BURLINGAME, Calf. – Falling in the doubles point, No. 18 Stanford saw the youth of the program step up to take the reins and lead the Cardinal to a gritty 4-3 win over BYU Saturday afternoon at the Broadway Tennis Center.
The start of the day saw the Cardinal come out sluggish, even as Michael Genender and Jack Barber blanked their Cougar opponent 6-0 at No. 3. The win wasn't enough though as No. 15 Sameer Kumar and Yale Goldberg fell at No. 1 6-4 before BYU clinched the point with another 6-4 win at No. 2.
Stanford answered the deficit immediately as Brandon Sutter led the way at No. 5 with a quick 6-1, 6-2 win to knot it. BYU answered the point with David Wilczynski falling 6-4, 6-4 at No. 4 to make it a 2-1 Cougar lead.
The lead was short-lived as the Cardinal tied it again with Sameer Kumar in his debut at No. 1 took a 7-5, 6-4 win over Keaton Cullimore. Michael Genender made it 3-2 for the Cardinal at No. 2 after dominating the first set 6-0, it got close in the second, but the Cardinal played beyond his years to battle to a 7-6 (3) win.
In the end it was Jack Barber again with another win in his red-hot duals play to finish it for Stanford as he looked comfortable in a 6-3 win in the first set before BYU's John Pearce stepped it up to send the second set into the tiebreak that Barber sliced past with a 7-6 (0) win to claim his first career clinching point.
On the weekend, Taube Family Director of Men's Tennis Paul Goldstein stated, "We're happy to get through two matches this weekend and we're looking forward to a challenging weekend ahead."
The challenging weekend includes a trip to Evanston, Ill. where the Cardinal will face a potent Georgia Tech squad on Saturday at host Northwestern University.
No. 18 Stanford 4, BYU 2
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DOUBLES
1) John Pearce/Jake Sullivan (BYU) d. No. 15 Yale Goldberg/Sameer Kumar (STAN) 6-4
2) Jeremy Bourgeois/Matthew Pearce (BYU) d. Brandon Sutter/David Wilczynski (STAN) 6-4
3) Jack Barber/Michael Genender (STAN) d. Keaton Cullimore/Aiden Carrazedo (BYU) 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
SINGLES
1) Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) 7-5, 6-4
2) Michel Genender (STAN) d. Jeremy Bourgeois (BYU) 6-0, 7-6 (3)
3) Jack Barber (STAN) d. John Pearce (BYU) 6-3, 7-6 (0)
4) Matthew Pearce (BYU) d. David Wilczynski (STAN) 6-4, 6-4
5) Brandon Sutter (STAN) d. Aiden Carrazedo (BYU) 6-1, 6-2
6) Jake Sullivan (BYU) d. William Genesen (STAN) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 1,2, 3, 6
