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SOPHOMORE STANDOUT: Liu captured
her second consecutive NCAA singles title.
GonzalesPhoto.com |
NCAA team title: Stanford.
NCAA singles champ: sophomore Amber Liu. NCAA tournament
most outstanding player: sophomore Alice Barnes. Pac-10
doubles team of the year: senior Lauren Barnikow and
junior Erin Burdette. Pac-10 coach of the year: Lele
Forood.
On their home courts and on the road, the Cardinal
women had a literally perfect year—29-0. When
they wrapped the season by defeating UCLA 4-1 on May
23 for the national title on the steamy University of
Georgia courts, the victory had an especially sweet
savor after last year’s bitter 4-3 loss to Florida.
“Just tasting defeat and seeing how much fun it
is not gave us a lot of incentive to do whatever was
necessary to win this year,” Barnikow says. “All
year it was, ‘Practice like we’re playing
Florida.’”
The top-ranked tandem of Barnikow and Burdette clinched
the team doubles point in the NCAA finals. “We
were on a high coming off the doubles,” says Forood,
’78, who has brought home three national titles
in her four years as head coach. “It was nice
to be up 1-0 going into the locker room.” When
Burdette won the final singles match, the team rushed
the court as 2002 graduates Gabriela Lastra, Lauren
Kalvaria and Keiko Tokuda celebrated in the stands.
Then, it was Liu’s turn to defend her individual
title. From May 24 through May 28, she dispatched one
opponent per day, each time in straight sets. In the
May 29 finals, however, the No. 7 Liu skidded in the
second set against No. 3 Jelena Pandzic of Fresno State.
She battled back in the third to win the match, 6-4,
0-6, 6-3. “I thought to myself that it was the
last set of the year, the last push, and I came out
with a lot of energy, moving my feet really well and
using my legs on my serve,” Liu says.
After Liu won the title last year as a freshman, there
was speculation that she would not return to Stanford.
She did play on the pro tour in the fall—while
carrying a full course load—then returned to practice
with the team during winter and spring. (After this
summer, however, she may remain on the tour, completing
college at a later date.)
“The tour’s a really different lifestyle,
and that’s a big factor in why I came back to
school this year—to solidify friendships and to
be able to play on a winning national championship team,”
Liu says. “You’re playing not just for yourself,
but for the rest of your team.” |
