Hardenbergh Reaches NCAA Singles Round of 16

Story Links

STANFORD, Calif. – Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) advanced to the round of 16 of the NCAA Singles Championship with a second round win on Thursday at the Taube Tennis Center. With the victory, she becomes the first All-American in program history.

Hardenbergh defeated Connie Hsu of Penn in the second round, 6-4, 6-4. She fell behind early in the match, 3-0, and trailed 4-1 before rolling off five straight games to take the first set. Hardenbergh was up two breaks, serving at 4-1, in the second set, but Hsu rallied to draw back to 4-3. After each player held serve in the next two games, Hardenbergh served out to record the victory. She will play Nina Secerbegovic of Baylor in the round of 16 on Friday.

Also on Thursday, the team of Hana Tomljanovic (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Emily Fraser (Rye, N.Y.) became the first Cavalier team to win a match in the NCAA Doubles Championship in 17 years as they downed Alison Ramos and Valeria Pulido of USC 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. In the first set, the match remained on serve until Ramos’ serve was broken for a 5-3 Cavalier lead. Tomljanovic held serve in the ensuing game to close out the set. In the second set, the Trojans used a late break of Fraser’s serve to win the set and force a third set. The Cavaliers jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the final set before the Trojans rallied for 5-3. Tomljanovic then served out the match for the Virginia team to advance. Fraser and Tomljanovic will play Chelsey Gullickson and Kate Fuller of Georgia in the second round.

The team of Hardenbergh and Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) came up just short in the their upset bid of second-seeded Allie Will and Alex Cercone of Florida, falling 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3. The Cavaliers had a 40-0 lead serving at 5-5 in the first, but the Gators won five straight points to break and served out the first set in the ensuing game. The second set was back in forth with the teams trading service holds and breaks throughout. In the breaker, the jumped out to a 4-0 lead and won it 7-3. In the final set, Virginia lead 3-1, but the Gators won the final five games to record the win.

Friday’s schedule features the round of 16 in both singles and doubles.