The Gustavus Adolphus College women’s tennis program saw its doubles team of seniors Tara Houlihan (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and Lyndsey Palen (Rochester, Minn.) advance to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Doubles Championship being played at the University of California, Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California. Houlihan, also competing in singles, bowed out of the singles draw in the second round following a three-set first-round win.
Houlihan and Palen opened the defense of their 2005 NCAA doubles crown against Sewanee’s Gabriela Carvalho and Mary Katherine Stone. Carvalho and Stone took the first set 6-4 and were poised to sweep the defending champions out of the tournament, but Houlihan and Palen battled back to take the second set in a tie-breaker 7-6 (7-5) and then finished off the Sewanee duo with a 7-5 win in the third set.
The Gustie duo will face Tatiana Steinberg and Jenna Umeno of the University of Redlands in a quarterfinal match Sunday at 4:30 p.m. PDT (6:30 p.m. local).
The match capped a long day for Houlihan, who opened the day by outlasting Yassie Entekhabi of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a first-round singles match. Entekhabi took the first set 6-4, but Houlihan battled back to capture the second set in a tie-breaker 7-6 (7-5) and the third set 6-4 to advance.
Houlihan started strongly in her second round match against Amherst’s Kristen Raverta, taking the first set by a 6-2 score. She was unable to harness any momentum from that first set, though, and dropped the second set 7-5. Raverta led 4-3 in the third set when Houlihan was forced to retire with an undisclosed injury.
Houlihan, who had each of her matches extended to the maximum three sets, played a total of nine sets Saturday, the most of any individual competitor.
The singles tournament will continue with quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Monday and the finals on Tuesday, while the doubles tournament will play the quarterfinal and semi-final rounds on Sunday and the final on Monday.
2006 NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championships
Host: University of California, Santa Cruz
Singles competition – Saturday, May 20
First RoundLiz Bondi (DePauw) def. Lily Dashiell (Colorado College) 6-4, 6-2
Linda Tien (Emory) def. Debbie Sharnak (Vassar) 6-1, 6-2
Jenna Mezin (Wellesley) def. Richelle Marasigan (Emory) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
Rebecca Lange (Pomona-Pitzer) def. Erin Fleming (Washington U. in St. Louis) 6-2, 6-2
Beret Remak (Connecticut College) def. Alicia Hunt (Trinity TX) 6-1, 7-6(3)
Kristen Raverta (Amherst) def. Amanda Sta. Romana (Carthage) 6-0, 6-3
Amy Schmidt (Muhlendberg) def. Tatiana Steinberg (Redlands) 6-4, 6-4
Laura Steinmetz (Trinity TX) def. Chelsea Rauck (William Smith) 6-2, 6-2
Emily Applegate (Washington and Lee) def. Allison Dunn (Colby) 6-1, 6-1
Gabriela Carvalho (Sewanee) def. Amy Roche (Middlebury) 6-0, 6-0
Jordan Hook (Wheaton (IL.)) def. Laura Fanjoy (Sewanee) 6-2, 6-2
Ashley Kriwinsky (Kenyon) def. Ginny Wortham (Washington and Lee) 7-6(2), 6-2
Amy Staloch (Carnegie Mellon) def. Elizabeth Maclellan (Wheaton (IL.)) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
Tara Houlihan (Gustavus Adolphus) def. Yassie Entekhabi (Claremont-M-S) 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4
Vindya Dayananda (Chicago) def. Sonya Reynolds (Swarthmore) 7-6(3), 6-2
Katie Tabb (Washington and Lee) def. Jeannine Liang (Claremont-M-S) 7-5, 6-4
Second Round
Bondi (DePauw) def. Tien (Emory) 6-3, 6-3
Kriwinsky (Kenyon) def. Lange (Pomona-Pitzer) 6-2, 6-3
Raverta (Amherst) def. Houlihan (Gustavus Adolphus) 2-6, 7-5, 4-3 (ret.)
Hook (Wheaton (IL.)) def. Remak (Connecticut College) 6-2, 6-3
Carvalho (Sewanee) def. Mezin (Wellesley) 7-5, 6-0
Applegate (Washington and Lee) def. Staloch (Carnegie Mellon) 6-2, 6-2
Katie Tabb (Washington and Lee) def. Vindya Dayananda (Chicago) 7-5, 6-2
Amy Schmidt (Muhlendberg) def. Laura Steinmetz (Trinity TX) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles Competition – Saturday, May 20
First RoundBondi/Padda (DePauw) def. Dittus/Steinmetz (Trinity TX) 6-3, 6-3
Mezin/Walther (Wellesley) def. Sta. Romana/Buys (Carthage) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3)
Schneidman/Gibson (Williams) def. Entekhabi/Liang (Claremont-M-S) 6-3, 6-2
Wortham/Tabb (Washington and Lee) def. Kaswick/Lange (Pomona-Pitzer) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Andrade/Shim (DePauw) def. McClung/Applegate (Washington and Lee) 6-4, 7-6(1)
Iyer/Staloch (Carnegie Mellon) def. Menezes/Raverta (Amherst) 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4
Steinberg/Umeno (Redlands) def. Maclellan/Hook (Wheaton (IL)) 7-5, 7-5
Houlihan/Palen (Gustavus Adolphus) def. Carvalho/Stone (Sewanee) 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5