EUGENE, Ore. – Sophomore Axel Geller's return the lineup proved to be the difference, as Stanford's top player lifted the No. 12 Cardinal men's tennis team to a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 45 Oregon Friday afternoon.
Geller, who missed the previous two matches due to injury, returned to the lineup and clinched a marathon match for the Cardinal (15-5, 4-3 Pac-12). The win marked Stanford's fourth straight over the Ducks (13-8, 1-6 Pac-12).
With the match tied at 3-3, it came down to a battle at No. 1 singles between two of the top players in the nation in Geller (No. 13) and Oregon's Thomas Laurent (No. 12). The Cardinal sophomore grabbed a 6-4 win in the first set. Geller came close to clinching the dual in two sets, but Laurent earned a 7-5 win in the tiebreaker (7-6[5]) to even the match at a set a piece. The Oregon senior stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the decisive third set and led 5-4 with all eyes on court one. Geller refused to be denied, however, winning three of the next four games. He then traded games with Laurent to pull within 6-5 and eventually forced a tiebreaker to decide it. The Cardinal sophomore delivered in his return to the lineup, knocking off the Oregon senior with a 7-4 win in the tiebreaker to seal Stanford's second consecutive 4-3 win on the road.
Early on, it appeared Stanford had command of the match with the doubles point in hand and up a set in the top half of the singles matches.
Freshman Alexandre Rotsaert (No. 2) and junior William Genesen (No. 3) finished off two of those matches in the top half to give the Cardinal a 3-1 lead.
The Ducks controlled the bottom half of the singles lineup, however, eventually posting wins in all three matches to tie the dual and set up Geller's heroics on court one.
Stanford continues its tour of the Pacific Northwest with a noon match on Sunday against Washington in Seattle. Sunday's match marks the regular-season finale for both teams.
No. 12 Stanford 4, No. 45 Oregon 3
DOUBLES
1. Sameer Kumar/ Timothy Sah (STAN) d. Joshua Charlton/Ty Gentry (ORE) 6-4
2. Riki Oshima/Charles Roberts (ORE) led Jack Barber/Axel Geller (STAN) 5-4, UNF
3. Alexandre Rotsaert/Sangeet Sridhar (STAN) d. Emmanuel Coste/Armando Soemamo (ORE) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3,1
SINGLES
1. No. 13 Axel Geller (STAN) d. No. 12 Thomas Laurent (ORE) 6-4, 6-7 (5) 7-6 (4)
2. No. 51 Alexandre Rotsaert (STAN) d. Emmanuel Coste (ORE) 6-3, 6-4
3. No. 113 William Genesen (STAN) d. Ty Gentry (ORE) 6-1, 7-5
4. Riki Oshima (ORE) d. No. 114 Sameer Kumar (STAN) 6-4, 6-1
5. Joshua Charlton (ORE) d. Timothy Sah (STAN) 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-4
6. Charles Roberts (ORE) d. Sangeet Sridhar (STAN) 6-2, 6-7 (7) 6-3
Order of Finish: 4,2,3,6,5,1
