TENNIS ROUNDUP : Stanford’s Birch Wins Second NCAA Title

Stanford senior Sandra Birch won her second NCAA singles title in three years Thursday night, defeating junior Lisa Albano of California.

Birch, the 1989 champion who was top seeded in this year’s event at Stanford, capped her collegiate career with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Albano, against whom she has a 9-0 career record. The past eight of those wins came in straight sets.

Birch is the first senior and first top-seeded player to win since Patty Fendick of Stanford in 1987.

Birch also joined Fendick as the only two-time winner of the women’s NCAA singles title. Fendick, currently playing on the pro tour, won in 1986 and 1987.

Stanford, which has won six consecutive NCAA team championships, has produced six of the past seven singles champions and seven in the 10-year history of the event.

In the doubles final, second-seeded Jillian Alexander and Nicole Arendt of Florida defeated top-seeded Kimberly Po and Stella Sampras of UCLA, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8).

The match had to be moved from Stanford to in indoor court in San Mateo after rain began falling in the first game.

Po and Sampras had defeated Alexander and Arendt, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, as part of UCLA’s 6-3 upset over Florida in the team semifinals Saturday.

Po and Sampras defeated Laxmi Poruri and Teri Whitlinger of Stanford, 6-4, 6-3, in the semifinals. Alexander and Arendt beat Janna Kovacevich and Noelle Porter of Pepperdine, 6-1, 6-3, in their semifinal match.

Ninth-seeded Emilio Sanchez, yet to lose a set at this year’s Italian Open, rolled into the quarterfinals at Rome with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over South African Wayne Ferreira.

Sanchez will play Richard Fromberg of Australia, who reached the quarterfinals by beating Italy’s Cristiano Caratti, 7-5, 6-0. Sanchez, after trailing 5-1 in the first set, reeled off 12 games in a row.

Sixth-seeded Jim Courier was ousted by Andrei Cherkasov of the Soviet Union, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2

Goran Prpic advanced by bouncing defending champion Thomas Muster, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Muster, who had not won a match in his six 1991 tournaments, won two at Rome and led Prpic, 3-0, in the second set before coming unglued and losing six games in a row.

Muster underwent arthroscopic surgery in March on the left knee that was damaged in a near-fatal automobile accident in 1989.

“This just shows that I’m not yet ready to play consistent tennis,” he said. “I expect to be ready in about three months.”

Fabrice Santoro outdueled fellow Frenchman Henri Leconte, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), and Argentina’s Horacio De La Pena beat Germany’s Eric Jelen, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1.

Fifth-seeded Sergi Bruguera of Spain had a easy 6-1, 6-2 victory over Christian Miniussi of Argentina and 1989 champion Alberto Mancini outlasted Mark Koevermans, 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7-1).

Top-seeded Steffi Graf routed Elena Brioukhovets, 6-0, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals of the Lufthansa Open at Berlin, and Gabriela Sabatini got a day off to celebrate her 21st birthday.

Graf spent only 44 minutes on the court in beating her Soviet opponent.

Ginger Helgeson upset eighth-seeded Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia, 6-4, 6-3, and moved into the quarterfinals.