On Wednesday morning, Stanford moved up one slot to No. 1 in the Wingspanbank.com Collegiate Tennis Rankings after winning the USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championships last weekend in Louisville. The No. 1 ranking is Stanford's first since last season. Stanford, despite the absence of starters K.J. Hippensteel and Scotty Scott to injuries, made sure its stay atop the rankings would not be a short one by winning five of the six singles matches against the Golden Bears.
The Cardinal won each of the top four singles matches, highlighted by junior Alex Kim at No. 1 and Geoff Abrams at No. 2. Kim, who is the No. 2 ranked singles player in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, improved to 24-3 on the year with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win over John Paul Fruttero. Abrams, who is ranked No. 11 by the ITA, defeated 84th-ranked Erik Dmytruk 7-6, 6-2 at No. 2 singles. Also for the Cardinal, freshman Carter Morris, who was playing his first singles match since Jan. 25, picked up a key 6-3, 6-1 win over David Tzou at No. 6 singles.
On the doubles side, Stanford's top-ranked duo of Abrams and Kim defeated 24th-ranked Scott Kintz and Dmytruk 8-5. Abrams and Kim, who have been ranked No. 1 by the ITA since December, are 17-2 on the season.
Stanford returns to action this Friday-Sunday at the Pacific Coast Doubles Tournament in La Jolla. Abrams and Kim are the top seeds in the event, while freshmen David Martin and Morris will comprise the other team representing the Cardinal. Following the Pacific Coast Doubles, Stanford returns to Taube Family Tennis Stadium for a nine-match homestand, beginning on Mar. 22 against No. 39 BYU at 11 a.m.
#1 Stanford 5, #33 California 2
Singles
No. 1 - #2 Alex Kim (S) d. John Paul Fruttero, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
No. 2 - #11 Geoff Abrams (S) d. #84 (tie) Erik Dmytruk, 7-6, 6-2
No. 3 - #99 David Martin (S) d. Scott Kintz, 6-3, 6-3
No. 4 - Scott Lipsky (S) d. Hiro Nakamura, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5
No. 5 - Robert Kowalczyk (C) d. Ali Ansari, 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 - Carter Morris (S) d. David Tzou, 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 - #1 Geoff Abrams/Alex Kim (S) d. #24 Erik Dmytruk/Scott Kintz, 8-5
No. 2 - John Paul Fruttero/David Tzou (C) d. David Martin/Scott Lipsky, 9-8
No. 3 - Robert Kowalczyk/Ben Miles (C) d. Ali Ansari/Carter Morris 9-8
Records - #1 Stanford 9-0 overall (3-0 Pac-10), #33 California 4-2 (1-2).