Frank Brennan had logged a lot of victories in his 20 years as coach of the Stanford women's tennis team. But on this day, it must have seemed that the odds were against him. The Cardinal was playing the defending national champions, Florida, in the NCAA finals, before a hostile Gainesville crowd. Brennan's six-player squad was already heavy with freshmen, and now the No. 2 player was going to have to sit out her doubles match because of an injury.
Onto the court stepped freshman Lauren Kalvaria. Known for her intensity and powerful strokes, Kalvaria was just 6 when she hit her first tennis ball on nearby Florida courts. She later trained at the elite Evert Academy in Boca Raton, Fla. and toyed with the idea of skipping college and turning pro straight out of high school. On May 23, she rallied again and again at match point to pull out a victory against Stephanie Hazlett, 6-7 (6-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), giving Stanford a 4-2 lead after the singles competition.
Next up were Marissa Irvin and Keiko Tokuda, two freshmen who had never before competed in doubles together. Irvin's regular partner, junior Teryn Ashley, was injured. Irvin and Tokuda's 8-4 victory provided the clinching point for the team—and proved once and for all that experience doesn't always triumph.
"I probably underestimated this group," admitted Brennan, after the 5-2 upset of Florida. It was the program's 10th NCAA title, the fourth in the 1990s and the second in the past three years. "With four freshmen, I thought we would have some ups and downs to teach us what it's all about. Then, next year, we would have a good shot. Our girls were ready and wanted to win badly."
Somehow it seemed fitting that it ended with the freshmen and at Florida. The team's first-year players had been the workhorses of the squad all season. In one of the few moments this season when inexperience cost Stanford (29-2), the Cardinal lost 5-4 to the Gators in the semifinals of the National Team Indoor Championships in February. Brennan's teams had won two previous national titles on those same Florida courts.
While it was something of a surprise that the women's team pulled out a victory this season, Stanford tennis teams typically are title contenders. So, many were stunned when the No. 2-ranked men's team lost in the first round of play to No. 15 Baylor. Only a doubles title, won by senior Ryan Wolters and freshman K.J. Hippensteel, prevented Stanford's men from coming home empty-handed. The men have won a team, singles or doubles title every year since 1993.
