STANFORD, Calif.- No. 11 California stunned No. 3 Stanford on Wednesday afternoon in Berkeley, capturing the doubles point and winning five singles matches en route to a 6-1 upset.
California (4-2) earned its first victory over Stanford since posting a 4-3 win at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships back on Feb. 7, 2003, snapping a 12-match Stanford winning streak in the process.
Stanford (4-2) suffered its first defeat in regular-season Pac-10 play since a 5-4 setback to California at Taube Family Tennis Stadium on Feb. 27, 1999.
Wednesday's loss does not count toward the Pac-10 standings- only the second matchup between two programs (in this case, Apr. 19 at Stanford) is factored into the conference race. However, the surprising 6-1 Golden Bear rout serves as a reminder that the Cardinal will be tested often during its run toward a 21st conference championship.
The Golden Bears began the day by winning the doubles point and taking a 1-0 lead. California's Nos. 1 and 2 squads recorded wins before Stanford's No. 3 team of senior Celia Durkin and freshman Carolyn McVeigh collected a 9-8 (3) victory.
Claire Incinkas' 6-2, 6-2 win over senior Whitney Deason at the No. 5 position gave California a 2-0 lead. However, junior Jessica Nguyen responded with a quick 6-2, 6-1 triumph at No. 2 over Marina Cossou to bring Stanford within 2-1.
That's as close as Stanford would get. Cristina Visico downed freshman Hilary Barte 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 3 spot for a 3-1 lead before Bojana Bobusic iced the match with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Durkin at No. 4.
Susie Babos and Stephanie Kusano completed the win with three-set victories at Nos. 1 and 6, respectively.
Stanford looks to rebound on Friday, Feb. 22, at No. 43 Washington in a 12 p.m. match. The Cardinal, which plays three road matches in a four-day span this week, continues a stretch that includes five straight road contests.
No. 11 California 6, No. 3 Stanford 1
DOUBLES
1) Babos/Kusano (CAL) d. Barte/Burdette (STAN) 8-6
2) Cossou/Ilcinkas (CAL) d. No. 27 Deason/Nguyen (STAN) 8-2
3) Durkin/McVeigh (STAN) d. Bobusic/Dillon (CAL) 9-8(3)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES
1) No. 7 Susie Babos (CAL) d. Lindsay Burdette (STAN) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
2) No. 9 Jessica Nguyen (STAN) d. No. 52 Marina Cossou (CAL) 6-2, 6-1
3) No. 41 Cristina Visico (CAL) d. No. 49 Hilary Barte (STAN) 6-1, 6-4
4) No. 87 Bojana Bobusic (CAL) d. No. 54 Celia Durkin (STAN) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
5) No. 83 Claire Ilcinkas (CAL) d. No. 45 Whitney Deason (STAN) 6-2, 6-2
6) Stephanie Kusano (CAL) d. No. 31 Carolyn McVeigh (STAN) 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 4, 1, 6