STANFORD, Calif. - No. 27 Stanford (14-10, 4-3 Pac-12) will be making its 37th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance when first round competition gets underway at campus sites next weekend.
The Cardinal will square off against No. 37 Notre Dame (15-13, 6-6 ACC) on May 13 in Evanston, Ill., for its NCAA Tournament opener. The next edition of the rankings, which will be used throughout the postseason, will be released on Thursday.
Northwestern, ranked No. 13 in the country, but the tournament’s No. 14 overall seed, will host first and second round competition on May 13-14. The Wildcats will square off against Valparaiso in the opening round.
Stanford will open NCAA Tournament play on the road for the fourth consecutive season. Last season the Cardinal advanced to the second round after topping No. 41 Tennessee 4-2 before falling 4-1 to 10th-ranked Duke.
Ranked between No. 17-42 throughout the season, the Cardinal saw four 4-3 losses to top 20 programs before going on a five match winning streak. In addition, Stanford advanced to the Pac-12 semifinal match for the second straight year. All ten of Stanford’s losses have come against teams ranked among the top-30.
The 2015 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Tom Fawcett, has led the way for the Cardinal this season, amassing a 20-7 overall record and 14-5 dual record. Fawcett has been ranked as high as No. 3 this season with 13 wins over ranked opponents.
Stanford owns a 104-21 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.