STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford made a statement on Friday, notching its biggest win of the season thus far with a 5-2 victory over the defending national champion and No. 5 ranked Texas. The Cardinal dropped the doubles point but rallied for five wins in singles, including four three-set victories.
The nation's No. 21 pair, Angelica Blake and Connie Ma, had a 5-3 lead on court one but wasn't able to clinch the win before the Longhorns claimed the day's first point. Singles began with every court featuring early breaks, with Stanford on top on courts one, three, five and six.
Sara Choy continued her dominance on court six, cruising to a 6-2, 6-0 win for Stanford's first point of the match. The Cardinal claimed the first set on courts one, three and five but Texas rallied for second-set wins on each of those courts. The Longhorns took a 2-1 advantage after a win on court four, with the remaining matches all going the distance.
Angelica Blake recovered from a tough second set to claim victory on court three, followed almost immediately by the 13th win in a row from freshman Valencia Xu on court five. All eyes turned to Alexandra Yepifanova and Connie Ma on the top two courts. The rookies delivered with Yepifanova delivering the clinching point and Ma earning the best win of her career, knocking down the nation's No. 4 player. Stanford has now won two matches this season when dropping the doubles point.
Stanford has a quick turnaround, hosting UNLV at Taube on Saturday at 11 a.m.
No. 64 Stanford 5, No. 5 Texas 2
DOUBLES
1. #21 Angelica Blake/Connie Ma (STAN) vs. Sabina Zeynalova/Kylie Collins (TEXAS) 5-3 DNF
2. Peyton Stearns/Bella Zamarripa (TEXAS) d. Valencia Xu/Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) 6-2
3. Vivian Ovrootsky/Charlotte Chavatipon (TEXAS) d. Ana Geller/Niluka Madurawe (STAN) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2
SINGLES
1. #18 Connie Ma (STAN) d. #4 Peyton Stearns (TEXAS) 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-2
2. #17 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) d. #40 Kylie Collins (TEXAS) 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-4
3. Angelica Blake (STAN) d. Charlotte Chavatipon (TEXAS) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
4. Sabina Zeynalova (TEXAS) d. India Houghton (STAN) 6-3, 6-4
5. #65 Valencia Xu (STAN) d. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEXAS) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
6. Sara Choy (STAN) d. #83 Malaika Rapolu (TEXAS) 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 3, 5, 2, 1