March 24, 2008
STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 30 Stanford men's tennis team didn't appear to have missed a beat after returning from a two week break to defeat No. 75 Brown this afternoon at the Taube Family Tennis Center. On a beautiful day for tennis, Stanford grabbed the first four points of the match and recorded two more tallies in singles competition to complete a decisive victory over the Bears, 6-1.
The Cardinal mixed things up in doubles today, splitting up the usual No. 1 duo of freshman Alex Clayton and junior Blake Muller and No. 2 pair of junior Matt Bruch and freshman Ted Kelly into the No. 1 team of Bruch and Muller and the No. 2 team of Clayton and sophomore Paul Morrissey. The No. 3 position remained the same with freshman Gregory Hirshman teaming up with sophomore Richard Wire.
"Alex and Blake have played with each other for a while and have done well together, but today we wanted to try a couple of things and see how the guys would react," said head coach John Whitlinger. "Today was a good day to do it."
Whitlinger's changes proved to be successful as the Cardinal went on to sweep Brown in all three matches to capture the doubles point.
Morrissey had not yet seen action in a dual match this year, and last competed for the Cardinal at the Pacific Coast Doubles at the beginning of March. "Paul did a great job today," added Whitlinger. "There was a little worry about nerves before the match, as he hasn't played in a whole lot of matches, but he overcame it and did a phenomenal job. I'm proud of him and the way our guys played in doubles."
After the break, Stanford came out strong winning in the No. 4, No. 1, and No. 2 singles positions to seal the victory. Senior Phil Kao got on the singles board first, dispatching Brown's Kendrick Au in convincing fashion, 6-1, 6-2. Clayton, who has retained his second in the nation rank since January 8, defeated Saurabh Kohli, 6-3, 6-4 for his 20th win of the year, and No. 56 Bruch put the Bears away with his 6-2, 6-3 victory over Jonathan Pearlman.
Brown's Noah Gardner spoiled what would have been the third Cardinal shutout this year as he captured the No. 6 match over Kelly to win the Bears' only point. No. 91 Wire and Hirshman finished out the day for Stanford with two more wins, finalizing the score at 6-1.
"You never know what's going to happen when you come back from the break, and after not having practiced during finals week last week," Whitlinger commented. "Brown had a good victory over Fresno State not long ago and we knew they could play. We didn't take them lightly and we got a good result today."
Stanford will next face Arizona State on Friday, March 28 at 1:30 p.m. at the Taube Family Tennis Center. The Cardinal will be looking to avenge a 4-3 loss to the Sun Devils suffered on March 7th as they begin the 2008 Pac-10 season.
No. 30 Stanford d. No. 75 Brown
Taube Family Tennis Center
Stanford, Calif. - 03/24/08 - 12 p.m.
Conditions: Sunny, Warm
Final Score: Stanford 6 - Brown 1
Singles Results: Stanford 5 - Brown 1
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2, 6, 3, 5
1) #2 Alex Clayton (S) d. Saurabh Kohli (B), 6-3, 6-4
2) #56 Matt Bruch (S) d. Jonathan Pearlman (B), 6-2, 6-3*
3) #91 Richard Wire (S) d. Basu Ratnam (B), 6-3, 7-5
4) Phil Kao (S) d. Kendrick Au (B), 6-1, 6-2
5) Greg Hirshman (S) d. Sam Garland (B), 6-7, 6-2, 1-0 (10-4)
6) Noah Gardner (B) d. Ted Kelly (S), 7-6, 6-2
Doubles Results: Stanford wins the doubles point
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
1) Bruch/Blake Muller (S) d. Ratnam/Kohli (B), 8-3
2) Clayton/Paul Morrissey (S) d. Garland/Gardner (B), 8-3
3) Hirshman/Wire (S) d. Charlie Posner/Chris Lee (B), 8-6
*denotes clinching victory