Women Netters Prep For Third Trip To NCAA's
May 11, 2001 | Women's Tennis
The Terrier women's tennis team is finishing preparations its their third trip to the NCAA tournament. The women will leave on Wednesday (May 9th) for their first-round matchup against top-seeded Stanford. The teams will play on Friday (May 11th) at 2:00 p.m. PST.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S TENNIS NOTES NCAA Division 1 Tournament West Regional May 11-12, 2001 Taube Family Tennis Center * Stanford University * Palo Alto, CA
THE BRACKET: The unranked Terriers (15-9) will take on the tournament's top-seeded Stanford Cardinal (24-0) in the featured match at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, May 11th. Earlier in the day, at 10:00 a.m., the 26th-ranked LSU Tigers (14-9) will battle 34th-ranked University of Mississippi (9-12). The winner of those matches will play on Saturday May 12th at 2:30 p.m. for a berth in the NCAA team championships that will be played May 17-20 at the Lincoln Tennis Center in Stone Mountain, GA. This bracket winner will meet the winner of the bracket that includes 16th-ranked Oklahoma State (22-4), Oral Roberts (13-10), Wake Forest (16-8), and Illinois State (20-5).
ONE OF TWO FROM NEW ENGLAND: Of the 64 teams invited to the tournament, the Terriers are one of just two from New England. The other is the University of Massachusetts (20-7), which will travel to eight-ranked Arizona State (17-5). The two will play on Saturday (May 12th).
THIRD STRAIGHT TRIP FOR TERRIERS: This marks the third straight year the Terriers have been invited to the NCAA Tournament. Through the first 22 years of the sport's history at B.U., no Terrier women's tennis team ever participated in the NCAA Tournament. It wasn't a question of B.U. not having a competitive team. On the contrary, the Terriers have had one of the region's top teams over the years. In fact, the Terriers had won the America East title every year from 1989 through 1998 with the exception of 1993. That year, the Terriers opted for the ECAC Tournament rather than the America East championships. However, during an 11-year span, the NCAA invited only one of the East Region's 94 teams to the 32-team tournament. Then, two years ago, the NCAA went to regionalization where the East's top five teams were invited to the tournament. The Terriers came close to being invited but never cracked the top echelon of teams. Finally, in 1999, the NCAA extended an automatic bid to all 30 conferences that sponsored women's tennis, while the rest of the 64-team field came from at-large bids. Since the Terriers won the America East title, they received their first-ever bid last year.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED: As has been the case the last two years, B.U. qualified for this year's NCAA Tournament by virtue of winning the America East title on April 29th. The Terriers dominated the tournament, shutting out all three of their opponents-7-0 over Hofstra in the first round, 7-0 over New Hampshire in the semifinals, and 7-0 over Delaware in the championship match. In fact, no B.U. player lost a set during the three-day tournament. In the first-round win over eighth-seeded Hofstra, the top-seeded Terriers won by an aggregate total of 72-8. Sophomore Alana Marcu (Leonia, NJ) and freshman Hannah Bartell (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) won at numbers five and six, respectively, by identical 6-0, 6-0 scores. In the semifinal win over fifth-seeded New Hampshire, the Terriers outscored the Wildcats, 72-15. Once again, Bartell did not lose a game in her two sets. In the meantime, freshmen Lindsey Dynof (Colts Neck, NJ) and Elena deMendoza (Madrid, Spain) lost just one game in posting 6-0-, 6-1 wins at numbers three and four singles, respectively. Then, in the title match, B.U. outscored Delaware, 72-14. Marcu and senior co-captain Carrie Rose (Bloomfield Hills, MI) did not lose a game en route to 6-0, 6-0 wins at number five and two, respectively. Bartell lost just two total games en route to her win at number six singles.
