No. 14 Stanford Cardinal (18-5, 7-3 Pac-12)
– vs. –
No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs (23-6, 13-3 SEC)
NCAA Championships – Quarterfinals
Sunday, May 17 – 10 a.m. PT
Hurd Tennis Center
Weather Forecast: 86 degrees, humid with thunderstorms
WACO, Texas – Making its 34th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, No. 14 Stanford (18-5, 7-3 Pac-12) has booked a spot in the quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive year.
Stanford next faces Georgia (23-6, 13-3 SEC) on Sunday at 10 a.m. PT. The Bulldogs are seeded No. 6 in the field but ranked No. 7 in the poll.
Despite its status as the most storied program in college tennis, it might be surprising to note that Stanford has become familiar with starting the postseason in an underdog role. Believe it or not, the Cardinal has entered NCAA’s seeded higher than fifth only once (No. 1 in 2011) over the last seven years. Stanford won the 2010 NCAA championship as the No. 8 seed and two years ago became the lowest-seeded team at No. 12 to win an NCAA title.
Stanford must be considered a national championship contender regardless of seed. Following its 4-3 victory over No. 3 California on Friday, the Cardinal has incredibly won 10 of its last 11 NCAA Tournament matches when seeded lower than its opponent.
Stanford has won 17 of the 33 possible NCAA team titles and captured 18 national championships overall when including the 1978 AIAW crown. The Cardinal owns a 136-17 all-time record in the postseason since the NCAA Tournament went to its present format in 1982.
With that said, here are five storylines heading into this weekend’s competition:
| Honestly, Is Anyone Surprised? A five-year sample size is more than enough: just ignore that number next to Stanford’s name on the bracket. Having won 10 of its last 11 NCAA Tournament matches when seeded lower, the Cardinal has recently thrived as an “underdog”. One of those 10 victims was Georgia two years ago in Urbana, Ill., when Stanford cruised to a 4-1 win in the quarterfinals in the most recent meeting. The Bulldogs won doubles that day before the Cardinal ripped off four quick singles victories. Only two players from each team played in that match, so it’s not likely to matter much on Sunday. For Stanford, Krista Hardebeck and Ellen Tsay provided singles wins in that match. |
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| A Closer Look At No. 7 Georgia Georgia (23-6, 13-3 SEC) is seeded No. 6 in the postseason draw but ranked No. 7 in the national poll. The Bulldogs have reached the quarterfinals for a fifth straight season following a 4-2 win over No. 11 Michigan in the round of 16. Lauren Herring is the lone senior – and she’s a good one – while Georgia relies heavily on its three freshmen in the singles lineup and a fourth playing doubles. The ITA National Team Indoors runner-up, Georgia beat UCLA and California at the same event and Stanford owns a 1-3 combined record against those Pac-12 powerhouses. How will Georgia’s rookies handle the pressure that comes along with being the favorite? |
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| Another Fast Start Would Help One of the biggest keys to Stanford’s 4-3 victory over California on Friday was capturing the doubles point. It’s such an obvious statement, but the Cardinal was able to set the tone with a business-like approach against an opponent that had dominated the two previous meetings. Stanford has won the doubles point in all but five matches this season and has a shot to do it every match with the nation’s second-ranked team of Taylor Davidson and Carol Zhao and the 10th-ranked tandem of Caroline Doyle and Ellen Tsay. The Cardinal is 17-1 when winning the doubles point and 1-4 when falling behind early. |
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| A True “Big Three” Stanford boasts one of the nation's top sophomore classes in Taylor Davidson, Caroline Doyle and Carol Zhao. The talented trio boasts a combined 86-17 overall record in singles play and is 56-7 in dual match competition. All three players are ranked nationally in both singles and doubles and have earned bids to participate in NCAA Championships. Last season as rookies, the trio combined to provide 10 match clinchers and a 90-21 overall record, with Doyle’s 34 victories leading the group. There’s little history with these three against Georgia: Zhao has won both her matches, Davidson has dropped both of her contests and Doyle will be facing a Bulldog for the first time. |
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| One Of Her Biggest Wins Yet Needing one more singles victory to advance, Stanford was able to fire its top bullet at California on Friday in Carol Zhao. The nation’s No. 2-ranked player and Stanford’s winningest player, Zhao shook off a second-set slide and regrouped by jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the decider. Zhao, who has clinched a team-best six matches and all three so far in the postseason, is Stanford’s anchor at the top of the lineup and she delivered when it mattered most. Afterward, Zhao was quick to point out a desire to close out the match for her teammates and cited the energy she felt late in the match. Zhao must be considered a strong contender to become Stanford’s first NCAA singles champion since Nicole Gibbs in 2013. |