STANFORD, Calif. – No. 9 Stanford men’s tennis passed a nearly four-hour test from visiting Louisville, defeating the Cardinals at Arrillaga Tennis Center-Taube Pavilion, 4-2. Stanford improves to 12-4 this season and 4-2 in the ACC.
The Cardinal started things off with a win in doubles to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Louisville struck first on court three, but the pair of Nico Godsick and Hudson Rivera responded with a 6-3 win on court two. The ranked duo of Samir Banerjee and Alex Razeghi pulled out a victory in a tiebreaker on court one, 7-6 (9).
Stanford showcased its depth in singles to earn the win. Kyle Kang, playing his first match of the season at No. 1 singles, was stellar in his victory, winning 6-3, 6-0. Louisville responded with a victory on court six, but Razeghi pushed the lead to 3-1 with a 6-3, 6-1 victory on court three.
Leading 3-2 with two courts remaining, Godsick beat Harsh Hemang Parikh to the finish on court four, taking a three-set win, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2. Parikh was locked in a tiebreaker on court five in his third set, 8-8, but the match went unfinished.
Stanford returns to action on Friday, March 21 at Virginia Tech. The contest begins at 1 p.m. PT.
No. 9 Stanford 4, Louisville 2
DOUBLES
1. No. 37 Banerjee/Razeghi (STAN) d. Steinbach/Nakanishi (LOU), 7-6 (9)
2. Godsick/Rivera (STAN) d. Rodriguez/El Amine (LOU), 6-3
3. Avendano/Mayew (LOU) d. Barki/Kang (STAN), 3-6
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
SINGLES
1. Kyle Kang (STAN) d. Natan Rodrigues (LOU), 6-3, 6-0
2. Will Mayew (LOU) d. Hudson Rivera (STAN), 7-5, 6-2
3. Alex Razeghi (STAN) d. Andre’ Steinbach (LOU), 6-3, 6-1
4. Nico Godsick (STAN) d. Hamza El Amine (LOU), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2
5. Harsh Hemang Parikh (STAN) vs. Kosuke Nakanishi (LOU), 5-7, 6-3, 6-6 (8-8) uf
6. Piet Steveker (LOU) d. Nathan Barki (STAN), 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 6, 3, 2, 4