BARTELL HAD BEST TOTALS: Bartell, who won the number six singles title, led the Terriers in the tournament with a 36-2 record for a .947 winning percentage. Marcu, who won at number four, and Rose, who won at number two, followed her with identical 36-5 records (.878 winning percentage). Then came number three singles winner Dynof with a 36-7 record (.837) followed by number four winner deMendoza with a 36-8 record (.818). Finally, senior Christina Causway (Wilson, NC) won the number one singles title with a combined record of 36-10 (.783).
CAUSWAY/ROSE BEST IN DOUBLES: Causway and Rose won the number one doubles match with a combined score of 24-3 (.889). They won their opening match against Hofstra, 8-1, and came back with an 8-2 win over New Hampshire. They capped off their title run with an 8-0 win over Delaware. Marcu and senior co-captain Hsiao Ning Ham won their three matches at number three doubles, 8-0, 8-0, 8-4. Finally, deMendoza teamed with two partners to go undefeated at number two doubles. She played with Dynof in an 8-2 win over Hofstra in the opening match and 8-2 over Delaware for the title. In between, vs. New Hampshire, she played with freshman Elisa Glas (Irun, Spain). In the match, they won, 8-5.
SPRING DEBUT FOR GLAS: Glas marked her spring debut at the America East tournament. She compiled a 7-4 record in the fall. However, a recurring knee injury forced her to undergo arthroscopic surgery. As a result, she was out of action until she teamed with deMendoza to post an 8-5 win at number two doubles vs. New Hampshire.
EIGHT MAKE ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: All eight Terriers who played in the conference tournament were named to the All-Conference Team.
27-0 IN LAST FOUR MATCHES: The Terriers have not lost a set in the last four matches. Dating back to April 17th, B.U. has blanked Providence, 6-0, Hofstra, New Hampshire, and Delaware by identical 7-0 scores. The last time any team has taken a point from the Terriers was on April 10th when Boston College edged B.U., 4-3.
4-3 WAS FREQUENT SCORE: In five of the 18 matches played this spring, and in six of the 24 matches throughout the year, the final score was 4-3. In those six matches, the Terriers were 2-4. They lost to Yale by that margin last October 21st. Then, in the spring, they beat Dartmouth on March 31st and Syracuse on April 7th. Their losses in the spring were to Harvard on March 17th, to Virginia Commonwealth on March 24th, and to Boston College on April 10th.
ABOUT SHUTOUTS: The Terriers have been involved in seven shutouts this year, and they are 6-1 in those matches. They blanked New Hampshire, 9-0, to open the season last September 19th. Then, this spring, they shut out Army on February 24th, Providence College on April 17th, Hofstra on April 27th, New Hampshire on April 28th, and Delaware on April 29th. The Providence score was 6-0, while the others this spring were by 7-0 margins…The only time the Terriers have been shut out this year was on March 8th when Florida International posted a 7-0 win.
2-5 VS TOURNAMENT FIELD: The Terriers have played seven of the 64 teams in this year's tournament, and they are 2-5 against them. Their wins have been over UMass-Amherst, 6-3, and Army, 7-0. They have lost to Virginia Commonwealth, 4-3, to Penn State, 5-2, to Florida International, 7-0, to Old Dominion, 6-1, and to the University of Virginia, 5-2.
FIFTH TRIP TO NCAAs FOR COACH: For Terrier coach Lesley Sheehan, this will mark her fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament.. A 1984 graduate of Boston University, she played in the 1983 and 1984 NCAA Tournaments. In 1983, she won her first-round match against a player from Harvard but lost in the second round to the University of South Carolina's Laura Bernstein. Then, in 1984, she lost in the first round to Wendy Wood of Rice University. In 1992, in recognition of her outstanding collegiate career, Sheehan became the only Terrier women's player to be inducted into the Terriers' Athletic Hall of Fame…Her last three trips to the NCAA's has been as a coach.
