MALIBU, Calif. - The 11th-ranked Arizona State's women's tennis team nearly pulled off its second upset in as many days but fell to fourth-ranked Florida 5-3 in a quarterfinal match at the 19th annual NCAA Championships at Pepperdine's Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center in Malibu, Calif.
Arizona State advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1997, but was unable to defeat the Gators, ending their season with a 15-8 overall record.
The match was tied at 3 after singles play but Florida won the first of three double matches to take a 4-3 lead. The two remaining doubles matches came down to the wire, but the Gator duo of Traci Green and Julia Scaringe closed out the Sun Devils with an 8-6 victory over freshman Mhairi Brown and Megan Yeats. The third doubles match was suspended after the team outcome was determined with Florida leading 8-7.
The Gators improve to 25-2 and will face Georgia in the semifinals.
"We lost a tough one today," Sun Devil head coach Sheila McInerney said. "We lost today like we won yesterday. It went down to the wire and certainly could have gone either way."
Sun Devils Allison Bradshaw, Karin Palme and Celena McCoury will remain in Malibu as Bradshaw and Palme will compete in the singles tournament, beginning Mon., May 22. Bradshaw and McCoury will team up in the doubles draw, also beginning on May 22. The brackets for both competitions will be announced on Sat., May 20.
No. 11 Arizona State 3 (15-8) No. 4 Florida 5 (25-2)
Singles
1. (15) Allison Bradshaw (ASU) def. (8) Whitney Laiho (Florida) 7-5, 6-1
2. (24) Karin Palme (ASU) def. (30) Jessica Lehnoff (Florida) 6-2, 4-6, 6-0
3. (58) Stephanie Hazlett (Florida) def. Kerry Giardino (ASU) 6-0, 6-2
4. (36) Baili Camino (Florida) def. Faye DeVera (ASU) 6-3, 6-2
5. (81) Megan Yeats (ASU) def. (53) Traci Green (Florida) 7-6, 0-6, 6-2
6. Julia Scaringe (Florida) def. Mhairi Brown (ASU) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
1. (11) Laiho/Lenhoff (Florida) def. (18) Bradshaw/Celena McCoury (ASU) 8-3
2. Green/Scaringe (Florida) def. Yeats/Brown (ASU) 8-6
3. Palme/Giardino (ASU) vs. Camino/Hazlett (Florida) suspended at 7-8