NCAA Tournament - Round of 16
No. 16 Stanford (18-8)
No. 1 Wake Forest (29-2)
Athens, Ga. • Dan Magill Tennis Complex
Championship Central
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STANFORD, Calif. - No. 16 Stanford will face a new foe Thursday as the Cardinal sets to take on No. 1 Wake Forest for the first time in program history in the NCAA round of 16. Match time is set for 4 p.m. PT in Athens, Georgia at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Debut Dance with the Deacs: While the Cardinal tennis program has been competing since 1926 and Wake Forest since 1954….strangely the two programs have never met. The Deacons are no joke though as they've compiled a 19-match win streak this season - a program record.
Double the Fun: The Cardinal has won 18 doubles points over the season, and have gone on to win 13 of those matches. Don't count Stanford out if it loses the doubles point though, the Cardinal has won four matches after falling in the doubles point including a 4-3 win over No. 6 Cal and a 4-1 win over No. 5 USC.
Don't Call it a Comeback:
Ranked between No. 15-44 throughout the season, the Cardinal rallied to claim a five-match win streak including a benchmark 4-1 win over No. 5 USC. In addition, Stanford advanced to the Pac-12 semifinal match for the third straight year. Seven-of-eight of the Cardinal's losses have come against ranked opponents.
Wily D-Willy:
Junior David Wilczynski has amassed a phenomenal campaign this season - he's posted singles win streaks of six and seven to compile a 16-3 duals record.
In doubles action, he's teamed up with Brandon Sutter to roll to a 17-4 duals record while putting up two five-match streaks and holding a current four-match streak.
On the year Wilczynski has been honored twice by the Pac-12 as Player of the Week.
NCAA History:
The Cardinal owns a storied history in collegiate tennis - all-time Stanford is 108-22 in the NCAA Tournament. 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.
Since the NCAA changed to its present format the Cardinal has reached the round of 16 29 times. Should it reach the quarterfinals, it would be Stanford's 25th appearance.
Stay Gold: While the athletes tend to get the accolades, Paul Goldstein in only his third year has lived up to the legacy that is the Stanford men's tennis program. After a 2014-2015 season that saw the program notch its first NCAA win since 2012, he's now brought the Cardinal back to the round of 16 for the second time in three years, and he's done with a line-up laden with underclassmen. A phenomenal athlete himself for the Cardinal, he won four NCAA titles as a starting competing member of the team.