STANFORD, Calif. – Last season, Stanford earned a thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 victory against Arizona State in Tempe. This season, it was a convincing 4-0 victory for the Cardinal on The Farm in Friday's Pac-12 opener for both teams.
No. 7 Stanford (10-2, 1-0 Pac-12) won its fifth straight match and opened its conference slate with a strong performance against the Sun Devils (4-6, 0-1 Pac-12) at Taube Family Tennis Stadium. The Cardinal posted its third shutout in the last five matches.
A 6-2 win for Jack Barber and William Genesen at No. 2 doubles was followed by a 7-5 victory for the newly-ranked (No. 70) duo of Axel Geller and Alexandre Rotsaert at No. 1 to give the Cardinal the doubles point.
Sophomore Timothy Sah dropped just two games in a convincing victory at No. 6 singles. Geller, who moved up to No. 8 in the latest ITA poll, earned a hard-fought 7-6 (2) victory in his opening set and continued the momentum in a 6-1 second-set win at No. 1.
Up, 3-0, and on the doorstep of the match win, Sameer Kumar and Rotsaert eyed the clincher. It appeared Kumar, whose family is in town from Indiana, would pick up the clincher with match point at No. 4. However, moments before the next point was played, Rotsaert put the finishing touches on a 6-2, 7-5 win to capture the clincher and seal the victory for the Cardinal.
Stanford continues Pac-12 play Saturday, as the Cardinal welcomes No. 21 Arizona to Taube Tennis Stadium at 1 p.m. Check @StanfordTennis for updates leading up to and during the match.
No. 7 Stanford 4, Arizona State 0
DOUBLES
1. No. 70 Axel Geller/Alexandre Rotsaert (STAN) d. Dominik Kellovsky/Nathan Ponwith(ASU) 7-5
2. Jack Barber/William Genesen (STAN) d. Makey Rakotomalala/Justin Roberts (ASU) 6-2
3. Michael Genender/Sangeet Sridhar (STAN) led Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl (ASU) 6-5
Order of Finish: 2,1
SINGLES
1. No. 8 Axel Geller (STAN) d. Dominik Kellovsky (ASU) 7-6 (2), 6-1
2. No. 32 Alexandre Rotsaert (STAN) d. Nathan Ponwith (ASU) 6-2, 7-5
3. No. 56 William Genesen (STAN) led Andrea Bolla (ASU) 6-2, 4-5
4. No. 35 Sameer Kumar (STAN) led Tim Ruehl (ASU) 6-4, 5-4
5. Michael Genender (STAN) led Justin Roberts (ASU) 4-6, 6-3, 2-0
6. Timothy Sah (STAN) d. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6,1,2