STANFORD, Calif. – Graduate student Eric Fomba provided his fourth clinching point of the season as the No. 4 Stanford men's tennis team continued its best start in 16 seasons with a 4-1 victory over No. 36 Oregon Friday at Taube Tennis Stadium.
The Cardinal improved to 19-2 overall, matching the 2002 team's record. Stanford moved to 6-1 in the Pac-12 and secured the No. 2 seed in next week's Pac-12 Championships in Ojai, California.
Paul Goldstein discusses today's win over Oregon with @JB_Long and Amy Jensen on @Pac12Network. pic.twitter.com/y7zarAXWlb
— Stanford Men's Tennis (@StanfordTennis) April 21, 2018
Stanford captured its 17th doubles point in 21 dual matches this season as Tom Fawcett and Axel Geller notched their 14th dual win with a 6-3 triumph at No. 2 and Sameer Kumar and Michael Genender posted a 7-5 victory at No. 1.
Geller continued to look sharp with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles to push Stanford's lead to 2-0. He won the last four games of his match, sealing the win with a love game. The freshman has won his last four matches and is 16-3 in dual play this season.
Senior David Wilczynski won his fourth consecutive match as well. The Cardinal co-captain dispatched his opponent, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 5 for his ninth dual victory of the season.
The Ducks picked up a point with a win by Akihiro Tanaka at No. 3, but the Cardinal responded moments later with the match victory.
Stanford had several opportunities with Fawcett, Fomba and William Genesen within a game of winning their matches at one point.
Fomba, who won his first set in a tiebreaker, jumped out to a 3-1 advantage in the second set. The graduate student continued his momentum from there, posting a 6-2 win to seal the match victory for the Cardinal.
The victory was Stanford's second against Oregon this season. The Cardinal posted a 4-0 win over the Ducks during ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Berkeley in January.
Stanford closes its regular season on Saturday, hosting Washington at 3 p.m. PT at Taube Family Tennis Stadium. The Cardinal will honor its two seniors – Fawcett and Wilczynski – in a pre-match ceremony.
No. 4 Stanford 4, No. 36 Oregon 1
Doubles
1. No. 50 Sameer Kumar/Michael Genender (STAN) d. No. 33 Cormac Clissold/Thomas Laurent (ORE) 7-5
2. No. 24 Tom Fawcett/Axel Geller (STAN) d. Simon Stevens/Ty Gentry (ORE) 6-3
3. Eric Fomba/David Wilczynski (STAN) vs. Armando Soemarno/Charles Roberts (ORE) 6-5
Order of Finish: 2,1
Singles
1. No. 8 Tom Fawcett (STAN) led No. 24 Thomas Laurent (ORE) 7-5, 5-6
2. No. 70 Axel Geller (STAN) d. Akihiro Tanaka (ORE) 6-3, 6-2
3. Ty Gentry (ORE) d. No. 90 Sameer Kumar (STAN) 6-3, 6-3
4. Eric Fomba (STAN) d. Cormac Clissold (ORE) 7-6 (1), 6-2
5. David Wilczynski (STAN) d. Riki Oshimo (ORE) 6-0, 6-2
6. William Genesen (STAN) led Ethan Young-Smith (ORE) 6-0, 6-5
Order of Finish: 2,5,3,4