liu. Liu, whose No. 33 ranking is misleading due to her missing the start of the season, took the first set 6-4 over the 28th-ranked Carter (Nottingham, England), but the senior came back with a 6-2 second-set win. Down 4-2 in the third set and needing a win to keep UW's hopes of an upset alive, Carter used her speed blistering forehand to control the points and chase down Liu's shots, either forcing an error or painting the sidelines with forehand winners. With a break point against Liu's serve at 4-4, Carter managed to return an overhead smash from Liu, forcing her to hit another overhead, which Liu pulled wide to give Carter the break of serve. Carter served out the match with ease to pull UW within one point of Stanford.
The Cardinal clinched the match when 36th-ranked senior Lauren Barnikow won a close contest with Dinka Hadzic (Split, Croatia), 7-6 (5), 6-2, at fourth singles. Another tough loss for the Huskies came at second singles where junior Dea Sumantri (Jakarta, Indonesia) lost only her second dual match of the year, losing in three sets to Stanford's top-ranked player, No. 15 Alice Barnes. Both of the 18th-ranked Sumantri's dual losses have been three-set heartbreakers to top-20 opponents. Freshman Saskia Nauenberg (Santa Cruz, Calif.) lost in straight sets to 24th-ranked Theresa Logar at fifth singles, and sophomore Stephanie Svanfeldt (Belvedere, Calif.) put up a strong fight against No. 67 Emilia Anderson but lost 6-4, 6-2 at No. 6 singles.
The women cannot afford a letdown after their near-miss against the Cardinal however as 12th-ranked California comes calling tomorrow, March 27, at noon at the Bill Quillian Stadium or Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center depending on weather conditions.
Washington Women's Tennis vs. Stanford
March 26, 2004 - Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center - Seattle, Wash.
No. 1 Stanford 5, No. 7 Washington 2
Doubles
1. (6) Carter/Sumantri (UW) def. (1) Barnikow/Burdette (Stan) 9-8 (6)
2. Barnes/Liu (Stan) def. Hadzic/Hoe (UW) 8-6
3. Anderson/Yelsey (Stan) def. Nauenberg/Ahn (UW) 8-1
Singles
1. (28) Claire Carter (UW) def. (33) Amber Liu (Stan) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. (15) Alice Barnes (Stan) def. (18) Dea Sumantri (UW) 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-3
3. (88) Erin Hoe (UW) def. (19) Erin Burdette (Stan) 6-3, 6-3
4. (36) Lauren Barnikow (Stan) def. Dinka Hadzic (UW) 7-6 (5), 6-2
5. (24) Theresa Logar (Stan) def. Saskia Nauenberg (UW) 6-0, 6-2
6. (67) Emilia Anderson (Stan) def. Stephanie Svanfeldt (UW) 6-4, 6-2
