SEATTLE, Wash. - A clincher from Alexis Blokhina powered No. 2 Stanford to a 4-1 victory over No. 12 Ohio State on Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Blokhina's 7-6 (5), 7-5 victory at the No. 4 spot proved to be the difference for Stanford (7-0), which has advanced to the semifinals at the event for the first time since 2020.
As it did in Friday's first round, the Cardinal took a 1-0 lead after capturing the doubles point with wins at the Nos. 2 and 3 spots.
Victories from Connie Ma (6-2, 6-0 at No. 2) and Alexandra Yepifanova (7-6 (3), 6-3 at No. 3) were sandwiched around a Buckeye point at the top spot of the lineup, and gave Stanford a 3-1 lead.
With three matches remaining, one had already reached a third set and another was headed to a tiebreak. However, Blokhina avoided extending her match with a straight-set victory on court four.
Stanford next faces the winner between No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Texas on Sunday in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. PT.
No. 2 Stanford 4, No. 12 Ohio State 1
DOUBLES
1) No. 24 Luciana Perry/Sydni Ratliff (OSU) led No. 56 Angelica Blake/Alexis Blokhina (STAN) 5-4, suspended
2) Connie Ma/Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) d. Irina Cantos Siemers/Audrey Spencer (OSU) 6-1
3) Katherine Hui/Valencia Xu (STAN) d. Madeline Atway/Teah Chavez (OSU) 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3
SINGLES
1) No. 14 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) d. No. 56 Angelica Blake (STAN) 6-1, 6-2
2) No. 12 Connie Ma (STAN) d. No. 123 Sydni Ratliff (OSU) 6-2, 6-0
3) No. 75 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) d. No. 73 Luciana Perry (OSU) 7-6 (3), 6-3
4) No. 55 Alexis Blokhina (STAN) d. Teah Chavez (OSU) 7-6 (5), 7-5
5) Katherine Hui (STAN) led Shelly Bereznyak (OSU) 6-3, 6-6, suspended
6) No. 69 Valencia Xu (STAN) led Audrey Spencer (OSU) 6-1, 5-7, 3-0, suspended
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 4