UCLA, USC Crushed in Quarterfinals

UCLA has a very good women’s tennis team. Stanford has a great one.

That’s why the top-ranked and unbeaten Cardinal needed only 80 minutes to eliminate the ninth-ranked Bruins, 5-0, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I championships Friday at Pepperdine. USC also was eliminated, losing, 5-1, to Georgia.

“We didn’t play as well as we hoped, and Stanford just played very well,” UCLA Coach Stella Sampras said.

The Cardinal (29-0) won 60 of 74 games in the five completed matches. Elizabeth Schmidt was the one Bruin who threatened to win a set, but she lost, 7-5, and was trailing, 3-2, against Jennifer Heiser in a No. 5 singles match abandoned when Stanford clinched the win.

UCLA (17-9) lost to Stanford twice in the regular season, both times by 7-2 scores, but now the Cardinal clearly is on another level. Santa Monica’s Marissa Irvin, Stanford’s No. 1 singles player and the top-ranked player in the nation, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over UCLA’s Sara Walker, the country’s No. 2 player. In the No. 2 singles match, third-ranked Laura Granville beat UCLA’s Annica Cooper, 6-0, 6-3.

USC (18-9) also was dominated by Georgia. The second-ranked Bulldogs (25-2) advanced with wins in straight sets in three matches.

The 12th-ranked Trojans were knocked out of the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.

In today’s first semifinal at 10 a.m., Georgia plays Florida, a 5-3 winner over Arizona State. Stanford plays California at 2 p.m.

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The NCAA is hosting a free tennis clinic at Pepperdine on Sunday at 8 a.m. for youths ages 8-18.