STANFORD, Calif. - No. 4 Stanford edged No. 5 Yale 5-4 on Friday in the opening round of the CSA National Championships, advancing to the semifinals for the first time in school history.
Next up for Stanford is a very tall task: a semifinal date against No. 1 Harvard, the four-time defending Howe Cup champion riding a 63-match unbeaten streak. Even getting a point might prove difficult on Saturday, as the Crimson have won all 11 of its matches this season by a 9-0 score.
The Cardinal (7-4) will happily deal with that on Saturday. Friday was all about celebrating another hard-fought and competitive victory over Yale. After losing 10 of the previous 13 in the series, Stanford clearly has the upper hand, winning four of the last five matchups.
Caroline Neave clinched the historic win for Stanford, which once again relied on its lower-lineup depth, cleaning up at the bottom four spots of the lineup. Neave prevailed 11-8, 11-3, 7-11, 13-11 at the No. 4 spot for the decider but it was much like the first meeting last month, when Stanford dominated the lower six spots of the order in a closer-than-it-looked-like 7-2 victory on The Farm.
Knotted up at 3-3, Stanford briefly moved in front when freshman Amita Gondi collected her team-best seventh victory of the season with an 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 decision at the No. 7 spot.
Yale (10-5) deadlocked the match at 4-4 when Lucy Beecroft outlasted fellow Cardinal rookie Elena Wagenmans 12-10, 12-10, 11-7 at the top spot of the lineup. It was a rare loss for Wagenmans, one of the best players in the country who has paced Stanford at No. 1 in her debut season.
That left everything riding on Neave, who defeated Aishwarya Battacharya for the second time this season.
Adding some intrigue to the emerging rivalry is the unique connection between Stanford head coach Mark Talbott and his older brother, Dave, who is the head coach at Yale.
Stanford faced Harvard back on Jan. 12, with the Crimson winning 9-0. Only Wagenmans and Juliette Love managed to win a set in that match.
Then again, for a program-defining Friday afternoon, none of that matters.
No. 4 Stanford 5, No. 5 Yale 4
1's: Lucy Beecroft (YALE) d. Elena Wagenmans (STAN) 12-10, 12-10, 11-7
2's: Helen Teegan (YALE) d. Casey Wong (STAN) 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7
3's: Celine Yeap (YALE) d. Chloe Chemtob (STAN) 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7
4's: Caroline Neave (STAN) d. Aishwarya Bhattacharya (YALE) 11-8, 11-3, 7-11, 13-11
5's: Emily Sherwood (YALE) d. Tara Shannon (STAN) 11-8, 11-8, 11-9
6's: Lucy Rowe (STAN) d. Riya Mital (YALE) 11-9, 11-5, 11-13, 3-11, 12-10
7's: Amita Gondi (STAN) d. Alexis Lazor (YALE) 11-8, 11-5, 11-6
8's: Juliette Love (STAN) d. Nikita Joshi (YALE) 11-9, 11-5, 11-4
9's: Anna Marie Manning (STAN) d. Jessica Yacobucci (YALE) 11-4, 11-4, 7-11, 13-11