STANFORD, Calif. - No. 4 Stanford cruised past No. 7 Vanderbilt 6-1 on Saturday afternoon at Taube Family Tennis Stadium in a rematch of the 2018 NCAA championship.
The Cardinal locked up the doubles point and quickly secured the match by ripping off four straight singles wins before the Commodores finally got on the board.
Stanford (6-1), which had been idle since its only loss back on Feb. 11 against Georgia, picked up a valuable nonconference victory. It's the first of two pivotal weekends for Stanford, which welcomes another top-10 opponent to The Farm when No. 9 Texas visits on March 2.
Unlike last year's thrilling 4-3 victory in the national final, Saturday's match was all Stanford.
After claiming doubles, Stanford extended its lead to 2-0 when Melissa Lord was first off the court with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph at the No. 2 spot. Lord provided the clinching point in last year's NCAA title match.
Emma Higuchi then delivered a 6-1, 7-6 (5) win on court six, setting up Emily Arbuthnott for the 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 clincher at the No. 4 spot.
Vanderbilt's lone victory came at the top spot of the lineup, with Fernanda Contreras squeaking past Michaela Gordon 7-6 (6), 0-6, 1-0 (12) in an evenly-played match.
Janice Shin and Caroline Lampl contributed victories to round it out for Stanford, which has now won 52 of its last 55 matches at Taube Family Tennis Stadium dating back to 2015.
No. 4 Stanford 6, No. 7 Vanderbilt 1
DOUBLES
1) No. 12 Lampl/Yee (STAN) d. No. 36 Contreras/Smith (VANDY) 6-2
2) No. 15 Arbuthnott/Gordon (STAN) vs. Drummy/Rosca (VANDY) 4-4, unfinished
3) No. 40 Lord/Niluka Madurawe (STAN) d. Summer Dvorak/Emma Kurtz (VANDY) 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 3
SINGLES
1) No. 3 Fernanda Contreras (VANDY) d. No. 16 Michaela Gordon (STAN) 7-6 (6), 0-6, 1-0 (12)
2) No. 49 Melissa Lord (STAN) d. No. 9 Christina Rosca (VANDY) 6-1, 6-3
3) No. 59 Caroline Lampl (STAN) d. No. 50 Georgia Drummy (VANDY) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3)
4) No. 19 Emily Arbuthnott (STAN) d. No. 37 Amanda Meyer (VANDY) 6-1, 2-6, 6-1
5) No. 58 Janice Shin (STAN) d. Carolyn Campana (VANDY) 6-1, 7-6 (3)
6) No. 63 Emma Higuchi (STAN) d. No. 77 Emily Smith (VANDY) 6-1, 7-6 (5)
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 4, 5, 1, 3