Tennis / Julie Cart : Stanford’s Unique NCAA Sweep Only Adds to Its Reputation

Stanford added new luster to its reputation as a tennis power with an unprecedented sweep of the men’s and women’s NCAA team and individual championships last week.

The wins mark the first time one school has won all four NCAA tennis titles. The Cardinal men beat Pepperdine, and Stanford’s women beat USC for the team titles. For individual titles, Dan Goldie beat Richey Reneberg of SMU in the men’s singles, and Patty Fendick came from behind to beat Gretchen Rush of Trinity in the women’s singles. It was the sixth team title in 10 years for the men’s team.

Goldie, who resisted turning pro so he could earn a degree in economics, has already signed a pro contract with a sports management company. He is one of four seniors who will leave the Stanford team, but Coach Dick Gould would rather not think about next season just yet.

“It’s a great feeling,” Gould said. “We had a talented team but we didn’t play up to our potential during the season. It was just a matter of people coming through for us at the right time.”

Gould pointed to Scott Moody as an example. “Scott was our No. 6 singles man and he played well for us all year, but not as well as he could,” Gould said. “He just came through at the right time. He was the only guy on the team to win all his singles matches (at the nationals).

“We were also lucky to have Jim Grabb back from an injury. Having him back was a tremendous boost. Everyone was just at their peak for us.”

Gould would like to keep some of the luck going--he’s embarking on a $2-million fund-raising project aimed at renovating Stanford’s tennis center which was built in 1926.

“It is going to be a lot of work, but we get tremendous support from our alumni. It also helps that both the men’s and women’s teams won this year. It certainly can’t hurt.”

Martina Navratilova is fuming over press reports that she cried after her loss to 16-year-old Steffi Graf two weeks ago in the final of the West German Open. The West German press, says Navratilova, got the story right but the American press “wrote whatever they wanted.”

“I don’t cry over losing a match,” Navratilova said. “You didn’t see me cry last year when I lost in the (French Open) final to Chris (Evert Lloyd), did you?”

Navratilova said she did cry after the match but the tears were because her family could not be together.

“My parents were watching the match on television in Prague because they weren’t allowed to go to Berlin,” she said. “My sister, Jana, watched on television in Bonn because she wasn’t allowed to go to Berlin.

“My whole family was within 300 miles of each other and we couldn’t be together.”

The Navratilovas will have another chance, however, for a reunion. In July, Navratilova will return to Czechoslovakia for the first time since she defected. Navratilova will be a member of the U.S. Federation Cup team that will begin play in Prague July 21.

Tennis Notes

John Lloyd announced last week he was quitting professional tennis, ending speculation that at least one member of the Lloyds’ tennis-playing household would retire. Lloyd admitted that his loss last week in the first round of the French Open was the “last straw.” “It had been a struggle for me all year and it must have been frustrating for Chris and my coach,” Lloyd said. “She (Chris) can play next year, or stop in a fortnight. It is her decision. All I know is I’ve made mine.” . . . That effervescent Maryland socialite and political gadfly Pam Shriver has made off-duty note-taking a cottage industry. Last year Shriver’s U.S. Open diary was excerpted by Sports Illustrated. While the series was not quite the tell-all some had anticipated, Shriver did let fall some juicy tidbits--such as the revealing admission that the biggest thrill of her life was the time she took a turn on the dance floor with Ronald Reagan. Want to hear more? Her diary of day-to-day life on the tour, “Passing Shots, Passing Days,” will hit the bookstores in August. Wait, there’s more: Chris Evert Lloyd, who knows a good trend when it’s suggested to her, is giving readers of USA Today the inside scoop on the French Open with her own daily journal. Her first installment from Paris: “It was another average day: My husband decided to announce to the English press that he might retire after this year. Ha, ha, ha.” Chin up, Chris. . . . Guillermo Vilas, 33, was impressive in making the final of the Tournament of Champions. The Argentine told reporters that a seven-month break from tennis, plus a change in his diet and training, has rejuvenated his game. Vilas eliminated sugar, coffee and tea from his diet and has added seven-hour daily training sessions. “I think I’m the guy who works harder than anyone else,” Vilas said. “Every time I go on the court, I deserve to win.” . . . In preparation for the French Open, Christiane Jolissaint of Switzerland gave French lessons to other players on the women’s tour. The informal classes were reportedly strong on the tennis lingo. Sample phrases include, “Has the rain stopped?” “Where are the practice courts?” “May I have a can of tennis balls?” and “Which way to the rest rooms?” . . . The United States Tennis Assn./National Junior Tennis League will begin its summer program the week of July 7 at 55 Southern California locations. The six-week program includes instruction and competition. For further information, contact Amy Gibbons at the Southern California Tennis Assn., 208-3838.