Jackson Progress-Argus

Photo by Rebecca Long

By Diane Glidewell

dglidewell@myjpa.com

When 19-year-old Mallory Burdette won her No. 3 singles match for Stanford University on May 25, she claimed a 16th NCAA National Championship for Stanford in Women's Tennis. She gave her 22-year-old sister, Lindsay, a senior on the team who had sealed her contribution to the team title with a win earlier in the finals match-up against the University of Florida, her first team championship in her career at Stanford.

With the national finals of the NCAA Tennis Championships held this year at the University of Georgia Dan Magill Tennis Center in Athens, she also gave her parents, Alan and Judy Burdette, of Jackson, the opportunity to cheer the successes of their two daughters at the UGA campus, where both Alan and Judy had earned degrees and where they had met.

Also on hand for the winning performances of their younger sisters were Andy and Erin Burdette, who are both currently completing degrees in the UGA School of Veterinary Science. Erin played on the Stanford Women's Tennis Team which won national championships in 2002, 2004, and 2005.

Erin Burdette began the family connection to the Stanford tennis program, across the country from where the Burdettes grew up in Jackson and from where the younger two sisters trained in Florida.

The Stanford Women's Tennis Team has now won 16 national championships in 28 years, with the 2010 victory over arch rival Florida. Lindsay and Mallory are well-acquainted with several of the Florida players through having played in the same circuit over the years, and having trained in Florida, according to Judy Burdette.

The path to the NCAA Tennis Championship is comparable to the one that leads to the NCAA Basketball Championship: It starts with 64 teams, which are whittled down to a final 16. Stanford started the finals by beating Clemson, the team which had earlier eliminated host UGA from the tournament. Next up was Baylor, the No. 1 seed and the team that had knocked Stanford out of the championships the preceding two years.

"Winning against Baylor was almost as exciting as the final game," said Alan Burdette.

Stanford managed to take the doubles point. Lindsay took her only single loss of the tournament against an opponent who was ranked 18th nationally. Mallory came back from being down 4-2 in the first set to win 10 straight games and take her match 6-4, 6-0. Wins at No. 6 and No. 1 singles sealed the victory over Baylor.

In the game against Notre Dame which followed, Stanford lost the doubles point for only the second time in the season. That meant Stanford needed four wins in singles matches. Lindsay and Mallory both contributed wins, and Stanford finished on top, 4-1.

That set up the championship match against the University of Florida Gators, a rivalry with history both for the schools and the Burdettes. Stanford met Florida in the finals in 2002 and 2003, Erin Burdette's freshman and sophomore years. She won the deciding match for the championship in 2002, and Florida took the championship in 2003.

The 2010 match-up began with Florida taking the doubles point. Lindsay gave Florida's Allie Will her first loss since the fall. Wins for Stanford at No. 4 and No. 6 singles and for Florida at No. 1 and No. 5 singles tied the match score, 3-3, with only Mallory's No. 3 singles match still on the court to decide the championship. Freshman Mallory had taken the first set from Florida Senior Marrit Boonstra. Boonstra took the match to a third set. With Boonstra leading, 5-4, Mallory took the next three games to win the match and claim the championship for her team.

Alan Burdette described how Lindsay then jumped the fence to be the first to tackle her sister in a team dog pile that became a featured sports moment on ESPN.

Lindsay and doubles partner, Hilary Barte, qualified for the doubles competition and went on to capture the NCAA doubles title just six days after playing key roles in the team championship. Thus, Lindsay was able to duplicate Erin's 2005 combination of a team championship and a doubles championship. Lindsay Burdette and Barte, who is a junior at Stanford, have earned All-American honors for three straight season as a doubles team.

Judy Burdette commented on how proud she was of Lindsay, who had had a rough spring season of play. Alan Burdette noted that Mallory had played with two tears in her wrist that made some of her characteristic hard shots painful.

"Looking at the record, they played all the good teams, all the tough teams," said Judy Burdette.

One evening last week, Alan and Judy Burdette were preparing to fly to California for a Stanford luncheon where their daughters would receive more accolades. Lindsay Burdette is to receive the Captain's Award for the inspiration she has been to her Cardinal team, and Mallory has been chosen for the Block Five Award as Stanford's outstanding freshman athlete. They will then be staying for Lindsay's graduation on Sunday.

Lindsay Burdette will receive her degree in American studies, but her attention will then turn back to tennis. The doubles championship may lead to the opportunity to play in the U.S. Open and she will be playing in the United States Tennis Association league, just below the professional level, this summer in anticipation of that opportunity. Mallory Burdette will be returning to Stanford in pursuit of more championships.