1998 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
May 21-29
Courtney Tennis Center
University of Notre Dame
Singles Quarterfinals Quotes - May 27
Vanessa Webb (Duke) (4 seed), 6-1, 6-3 winner vs. Yana Dorodnova of Kansas State:
"I didn't play well today, but I don't think I needed to. I mean, I think out here she was making a lot of mistakes. I didn't hit the ball as well as I thought I should."
(On not playing well today): "I don't think I was quite as ready, because I knew I wasn't playing one of the top players. She played well and made me hit a lot of balls. Tomorrow I'll be better."
(On picking up her game for the semifinals): "I think a lot of it has to do with concentration and focus, and the better people you play, the harder you play. I mean, the more shots they make you hit, the harder shots they make you hit and the better you play, so you really have to be ready."
Yana Dorodnova (Kansas State), 6-1, 6-3 loser vs. Vanessa Webb of Duke:
"It is very unfortunate that this is my last match in college tennis, but I'm not too upset because it was a good tournament and she (Webb) is a good player. She uses a lot of topspin from the baseline and she also likes to come in and she's pretty successful at the net."
(On her expectations for the tournament): "I really didn't know because this is the first time I got in. But my goal was to win two rounds and become an All-American and I accomplished my goal."
Ania Bleszynski (Stanford) 6-1, 6-0 winner over Amanda Augustus (California) (3 seed):
"I served really well and that especially helped me. I played really well. She never really got into the match. I've played her before, and I know that she's better than that on any given day. I think because I was serving so well that I didn't let her get into a groove. I know that my serve is one of my strengths. Sometimes my serve is a little off, but today it was definitely on, so I was happy with that."
On being in the final four: "It's good. I was there my sophomore year and lost, so hopefully this time I'll get a step further. It's definitely something which I thought wasn't going to happen this year; I was lucky to even get into the tournament. I was one of the last people to get in, so making the final four is really great."
Amanda Augustus (California) (3 seed) 1-6, 0-6 loser to Ania Bleszynski (Stanford):
"I didn't get a good of a warm-up as I would have liked, but sometimes you can't control things like that. Ania played really well, and that made it tough. I got off to a really slow start, and it was really hard to work into the match because she was playing so well. I've seen her serving well the whole tournament, so I knew that I was going to have to return well, but my returns just weren't there today."
On her season: "I'm really pleased with my season; I think I had a really good year, especially at this tournament. I didn't make my seed, but that's the way it goes. I'm definitely happy with my showing in the tournament."
Zuzana Lesenarova (San Diego) 6-2, 7-6 winner over Kristina Kraszewski (9-16 seed) of Washington:
"I did not play as good as I would have liked to, but I played good enough. Kristina was dictating the match for a good portion of the time during the second set and I decided to step my game up a bit to win. I played well enough to win this match, but I will have to play better to continue on in the tournament."
On reaching the semifinals: "When I feel well I play well and as long as that remains intact for me I have a good chance to win in my next match. Ania Bleszynski is a good player and I know it will be a tough match for me, but I think I have a good chance against her. I think no one is unbeatable as long as I am playing well."
Kristina Kraszewski (Washington) (9-16 seed) 6-2, 7-6 loser to Zuzana Lesenarova (San Diego):
"I started off slow today and never was able to recover from losing the first few games. I had too many errors today to be able to win this match. This was very disappointing for me to lose this match, because I had high hopes of continuing on in the tournament. Zuzana played very well today and I just could not counter her attack."
Mirela Vladulescu (Alabama-Birmingham) (1 seed) 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, loser to Julie Scott (Stanford) (9-16 seed):
"I don't think that I played bad, and she was a great player. I'm a little tired from yesterday, I had a rough day. If I think about it, I could say that I could of easily lost in the first round. I'm not that disappointed to lose this match."
(On her future): "My goal is to get a degree, so I'll wait until I turn pro and concentrate on a education. Also I plan on coming back to the NCAA's and advancing farther."
Julie Scott (Stanford) (9-16 seed) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 winner over Mirela Vladulescu (Alabama-Birmingham) (1 seed):
"It feels great, it was a little easier to come out here and play my match. I had nothing to lose going out there against the number one seed in Mirela. She played a great first set. I'm glad to advance over a big seed. Hopefully I'll close out my senior year a winner."
(On her doubles competition): "We're playing pretty well right now. We've made it to the semifinals last year and won one of the grand slams this year, so we are pretty confident going in today. There are still some good teams out there, so it will be tough to win."
