Gould's Gould's (May 26, 2004)career ends in NCAA loss

by Rick Eymer

Losing took a beak seat to Dick Gould's final competition with the Stanford men's tennis team in the NCAA championships. The Cardinal dropped a 4-0 decision to Pac-10 rival USC on Sunday in the quarterfinals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

While Stanford (19-9) may be finished as a team under Gould, junior Sam Warburg in singles, and the doubles team of Warburg and KC Corkery will attempt to win individual accolades in the singles and doubles NCAA Championships, which begin Wednesday.

"Someone asked me when we played our last match at home, was that nostalgic," said Gould. "That kind of blew my mind a little bit because I hadn't thought about it being nostalgic at all, and then today. You don't think about it. You're out there trying to win a match, and doing all you can do to win it. Maybe tonight I can sit back and think about it some. There's just so much going on during the match, that you can't let your mind wander like that, or you're going to get your butt kicked. But, right now I haven't had a chance to think about it. Right now, I wish I was coming back tomorrow."

The Cardinal fell behind early, dropping two consecutive doubles matches to lose the doubles point.

Gould has led Stanford to 17 NCAA titles, and has an all-time record of 776-148 (.840) in 38 years at Stanford.

"I've only been part of this program for three years, so I've only been at the later stages, compared to the 38 that he's been here," said Warburg. "I'm glad that he was able to have so many awesome experiences and matches. I remember him saying it was one of the closest and longest matches he's ever seen in NCAA history, and for him it's quite a history. I mean 17 titles. He's been around the block and back. He's done pretty much everything you could ask and more. I'm just proud, happy and honored to be part of his team."

Warburg, the 2004 Pac-10 Player of the Year, will attempt to become the 14th NCAA singles champion in Stanford history, while he and Corkery look to become the 14th doubles tandem in school history to win title.

Stanford advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-3 win over Florida on Saturday.

Menlo School grad James Pade, who clinched the win in Stanford's second round victory over Washington, gave Stanford a slim 3-2 lead over the Gators with a, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4, over Jordan Dolberg at the No. 4 singles spot.

Senior captain Carter Morris clinched the victory at No. 6 singles.

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