Big Slam SweepBig Slam Sweep
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Men's Tennis

Big Slam Sweep

STANFORD, Calif. – Senior Tom Fawcett and freshman Axel Geller opened the match with a win at No. 2 doubles and the two provided the third and fourth points in singles in a 4-0 Cardinal win over No. 31 California Friday at Taube Family Tennis Stadium to sweep the regular-season series against the Golden Bears.
 
The win continued Stanford's best start in 16 seasons, as the Cardinal improved to 18-2 overall and 5-1 in the Pac-12 with two regular-season matches remaining. Friday's victory, coupled with a 4-1 win over the Golden Bears on Feb. 24 in Berkeley, sealed Stanford's first regular-season sweep of California since 2012. The Cardinal remains undefeated at home this season at 9-0.  

"Doubles was an area of focus for us the last two weeks and to see all three teams get wins today was something I was really pleased with, Taube Family Director of Men's Tennis, Paul Goldstein, said. "I was also pleased with Tom's [Fawcett] focus and mindset in his performance today. He was outstanding today against a really good opponent. There was zero hesitation with everything he did today.
 
"We want to celebrate each of the victories, and today was a big one. However, it's about continuous improvement. We said in the fall we want to play our best tennis in late April and May. It's April 13 today and our goal every week is to be really intentional and do our best to focus on our goals as a team."
 
Geller provided his second clincher against California this season, doing so in come-from-behind fashion against J.T. Nishimura. The Cardinal freshman dropped the first set, but rallied quickly. Tied at 2-2 in the second set, Geller won eight consecutive games to take the second set and surge ahead 4-0 in the decisive third set. He won 10 of the final 11 games overall, clinching the match victory with an ace.

 
Prior to Geller's clincher, Fawcett provided Stanford's third point with a straight-set victory at No. 2. The ITA's eighth-ranked singles player faced No. 56 Billy Griffith, who he lost to in straight sets in Stanford's first meeting with the Bears. Fawcett avenged the earlier defeat to the Golden Bear with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Griffith for his fifth consecutive victory overall. The Cardinal senior co-captain is now 19-4 on the season and 10-3 in dual play.


Graduate student Eric Fomba captured Stanford's first win in singles action, capturing the 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 4. It was Fomba's fourth consecutive win, improving his record to 10-2 on the year.
 
The Cardinal opened the match with three wins in doubles action to capture its first point. Fawcett and Geller opened with a 6-2 win at No. 2, while the team of Michael Genender and Sameer Kumar and the team of Eric Fomba and David Wilczynski posted 6-4 wins almost simultaneously at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively.   

Stanford closes its homestand next Friday at 2 p.m. against No. 41 Oregon and next Saturday at 3 p.m. against Washington.No. 4 Stanford 4, No. 31 California 0
 
Doubles
1) No. 88 Michael Genender/Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. No. 20 Billy Griffith/J.T. Nishimura (CAL) 6-4
2) N. 23 Tom Fawcett/Axel Geller (STAN) d. Ben Draper/Jack Molloy (CAL) 6-2
3) Eric Fomba/David Wilczynski (STAN) d. Dominic Barretto/Can Kaya (CAL) 6-4
Order: 2,1,3
 
Singles
1) No. 8 Tom Fawcett (STAN) d. No. 56 Billy Griffith (CAL) 6-3, 6-4
2) No. 57 Axel Geller (STAN) d. J.T. Nishimura (CAL) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
3) Jack Molloy (CAL) led No. 87 Sameer Kumar (STAN) 7-6 (7), 3-3
4) Eric Fomba (STAN) d. Ben Draper (CAL) 6-1, 6-3
5) David Wilczynski (STAN) vs. Paul Barretto (CAL) 6-3, 3-6
6) Michael Genender (STAN) vs. Jacob Brumm (CAL) 6-2, 2-6, 1-0
Order of Finish: 4,1,2