Feb. 19, 2002
STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford University men's tennis team won its 75th straight home match with a rain-shortened 6-0 non-conference victory over the University of San Diego on Tuesday afternoon at the Taube Tennis Center. The Cardinal has not lost at home since April 5, 1996.
The top-ranked Cardinal improved to 7-0 on the season, while the Toreros dropped to 2-5.
Stanford swept the six singles matches, including three straight set victories.
Stanford sophomore Joe Kao (Fullerton, CA/Sunny Hills HS) highlighted the singles competition. The sophomore was making his first career start, and posted a convincing 6-1, 6-2 win over Martin Linusson at No. 6 singles. The Cardinal also received straight set wins from top-ranked senior K.J. Hippensteel (Roanoke, VA/International Academy) at No. 1 and junior David Martin (Tulsa, OK/Boca Raton Prep) at No. 4.
The rain intensified with Stanford ahead 5-0, and the Cardinal's Ryan Haviland battling Robert Blair in a third set tiebreaker at No. 3 singles. The match moved indoors, where Haviland captured all three points to break a 4-4 tie and clinch the match.
The doubles competition was then cancelled because of rain.
Stanford returns to action on Saturday when it hosts 18th-ranked California (4-3) at 3:00 p.m. at the Taube Tennis Center. All fans that bring their ticket stub from that day's UCLA-Stanford men's basketball game will receive general admission tickets for half price. The Toreros conclude their two-game Northern California swing at California on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
#1 Stanford 6, #51 San Diego 0
Singles
No. 1 - #1 K.J. Hippensteel (STAN) d. Ricardo Rizo, 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 - #31 Scott Lipsky (STAN) d. Juan Cerda, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
No. 3 - #43 Ryan Haviland (STAN) d. Robert Blair, 6-0, 6-7, 7-6
No. 4 - #49 David Martin (STAN) d. Jason Pongsrikul, 6-2, 7-5
No. 5 - Phil Sheng (STAN) d. Ted Burghardt, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 - Joe Kao (STAN) d. Martin Linusson, 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
Cancelled because of rain.
No. 1 - #7 Ryan Haviland/K.J. Hippensteel (STAN) vs. Juan Cerda/Jason Pongsrikul
No. 2 - #3 Scott Lipsky/David Martin (STAN) vs. Ricardo Rizo/Stephen Taylor
No. 3 - Joe Kao/Phil Sheng (STAN) vs. Robert Blair/Martin Linusson
Records - San Diego 2-5, Stanford 7-0.
Player rankings are courtesy of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.