June 4, 1997

NCAA Champions - Final Report

NCAA Champions: The Stanford Cardinal, seeded second in the NCAA Tournament, avenged its only loss of the season and defeated Florida, 5-1, to capture the NCAA Team Championship. This is the ninth NCAA title for the women's team, dating back to the 1982 season. The championship ends the Cardinal's "dry spell," after winning the last title in 1991. Stanford won six consecutive titles from 1986-1991. Not only did Stanford win the team title, but freshman Lilia Osterloh captured the NCAA Singles title with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Florida freshman M.C. White. This was only the second all-freshman final and Osterloh is just the third freshman to capture the title. With the victory, Osterloh receives a berth into the 1997 U.S. Open. Osterloh is Stanford's eighth NCAA singles champ.

Stanford in the Rankings: Stanford finished the season ranked first in the Rolex Collegiate Rankings, after being ranked second for the entire season. In singles, three Cardinal players are ranked in the top 10: No. 1 Lilia Osterloh, No. 3 Katie Schlukebir and No. 8 Julie Scott. Other singles ranked include: No. 17 Anne Kremer, No. 26 Sandra De Silva, No. 54 Teryn Ashley and No. 62 Ania Bleszynski.

Head Coach Frank Brennan: In his 18th season at Stanford, head coach Frank Brennan is considered by many to be the finest collegiate coach in the nation. Brennan has guided his Cardinal squads to nine NCAA titles, eight singles titles and four doubles championships. While on The Farm, Brennan has posted a 425-45 overall record, along with earning nine Pac-10 Championships. On three occasions, Brennan was named ITA/Wilson Coach of the Year and is a five-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year. In 1994, he was inducted into the NorCal Tennis Hall of Fame.

No. 1 Freshman: After capturing the NCAA singles title, freshman Lilia Osterloh jumped to the top of the Rolex Rankings and has a solid grasp on Stanford's number one position. Osterloh missed most of the preseason tournaments with a shoulder injury, but rebounded to move from playing number three to starting at number one. With a 30-3 overall record and a 17-1 dual match mark, Osterloh was one of the most consistent players on the Stanford team. Osterloh earned All-America honors in both singles and doubles, as well as being selected to the USTA All-America Summer Team, which travels and participates in numerous professional tournaments over the summer, leading up to the U.S. Open.

Top Notch: Senior captain Katie Schlukebir finished her career on The Farm as one of the top collegiate players in the country. Schlukebir, who finishes the season ranked third and was ranked first in the nation before the NCAA tournament, posted an impressive 37-9 overall record, including a 19-6 dual match mark. The Rolex Regional and Pac-10 Indoor Champion started 11 matches at number one. For her efforts this season, Schlukebir was named the Pac-10 South Player of the Year, becoming one of just six Stanford players to ever receive that honor. Schlukebir was also selected to participate on the USTA's All-America Summer Team.

Rising to the Top: Junior Julie Scott positioned herself as one of the greatest clutch players in women's tennis. Scott, alphabetically seeded in the NCAA singles tournament, reached the semifinals after upsetting No. 3 seed Vanessa Webb of Duke in a three-plus hour match, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-4. Not only was Scott successful in singles, but with doubles partner Ania Bleszynski, the pair was seeded second and reached the semifinals. Scott earned All-America honors in singles and doubles. During the year, Scott captured the Pac-10 singles championship and earned the Rolex Indoor doubles title with Bleszynski. Scott will also participate on the USTA's All-America Summer Team.

Rolex Collegiate Tennis Final Rankings
Team
1.  Stanford        31-1
2.  Florida         30-1
3.  Duke            24-4
4.  Texas           25-6
5.  UCLA            16-6
6.  Georgia         18-5
7.  Arizona State   15-7
8.  William & Mary  23-7
9.  Mississippi     21-6
10. California      16-8
Singles
1.  Lilia Osterloh      Stanford
2.  Agnes Muzamel       Mississippi
3.  Katie Schlukebir    Stanford
4.  Karin Miller        Duke
5.  Vicky Maes          Arizona
6.  Cristina Moros      Texas
7.  Vanessa Webb        Duke
8.  Julie Scott         Stanford
9.  Dawn Buth           Florida
10. Lauren Nikolaus     William & Mary
17. Anne Kremer         Stanford
26. Sandra De Silva     Stanford
54. Teryn Ashley        Stanford
62. Ania Bleszynski     Stanford
Doubles
1.  Buth/Nickitas       Florida
2.  Bleszynski/Scott    Stanford
3.  Lepsi/Malhotra      Tennessee
4.  Nickolaus/Sones     William & Mary
5.  Olave/Rodrigues     LSU
9.  Osterloh/Schlukebir Stanford
1997 All-Americans
Lilia Osterloh (Singles  & Doubles)
Katie Schlukebir (Singles & Doubles)
Julie Scott (Singles & Doubles)
Ania Bleszynski (Doubles)
1997 ITA Award Winners
Lele Forood - Assistant Coach of the Year
         
All Pac-10 South Honors
Player of the Year  
Katie Schlukebir
First Team
Katie Schlukebir
Lilia Osterloh
Second Team
Sandra De Silva
Anne Kremer
Honorable Mention
Teryn Ashley

Printer-friendly format	Email this article