May 18, 1997

Stanford Advances to NCAA Semifinals

LOS ANGELES - Ryan Wolters battled back from a second set loss to beat Texas' Paul Martin 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 as third-seeded Stanford (24-2) advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA championships.

Wolters' victory earned the Cardinal a 4-0 win over the Longhorns (26-6), but the match was much tougher than the score indicated. The Cardinal took the doubles point and freshman Mike Bryan and junior Paul Goldstein both dispatched their Texas opponents in straight sets to quickly give Stanford a 3-0 lead. But Texas battled back, taking all four remaining matches to third sets before Wolters' clincher.

The victory puts the Cardinal one step closer to setting a new record for NCAA titles in a season. Stanford tied the UCLA record of five NCAA titles after the women's tennis victory over Florida today at Stanford.

The Cardinal will face Mississippi tomorrow at 2 p.m. at UCLA in the semifinal match.

Stanford 4, Texas 0

Singles
1. Ryan Wolters (S) def. Paul Martin (T) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
2. Bob Bryan (S) vs. B.J. Stearns (T) - DNF
3. Mike Bryan (S) d. Jack Brasington (T) 6-2, 6-1
4. Paul Goldstein (S) d. Nick Crowell (T) 6-1, 6-0
5. Geoff Abrams (S) vs. Eric Allen (T) - DNF
6. Grant Elliot (S) vs. Michael Blue (T) - DNF

Doubles
1. Crowell/Martin (T) d. Goldstein/Wolters (S) 8-3
2. Bryan/Bryan (S) d. Allen/Brasington (T) 8-2
3. Abrams/Elliot (S) d. Stanley/Stearns (T) 8-3

Post-Game Quotes

Stanford player Ryan Wolters
"I knew they were going to be tough and never give up. Even though we were doing well at the time, I knew that it was going to be a tough match. After the first set, I felt good, but he (Martin) hit a couple of good shots. I missed a couple and he got the momentum and it carried him through the second set. But I started out the third set real well, broke him and that carried me to the win."

Stanford head coach Dick Gould
"Ryan is a great competitor if he can just stay sharp. We've got a great chance."

Texas head coach Dave Snyder
"It was a disappointing loss, but Stanford is a good team who has a chance to go all the way. I'm proud of our guys because they fought hard. it gives us a good experience heading into next year."

Post-Game Notes

• Stanford is the two-time defending NCAA champion and head coach Dick Gould's teams have won 14 NCAA team titles during his 30 years as the Cardinal mentor.

• The Cardinal have won four NCAA titles in the 1990s.

• Stanford has already won a record-tying five NCAA titles this year (men's and women's cross country, men's and women's volleyball, women's tennis).
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