WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Stanford men's tennis doubles team of senior Tom Fawcett and freshman Axel Geller dropped a third-set 10-point tiebreaker to Florida's Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championship at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex, eliminating the Cardinal duo from the 32-team tournament
Fawcett and Geller, ranked No. 32 in the ITA poll, met Ingildsen and Perez, the No. 5 team in the ITA rankings and No. 4 overall seed in the tournament at the conclusion of the first day of competition on Thursday.
The Cardinal duo jumped on top early, posting a 6-3 victory in the opening set. The second set went to a tiebreaker that mirrored the back-and-forth sequence of the set. Locked at 6-6 in the tiebreaker, Ingildsen and Perez took advantage with two straight points to take the set 7-6 (6) and force a third-set 10-point tiebreaker.
The Gators continued their momentum and took control early in the third-set tiebreaker, breaking a 2-2 tie with three consecutive points. After Fawcett and Geller ended the run to cut the Gator duo's lead to 5-3, Ingildsen and Perez responded with four consecutive points to build a 9-3 advantage and set up match point. Fawcett and Geller were able to hold off one match point, but Ingildsen and Perez captured the next point to win the match, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 10-4.
The defeat ended Stanford's run at the NCAA Championships. Fawcett also represented the Cardinal in the NCAA singles tournament.
Fawcett and Geller completed the season with a 16-7 overall record. The Cardinal duo posted several key wins for the Cardinal throughout the season.
As a team, Stanford registered its best record in 15 seasons, with a 22-4 mark. The Cardinal ranked in the top-five in the ITA poll for the majority of the season, reaching as high as No. 2 in the rankings. Stanford earned the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Championships.
