STANFORD, Calif. – It was another top-10 matchup that was closely contested throughout and it was the Cardinal that again came out on top. No. 10 Stanford capped its third victory over a top-25 opponent in a six-day span with a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 6 UCLA Sunday afternoon at the Taube Family Tennis Center.
Junior Sameer Kumar clinched the victory over the Bruins (6-1) with a win at No. 3, and was mobbed by his Cardinal teammates as they celebrated the win.
STANFORD WINS! Kumar with the clincher! pic.twitter.com/E5CTFnzoLe
— StanfordMTennis (@StanfordTennis) February 4, 2018
"I'm so proud of this entire team," said Stanford's Taube Family Director of Men's Tennis, Paul Goldstein. "This group has been battling so hard for months now preparing for this season and it's great to see them earn these wins. Sameer's clincher was a special moment. Everyone who showed up at Taube Tennis Center today saw a high-level match. We have had such great support from everyone, especially our alums who came back to watch cheer on these guys."
Stanford (5-0), which clinched a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships with a win over No. 22 Tulane on Monday, posted a 6-1 victory over No. 5 USC on Friday and capped the week with Sunday's 4-3 triumph over the Bruins in the Dick Gould Stanford/SoCal Challenge finale.
This week's victories over USC and UCLA, marked the second sweep over the Southern California schools in the last nine seasons. The Cardinal also swept USC and UCLA in 2015.
The battle began with doubles and it came down to the very end between the two collegiate tennis powers. Timothy Sah and David Wilczynski captured the win at No. 3 to put Stanford in line for the doubles point. Both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles went to a tiebreaker, however, with each team taking momentum away from the other. In a back-and-forth battle at No. 2, Tom Fawcett and Axel Geller raced out to a 5-1 lead, only to see UCLA storm back to tie it up at 6-6. The Cardinal duo then fell down 5-1 in the tiebreaker only to erase the deficit and win it 8-6 to seal the doubles point for Stanford.
In a battle to the very end, Stanford wins the doubles point as Fawcett/Geller defeat A. Rapp/Smith 7-6(6) at No. 2 to clinch the point. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/XSMmU9lgUt
— StanfordMTennis (@StanfordTennis) February 4, 2018
Geller then put the Cardinal up 2-0 with a straight set win at No. 2 singles.
.@AxelGeller puts the Cardinal up 2-0 over UCLA with a 6-1,7-6(5) win at No. 2. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/4aLijdW2Si
— StanfordMTennis (@StanfordTennis) February 4, 2018
The top-ranked player in college tennis, UCLA's Martin Redlicki, gave the Bruins their first point with a win over Fawcett at No. 1.
Sophomore William Genesen inched the Cardinal closer with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 6 and the Cardinal raced to court three to watch Kumar clinch it.
After capturing the first set, Kumar was up 5-4 in the second set and serving for the match. He punched home Keegan Smith's return to win it for the Cardinal.
.@s_kumy discusses what today's win means as he clinches the victory for the Cardinal. pic.twitter.com/74BNqyDb5o
— StanfordMTennis (@StanfordTennis) February 5, 2018
Stanford hits the road this coming week, traveling to No. 12 Illinois for a Saturday evening matchup with the Illini.
No. 10 Stanford 4, No. 6 UCLA 3
DOUBLES
1) Michael Genender/Sameer Kumar (STAN) vs. Martin Redlicki/Evan Zhu (UCLA) 6-6 (4-4) unfinished
2) Tom Fawcett/Axel Geller (STAN) d. Austin Rapp/Keegan Smith (UCLA) 7-6(6)
3) Timothy Sah/David Wilczynski (STAN) d. Bryce Pereira/Maxime Cressy (UCLA) 6-4
Order of finish: 3,2,-
SINGLES
1) No. 1 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) d. No. 101 Tom Fawcett (STAN) 6-0, 7-6(6)
2) Axel Geller (STAN) d. Evan Zhu (UCLA) 6-1, 7-6(5)
3) Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. No. 108 Keegan Smith (UCLA) 7-5, 6-4
4) No. 55 Logan Staggs (UCLA) d. David Wilczynski (STAN) 6-4, 7-6(6)
5) Maxime Cressy (UCLA) d. Eric Fomba (STAN) 4-6, 7-5, 10-6
6) William Genesen (STAN) d. Austin Rapp (UCLA) 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2,1,6,3,4,5