STANFORD, Calif. - Emily Arbuthnott's 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory capped No. 46 Stanford's 4-3 comeback over No. 13 UCLA in the Pac-12 opener for both teams on Friday afternoon at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
It was the biggest win of the season to date for Stanford (5-3, 1-0 Pac-12), which had dropped its only previous two matches against nationally-ranked opponents. The Cardinal was also competing for the first time win two weeks after getting rained out last week against No. 6 Pepperdine.
Stanford, which is navigating through the middle portion of nine-match homestand, has now won 40 of its last 43 matches at Taube Family Tennis Stadium dating back to 2015.
Friday's victory also represented a solid start to Pac-12 play, as the Cardinal is bidding to win three straight conference titles for the first time since 2010-12. Last year, Stanford finished 10-0 in league play and captured the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament title one week after claiming the regular-season crown outright.
Stanford overcame the loss of a doubles point and faced deficits of 2-0 and 3-2. UCLA (8-3, 0-1 Pac-12) gained control early, continued to make progress in singles but was unable to close the deal.
Instead, Arbuthnott delivered, clinching her 12th career match while improving to 10-1 in three-set matches since arriving on The Farm.
The Bruins captured a hard-fought doubles point, making it official with a 6-3 victory on court two.
UCLA then moved in front 2-0 following Alaina Miller's 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 6 spot.
Stanford evened the match with a pair of straight-set victories from Emma Higuchi (6-4, 6-2) on court five and Caroline Lampl (6-2, 6-4) on court two.
UCLA regained the lead at 3-2 when Abi Altick defeated Janice Shin 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 4 position.
The Cardinal needed both remaining matches and Michaela Gordon and Arbuthnott answered the call. Gordon beat her second straight top-10 opponent, outlasting No. 8-ranked Ena Shibahara 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 at the top spot of the lineup.
With all the momentum quickly shifting to Stanford, Arbuthnott resumed her clutch play, improving to 10-1 career in three setters, with four of those wins coming this season.
Stanford next hosts No. 47 USC on Saturday at 10 a.m. The match has been moved up two hours with rain in the forecast later in the afternoon.
No. 46 Stanford 4, No. 13 UCLA 3
DOUBLES
1) No. 22 Fleming/Hart (UCLA) d. No. 3 Arbuthnott/Gordon (STAN) 6-4
2) Lampl/Yee (STAN) d. Altick/Broomfield (UCLA) 6-3
3) Miller/Shibahara (UCLA) d. Higuchi/Shin (STAN) 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
SINGLES
1) No. 17 Michaela Gordon (STAN) d. No. 8 Ena Shibahara (UCLA) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
2) Caroline Lampl (STAN) d. No. 41 Jada Hart (UCLA) 6-2, 6-4
3) No. 33 Emily Arbuthnott (STAN) d. No. 104 Terri Fleming (UCLA) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
4) No. 46 Abi Altick (UCLA) d. Janice Shin (STAN) 6-1, 6-3
5) Emma Higuchi (STAN) d. Ayan Broomfield (UCLA) 6-4, 6-2
6) Alaina Miller (UCLA) d. Kimberly Yee (STAN) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2, 4, 1, 3