Hsu makes early exit from NCAAs

After a promising start in which she bounced the overall No. 5 seed from the NCAA tournament, freshman Connie Hsu was ousted herself Thursday, 6-4, 6-4, by Virginia's Lindsey Hardenberg in Stanford, Calif.

Hsu took an early 3-0 lead in the first set, but it was an uphill battle from there on out as Hardenberg found her footing. She broke Hsu's serve twice en route to a 6-4 victory in the first set. In the critical fourth game, Hsu nearly broke Hardenberg and took a commanding 4-0 lead -- and had break points twice in the long game -- but lost. She won her next service before Hardenberg won five straight games to take the set. In the second set, Hardenberg opened up a 4-0 lead before Hsu staged a comeback, winning the next three games. The Cavaliers' No. 1 was able to hold off Hsu and win 6-4 again.

After Hsu's upset Wednesday she looked poised to make a deep run, however, the freshman will have to wait until next year for the chance to prove herself -- a win Thursday would have put her in the round of 16 and secured All-American status.

But, as my colleague Brian Kotloff hinted at in his great profile of Hsu, she may not be back next year, as she could consider taking a leave of absence from Penn to pursue a professional career.

The family would consider suspending her education to pursue a pro career — her first test coming in tournaments this summer.
“It’s sort of late in tennis to start [after graduating] when you’re 22,” according to Hsu's brother Steven.

Hsu ended the 2010 season at No. 410 in the WTA singles rankings. She's currently listed at No. 757.

This loss may serve as an indicator that Hsu is not quite ready for the pro circuit full time. However, as the above quote indicates, perhaps the bigger tournaments this summer will serve as a better indicator.