University of Washington
Tennessee (M)
Huskies Advance to Quarterfinals at NCAA Women's Tennis Championships
May 17, 2001 | Women's Tennis
May 17, 2001
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STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. -- Freshman Claire Carter won the decisive final match Thursday, lifting 14th-ranked Washington to a 4-3 upset over No. 5 Tennessee that sent the Huskies into the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships at the Lincoln Tennis Center.
"We are thrilled to be going to the quarterfinals. Even though Tennessee was seeded ahead of us, we had a really close match with them last year so we felt fairly confident going into this match," said Washington assistant coach Jill Hultquist who coincidentally reached the quarterfinals at the same Stone Mountain venue while representing Canada in the women's doubles competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Hultquist is filling in for head coach Patty McCain who is due to give birth to her first child in 10 days and was unable to travel with the team.
Washington (21-7) is competing in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season. The Huskies, who had never won a postseason game prior to this year, recorded 4-0 victories over Army and Illinois in the first two rounds of the championships to reach the Round of 16. They meet No. 4 Florida on Friday afternoon for the right to play in Saturday's semifinals.
Carter lost the first four games of her No. 2 singles match to Tennessee's Kim Gates before rallying to win the first game 7-6. Gates claimed the second set 6-2, setting up the dramatic final set that began with all of the other singles matches completed and the teams tied at 3-3. Carter won the final 6-3, capping a suspenseful four-hour competition in humid 87-degree conditions.
"The heat had a big impact. I'm from England and we don't have weather like this there or in Seattle," Carter remarked. "It's unbelievable for me to win that match after being down in the first set and losing the second set. It's awesome for the University of Washington. To get here was amazing and to win and get to the elite eight is huge."
Carter's heroics would not have mattered if the Huskies were not victorious in the thrilling doubles competition. Along with earning one point for each of six singles matches, the team that wins two of the three doubles matches receives one point.
Junior Erin Boisclair and freshman Erin Hoe won the No. 3 doubles over the Lady Vols' team of Agnes Wiski and Brooke Cordell. The Husky duo trailed 5-1 before rallying to take an 8-7 advantage. After Tennessee reclaimed the lead, Boisclair and Hoe staved off two match points to tie the score 8-8 and force a tiebreaker. They blanked UT 7-0 in the tiebreaker to win the match 9-8 and claim the doubles point for Washington.
The 10th-ranked UW tandem of Kristina Kraszewski and Darija Klaic, who each captured singles victories, won their doubles match 8-4 over Tennessee's 19th-ranked team of Gates and Vilmarie Castellvi. Kraszewski, the nation's 11th-ranked singles player, defeated No. 24 Ojeda 7-5, 6-1 in the top singles match. Klaic swept her No. 5 singles competition with Crystal Cleveland by a 6-2, 6-3 tally.
Southeastern Conference runner-up Tennessee (25-4) was making is 10th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Vols earned a trip to the Round of 16 with a 4-0 victory over Washington State in the regional final at Knoxville, Tenn.
The Tennessee team of Ojeda and Cleveland won the No. 2 doubles match 8-2 over Carter and Ilona Kordonskaya. The Vols won two singles matches. Castellvi won the No. 3 singles 6-3, 6-4 over Kordonskaya and Wiski defeated Boisclair 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 4 spot.
The Florida-Washington quarterfinal matchup is intriguing as two Huskies are former Gators. Hultquist, the former Jill Hetherington, was a four-time All-American (1984-88) at Florida under current coach Andy Brandi. Boisclair, a junior, lettered two years (1999-2000) for the Gators before transferring to Washington prior to this season.
"I'm excited to play in the quarterfinals, but I have a little bit of mixed emotions about playing Florida," Boisclair said. "I'm pretty sure I'll be playing a really good friend of mine (Stephanie Hazlett) who I talk to all the time. It will be interesting because she knows my game really well and I know her game."
The NCAA women's team tournament concludes Sunday with the championship game. Immediately following the team competition is the individual NCAA singles and doubles championships, May 21-26 also in Stone Mountain. Kraszewski and Carter have been invited to participate in the 64-player singles championships. The UW doubles teams of Klaic/Kraszewski and Carter/Ilona Kordonskaya will compete in the 32-team doubles competition.
NCAA Women's Tennis - Round of 16
No. 14 Washington 4, No. 5 Tennessee 3
Lincoln Tennis Center, Stone Mountain, Ga.
Singles
1. No. 11 Kristina Kraszewski (UW) def. No. 24 Alison Ojeda (UT), 7-5, 6-1
2. No. 43 Claire Carter (UW) def No. 61 Kim Gates (UT), 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 *clinched victory
3. No. 79 Vilmarie Castellvi (UT) def. Ilona Kordonskaya (UW), 6-3, 6-4
4. Agnes Wiski (UT) def. Erin Boisclair (UW), 6-4, 6-2
5. No. 92 Darija Klaic (UW) def. Crystal Cleveland (UT), 6-2, 6-3
6. Brooke Cordell (UT) def. Colleen Gray (UW), 4-6, 3-6, 2-6
Doubles
1. No. 10 Klaic/Kraszewski (UW) def. No. 22 Gates/Castellvi (UT), 8-4
2. No. 19 Ojeda/Cleveland (UT) def. No. 26 Carter/Kordonskaya (UW), 8-2
3. Boisclair/Erin Hoe (UW) def. Wiski/Cordell (UT), 9-8(0)
Records: Washington 21-7, Tennessee 25-4.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
Washington Assistant Coach Jill Hultquist
"Even though Tennessee was seeded ahead of us, we had a really close match with them last year so we felt fairly confident going into this match. We definitely didn't feel like we were total underdogs. We knew we had a chance, we just needed some key wins which we got from people. The doubles was a heart-stopper. That was probably the most nervous I have been watching a doubles match. It was the true spirit of NCAA tennis today. We won the doubles and were up 3-1, then Tennessee comes back. It was a great match to be part of. Claire is a fighter who does not like to lose. In the beginning, because she is a freshman and it's the NCAAs, she was a little gun-shy. But she came around because she does not like to lose. They wanted to win for themselves, but they also want to win for Patty. .This next match will be interesting for me because Andy (Brandi) coached me at Florida. I'm coming back to haunt him a little bit. We've got one girl on the team (Erin Boisclair) that transferred from Florida.. We've got a few connections to Florida which will make it a fun match for us."
Washington No. 2 Singles Player Claire Carter
"It's unbelievable for me to win that match after being down in the first set and losing the second set. It's awesome for the University of Washington. To get here was amazing and to win and get to the elite eight is huge. She started to play well and got a four-love lead. I just dug in deep. I knew every point mattered and took one point at a time. Looking around and seeing my teammates fight gave me inspiration. I was a little nervous, but I was confident and I knew that with my game I could come through. The heat had a big impact. I'm from England and we don't have weather like this there or in Seattle. This is a great place, but weather like this is hard to deal with.
Washington No. 4 Singles Player Erin Boisclair
"I'm excited to play in the quarterfinals, but I have a little bit of mixed emotions about playing Florida. I guess I'll play tomorrow like any other match and not really look at it as we're playing Florida. I'm pretty sure I'll be playing a really good friend of mine (Stephanie Hazlett) who I talk to all the time. It will be interesting because she knows my game really well and I know her game."
