April 23, 2011
STANFORD, Calif.- No. 8 Stanford closed out its regular season with a 4-3 victory over No. 14 California on Saturday afternoon at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium, completing a season sweep of the Golden Bears while posting its 10th consecutive win.
Riding its longest winning streak since a similar stretch back in 2003, the Cardinal (18-5, 5-1 Pac-10) added another quality win to its ledger.
Already a postseason lock, Saturday's victory solidified Stanford's status as the Pac-10's second-place team behind defending national champion and third-ranked USC (6-0) and likely secures Taube Family Tennis Stadium as a host site for NCAA Championships first and second round competition.
Saturday's victory was made even more memorable with a Senior Day ceremony honoring Alex Clayton, Greg Hirshman and Ted Kelly following the doubles competition. During their time on The Farm, the trio chalked up an overall record of 79-42 while making three NCAA Tournament appearances, earning a share of last year's Pac-10 title with USC and attaining the program's first No. 1 ranking in seven years.
Meanwhile, California (12-7, 3-3 Pac-10) has now lost back-to-back matches to close out the regular season. The Golden Bears were taking the court for the first time since Apr. 9.
The tone was established in doubles, as Stanford swept all three courts to take a 1-0 lead. After victories at Nos. 1 and 3, the Cardinal's No. 2 pairing of Matt Kandath and Denis Lin ensured a sweep with a 5-4 (5) triumph.
Bradley Klahn's 6-1, 6-2 victory over Pedro Zerbini at the top spot of the lineup gave Stanford a 2-0 advantage.
California locked up its first point of the contest when Bozhidar Katsarov bested Jamin Ball 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 6 position, cutting into the lead at 2-1.
Clayton followed with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Nick Andrews over on court three, putting Stanford one point away from clinching the match.
Kandath then made it official, edging Ben McLachlan 7-5, 6-4 at the No. 5 spot.
Stanford is back in action next weekend at the Pac-10 Championships in Ojai, Calif. The NCAA Championships field will be announced the following week.
No. 8 Stanford 4, No. 14 California 3
DOUBLES
1) No. 3 Klahn/Thacher (STAN) d. No. 23 Andrews/Konigsfeldt (CAL) 8-3
2) Kandath/Lin (STAN) d. Dahan/Zerbini (CAL) 5-4 (5)
3) Jamin Ball/Clayton (STAN) d. B. McLachlan/R. McLachlan (CAL) 8-5
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
SINGLES
1) No. 9 Bradley Klahn (STAN) d. No. 20 Pedro Zerbini (CAL) 6-1, 6-2
2) No. 75 Carlos Cueto (CAL) d. No. 43 Ryan Thacher (STAN) 7-5 (6), 6-7 (5), 1-0 (9)
3) No. 66 Alex Clayton (STAN) d. No. 104 Nick Andrews (CAL) 6-1, 6-3
4) Christoffer Konigsfeldt (CAL) d. Denis Lin (STAN) 6-7 (3), 7-6 (0), 1-0 (4)
5) Matt Kandath (STAN) d. Ben McLachlan (CAL) 7-5, 6-4
6) Bozhidar Katsarov (CAL) d. Jamin Ball (STAN) 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 3, 5, 4, 2