STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford (14-5, 9-1 Pac-12) will be making its 35th consecutive postseason appearance when first round competition gets underway at campus sites next weekend.
The Cardinal, seeded No. 15 overall in the postseason draw, hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (24-0, 11-0 Southland) at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 13, in its NCAA Tournament opener. Texas A&M (16-10, 7-6 SEC) will face Denver (21-2, 6-0 Summit League) at 11 a.m. in that day’s other match.
Taube Family Tennis Stadium will play host to NCAA first and second round competition on May 13-14. All seats are general admission. Single-day tickets are $8 (adult) and $5 (student/youth/senior). Tickets are available by calling 1-800-STANFORD or visiting www.gostanford.com. Phone orders will be available at will call.
2010: won NCAA's as an 8️⃣ seed.
— StanfordWTennis (@StanfordWTennis) May 3, 2016
2013: won NCAA's as a 1️⃣2️⃣ seed.
This time, Stanford tabbed a 1️⃣5️⃣ seed. https://t.co/wYq3c8uKTQ
The most storied program in college tennis with 18 national championships (17 NCAA, 1 AIAW), Stanford captured its 25th conference crown and first since 2012 after defeating USC to secure this year’s Pac-12 title. It was yet another impressive late-season run, considering the Cardinal ranked fifth in the conference standings and was in danger of dropping outside the top-20 in late March.
Stanford owns signature wins against other NCAA Tournament teams such as California, Florida, TCU, USC and UCLA. More importantly, Stanford’s uncharacteristically low ranking should not be cause for concern, as the Cardinal has incredibly won 10 of its last 12 NCAA Tournament matches when seeded lower than its opponent.
Stanford owns a 136-18 all-time record in the postseason since the NCAA Tournament went to its present format in 1982. Stanford must be considered a national championship contender regardless of seed. Three years ago, the 12th-seeded Cardinal became the lowest-seeded team to win an NCAA title, knocking off No. 5 USC, No. 4 Georgia and No. 1 Florida before knocking off No. 3 Texas A&M in the final. That championship also extended Stanford's record streak of 37 years in a row with at least one NCAA title and paved the way for a 19th consecutive Directors' Cup. Three years earlier, Stanford captured the 2010 NCAA championship as a No. 8 seed.
All first and second round matches are played at campus sites. The final 16 teams square off at the NCAA Tennis Championships in Tulsa, Okla., beginning Thursday, May 19. The national championship matches are set for Tuesday, May 24.