OJAI, Calif. - No. 5 Stanford defeated No. 15 USC 4-0 on Friday afternoon in a closer-than-it-looked semifinal at the Pac-12 Championships.
Riding a 16-match winning streak as one of the nation's hottest teams, Stanford (21-1, 10-0 Pac-12) booked a spot in Saturday's final against the winner of tonight's UCLA/Washington contest.
Stanford is seeking a fourth straight Pac-12 championship, which would be its longest conference title stretch since a 21-year stranglehold on the Pac-10 from 1988-2008, with the final season resulting in a share of the crown with UCLA.
The Cardinal registered its 14th shutout, although Friday's result more closely resembled the competitive 4-3 victory over USC last month in Los Angeles.
The doubles point was extremely hard-fought, with identical 7-5 outcomes across the board. Emily Arbuthnott and Michaela Gordon ultimately secured the 1-0 advantage with a win on court two.
After Arbuthnott delivered a 6-3, 6-3 victory at the No. 4 spot, Caroline Lampl won her 19th in a row with a 6-0, 7-6 (0) decision at No. 3.
Janice Shin provided the clincher, taking down Becca Weissmann 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 5 position.
No. 5 Stanford 4, No. 15 USC 0
DOUBLES
1) No. 2 Kulikov/Valdes (USC) d. No. 14 Lampl/Kimberly Yee (STAN) 7-5
2) No. 22 Arbuthnott/Gordon (STAN) d. Weissmann/Wilson (USC) 7-5
3) No. 51 Lord/Niluka Madurawe (STAN) d. Constance Branstine/Estella Jaeger (USC) 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
SINGLES
1) No. 24 Michaela Gordon (STAN) led No. 50 Salma Ewing (USC) 6-4, 6-6, unfinished
2) No. 32 Melissa Lord (STAN) vs. No. 105 Angela Kulikov (USC) 4-6, 6-4, 4-4, unfinished
3) No. 68 Caroline Lampl (STAN) d. Ana Neffa (USC) 6-0, 7-6 (0)
4) No. 46 Emily Arbuthnott (STAN) d. Rianna Valdes (USC) 6-3, 6-3
5) No. 106 Janice Shin (STAN) d. Becca Weissmann (USC) 6-3, 6-4
6) Danielle Wilson (USC) led No. 88 Emma Higuchi (STAN) 7-5, 2-6, 3-1, unfinished
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 5