April 1, 2011
STANFORD, Calif.- No. 1 Stanford overpowered No. 13 Arizona State 6-1 on Friday afternoon at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Playing its first match as the nation's top-ranked team since Feb. 26, Stanford (18-0, 5-0 Pac-10) remained unbeaten on the year and has now won 37 consecutive contests dating back to a 6-1 loss at UCLA in late February of last year.
Arizona State (13-4, 3-1 Pac-10) showed why it has been one of the Pac-10's biggest surprises to date, suffering just its first loss in league play.
Meanwhile, Stanford extended its NCAA-record home winning streak to 175 consecutive matches (143 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.
The Sun Devils kept things interesting early on, taking the doubles point with wins on courts two and three and putting the Cardinal in a rare 1-0 deficit.
But Stanford stormed back in singles play, winning at all six spots. The Cardinal's top-four players recorded straight-set wins, while Stacey Tan pulled out a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory at the No. 5 spot and Veronica Li posted a 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (5) triumph on court six.
Stanford's match against No. 30 Arizona (originally scheduled for Saturday, April 2, at 12 p.m.) has been cancelled. The contest will not be rescheduled. The Cardinal returns to action on Friday, April 8, against Fresno State at 1:30 p.m.
No. 1 Stanford 6, No. 13 Arizona State 1
DOUBLES
1) No. 2 Barte/Burdette (STAN) d. No. 18 Hein/McKenna (ASU) 8-1
2) Brycki/Cako (ASU) d. No. 30 Ahn/Gibbs (STAN) 8-5
3) No. 70 Brown/Simmons (ASU) d. Li/Tan (STAN) d. 8-6
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
SINGLES
1) No. 4 Hilary Barte (STAN) d. No. 19 Kelcy McKenna (ASU) 6-3, 6-2
2) No. 22 Mallory Burdette (STAN) d. No. 11 Jacqueline Cako (ASU) 6-4, 6-1
3) No. 12 Nicole Gibbs (STAN) d. No. 106 Micaela Hein (ASU) 6-4, 6-4
4) No. 17 Kristie Ahn (STAN) d. No. 120 Hannah James (ASU) 6-3, 6-3
5) No. 55 Stacey Tan (STAN) d. Michelle Brycki (ASU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
6) Veronica Li (STAN) d. Ashlee Brown (ASU) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (5)
Order of Finish: unavailable