After suffering a heartbreaking defeat in the team portion of the NCAA National Championship Tuesday night, senior Hilary Barte, freshman Nicole Gibbs and sophomore Stacey Tan are moving forward and focusing their attention on a quest for an NCAA individual title. Each successfully survived the round of 32 on Thursday and will appear in the round of 16 today. Barte and sophomore Mallory Burdette also coasted into the doubles round of 16 with their victory over Michaela Kissell and Dominica Zaprazna of Marshall.
Gibbs explained that the Cardinal’s loss to the Florida Gators was a huge disappointment, but she understands that, in order to succeed, she cannot focus on the past.
“Tennis is a sport where you have to have a very short memory for your losses,” she said. “The team loss definitely [hurts] morale moving into individuals, but at the same time, it’s a very separate event and we compartmentalize that. The reason we were out there practicing every day and working hard was for the team event, and now we are just excited to get out there and play more tennis after the whistle blows.”
Gibbs, who is unseeded, was certainly focused on Thursday in her win over USC’s Danielle Lao, 6-2, 6-1, who plays No. 2 for the Trojans.
“I think I played really solid tennis today, and the score reflected that,” Gibbs said. “She was definitely no easy opponent, but I executed well, hit my forehand well, and served well. I tried to exploit her weaknesses and impose my own strengths.”
Tan also moved on with a victory, defeating Sanaa Bhambri of North Carolina State despite dropping the first set 5-7. She rallied back in the second set to win 6-3 and carried the momentum on into the third set, which she swept 6-1.
The Cardinal’s highest-ranked player in the individual draw is the No. 3-seeded Barte, who cruised past Kelcy McKenna of Arizona State with a 6-1, 6-3 victory. If both Barte and Gibbs win tomorrow in the Round of 16, they would face each other in the quarterfinals.
“You have to view it as a positive,” Gibbs said of potentially playing a teammate. “It means you got really far in the draw. I don’t see it as changing the way I view my teammates’ matches though. I’ll still be there to cheer her on tomorrow, and we’re all still a support system for each other.”
Barte also won 6-3, 6-0 alongside Burdette in the first round of doubles yesterday. The fourth-seeded pair will take on the winner of Alexa Guarachi/Courtney McLane of Alabama and Micaela Hein/Kelcy McKenna of Arizona State in the round of 16. Stanford’s other qualifying doubles team of Gibbs and fellow freshman Kristie Ahn will not be making an appearance, as Ahn is sidelined by an ankle injury.
“I think it’s a disappointment for both of us, not getting out there and competing post-season,” Gibbs said. “It will probably make bouncing back from singles matches easier for me because there won’t be that extra fatigue.”
The four players still representing the Cardinal will all be in action today as they try to ease the disappointment of Tuesday’s team loss to Florida with individual honors.