STANFORD, Calif. – No. 24 Stanford men’s tennis returned to the win column at home, downing No. 36 SMU, 4-3, at Arrillaga Tennis Center-Taube Pavilion. Stanford improves to 10-5 this season and 3-2 in the ACC.
The Cardinal struck early in doubles, scoring wins in the top two positions. First, Samir Banerjee and Jagger Leach, playing together for the first time, earned a 6-2 victory on court two. The nation’s 12th-ranked pair of Alex Chang and Alex Razeghi clinched the early advantage on court one, 6-3.
Stanford took only two first sets, but it rallied in singles to clinch the match. Razeghi made it 2-0 with a straight-set win on court four, 6-3, 6-3, for his team-leading 14th win of the season. The sophomore improves to 11-0 in dual action this season. SMU responded with a win on court three to close within one, 2-1.
Pushing its lead to 3-1, Jagger Leach finished a three-set victory on court five, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, but SMU responded with back-to-back wins on courts one and two in rapid succession to level the match at 3-3. Just moments after the match was tied, Nico Godsick clinched the match for the Cardinal on court six, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
The Cardinal improves to 13-1 all-time against SMU and 2-0 as members of the ACC.
Stanford returns to action on Saturday, March 14 at 3:30 p.m. against Boston College.
No. 24 Stanford 4, No. 36 SMU 3
DOUBLES
1) No. 12 Chang/Razeghi (STAN) d. Finkelstein/Arora (SMU), 6-3
2) Banerjee/Leach (STAN) d. Svajda/Barton (SMU), 6-2
3) No. 61 Godsick/Rivera (STAN) vs. Georgiev/Vikas Deo (SMU), 4-3 unfinished
Order of Finish: 2, 1
SINGLES
1) No. 2 Trevor Svajda (SMU) d. Samir Banerjee (STAN), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
2) No. 107 Alex Finkelstein (SMU) d. No. 112 Alex Chang (STAN), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
3) Georgi Georgiev (SMU) d. No. 58 Hudson Rivera (STAN), 6-4, 6-4
4) Alex Razeghi (STAN) d. Jerry Barton (SMU), 6-3, 6-3
5) Jagger Leach (STAN) d. Krish Arora (SMU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
6) Nico Godsick (STAN) d. Noah McDonald (SMU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 5, 1, 2, 6