Bea Bielik Advances to NCAA Women's Singles Semifinals
5/24/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 24, 2001
Stone Mountain, Ga. - Wake Forest women's tennis player Bea Bielik (Valley Stream, N.Y.) has advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championship after upsetting second-ranked Ansley Cargill of Duke in a quarterfinal match on Thursday morning. Bielik, seeded sixth in the 64-member bracket and ranked fourth nationally, defeated Cargill in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4, for the right to advance.
"I'm overwhelmed right now, but I'm really happy that I was able to keep it together mentally and emotionally from the beginning to the end," Bielik said, as she has avenged a three-set loss to Cargill from the regular season. "That was our third time playing together this year, and I feel that was the difference in the match today."
Bielik has now set a new Wake Forest milestone, becoming the first Deacon women's tennis player to advance to the national semifinals in singles.
Bielik will face Stanford's Lauren Kalvaria in a semifinal match at 10:00 a.m. on Friday. Kalvaria is seeded eighth in the bracket and ranks ninth nationally. Kalvaria, who played at No. 2 singles for Stanford in the team portion of the NCAA Championships, defeated Wake Forest's No. 2 player Janet Bergman, 6-1, 6-3, in a round of 16 match a week ago. Stanford went on to win the national team title.
"I'm excited about being in the semifinals," Bielik said. "It's a great accomplishment, and hopefully I can come out tomorrow like I did today. I feel pretty confident. The key for me is keeping my head in the game, being patient and not getting emotional."
The other singles semifinal pits defending national champion Laura Granville of Stanford against Notre Dame's Michelle Dasso. Granville is the top-seeded player in the tournament while Dasso is fourth.
After her singles match, Bielik joined teammate Bergman for a quarterfinal match in the NCAA Doubles Championships. The Deacon duo, seeded alphabetically in the 5-8 group, fell to fourth-seeded Whitney Laiho and Jessica Lehnhoff of Florida by a 6-4, 6-2 score. The UF tandem has posted a 32-1 record this season.
By advancing to the quarterfinals, Bergman and Bielik have earned All-America honors in doubles for the second straight year. Bielik also picks up her second consecutive All-America honor in singles as well.