Road to the NCAAs: 2006 NCAA Champions

ROAD TO THE NCAAs
Part three of 12 installments of NCAA Tennis features leading up to the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tennis Championships to be held in Athens

In the Ranks
An Update of the Fila/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings

The ITA’s new rankings that came out Tuesday saw Georgia remain at the top of the men’s side and a new name at the top of the women’s.

The Bulldogs held on at No. 1 for the men, followed by Ohio State, UCLA, Virginia and Mississippi to round out the top five. The Atlantic Coast Conference has the most schools in the Top 25 with six, and the Southeastern Conference and Pac-10 have four each.

Stanford’s women’s team saw its streak of 89 consecutive wins come to an end when Georgia Tech beat the Cardinal in the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor semifinals. The Yellow Jackets became the new No. 1 after going on to defeat Notre Dame in the finals. Georgia Tech also snapped Stanford’s streak of 47 straight rankings period as the nation’s top team dating back to Feb. 10, 2004.

Following Georgia Tech in the top five are Stanford, Notre Dame, Florida and Southern Cal. Six ACC teams are in the Top 25, while the SEC and Pac-10 have four each, the same as on the men’s side.

Men’s Top 25
1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. UCLA
4. Virginia
5. Mississippi
6. Illinois
7. Florida
8. Baylor
9. Notre Dame
10. Pepperdine
11. Miami (Fla.)
12. Duke
13. VCU
14. Florida State
15. USC
16. Oklahoma State
17. Washington
18. Boise State
19. Texas
20. Texas A&M
21. LSU
22. North Carolina
23. Michigan
24. Clemson
25. California

Women’s Top 25
1. Georgia Tech
2. Stanford
3. Notre Dame
4. Florida
5. USC
6. Northwestern
7. North Carolina
8. Miami (Fla.)
9. California
10. Baylor
11. Duke
12. VCU
13. Pepperdine
14. Clemson
15. UCLA
16. TCU
17. Georgia
18. Wake Forest
19. Kentucky
20. Texas
21. Michigan
22. Arizona State
23. Vanderbilt
24. Fresno State
25. William & Mary

What to Watch
This Week in College Tennis

There are several key match-ups between Top-25 teams in both men’s and women’s collegiate tennis in the next week.

Men’s Tennis
Saturday, Feb. 10
#3 UCLA at #8 Baylor
#23 Michigan at #4 Virginia
#20 Texas A&M at #6 Illinois
#18 Boise State at #15 USC
#25 California at #19 Texas

Women’s Tennis
Saturday, Feb. 10
#25 William & Mary at #1 Georgia Tech
#14 Clemson at #12 VCU
#24 Fresno State at #13 Pepperdine
#22 Arizona State at #20 Texas
Monday, Feb. 12
#1 Georgia Tech at #6 Northwestern
Wednesday, Feb. 14
#21 Michigan at #3 Notre Dame

This Week’s Spotlight:
2006 NCAA Champions
A closer look at the 2006 NCAA Tennis team and individual champions

Team Champions
In 2006, both the men’s and women’s top seeds made it to the final match of the NCAA Tennis Championships. No. 1 Stanford’s women won their third straight national title and the 15th overall by defeating No. 7 Miami, 4-1. The No. 1 Georgia men could not overcome their No. 2-seeded opponent, however, as Pepperdine pulled off the 4-2 upset and captured the first title in program history.

When the women’s field was announced, undefeated Stanford received the No. 1 seed as expected and breezed through to its championship. Only TCU (Round of 16) and Miami (Finals) earned one point off the Cardinal, as Stanford won all its NCAA Tournament matches by 4-1 or 4-0 margins.

The Cardinal finished their season at 30-0 on an 86-match winning streak. The 2006 championship was the program’s third straight, the first team to accomplish that since Stanford won six straight from 1986-1991.

Here is a look at Stanford’s run to the title in 2006:
First Round
#1 Stanford def. Quinnipiac, 4-0
Second Round
#1 Stanford def. Arizona, 4-0
Round of 16
#1 Stanford def. #16 TCU, 4-1
Quarterfinals
#1 Stanford def. #8 Duke, 4-0
Semifinals
#1 Stanford def. #4 Florida, 4-0
Finals
Stanford def. 7 Miami, 4-1

The undefeated Georgia men’s team grabbed the No. 1 seed on the other end, and it seemed they would do the same thing as the Stanford women. But Pepperdine had other ideas. The Wave battled the top seed and handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the year in the championship match, 4-2, to claim the first national title in program history.

The Wave finished with a 36-2 overall mark, setting a record for most wins by an NCAA championship team since tournament format was established in 1977. Their title was also the first for a West Coast Conference team.

Here is a look at Pepperdine’s run to the title in 2006:
First Round
#2 Pepperdine def. Montana State, 4-0
Second Round
Pepperdine def. TCU, 4-0
Round of 16
#2 Pepperdine def. Florida, 4-0
Quarterfinals
#2 Pepperdine def. #10 UCLA, 4-1
Semifinals
#2 Pepperdine def. #3 Texas, 4-1
Finals
#2 Pepperdine def. #1 Georgia, 4-2

Individual Champions
Here are the final results from both the men’s and women’s singles and doubles finals from 2006 and some notable facts:

Men’s Singles
(1) Benjamin Kohlloeffel (UCLA) def. (9-16) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) 6-1, 6-4
 Kohlloeffel became the second straight top seed to win the title, as Benedikt Dorsch of Baylor took it home the previous year. The No. 1 seed is 11-3 in the men’s singles final.
 The UCLA junior was the also the third German player in a row to claim the title.
Men’s Doubles
(3) Kevin Anderson/Ryan Rowe (Illinois) def. (2) Andre Begegmann/Scott Doerner (Pepperdine) 6-2, 6-4
 Anderson and Rowe were the tournament’s third seed and also the third team from Illinois to win the NCAA doubles title.
 The tandem won its last 11 matches of the year, finishing with a 23-3 record.
Women’s Singles
Suzi Babos (Cal) def. Lindsey Nelson (USC) 6-4, 6-1
 This was the first time in the NCAA Tournament’s 25-year history that both finalists were unseeded.
 Babos became only the second unseeded champion, following Baylor’s Zuzana Zemenova the previous year.
 The Pac-10 has 15 singles champions in the 25 years of the event.
 Babos was the first Golden Bear to win the title.
Women’s Doubles
Cristelle Grier/Alexis Prousis (Northwestern) def. (5-8) Lucia Sainz/Katherina Winterhalter (Fresno State) 6-4, 6-1
 Grier and Prousis were the second Wildcat duo to claim an NCAA Doubles title, joining 1987 champs Katrina Adams and Diane Donnelly.
 The Northwestern coach, Claire Pollard, won the 1989 doubles title as a student-athlete for Mississippi State.
 The Northwestern duo upset top-seeded Alice Barnes and Anne Yelsey of Stanford in the semifinals, making sure that the Cardinal would not have a singles or doubles finalist for the first time since 1996.

Players Mentioned

Bianca Blanaru

University of Georgia Athletics