DURHAM, N.C. - In a season filled with milestones, No. 23 Stanford (17-6, 6-1 Pac-12) chases another when NCAA Tournament play gets underway this weekend.
The Cardinal travels to Durham, N.C., squaring off against No. 41 Tennessee (14-12, 5-7 SEC) on Friday at 7 a.m. PT in the first match of the regional. The winner advances to the second round and faces either unranked South Carolina State or host Duke, ranked No. 10 nationally and the tournament’s No. 10 overall seed.
Making its 36th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, Stanford is opening postseason play on the road for the third consecutive season. The Cardinal has dropped its first-round match in each of the last two seasons after back-to-back NCAA quarterfinal efforts in 2011-12.
Tennessee is strong at the top of both lineups, led by No. 14 Mikelis Libietis (23-3 overall, 17-1 duals) at the top position in singles and the nation’s fourth-ranked doubles team of Libietis and Hunter Reese (20-7 overall, 12-7 duals). The Volunteers, who are traveling to Duke for the opening rounds for the second straight season, have won back-to-back matches only once since Feb. 27.
That’s a sharp contrast to Stanford, which won 10 in a row spanning a three-week stretch and 11 of its last 13 duals overall. Ranked between No. 23-43 throughout the season, Stanford completed one of its best seasons in recent memory, clinching a share of the Pac-12 regular-season championship for the first time since 2010. The Cardinal also reached the Pac-12 Tournament final for the first time in school history, falling 4-3 to USC.
In addition to its surprising Pac-12 regular-season finish, the Cardinal defeated UCLA and USC at home and owns two victories against California. Stanford’s six losses have all come against teams ranked among the top-30. Outside of conference play, Stanford fell 4-1 to No. 29 South Carolina and 4-2 to No. 13 Florida back in late January, although the lineups for those matches are now completely different.
Making this year’s campaign even more impressive, the Cardinal showcases a singles lineup featuring three freshmen, led by rookie and No. 26-ranked Tom Fawcett’s team-leading 26-9 overall record. Also making a difference are fellow classmates David Wilczynski (21-13 overall, 12-8 duals, first player in school history to play at all six lineup positions) and David Hsu (20-8 overall, 12-4 duals, boasting a team-high 10-match winning streak).
In doubles, the duo of seniors John Morrissey and Robert Stineman is ranked No. 9 in the country, sporting a 14-3 overall record. Morrissey and Stineman have won 10 straight matches. The Cardinal has captured the doubles point in 13 straight matches.
Stanford owns a 103-20 all-time record in the postseason. The Cardinal has won 17 NCAA championships, including 15 since the NCAA Tournament went to its present format in 1977. The most recent crown came back in 2000, when Stanford blanked VCU 4-0.