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Doubles Round of 32 Notes and Quotes

May 17, 2005 | Women's Tennis

May 24, 2005

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Doubles Tournament
Notes

Doubling Up
There are eight players left in the singles draw (Round of 16) that are also won their opening round doubles match Tuesday to make it to the Round of 16. They are Marianna Yuferova (VCU), Anne Yelsey (Stanford), Jennifer Magley (Florida), Story Tweedie-Yates (TCU), Audra Cohen (Northwestern), Riza Zalameda (UCLA), Zerene Reyes (Florida) and Julie Coin (Clemson).

Seeds Still Around
For the first time since the 2002 NCAA Championships, all four of the top seeds advanced to the round of 16. In fact, the last time the number one seed won the doubles title was in 2002 (Gabriela Lastra and Lauren Kalvaria of Stanford).

Double Your Chances
Stanford and Florida each have two teams left in the round of 16 while the other remaining 12 tandems hail from different schools. The Cardinal, the Gators and the Cal Bears are tied for second with four NCAA Doubles titles in NCAA history with UCLA leading the pack at five.The Bruins have a teamremaining including half of last year's championships squad in Daniel Bercek, paired this year with Riza Zalameda

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Quotes

No. 5-8 Whitney Benik-Lolita Frangulyan, Florida
Benik:
"I thought we played really well today.  We had a good strategy for this match and we came out and stuck to it from the beginning."

Frangulyan:
"It feels good to get the first one over with.  We did a good job of playing our style and playing our game from the first point.  We never let them get into their rhythm.  Overall, it was a good start."

No. 3 Megan Bradley and Audrey Banada, Miami
Banada:
"We played pretty clean today.  We didn't really have too much to deal with from (Kentucky).  We felt on top of our game and like we were in control for most of the match.  We had a little trouble with the serve (due to wind) but they did, too."

Bradley:
"It definitely felt better than (my singles loss) this morning.  I just had to turn it around, cut my losses and get over it.  We're taking it one match at a time."

No. 2 Audra Cohen and Cristelle Grier, Northwestern
Cohen:
"I think we played pretty well. It is pretty windy out here but we performed well in the conditions."
"I think right now being the No. 2 seed doesn't really matter. We just have to go out and play well."

Grier:
"We just went out and played solid doubles and had fun out there. That's all you can do when you don't know your opponent. There are so many good doubles teams out here. Everyone has proven themselves to get here."

Dianne Hollands and Maja Mlakar, Arizona (Upset 5-8 Kentucky)
Mlakar:
"We had a really good season. We know we have a chance to do well. We are very confident and we feel like we can beat a lot of teams. Our confidence is very high."

Hollands:
"We play our best when we can just go out and enjoy playing and have a laugh, and that's what we did. You have to enjoy your senior year."

"We are not too concerned with who we play right now, whether they are seeded or not. We know it will still be a tough match. We just have to concentrate on our game, not the rankings or seedings."

No. 5-8 Sarah Foster and Aibika Kalsarieva, Kentucky
Foster:

"Of course we are very disappointed.  We came out a little flat from the beginning and could not recover.  We were slow and it really hurt us.  We definitely had our chances (to go ahead) but we weren't able to take advantage of them.  Things started to snowball, and we weren't able to make up what we had lost."

Kalsarieva:
"We didn't play well; it just wasn't there.  Last month we weren't playing well and I guess we couldn't get much back in that time.  It's a letdown, having to go out like this, especially as a senior.  It's tough."

No. 1 Shadisha Robinson and Caroline Basu, Georgia
Robinson:
"We both compliment each other and help our games out, I know my groundstrokes look better because of the way she (Basu) can play at the net. I played much better today and was more confident. There is less pressure in doubles because you have someone to depend on too and that helps."

Basu:
"It was tough draw, we played them before but it was a pro set so this was a much different match. The wind made it hard to finish points, we had to fight out there. I watched the singles yesterday, and I was upset that I didn't make it in so I was ready for our doubles match."

No. 5-8 Catrina Thompson and Christian Thompson, Notre Dame
Catrina:
"That was a tough match against a good team. (Mississippi State) worked hard and played well together. I tend to be the one who looks ahead while Christian just shows up and plays. I think that it'll be fun to play somebody new tomorrow [TCU].

Christian:
"We played our game for the most part. I think we may have come out a little nervous, because it's the first round of the NCAA tournament, but we settled in better during the second set. There are so many good players here that every match is tough. Every match is against some of the top teams in the nation. I think to win you need a little luck as well as a lot of good play."

No. 4 Daniela Bercek and Riza Zalameda, UCLA
Bercek:
"It's tough to play with the wind and Riza [Zalameda] had already played singles today, so the second set was tough especially with our unforced errors. In the third set though we just played our game and felt confident.
The first match is always the toughest in a tournament like this so it's nice to get this game out of the way."

Zalameda:
"We had our chances to close out several games in the second set but we just didn't. In the third set we just turned that around and things went our way. We just weren't in sync during the second set I think. What helped us pull this match out most I think was that we're the more experienced team. I don't believe that my singles will affect my doubles or vise versa. In juniors you play tournaments where you play singles in the morning and doubles in the afternoon so I'm used to it. Plus I've been doing a lot of good fitness work in preparation for this tournament."

No. 5-8 Kendall-Cline and Aniela Mojzis, North Carolina
Cline:

"It was not the prettiest tennis or the best conditions, but that went for both sides. We just tried to play one point at a time."

"Right now the seeding really just means experience and opportunity. It comes down to who has played tougher teams to get the higher rank and higher seed. But you cannot underestimate anyone; every team is tough."

Mojzis:
"We have been playing pretty well coming into today. (Ole Miss') game was good for these conditions and we felt some pressure as the seeded team, but we played well today."

"I think the seeding will come into play later in the tournament. In the early rounds the higher seeds are vulnerable. The experience comes out in the later rounds."

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For complete coverage of the tournament, please visit the
2005 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships Tournament Page.

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