SAN DIEGO – Stanford men's tennis became the first school with national finalists in both the singles and doubles draws since 2007 at the ITA Fall National Championships, but the Cardinal settled for runner-up results at the premier fall tournament this weekend.
Arthur Fery joined elite company in program history as the fourth player to reach the singles finals at the event, and Stanford's first since Alex Kim in 2001. The pair of Fery and Rotsaert are the fifth tandem in program history to reach the doubles zenith, and the first since Bradley Klahn and Ryan Thacher won the title in 2009. Paul Goldstein, the Taube Family Director of Men's Tennis, welcomes Fery and Rotsaert to the list of finalists as a champion from the 1995 doubles tournament himself.
Fery showed tremendous resilience in reaching the finals, rattling off three straight three-set wins, including the event's fifth and seventh seeds. The sophomore from England was outlasted in the final match, also in three sets. He ends the fall with a 10-2 overall record, including four wins over nationally-ranked opponents.
Fery and Rotsaert won their first three matches in straight sets to reach the finals, including a win over the No. 3 ranked team from UCF and the seventh-seeded duo from TCU in the semifinals. The doubles championship match went the distance, with Ohio State edging Stanford in a third-set tiebreaker, 10-7.
Max Basing and Timothy Sah also teamed up, besting Middle Tennessee's 21st-ranked pair in the opening stage, 6-1, 6-2, before falling in a tight match to the third seed from Georgia Tech in the round of 16.
The ITA Fall Championships concludes Stanford's fall slate. The team will return to action for the spring season in January.
SINGLES
(2) No. 48 Arthur Fery
R32 – vs. Jordan Hasson (Oklahoma) – W, 6-3, 6-3
R16 – vs. No. 73 Sven Lah (Baylor) – W, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
QF – vs. (7) Andre Ilagan (Hawaii) – W, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
SF – vs. (5) No. 20 Matej Vocel (Ohio State) – W, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
F – vs. (3) No. 28 August Holmgren (San Diego) – L, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
DOUBLES
(4) No. 59 Arthur Fery/Alexandre Rotsaert
R32 – vs. Pinto Sansano/Trione (Arkansas) – W, 6-0, 7-5
R16 – vs. No. 20 Davis/Summers (Denver) – Wo (inj)
QF – vs. No. 3 Hilderbrand/Pavel (UCF) – W, 6-3, 6-3
SF – vs. (7) Maxted/Vives Marcos (TCU) – W, 6-3, 7-5
F – vs. (1) No. 40 Cash/Vocel (Ohio State) – L, 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (7)
Max Basing/Timothy Sah
R32 – vs. No. 21 Motl/Slump (Middle Tennessee State) – W, 6-1, 6-2
R16 – vs. (3) No. 8 Martin/McDaniel (Georgia Tech) – L, 6-4, 7-6 (4)