OJAI, Calif. - Despite having played only eight matches together, freshman Melissa Lord and junior Carol Zhao will compete for a doubles title on Sunday afternoon at the Pac-12 Championships.
Lord and Zhao, who teamed up for the first time on March 25 in a dual against Colorado, are set to square off against the No. 22-ranked duo of Alexandra Osborne and Ebony Panoho from Arizona State on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT in the final to be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
Lord and Zhao (7-1 overall, 4-1 duals) have won three nail-biters to reach this point, including Saturday’s 6-4 victory over Washington’s No. 34-ranked duo of Nour Abbes and Maki Kobayashi. Lord and Zhao have won all three of their tournament matches against nationally-ranked opponents after facing only unranked foes up to this point.
Stanford has produced eight conference doubles champions, with Zhao looking to repeat after capturing last year’s title with fellow junior Taylor Davidson. Zhao is trying to become the first Cardinal player to win back-to-back doubles conference crowns since Alice Barnes’ three-year stranglehold from 2004-06 playing with two different partners.
Returning to Stanford’s lineup on a full-time basis late last month, Zhao needed a partner for doubles. Preferring not to break up the Cardinal’s top duo of Taylor Davidson/Caroline Doyle and equally effective No. 3 tandem of Krista Hardebeck/Caroline Lampl, the coaching staff matched Zhao with Lord at the No. 2 position.
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SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION FIRST ROUND
No. 40 Taylor Davidson (STAN) d. No. 120 Nuria Ormeno Ruiz (COLO) 6-7 (8), 7-6 (3), 6-2
No. 93 Krista Hardebeck (STAN) d. Devin Chypyha (ARIZ) 6-2, 6-1
No. 82 Caroline Doyle (STAN) d. Nia Rose (ORE) 6-2, 6-3
SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ROUND OF 16
Ebony Panoho (ASU) d. No. 40 Taylor Davidson (STAN) 6-4, 6-3
No. 93 Krista Hardebeck (STAN) d. Zoe Katz (USC) 7-5, 7-5
No. 82 Caroline Doyle (STAN) d. No. 12 Klara Fabikova (CAL) 2-6, 6-0, 6-3
SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION QUARTERFINALS
No. 17 Catherine Harrison (UCLA) d. No. 93 Krista Hardebeck 6-2, 6-3
No. 51 Lauren Marker (ARIZ) d. No. 82 Caroline Doyle (STAN) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
SINGLES INVITATIONAL DIVISION FIRST ROUND
Caroline Lampl (STAN) d. Jena Cheng (UTAH) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Gabby Smith (USC) d. Kimberly Yee (STAN) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
Melissa Lord (STAN) d. Maki Kobayashi (WASH) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
Samantha Czarniak (ARIZ) d. Lindsey Kostas (STAN) 6-2, 6-4
SINGLES INVITATIONAL DIVISION ROUND OF 16
Caroline Lampl (STAN) d. Stephanie Vlad (ASU) 6-1, 6-4
Melissa Lord (STAN) d. Samantha Hampton (ASU) 6-3, 7-5
SINGLES INVITATIONAL DIVISION QUARTERFINALS
Caroline Lampl (STAN) d. Maia Magill (UCLA) 6-4, 6-3
Melissa Lord (STAN) d. Jessica Failla (USC) 6-2, 6-4
SINGLES INVITATIONAL DIVISION SEMIFINALS
Caroline Lampl (STAN) d. Gabby Smith (USC) 6-3, 6-4
Olivia Hauger (CAL) d. Melissa Lord (STAN) 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1
SINGLES INVITATIONAL DIVISION FINAL
Caroline Lampl (STAN) vs. Olivia Hauger (CAL) - 8 a.m. PT
DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ROUND OF 16
Melissa Lord/Carol Zhao (STAN) d. No. 80 Zoe Katz/Madison Westby (USC) 7-6 (5)
No. 5 Taylor Davidson/Caroline Doyle (STAN) d. Olivia Hauger/Klara Fabikova (CAL) 6-4
DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION QUARTERFINALS
Melissa Lord/Carol Zhao (STAN) d. No. 6 Catherine Harrison/Kyle McPhillips (UCLA) 7-6 (2)
No. 34 Nour Abbes/Maki Kobayashi (WASH) d. No. 5 Taylor Davidson/Caroline Doyle (STAN) 7-5
DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION SEMIFINALS
Melissa Lord/Carol Zhao (STAN) d. No. 34 Nour Abbes/Maki Kobayashi (WASH) 6-4
DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION FINAL
Melissa Lord/Carol Zhao (STAN) vs. No. 22 Alexandra Osborne/Ebony Panoho (ASU) – 1 p.m. PT
DOUBLES INVITATIONAL DIVISION ROUND OF 16
No. 67 Krista Hardebeck/Caroline Lampl (STAN) d. Sophia Bott/Stacey Fung (WASH) 7-5
DOUBLES INVITATIONAL DIVISION QUARTERFINALS
No. 67 Krista Hardebeck/Caroline Lampl (STAN) d. Samantha Czarniak/Camila Westbrooks (ARIZ) 6-1
DOUBLES INVITATIONAL DIVISION SEMIFINALS
Terri Fleming/Alaina Miller (UCLA) d. No. 67 Krista Hardebeck/Caroline Lampl (STAN) 6-3