ORLANDO - At this point in the postseason, seeds rarely matter. Seven-seed Stanford proved just that on Wednesday night, blitzing past the two-seed Texas A&M 4-0 to advance to the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament. The win is Stanford's 22nd in a row as the Cardinal improves to 25-2 overall and will play NC State on Friday, May 19 for a spot in the championship.
In what is undoubtedly considered a strength for the Cardinal, Stanford won its 14th doubles point in a row, tallying wins on courts one and three. Connie Ma and Valencia Xu won their 12th match in a row, 6-2, on court three before the Aggies answered with an identical scoreline on court two. After falling down 4-2, No. 16 Angelica Blake and Alexis Blokhina rattled off four straight games to give Stanford the early lead, winning 6-4. The duo improves to 18-3 in dual matches and is now 6-0 against ranked opponents.
The Cardinal carried its momentum into singles play, winning five first sets in a variety of different fashions. While Blake and Xu led throughout, each tallying 6-3 decisions in their opening frames, Blokhina rallied from down 4-1 to win 6-4, Sara Choy won a 7-6(3) tiebreak on court six and Ma saved multiple set points to fend off a 5-2 deficit, winning 7-5.
Stanford's first to finish was No. 44 Blake, continuing her stranglehold on court three, defeating No. 68 Mia Kupres 6-3, 6-3. Blake is now 16-0 at the three-spot this spring. No. 84 Blokhina was next, gutting out a three-set win, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 over No. 108 Jayci Goldsmith on court five, her sixth victory in a row. With several Cardinal in contention to clinch, No. 29 Alexandra Yepifanova showed her mettle on court one, responding from a 6-4 first set loss with a 6-4 win of her own in the second, facing the nation's No. 2 ranked player. Three different players were one game away from Stanford's fourth point, but it was Xu who would finish first, defeating Daria Smetannikov 6-3, 6-4, her second straight clinch. The sophomore is now tied with Blake, each owning six clinching points this spring.
The 4-0 win for Stanford marks the first time the Aggies have been shutout in a match in over two years.(7) Stanford 4, (2) Texas A&M 0
DOUBLES
1. #16 Angelica Blake/Alexis Blokhina (STAN) d. #22 Salma Ewing/Jayci Goldsmith (A&M) 6-4
2. #35 Mia Kupres/Mary Stoiana (A&M) d. Sara Choy/Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) 6-2
3. Connie Ma/Valencia Xu (STAN) d. Jeanette Mireles/Gianna Pielet (A&M) 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
SINGLES
1. #29 Alexandra Yepifanovva (STAN) vs. #2 Mary Stoiana (A&M) 4-6, 6-4, 1-1 DNF
2. #18 Connie Ma (STAN) vs. #58 Salma Ewing (A&M) 7-5, 5-2 DNF
3. #44 Angelica Blake (STAN) d. #68 Mia Kupres (A&M) 6-3, 6-3
4. #84 Alexis Blokhina (STAN) d. #108 Jayci Goldsmith (A&M) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
5. Valencia Xu (STAN) d. Daria Smetannikov (A&M) 6-3, 6-4
6. Sara Choy (STAN) vs. Jeanette Mireles (A&M) 7-6(3), 5-3 DNF
Order of Finish: 3, 4, 5