STANFORD, Calif. - Defending NCAA champion Stanford opens its dual match season on Friday against Saint Mary's in a 2 p.m. contest at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Live scoring and a complete webcast are available, with Tim Swartz (play-by-play) and John L. Hinds Director of Tennis Dick Gould (analyst) calling the action.
The Cardinal enters its season opener ranked No. 4 in the nation, trailing No. 1 Florida, No. 2 North Carolina and No. 3 Pepperdine. The most storied program in college tennis, Stanford captured its 19th national championship (18 NCAA) in 2016, defeating No. 12 Oklahoma State in a 4-3 thriller. At No. 15, Stanford became the lowest-seeded team to win an NCAA title, knocking off No. 2 Florida, No. 10 Michigan and No. 6 Vanderbilt in a span of five days prior to reaching the final.
Gone from last year's championship squad are two important pieces. Three-time All-American Carol Zhao, who competed at the No. 1 spot in each of her 15 duals, elected to forego her senior season to pursue a professional career, while clutch performer Krista Hardebeck closed out a memorable four-year career in which she led the Cardinal to two NCAA titles and compiled 99 victories.
Returning for another season are four members of last year's title team, including senior Taylor Davidson, whose dramatic three-set victory over Oklahoma State's Vladica Babic was one of three clinchers in the postseason. Fellow senior Caroline Doyle owns the most career victories (94) of the Stanford returnees, and will once again likely play high in the lineup.
If sophomores Caroline Lampl and Melissa Lord come anywhere close to duplicating their success as rookies, Stanford will be in great shape. Lampl was especially tough, tallying a team-high seven clinchers and racking up an 11-4 record in three-set matches. Lord won 10 of her final 11 matches, was a perfect 6-for-6 in the postseason and has carried that momentum into this season, recently capturing her first career singles title at the Freeman Memorial Championships.
Freshmen Emma Higuchi posted a team-best 11-3 record in the fall while fellow newcomer Emily Arbuthnott has won six of her eight matches.