May 14, 2000
STANFORD, Calif. -- The top-ranked Stanford University men's tennis team advanced to next weekend's NCAA Men's Tennis Championships in Athens, Geo. with a 4-0 win over 31st-ranked Auburn University (15-10) today at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
The Cardinal (24-1), who defeated 56th-ranked Northwestern 4-0 in the first round on Saturday, advances to third round action against Minnesota on May 20 at the University of Georgia. Minnesota defeated Indiana State 4-0 to advance to the third round. The final four rounds of the tournament will be held in Athens, Geo.
Despite several rain delays, the Cardinal managed to win two of the three doubles matches to secure the doubles point. Stanford's top-ranked duo of junior Alex Kim (Potomac, MD/Winston Churchill HS) and senior Geoff Abrams (Newport Beach, CA/Newport Harbor HS) closed out the first doubles match with an 8-3 win over 20th-ranked Stephen Huss and Mark Kovacs of Auburn at the No. 1 spot. Auburn's Georges Matijasevic and Tiago Ruffoni kept the Tigers' hopes of earning the doubles point alive with an 8-3 victory over sophomore K.J. Hippensteel (Roanoke, VA/Palmer Prep) and freshman David Martin (Key Biscayne, FL/Boca Raton Prep) at No. 2. Minutes after the No. 2 doubles match ended, Stanford clinched as junior Scotty Scott (Belvedere, CA/Pinewood HS) and junior Ali Ansari (Houston, TX/Second Baptist) defeated Ryan Sanders/ and Marcel Mizerski of Auburn 8-4 at No. 3.
The Cardinal secured the victory with wins at No. 1, 3 and 6 singles. Freshman Scott Lipsky (Merrick, NY/Bellinore-Kennedy HS) defeated Auburn's Estevam Strecker 6-2, 6-3 at No. 6 and Kim defeated Huss, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1. The match clinching point came at No. 3, where Martin defeated Kovacs, 6-3, 6-4.
"We're excited to be going back to Georgia," Stanford head coach Dick Gould said. "It was a close match and our players did a good job staying focused through the rain delays. We got our kinks out yesterday (against Northwestern) and that helped us play well today."
"We had our chances in doubles, but got down early at the No. 1 spot," Auburn head coach Eric Shore said. "[Stanford] was to tough for us in singles, but we fought hard all year."
The match was delayed by twice by rain for a total of two hours and 45 minutes.
#1 Stanford 4, #31 Auburn 0
Doubles No. 1 Alex Kim/Geoff Abrams (S) def. Stephen Huss/Mark Kovacs (A) -- 8-3 No. 2Georges Matijasevic/Tiago Ruffoni (A) def. K.J. Hippensteel/David Martin (S) -- 8-3 No. 3Ali Ansari/Scotty Scott (S) def. Ryan Sanders/ Marcel Mizerski (A) -- 8-4
Singles No. 1Alex Kim (S) def. Stephen Huss (A) -- 6-3, 6-4 No. 2Geoff Abrams (S) vs. Georges Matijasevic (A) -- 6-4, 5-3 (suspended) No. 3David Martin (S) def. Mark Kovacs (A) -- 6-3, 6-4 * clinching match No. 4Scotty Scott (S) vs. Tiago Ruffoni (A) -- 4-6, 5-4 (suspended) No. 5Ali Ansari (S) vs. Andre Boz (A) -- 4-6, 6-2, 0-1 (suspended) No. 6Scott Lipsky (S) def. Estevam Strecker (A) -- 6-2, 6-3