STANFORD, Calif. - The postseason for Stanford (21-2, 10-0 Pac-12) begins this weekend in a familiar setting: Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Hosting NCAA first and second round competition, Stanford's opponent in Saturday's 1 p.m. PT postseason opener is Idaho (16-7, 10-1 Big Sky). The regional's other matchup pits No. 27 TCU (13-9, 5-4 Big 12) against No. 36 Rice (18-5, 6-0 Conference USA) at 10 a.m. All seats are general admission. Single-day tickets are $8 (adult) and $5 (student/youth/senior).
Ranked No. 6 in the ITA poll but seeded No. 7 in the postseason draw, defending NCAA champion Stanford is chasing its 20th national championship (18 NCAA, 1 AIAW). The Cardinal enters the post-season having won six in a row and two weeks ago repeated as Pac-12 champions with its second victory over rival California in as many weeks.
Stanford has experienced very little drop-off following last year's NCAA title campaign, maintaining a spot among the nation's top-15 for the majority of the season while suffering only two losses (at Florida, at Pepperdine).
Despite joining No. 2 North Carolina and No. 3 Ohio State as the only two-loss seeded teams in the draw, Stanford was tabbed No. 7. In fact, the Cardinal has entered NCAA's seeded higher than No. 5 only once (at No. 1 in 2011) over the last nine years.
However, Stanford's uncharacteristically low ranking should not be cause for concern. Equally comfortable playing the role of "underdog", the Cardinal has incredibly won 14 of its last 16 NCAA Tournament matches when seeded lower than its opponent, a battle-tested stretch that dates back to 2010.
In 2016, Stanford became the lowest-seeded team to win an NCAA title at No. 15, defeating Oklahoma State in a 4-3 thriller. Four years ago, Stanford won it all as a No. 12 seed – at the time the lowest-seeded team to accomplish the feat. In 2010, the Cardinal took home the crown as a No. 8 seed.
Stanford, which is 142-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, once again possesses all the ingredients to make another deep postseason run. Seniors Caroline Doyle (18-10 overall, 9-7 duals) and Taylor Davidson (12-10 overall, 10-7 duals) boast a ton of NCAA experience. Sophomores Melissa Lord (24-5 overall, 15-4 duals) and Caroline Lampl (23-5 overall, 16-3 duals) have continued their development. Meanwhile, freshmen Emily Arbuthnott (24-3 overall, 18-1 duals) and Emma Higuchi (30-3 overall, 19-0 duals) have essentially been automatic at the lower two spots.
The Cardinal has been solid in doubles, but even if it loses the point, there is no panic. Stanford has won nine of its last 13 matches overall when falling behind 1-0, with seven of those victories coming last season.