SHEEHAN ON COMPARING LAST THREE NCAA TRIPS: "Two years ago, we didn't know what to expect when we traveled for Pepperdine for our first trip ever as a team to the NCAA's. Considering the unknown, I thought we played well. Carrie (Rose) had split her first two sets, and was in the third set when Pepperdine wrapped up the win. So, her match wasn't finished. And, Christina (Causway) had gone up 4-2 in her first set, but lost 6-4. Last year, we had five players returning to the NCAA's, and I thought we would play better. I don't know what the problem was. Maybe, we didn't have our confidence. Whatever, we didn't play as well as I thought we would. This year, we are not just playing the top-ranked team in the nation. We are also playing against the outstanding Stanford tradition. Considering we are bringing players who are just learning the ropes of college tennis, it is going to be quite a challenge."
SHEEHAN ON PLAYING STANFORD: "It is exciting to know that we will be playing the number one team in the country. You always want to play the best team. This is what our players have worked so hard for. We will be bringing a very young team with us, but I think the upperclassmen will show the younger players what it takes to get ready for the tournament."
WINNINGEST TERRIERS: For the second straight year, a freshman has the most wins on the Terrier team. Last year, it was Alana Marcu, who had 22 victories en route to a 22-10 record. She was also second in winning percentage with a .688. Only junior Carrie Rose had a better winning percentage. Rose, who had 21 wins, had a team-leading .700 winning percentage…This year, freshman Lindsey Dynof leads the way in both wins with 26 and winning percentage with a .765, as her overall record is 26-8…Four other players have topped the 20-win total this year. They are Christina Causway (23-16, .590), Carrie Rose (22-16, .579), Elena deMendoza (21-13, .618), and Marcu (20-13, .606).
A SMALL WORLD FOR CARDINAL FANS: Last month, Lindsey Dynof posted a 6-3, 6-2 win at number three singles in the Terrier match against Boston College. The Eagles' player was Allison Ashley, the younger sister of former Stanford All-American Teryn Ashley. In fact, the former Cardinal standout was in attendance at the match that Boston College won, 4-3.
ROSE HAS NOT MISSED A MATCH: Senior Carrie Rose has not missed a dual match during her entire collegiate career…It is this experience that has seen her make a marked improvement in her play. For example, last year she played number four singles, while this year she has been number two. In doubles, last year, she was playing number three, while this season she has teamed with Christina Causway to play number one.
YOUNGEST OF THREE TEAMS: This year's Terrier team is the youngest of the three that have advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The roster has just two seniors, while there is one junior, one sophomore, and four freshmen…Last year's team boasted three seniors, two juniors, one sophomore, and two freshmen…Two years ago, in their first trip to the NCAA's, the Terriers brought two seniors, three juniors, two sophomores, and one freshman.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN BY CLASS: The Terriers' two seniors are co-captains Carrie Rose and Hsiao Ning Ham. The lone junior is Christina Causway, while the sophomore is Alana Marcu. This year's four freshmen are Hannah Bartell, Elena deMendoza, Lindsey Dynof, and Elisa Glas.
HOMECOMING FOR BARTELL: This trip is a homecoming of sorts for freshman Hannah Bartell. She graduated from Torrey Pines High School where she was a four-year standout. Her first season she was the team's Rookie of the Year. She was a two-time semifinalist for the individual title in the California Interscholastic Federation championship. She was the team captain and was a four-time scholar-athlete and four-time San Diego Union Tribune scholar-athlete award winner. Her team won the CIF title all four years, and she reached the ranking of 191 in the U.S.
GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN: The eight players on the roster come from four different States and Spain. New Jersey is the only State that has more than one player. California: Hannah Bartell (Rancho Santa Fe) Michigan: Carrie Rose (Bloomfield Hills) New Jersey: Lindsey Dynof (Colts Neck), Ning Ham (Jersey City), Alana Marcu (Leonia) North Carolina: Christina Causway (Wilson) Spain: Elena deMendoza (Madrid), Elisa Glas (Irun)
