STANFORD, Calif. - No. 10 Stanford notched its third shutout of the season, blanking Utah 7-0 in its Pac-12 opener Friday afternoon at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Stanford (8-2) entered Friday’s match in an unfamiliar spot, coming off back-to-back losses for the first time since 1983.
The Cardinal figured to be in a good position entering Pac-12 play after navigating through a challenging nonconference slate that featured all nine opponents ranked No. 54 or higher and five among the top 20.
Utah (3-7) has lost four of their last six matches.
After capturing the doubles point for a 1-0 lead, Krista Hardebeck and Caroline Doyle won easily in straight sets to put Stanford on the verge of clinching the match.
Ellen Tsay made it official with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Alexia Petrovic at the No. 5 spot before the Cardinal finished off the shutout.
Stanford is idle until a March 21 visit to UCLA.
No. 10 Stanford 7, Utah 0
DOUBLES
1) No. 3 Davidson/Zhao (STAN) d. No. 31 Bekerova/Pletcher (UTAH) 8-3
2) No. 10 Doyle/Tsay (STAN) d. Cheng/Richter (UTAH) 8-3
3) Hardebeck/Kostas (STAN) vs. Gerstner Da Rosa/Najera-Salas (UTAH) abandoned
Order of Finish: 1, 2
SINGLESS
1) No. 4 Carol Zhao (STAN) d. No. 53 Tereza Bekerova (UTAH) 7-6 (3), 6-2
2) No. 13 Taylor Davidson (STAN) d. Sarah Richter (UTAH) 6-2, 6-4
3) No. 22 Caroline Doyle (STAN) d. Jena Cheng (UTAH) 6-1, 6-1
4) Krista Hardebeck (STAN) d. Luisa Gerstner Da Rosa (UTAH) 6-2, 6-2
5) No. 118 Ellen Tsay (STAN) d. Alexia Petrovic (UTAH) 6-1, 6-1
6) Lindsey Kostas (STAN) d. Margo Pletcher (UTAH) 6-1, 5-7, 1-0 (4)
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 5, 1 , 2, 6