May 30, 2011
STANFORD, Calif.- On a quest for Stanford's first NCAA doubles crown since 2004, juniors Bradley Klahn and Ryan Thacher came up short in a 7-6 (4), 6-3 loss to Texas A&M's Jeff Dadamo and Austin Krajicek on Monday afternoon at the 2011 NCAA Tennis Championships.
Klahn and Thacher had entered Monday's title match having won their first four matches in every possible manner. The nation's third-ranked duo followed back-to-back straight-set victories to open the tournament with a pair of three-set triumphs despite losing the first set in both contests.
The first Cardinal doubles duo to reach the championship match since Sam Warburg and KC Corkery claimed the NCAA title seven years ago, Klahn and Thacher were also searching for their seventh doubles title since pairing up as freshmen two years ago.
One year after reaching the semifinals of the NCAA doubles tourney, Klahn and Thacher found themselves one step closer in 2011. Instead, it was Dadamo and Krajicek, the nation's fourth-ranked tandem and No. 3 overall seed in the postseason, bringing home Texas A&M's first-ever national championship in doubles.
After dropping a hard-fought first set in a tiebreaker, the momentum swung over to the Aggies. Klahn and Thacher tried to stay close in the second set, but Dadamo and Krajicek pulled away for the win.
Klahn and Thacher concluded their season at 43-8 overall, pocketing three tournament titles along the way (Pacific Coast Doubles, Sherwood Cup and ITA National Indoor Championships consolation). The duo was 19-3 in duals, playing every match at the No. 1 spot, and chalked up a 16-7 record against nationally-ranked foes.
Stanford has produced 14 collegiate doubles champions in school history overall and four since the NCAA adopted its current format in 1977 (1992- Alex O'Brien, Chris Cocotos; 1998- Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan; 1999- Ryan Wolters, K.J. Hippensteel; 2004- KC Corkery, Sam Warburg).
First Round: No. 3 Bradley Klahn/Ryan Thacher d. No. 19 Brad Cox/Eric Quigley (Kentucky) 6-1, 7-6 (5)
Round of 16: No. 3 Bradley Klahn/Ryan Thacher d. No. 24 Clifford Marsland/Ashley Watling (Tulsa) 6-1, 7-6 (5)
Quarterfinals: No. 3 Bradley Klahn/Ryan Thacher d. No. 13 Vahid Mirzadeh/Connor Smith (Florida State) 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2
Semifinals: No. 3 Bradley Klahn/Ryan Thacher d. No. 17 Sekou Bangoura Jr./Alexandre Lacroix (Florida) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4)
Championship: No. 4 Jeff Dadamo/Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) d. No. 3 Bradley Klahn/Ryan Thacher 7-6 (4), 6-3