STANFORD, Calif. - Taylor Davidson’s 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Frances Altick at the No. 3 spot lifted No. 10 Stanford past No. 11 Vanderbilt 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Trailing 2-0, Stanford ripped off three straight singles victories before Vanderbilt tied the match at 3-3, adding further drama to a competitive early-season matchup between two of the nation’s top teams.
Stanford (6-0) continues to successfully navigate through a challenging nonconference schedule, which has featured all six opponents ranked No. 54 or higher.
Vanderbilt (4-4), which suffered a 4-3 loss at USC on Saturday, came up empty on its two-match West Coast road swing.
Playing with the traditional dual match rules format in effect, Vanderbilt grabbed a 1-0 lead after capturing the doubles point with 8-6 victories on courts two and three.
The Commodores moved in front 2-0 after picking up a win at the No. 6 spot, when Lindsey Kostas retired after trailing 6-1, 3-2.
The Cardinal responded with three consecutive singles wins to claim a 3-2 advantage. Ellen Tsay cruised past Marie Casares 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot, Carol Zhao surged by Sydney Campbell 7-5, 6-1 in a battle of top-15 players at the No. 1 position and Caroline Doyle booked a 6-2, 7-5 victory against Courtney Colton on court two.
With two matches remaining, Vanderbilt pulled even at 3-3 after Astra Sharma defeated Krista Hardebeck 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 4 spot.
That left the match to be decided at the No. 3 position, where Davidson rallied after dropping the first set. Davidson, who was 3-4 in three-setters as a freshman, has won all four of her three-set matches this season.
Stanford’s sophomore trio of Zhao, Doyle and Davidson is unbeaten in six dual matches, compiling an 18-0 record.
Stanford travels to Gainesville, Fla., next weekend to square off against Duke and host Florida.
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No. 10 Stanford 4, No. 11 Vanderbilt 3
DOUBLES
1) No. 5 Davidson/Zhao (STAN) d. No. 18 Campbell/Colton (VANDY) 8-7 (0)
2) Antal/Sharma (VANDY) d. No. 12 Doyle/Tsay (STAN) 8-6
3) Altick/Casares (VANDY) d. Hardebeck/Kostas (STAN) 8-6
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES
1) No. 10 Carol Zhao (STAN) d. No. 15 Sydney Campbell (VANDY) 7-5, 6-1
2) No. 16 Caroline Doyle (STAN) d. No. 71 Courtney Colton (VANDY) 6-2, 7-5
3) No. 14 Taylor Davidson (STAN) d. No. 89 Frances Altick (VANDY) 5-7, 6-4, 7-5
4) Astra Sharma (VANDY) d. No. 92 Krista Hardebeck (STAN) 6-4, 6-3
5) Ellen Tsay (STAN) d. No. 62 Marie Casares (VANDY) 6-3, 6-2
6) Ashleigh Antal (VANDY) d. Lindsey Kostas (STAN) 6-1, 3-2, ret.
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 1, 2, 4, 3