[urklerlay]

After two straight horrendous weeks of work, I was looking forward to watching a great tennis rivalry, Stanford Card hosting the UCLA Bruins. My goal was not to take photos, but just to kick back, relax and watch some great tennis.

This was my first match of the year that I've been able to catch....sad, since there is only a couple more matches left. Anyway, it was my first look at some of the new freshmen, most notably Hilary Barte and Carolyn McVeigh. I think I have a new favorite Stanford player...Barte is just awesome!





Doubles No. 1) No. 9 Lin/Zalameda (UCLA) d. No. 17 Barte/Burdette (STAN) 8-3
I was really impressed w/ Riza Zalameda...she has a great combination of power and touch. Easily the stand out doubles player on the court.


Doubles No. 2) No. 59 Lumpkin/Wetmore(UCLA) d. Deason/Nguyen (STAN) 8-4
Note to be negative, but is Whit Deason really one of the top four Stanford doubles players? Seems that Durkin or even Hodzic would be more effective. Not that Deason isn't a good player, it just doesn't seem as though doubles is one of her strengths.




Doubles No. 3) Durkin/McVeigh (STAN) d. Joelson/McGoodwin (UCLA) 9-7
The lone bright spot for the Card. Interesting how the box score from Stanford website has them winning this match 9-7, when I know they won in a tie-breaker.

There was a good turn out for the match and it was an unexpected surprise that there was no admission fee! One last note: THE best thing about college tennis - team spirit and enthusiasm. The best example of this was Jessica Nguyen, standing at the net in the middle of the game while waiting for Whitney Deason to serve, yells at the top of her lungs, "Lets Go Card!!"

Unfortunately, I was only able to catch the doubles b/c I had to go to work. After watching this match...now I want to try to catch the season finale vs Cal. The Card will be looking for revenge! Plus it will be Senior Day, celebrating the collegiate careers of Deason, Durkin and Hodzic.

[darrinbaker00]

Who's that with her shoes off? Typical no-class Stanford.....

[Tennisace]

Originally Posted by darrinbaker00

Who's that with her shoes off? Typical no-class Stanford.....

Hahaha that would be Lindsay Burdette. Man, she keeps giving us fodder to hate on her.

[Tennisace]

Yeah, I was surprised that Deason was in the doubles line-up this year, especially at No. 2 but really there are not many alternatives on the Stanford squad. Hodzic has tons of injuries in her NCAA career and really never had a chance to bloom on the college level. Although Yen is pretty good, she's never going to be a starting player on the squad and she'll be a hitting partner/reserve player for her NCAA career. Yen can take comfort in at least she's better than Dohney who's basically just a cheerleader.

I'm excited for the Cal-Stanford match-up next weekend. I think Stanford should be able to squeak it out given their recent line-up changes compared to the last time Cal played Stanford.

No. 1 Babos/Cossou vs. Barte
No. 2 Babos/Cossou vs. Nguyen
No. 3 Visico vs. Durkin
No. 4 Ilcinkas vs. Burdette
No. 5 Kusano/Bobusic vs. Deason/McVeigh
No. 6 Kusano/Bobusic vs. McVeigh/Yen

Barte should win at No. 1 if she plays against Babos given that her game matches well against power players. If you look at her her results she struggles against counter punchers. Babos and Cossou have been switching at the No. 1 and if I were Cal I would place Cossou at No. 1 given that Cossou's game is better against Barte. In addition, Cossou has lost twice to Nguyen this year, with the last a 1 and 2 loss (although it was much closer than the score suggested). Putting Cossou at No. 1 will allow Cal a better chance to win at No. 1 and No. 2 instead of Babos at No. 1 which will almost ensure a Stanford 2-0 lead.

At the bottom of the line-up, Bobusic is coming back from an injury so it's uncertain who will play No. 5/6. Deason also had an injury last week but should be healthy by the match. I think No. 3 is a toss-up and No. 4 will be an important point for either team to win. I could easily see a split in singles so doubles will be important and that's just as tight.