Women's tennis opened its title defense Thursday.

Women's Tennis Opens Title Defense

Cardinal to face Wake Forest in next round.

May 21, 1998

SOUTH BEND, IN - The defending national champion and second-seeded Stanford women's tennis team opened its title defense with a 6-0 victory over 16th-ranked Tennessee (20-11) today at the University of Notre Dame's Courtney Tennis Center. The win was Stanford's 17th straight NCAA opening match victory and improved its overall NCAA Tournament record to 53-8. The Cardinal, which improved to 25-1 on the season (20-1 against ranked opponents), will face Wake Forest, a 5-4 winner over Brigham Young, in the quarterfinals tomorrow. The match is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. (CDT). The meeting between the Cardinal and the Deamon Deacons will be the first of the season and the first between the two teams in NCAA Tournament play.

Sophomore Teryn Ashley (Chestnut Hill, MA/Brookline HS) got the ball rolling, recording Stanford's first team point with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Whitney Dill at the No. 3 position. With the victory, which took just 55 minutes, Ashley became Stanford's first 40-game winner, upping her overall record to 40-8. Fellow sophomore Jennifer Heiser (Stockton, CA/Lincoln HS) put Stanford up 2-0 with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of Megan Russell at No. 6 for her team-best 11th straight dual match victory. Heiser improved to 23-2 in dual match play and 33-5 overall.

Senior team captain Julie Scott (Austin, TX/Stephen F. Austin HS) increased Stanford's lead to 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 over Margie Lepsi at No. 2 for her 37th win of the season. Freshman Sarah Pestieau picked up a win in her first career NCAA Tournament match, defeating Vinny Seiverling 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 5 slot to put the Cardinal within one point of the match victory.

Senior Ania Bleszynski (Thousand Oaks, CA/Harvard-Westlake HS), who did not compete in singles in Stanford's title run last season, clinched the victory with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 win over Erin Lowery at No. 4. The win was Bleszynski's 30th of the season, marking the second time in her illustrious career that she has reached the 30-win plateau. She is just one win shy of tying her career high of 31, set during the 1995-96 season.

Despite securing the victory, the No.1 singles match between Stanford's Anne Kremer and Manisha Malhotra was allowed to finish, with Kremer prevailing 6-3, 7-5 in the only meeting between ranked opponents.

Final Results:
Stanford 6
Tennessee 0

1. #8 Anne Kremer (Stanford) d. #21 Manisha Malhotra (Tennessee) 6-3, 7-5
2. #7 Julie Scott (Stanford) d. Margie Lepsi (Tennessee) 6-2, 6-1
3. #17 Teryn Ashley (Stanford) d. Whitney Dill (Tennessee) 6-1, 6-1
4. #51 Ania Bleszynski (Stanford) d. Erin Lowery (Tennessee) 6-4, 6-4
5. Sarah Pestieau (Stanford) d. Vinny Seiverling (Tennessee) 6-1, 6-3
6. #90 Jennifer Heiser (Stanford) d. Megan Russell (Tennessee) 6-0, 6-0

Other Scores (Top of Bracket Down):

Florida leading Pepperdine 4-0
Texas d. UCLA 5-0
William & Mary d. California 5-3
Georgia d. Kansas 5-3
Duke d. Arkansas 5-1
Mississippi d. Arizona State 5-2
Wake Forest d. Brigham Young 5-4

Stanford Head Coach Frank Brennan

On the play of his team: " I think they played very well today. I am pleased with the way our team played. Our preparation for theses matches was just stellar for our team leading up to the tournament. We had the fortune of playing Tenneessee earlier this season and they came out with the same match ups we had then and our team capitalized on it."

On his teams match with Wake Forest: "We have not played them this year, but we have played them in the past and they are a well coached and disciplined team. It should be tight between us and this week there will be no easy matches."

Tennessee Head Coach Mike Patrick

On his teams performance: "Stanford was just better than us today they came out ready to play. We were a little out matched today against Stanford. Last Sunday we play a real hard match and today we just did not have the gas we needed to get the job done. Stanford had a lot of momentum today and when it comes down to it they are just a good team."

On his team this year: " This year was a great year for us we accomplished a lot of great things. I am proud of how well these girls played this season. Hopefully, next we will win the early games in the season, so we will not have to play Stanford in the first round next year."

Stanford Player Teryn Ashley

On her experience at the Tournament: "It was good that we came out here a few days early to get accustomed to theses weather conditions. Our team has really come together since the end of the season. Our team fought really hard today to win and those who had a hard time this season came through for us today. I am very proud of the way our team played today."