California Golden Bears Athletics
California
Arizona State (NCAA Regionals)
Bears Get Past Sun Devils and Advance to Sweet Sixteen
5/13/2007 12:00 PM | Women's Tennis
May 13, 2007
BERKELEY - In a hard-fought match, the No. 10 California women's tennis team emerged victorious against No. 18 Arizona State, 4-2, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at the Hellman Tennis Center. The Golden Bears will join 15 other teams in Georgia next weekend for the NCAA championships.
"We kind of got the monkey off our back after having lost last year and having that bad taste in our mouth," Cal head coach Jan Brogan said. "It's almost harder when you're in your regional, whether you're at home or somewhere else, than when you get to the Sweet Sixteen. All of the teams tend to relax a little bit more. We're excited to go."
In doubles, two of the three matches went down to the wire. On the No. 1 court, the fifth-ranked duo of Susie Babos and Zsuzsanna Fodor jumped out to a 4-0 lead on ASU's Roxanne Clarke and Kady Pooler. The Arizona State pair would come back and win the next six games in a row. Babos and Fodor fought back and were on the brink of victory, taking a 7-6 lead, when Clarke and Pooler took the next two games and regained an 8-7 lead. The Cal duo tied the match at eight and later won the tiebreaker to clinch the doubles point for the Bears. The other doubles victory was a decisive, 8-1 win for Nina Henkel and Stephanie Kusano, defeating Sabrina Capannolo and Jessica Leitch.
Just as she did yesterday against Southeastern Louisiana, Fodor once again led the way for Cal in singles on the No. 2 court. She recorded the first singles victory with a dominating, 6-2, 6-2, win over Nadia Abdala.
Babos was next to finish in singles, turning in an equally impressive performance on the top court. She knocked of Capannolo, 6-4, 6-1. Babos, currently ranked fourth in the ITA singles rankings, got off to a slow start, facing an early deficit of 3-1 in the first set, but rebounded to take control and never looked back.
After the veterans paved the way, it was the freshman who sent Cal (21-6) to Georgia. Henkel clinched the match for the Bears when she beat Clarke on the third court, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. Henkel also got off to a slow start, dropping the first set, but came back to dominate the second and third sets.
In their next match, the Bears will square off against Clemson on Friday, May 18, in Athens, Ga. The winner of that match will face the winner of William & Mary and Georgia on May 20. The NCAA team championships run from May 18-22.
Singles Results:
1. # 4 Susie Babos (Cal) def. Sabrina Capannolo (ASU) 6-4, 6-1
2. #12 Zsuzsanna Fodor (Cal) def. Nadia Abdala (ASU) 6-2, 6-2
3. #22 Nina Henkel (Cal) def. Roxanne Clarke (ASU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
4. Kady Pooler (ASU) def. #89 Stephanie Kusano (Cal) 6-0, 6-4
5. #97 Cristina Visico (Cal) vs. Rebecca Rankin (ASU) susp.
6. Laila Abdala (ASU) def. Claire Ilcinkas (Cal) 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 4, 6, 3
Doubles Results:
1. # 5 Susie Babos/Zsuzsanna Fodor (Cal) def. Kady Pooler/Roxanne
Clarke (ASU), 9-8
2. Nina Henkel/Stephanie Kusano (Cal) def. Sabrina Capannolo/Jessica
Leitch (ASU) 8-1
3. Claire Ilcinkas/Bojana Bobusic (Cal) vs. Rebecca Rankin/Laila
Abdala (ASU), susp.
Order of Finish: 2, 1
