STANFORD, Calif. - In less than two hours of action, No. 15 Stanford opened the NCAA Tournament with an efficient, 4-0 victory over Southeast Missouri State on Friday afternoon. The Cardinal advances to face No. 24 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 1 p.m., as the Gauchos rallied for a 4-3 victory over No. 26 Kansas in the day's earlier match.
While the results might have been routine, the doubles lineup was not. Fifth-year senior and three-time All-American Michaela Gordon made her first appearance of the season for the Cardinal at No. 3 doubles with Valencia Xu and helped make an immediate impact, as the two paired for a quick 6-2 win. The nation's No. 19 ranked duo of Angelica Blake and Connie Ma were right behind with an identical result to give Stanford the early 1-0 lead.
In singles, Stanford won the first set on five different courts, paced by a 6-1 victory on six from Sara Choy. Choy would follow that up with a 6-0 bagel in the second to be the first to finish, pushing the Cardinal advantage to 2-0.
It was then a race to who would finish first on the top three courts, with Alexandra Yepifanova cruising 6-1 in the second set after a 6-4 victory in the first. Just minute later, Blake would clinch the win for Stanford, going 6-2, 6-2 on court three.
Saturday's match between Stanford and UC Santa Barbara is the second of the season between the two schools. The Gauchos defeated the Cardinal on March 22 in a rare home loss for Stanford, 4-3.No. 15 Stanford 4, Southeast Missouri State 0
DOUBLES
1. #19 Angelica Blake/Connie Ma (STAN) d. Ksenia Shikanova/Romana Tarajova (SEMO) 6-2
2. Sara Choy/Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) led Daniela Hlacikova/Teona Velkoska (SEMO) 5-4 DNF
3. Michaela Gordon/Valencia Xu (STAN) d. Vivian Lai/Myroslava Zelenchuck (SEMO) 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1
SINGLES
1. #26 Connie Ma (STAN) led Romana Tarajova (SEMO) 6-4, 4-1 DNF
2. #23 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) d. Daniela Hlacikova (SEMO) 6-4, 6-1
3. Angelica Blake (STAN) d. Ksenia Shikanova (SEMO) 6-2, 6-2
4. Myroslava Zelenchuck (SEMO) led India Houghton (STAN) 5-7, 2-0 DNF
5. #113 Valencia Xu (STAN) led Vivian Lai (SEMO) 6-2, 3-4 DNF
6. Sara Choy (STAN) d. Teona Velkoska (SEMO) 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 3