STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford opens its fall season in two weeks with an appearance at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships.
Prequalifying begins on Oct. 3, with freshman Melissa Lord competing in singles. The qualifying draw starts on Oct. 5, with junior Caroline Doyle in singles and senior Krista Hardebeck listed as an alternate while Doyle and Lord pair up in doubles. Main draw action gets underway on Oct. 8, with junior Taylor Davidson and junior Carol Zhao earning spots in the field for singles while Davidson and freshman Caroline Lampl represent the Cardinal in doubles.
In last year’s event, Davidson and Zhao notched a runner-up finish in doubles, falling just shy in a bid to become Stanford’s first champion at the event since 2011, when Mallory Burdette and Nicole Gibbs defeated Florida’s Allie Will and Sofie Oyen 6-2, 7-6 (2).
The Cardinal is also well represented in the national singles rankings, led by Zhao holding down the No. 1 spot. Davidson checks in at No. 15 and Doyle is No. 17, giving Stanford three players in the top-20. Hardebeck is also ranked at No. 68. Two doubles teams are ranked: Davidson/Lampl (No. 19) and Doyle/Lord (No. 25).
Meanwhile, freshman Kimberly Yee was honored as the recipient of this year’s USTA National Junior Scholar Athlete Award. This is the fourth year the USTA has honored national junior winners of a scholar-athletes. To qualify, students must have an unweighted GPA of 3.75 on a 4.0 scale and demonstrate that tennis is the sport for education, advancement and character development. A written essay, as well as leadership and sportsmanship, were also considered.
A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Yee has won four national titles and more than 35 sectional titles. She was honored last year at the International Tennis Hall of Fame with the Bill Talbert Junior Sportsmanship Award.
“I have been working with Kimberly for over 15 years,” said Tim Blenkiron, Yee’s longtime coach. “Through her own pursuit of excellence and passion for helping others, Kimberly has inspired all of the young people she mentors to put academics, leadership and kindness first.”