ORLANDO - In a match much closer than the final score indicated, Stanford's season came to an end at the hands of three-seed NC State on Friday evening in Orlando, 4-0. The loss gives the Cardinal a 25-3 overall record, breaking a 22-match Stanford win streak.
A reverse from last match's results in doubles, the Cardinal dropped decisions on courts one and three, while picking up a win on court two. Stanford fell behind on all three courts but dug out of a 2-0 hole on court two, giving Sara Choy and Alexandra Yepifanova their highest ranked win of the season, over the nation's No. 9 tandem. Angelica Blake and Alexis Blokhina on court one and Connie Ma and Valencia Xu on court three had their chances, but couldn't claw back, giving the first point to the Wolfpack.
Moving into singles play, Stanford faced a tall task, but never stopped fighting. The Wolfpack advantage grew to 2-0 as Yepifanova fell to Diana Shnaider, a player currently ranked 104 in the world in the WTA rankings, but Stanford was in it on every other court. Despite the three first sets to finish first all going NC State's way, the Cardinal slowly chipped away, with Xu winning 6-3 on court five, Blake winning 7-6(5) on court three and Blokhina winning 7-5 on court four. Blake's set was particularly dramatic, as the senior battled back from a 5-2 deficit in the tiebreak to win.
Court two looked heavily in NC State's favor, with Ma getting edged in the first set, 7-5, and falling behind 5-0 in the second. The sophomore refused to quit, evening the match at 5-games apiece and putting the pressure on the Wolfpack. Simultaneously on court six, Choy was able to tighten the gap after a 6-3 loss in the first set, going up 3-0 in the second. The score would tighten, eventually getting pushed to a tiebreak, where Choy was ultimately defeated.
NC State needing just one win, Ma was unable to sustain her momentum after rallying back, falling 7-5, 7-5 to Alana Smith. Blokhina was just one game away from winning on court four, while Blake and Xu were headed into third sets at the completion.
Angelica Blake (singles/doubles), Alexis Blokhina (doubles) Connie Ma (singles), and Alexandra Yepifanova (singles) will stay in The Sunshine State and begin play in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships next week.(3) NC State 4, (7) Stanford 0
DOUBLES
1. #4 Diana Shnaider/Alana Smith (NCST) d. #16 Angelica Blake/Alexis Blokhina (STAN) 6-3
2. Sara Choy/Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) d. #9 Nell Miller/Amelia Rajecki (NCST) 6-3
3. Sophie Abrams/Abigail Rencheli (NCST) d. Connie Ma/Valencia Xu (STAN) 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
SINGLES
1. #7 Diana Shnaider (NCST) d. #29 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) 6-1, 6-0
2. #13 Alana Smith (NCST) d. #18 Connie Ma (STAN) 7-5, 7-5
3. #44 Angelica Blake (STAN) vs. #26 Amelia Rajecki (NCST) 7-6(5), 4-6 DNF
4. #84 Alexis Blokhina (STAN) vs. #87 Abigail Rencheli (NCST) 7-5, 5-3 DNF
5. Valencia Xu (STAN) vs. Sophie Abrams (NCST) 6-3, 5-7, 0-1 DNF
6. Gina Dittmann (NCST) d. Sara Choy (STAN) 6-3, 7-6(4)
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 2