May 13, 2011
| Stay tuned to www.gostanford.com's Countdown To The Championships for daily coverage of the 2011 NCAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championships in the form of feature stories, historical profiles, match previews, recaps and other tournament news. One of the nation's finest tennis venues, the Taube Family Tennis Center is playing host to its second combined men's and women's NCAA Tennis Championships, as the tournament's current format was introduced at Stanford in 2006. In today's edition of Countdown To The Championships, we find out how the Stanford men fared in their NCAA Tournament opener. |
"Taube Family Tennis Stadium is definitely one of the best venues to play at when there is a good crowd. I remember two years ago we had a tough second round NCAA Tournament match against Pepperdine. We had a rowdy group of our fraternity brothers, as well as a substantial number of other fans in attendance, and the noise and intensity in the stadium was amazing. College tennis is all about playing in front of your best friends and all the loyal Stanford tennis fans. I hope we see a new level of support (possibly a sold out stadium) this year at NCAA's to make this postseason run memorable." Senior Ted Kelly, one of three Cardinal seniors who will be playing on their home court for the final time. |
| Saturday, May 14: Three matches on the docket. Two women's matches are scheduled, including Stanford's tourney opener against Illinois-Chicago at 12 p.m. Sunday, May 15: Saturday's winners from the women's first round will meet at 12 p.m. in the second round on Sunday. Will Stanford advance? Monday, May 16: In addition to the matches, there are several other events, activities and banquets scheduled during the NCAA Championships. Stay tuned for a complete listing. |
Men's Tournament Central | Women's Tournament Central
Men's Team Bracket | Women's Team Bracket
STANFORD, Calif.- No. 7 Stanford wasted little time in extending its winning streak to 11 matches, quickly dispatching Army 4-0 on Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Championships at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Riding its longest winning streak since an 18-match stretch in 2001, Stanford (19-5, 5-1 Pac-10) will play No. 25 Washington tomorrow at 3 p.m. with a berth to next week's round of 16 on the line. The Huskies blanked No. 45 Cal Poly 4-0 earlier in the day to reach the second round.
Ranked No. 7 in the latest edition of the ITA national rankings but seeded No. 8 in the postseason draw, Stanford was playing its first dual match since edging California 4-3 back on Apr. 23. The Cardinal showed little signs of rust, overwhelming Army with dominating doubles and singles play.
Making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, Army (13-12, 6-0 Patriot League) was simply overmatched against Stanford, a program that has advanced to 33 NCAA Tournaments and won 18 national championships.
The tone was established in doubles, with Stanford claiming wins on courts one and three to take a 1-0 lead.
Bradley Klahn picked up his team-leading 30th victory of the season, cruising past Asika Isoh 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 1 position for a 2-0 advantage. Denis Lin followed with a 6-0, 6-1 victory at the No. 5 spot to put Stanford on the brink of clinching the match.
Ryan Thacher made it official, taking down Gary Kushnirovic 6-0, 6-1 on court two to close out the match.
DOUBLES
(1) No. 3 Klahn/Thacher (STAN) d. Johnson/Shelton (ARMY) 8-3
(2) Kandath/Lin (STAN) led Holland/Rommel Verano (ARMY) 6-2, DNF
(3) Jamin Ball/Clayton (STAN) d. Isoh/Jang-Milsten (ARMY)8-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1
SINGLES
(1) No. 9 Bradley Klahn (STAN) d. Asika Isoh (ARMY)6-1, 6-2
(2) No. 46 Ryan Thacher (STAN) d. Gary Kushnirovic (ARMY) 6-0, 6-1
(3) No. 71 Alex Clayton (STAN) led Donald van Velzer (ARMY) 6-0, 5-1, DNF
(4) Denis Lin (STAN) d. Tripp Johnson (ARMY) 6-0, 6-1
(5) Matt Kandath (STAN) led Alex Holland (ARMY) 6-2, 2-1, DNF
(6) Greg Hirshman (STAN) led Henry Jang-Milsten (ARMY) 6-2, DNF
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 2
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
No. 25 Washington 4, No. 45 Cal Poly 0
DOUBLES
(1) No. 28 McMorrow/Nedunchezhiyan (WASH) d. No. 49 Dome/Sonesson (CP) 8-6
(2) Bridge/Comuzzo (CP) led Kildahl/Obenaus (WASH) 6-5, DNF
(3) Bots/Schmidt (WASH) d. Jacobs/McPhee (CP) 8-5
Order of Finish: 1, 3
SINGLES
(1) No. 66 Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (WASH) led Andre Dome (CP) 6-4, 4-4, DNF
(2) No. 49 Kyle McMorrow (WASH) d. Alexander Sonesson (CP) 6-2, 6-1
(3) No. 117 Martin Kildahl (WASH) d. Brian McPhee (CP) 6-4, 6-2
(4) Tobi Obenaus (WASH) led Jordan Bridge (CP) 6-4, 2-4, DNF
(5) Marton Bots (WASH) d. Marco Comuzzo (CP) 6-4, 7-6 (2)
(6) Max Manthou (WASH) led Sebastian Bell (CP) 7-6 (2), 3-4, DNF
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 5