STANFORD, Calif. – No. 4 Stanford men's tennis posted its 11th shutout of the season in defeating New Mexico State, 4-0, in the first round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships held at Taube Family Tennis Stadium Saturday.
The Cardinal (22-3) advanced to face No. 38 Ole Miss (15-12), a 4-3 winner over No. 28 Duke earlier Saturday, in the second round on Sunday at 2 p.m. PT on The Farm.
After Axel Geller and Timothy Sah cruised to a 6-0 win at No. 3, Eric Fomba and Sameer Kumar clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at No. 2 to give Stanford the early lead.
Fomba made quick work of his opponent, with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 4. It was the graduate student's eighth consecutive victory. More importantly, he put the Cardinal up, 2-0, in the match.
Senior David Wilczynski gave Stanford its third point with a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 5, and, moments later, Kumar provided the clincher with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3.
It was the 19th win of the season for both Wilczynski and Kumar.
The focus now turns to the Rebels, with a berth in next weekend's NCAA Round of 16 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on the line. The Cardinal owns a 4-0 all-time record against the Rebels. The two teams last met in the semifinals of the 1997 NCAA Championships in Los Angeles (UCLA). Current Stanford head coach, Paul Goldstein, led the Cardinal to a 4-2 victory over Ole Miss on May 20, 1997, as a junior on Dick Gould's 1997 NCAA Championship squad.
The Cardinal's 22 victories so far this season is its most in 15 years, since Stanford post 25 wins in the 2003 campaign.
No. 4 Stanford 4, New Mexico State 0
DOUBLES
1) Tom Fawcett/Michael Genender (STAN) led Christofer Goncalves/Luis Flores Pliego (NMST) 5-4
2) Eric Fomba/Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. Mauri Benitez/Stijn de Haan (NMST) 6-4
3) Axel Geller/Timothy Sah (STAN) d. Enrique Asmar/Louis Menard (NMST) 6-0
Order of Finish: 3,2
SINGLES
1) No. 9 Tom Fawcett (STAN) led Christofer Goncalves (NMST) 6-4, 3-1
2) No. 83 Axel Geller (STAN) led Stijn de Haan (NMST) 7-5, 3-2
3) No. 102 Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. Sergi Espias (NMST) 6-1, 6-1
4) Eric Fomba (STAN) d. Enrique Asmar (NMST) 6-0, 6-0
5) David Wilczynski (STAN) d. Mauri Benitez (NMST) 6-0, 6-3
6) William Genesen (STAN) led Louis Menard (NMST) 6-4, 2-1
Order of Finish: 4,5,3
