April 12, 2011
STANFORD, Calif.- Two weeks remain in the regular season for the Stanford tennis teams, beginning with non-conference midweek matches at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
The women host No. 40 Saint Mary's on Wednesday, Apr. 13 at 1:30 p.m. while the men welcome No. 52 Boise State to town on Thursday, Apr. 14 at 1:30 p.m.
The Pac-10 Championships are scheduled for Apr. 28-May 1 in Ojai, Calif.
MEN'S TEAM
Riding a season-best six-match winning streak, No. 8 Stanford (14-5, 4-1 Pac-10) plays its final four home matches of the regular season at home. Three of those are against non-league opponents, with the regular season finale against California set for Apr. 23.
The Cardinal moved up four spots in the latest edition of the national rankings and is back in top-10 once again. This week's top-10 is as follows: No. 1 Virginia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 USC, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 7 Baylor, No. 9 Pepperdine and No. 10 Duke.
Stanford is coming off a road sweep of the Pacific Northwest schools over the weekend, defeating Washington 4-3 and Oregon 6-1. The Cardinal has not lost a match since a 5-2 setback at Baylor back on Mar. 22.
Bradley Klahn sports a team-best 21-9 overall record while Greg Hirshman's 14-3 dual match mark leads the club. In doubles play, Stanford's top duo of Klahn and Ryan Thacher has won 13 consecutive matches and is 32-4 overall on the year.
Klahn is ranked No. 10 in this week's singles rankings, joined by Thacher (42) and Alex Clayton (71). Klahn and Thacher are ranked No. 4 in doubles while Clayton and Ted Kelly are No. 69.
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WOMEN'S TEAM
Despite its standing as the nation's only undefeated team, No. 2 Stanford (21-0, 7-0 Pac-10) finds itself behind No. 1 Florida in the latest edition of the national rankings.
Even though Stanford handed Florida its only loss of the year back in February, this marks the second time the Gators have overtaken the Cardinal for the nation's top spot. The ITA attributes this week's computerized poll shakeup to two factors: record against the nation's top -5 (Florida has four wins, Stanford has two) and road wins versus the nation's top-25 (Florida has three, Stanford has two).
Other than the quirky poll movement, Stanford is doing just fine. Following a 5-2 win over Washington on Senior Day this weekend, Stanford has now won 40 consecutive contests overall dating back to its last loss: a 6-1 setback at UCLA in late February of last year.
Meanwhile, Stanford also extended its NCAA-record home winning streak to 178 consecutive matches (146 regular season, 32 NCAA Tournament). The streak spans 12 seasons and is recognized as the longest active home winning streak among all sports in Division I athletics. The Cardinal has not lost at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium since a 5-4 setback against No. 4 California back on Feb. 27, 1999.
After facing Saint Mary's on Wednesday, Stanford closes out the regular season Saturday at California in a key match with Pac-10 title implications. At 7-0, Stanford has claimed at least a share of the title, while California is 6-1 in league play.
Five Stanford players appear in the latest national singles rankings: Hilary Barte (3), Nicole Gibbs (15), Mallory Burdette (19), Kristie Ahn (22) and Stacey Tan (55). In doubles, the Cardinal has two teams ranked: Barte/Burdette (2) and Ahn/Gibbs (37).