STANFORD, Calif.- Caroline Doyle notched her second victory of the weekend, clinching No. 11 Stanford’s 4-0 win over No. 53 Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
With the win, defending champion Stanford (18-2, 8-2 Pac-12) punched its ticket to next weekend’s NCAA round of 16 in Athens, Ga. The Cardinal, which has advanced to the round of 16 for the 29th consecutive season, will be looking to repeat as national champions and capture its 18th NCAA crown.
Making its 33rd straight postseason appearance, Stanford emerged with a 1-0 lead following a hard-fought doubles point, as Long Beach State (21-3, 8-0 Big West) pushed the Cardinal on all three courts in a competition that lasted just over an hour.
Taylor Davidson and Ellen Tsay created some separation with an 8-5 win on court two before Doyle and Amelia Herring contributed an 8-7 (5) clincher next door at No. 3.
Tsay, who cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 triumph yesterday, continued her torrid singles play with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Hayley Thompson on court five.
Stanford extended its lead to 3-0 when Carol Zhao prevailed 6-1, 6-1 against Julie Gerard at the No. 3 spot for her first career NCAA win and 26th of the year overall.
Doyle then provided the clincher, breezing past Holly Reid 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 6 position.
Long Beach State reached Saturday’s match after outlasting Tulsa 4-3 on Friday in an entertaining contest that required four hours and 53 minutes to complete.
Stay tuned for additional postseason coverage on www.gostanford.com. The round of 16 on the women’s side gets underway on Thursday, May 15. Stanford will face rival California, which is ranked No. 6 nationally and seeded No. 6 overall in the NCAA field.
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NOTES: Stanford is now 131-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament competition … Stanford has performed well at home during the opening weekend of NCAA Tournament competition, notching 4-0 shutouts in 26 of its last 28 such matches … Caroline Doyle has won 18 of her last 20 matches and owns a team-best 30-5 overall record … Kristie Ahn was playing the final match of her career at Taube Family Tennis Stadium. Ahn, who saw both of her matches this weekend go unfinished, led Stanford to 89 dual match wins during her time on The Farm … The freshman trio of Doyle, Taylor Davidson and Carol Zhao has combined for a 78-17 overall record … Stanford and California have met twice already this season, with the Cardinal winning 5-2 in Berkeley and the Golden Bears prevailing 6-1 at Taube Family Tennis Stadium … Head coach Lele Forood is now 348-25 in 14 seasons at the helm.
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No. 11 Stanford 4, No. 53 Long Beach State 0
DOUBLES
1) No. 10 Ahn/Zhao (STAN) vs. Eales/Unden (LBSU) abandoned
2) No. 50 Davidson/Tsay (STAN) d. Razakasoa/Thompson (LBSU) 8-5
3) Doyle/Amelia Herring (STAN) d. Reid/Rozenberg (LBSU) 8-7 (5)
Order of Finish: 2, 3
SINGLES
1) No. 3 Kristie Ahn (STAN) vs. Maeva Razakasoa (LBSU) abandoned
2) No. 51 Krista Hardebeck (STAN) vs. Ebba Unden (LBSU) abandoned
3) No. 21 Carol Zhao (STAN) d. Julie Gerard (LBSU) 6-1, 6-1
4) No. 50 Taylor Davidson (STAN) vs. Karolina Rozenberg (LBSU) abandoned
5) No. 54 Ellen Tsay (STAN) d. Hayley Thompson (LBSU) 6-0, 6-1
6) No. 57 Caroline Doyle (STAN) d. Holly Reid (LBSU) 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 6