LOS ANGELES - No. 10 Stanford dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 5 UCLA on Saturday afternoon in the first of a two-game SoCal road swing.
Stanford (9-3, 2-1 Pac-12) was searching for its first road win against the Bruins since 2013. Each of the Cardinal’s three losses have come against top-10 competition.
UCLA (12-3, 2-1 Pac-12) snagged a 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point. However, the battle at the top spot resulted in No. 2-ranked Taylor Davidson and Carol Zhao defeating No. 3-ranked Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips 8-3.
Trailing 2-0, Davidson collected Stanford’s first point with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Chanelle Van Nguyen at the No. 2 position.
UCLA moved in front 3-1 after Robin Anderson took down Zhao 6-3, 6-2 in a match featuring two of the nation’s top-three players. Anderson, ranked No. 2 nationally, became the first player to defeat Zhao, ranked No. 3 nationally, in two months.
Ellen Tsay booked a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Kaitlin Ray at the No. 5 spot, bringing Stanford to within 3-2.
The Bruins clinched the match on court six, when Kristin Wiley put away Lindsey Kostas 6-2, 6-1.
Stanford visits No. 7 USC on Sunday in a match that will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. Doubles play begins at 2:30 p.m. with singles set to follow at 4 p.m. Stanford has won the last two meetings against USC, which earned its most recent win on March 30, 2013 in Los Angeles.
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DOUBLES
1) No. 2 Davidson/Zhao (STAN) d. No. 3 Harrison/McPhillips (UCLA) 8-3
2) Anderson/Jennifer Brady (UCLA) d. No. 13 Doyle/Tsay (STAN) 8-0
3) Van Nguyen/Wiley (UCLA) d. Hardebeck/Kostas (STAN) 8-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES
1) No. 2 Robin Anderson (UCLA) d. No. 3 Carol Zhao (STAN) 6-3, 6-2
2) No. 17 Taylor Davidson (STAN) d. No. 10 Chanelle Van Nguyen (UCLA) 6-1, 6-4
3) No. 35 Kyle McPhillips (UCLA) d. No. 28 Caroline Doyle (STAN) 6-2, 6-4
4) No. 79 Catherine Harrison (UCLA) d. No. 110 Krista Hardebeck (STAN) 6-0, 6-3
5) No. 69 Ellen Tsay (STAN) d. No. 98 Kaitlin Ray (UCLA) 6-2, 6-3
6) Kristin Wiley (UCLA) d. Lindsey Kostas (STAN) 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 1, 5, 6, 3