STANFORD, Calif. – No. 13 Stanford split its first day of play on The Farm, sweeping UC Davis, 5-0, and falling to No. 11 California in a tight 3-2 contest.
Stanford (3-6) began the day's action with a morning matchup against first-year program UC Davis.
The Nos. 1 and 2 pairs set the tone with straight-set wins over UC Davis. Courtney Bowen and Tori Ashkinos put the first point on the board, winning 21-9, 21-17 at the one. The freshman duo at the two, Tori Ashkinos and Charlie Ekstrom, secured the second point with a 21-15 win in both sets.
Morgan Hentz and Amelia Smith, who had a 2-1 record as a pair coming into this weekend's duals, clinched the match for Stanford, defeating the Aggies 21-9, 21-10 at the three in Stanford's first shutout and third win of the season.
In the second match, California went ahead 2-1 with wins at the one and five. The No. 3 pairing, Hentz and Smith, then tied it up with a straight-set victory.
It all came down to the No. 4, which moved into a third set thanks to the freshman duo of Dailey and McKinney, who fought back from a loss in the first set.
Despite a hard fought match, Stanford fell 3-2.
Stanford returns to the sand tomorrow, hosting No. 20 Saint Mary's at 12 p.m. and San Jose State at 3 p.m. Both matches will be aired on the Pac-12 Networks.
No. 13 Stanford 5, UC Davis 0
1. Courtney Bowen/Sunny Villapando (STAN) d. Lauren Matias/Jane Seslar (UCD) 21-9, 21-17
2. Tori Ashkinos/Charlie Ekstrom (STAN) d. Josephine Ough/Heather Reed (UCD) 21-15, 21-15
3. Morgan Hentz/Amelia Smith (STAN) d. Paloma Bowman/Chelsea Maeglin (UCD) 21-9, 21-10
4. Maddie Dailey/Jordan McKinney (STAN) d. Rose Holscher/Savanah Schroeder (UCD) 25-23, 21-23, 15-9
5. Shannon Richardson/Blake Sharp (STAN) d. Ally Reyes/Alexa Rockas (UCD) 21-17, 21-19
Order of Finish: (1, 2, 3, 5, 4)
No. 11 California 3, No. 13 Stanford 2
1. Mima Mirkovic/Jordan Polo (CAL) d. Courtney Bowen/Sunny Villapando (STAN) 21-10, 19-21, 15-10
2. Tori Ashkinos/Charlie Ekstrom (STAN) d. Iya Lindahl/Caroline Schafer (CAL) 17-21, 21-18, 15-12
3. Morgan Hentz/Amelia Smith (STAN) d. Grace Campbell/Maddie Micheletti (CAL) 21-18, 25-23
4. Madison Dueck/Alexia Inman (CAL) d. Maddie Dailey/Jordan McKinney (STAN) 21-15, 15-21, 15-6
5. Mia Merino/Abby Waldburger (CAL) d. Shannon Richardson/Blake Sharp (CAL) 21-11, 21-15
Order of Finish: (1, 2, 5, 3, 4)
