No. 14 Stanford Cardinal (17-5, 7-3 Pac-12)
– vs. –
No. 3 California Golden Bears (22-3, 9-1 Pac-12)
NCAA Championships – Round of 16
Friday, May 15 – 10 a.m. PT Waco, Texas – Hurd Tennis Center – Baylor University
Weather Forecast: 82 degrees, humid with thunderstorms
STANFORD, Calif. – No. 14 Stanford (17-5, 7-3 Pac-12) will be making its 30th consecutive postseason appearance in the NCAA Championships round of 16 when competition gets underway Friday morning in Waco, Texas.
Stanford has won 17 of the 33 possible NCAA team titles and captured 18 national championships overall when including the 1978 AIAW crown. The Cardinal owns a 135-17 all-time record in the postseason since the NCAA Tournament went to its present format in 1982.
Despite its status as the most storied program in college tennis, it might be surprising to note that Stanford has become familiar with starting the postseason in an underdog role. Believe it or not, the Cardinal has entered NCAA’s seeded higher than fifth only once (No. 1 in 2011) over the last seven years. Stanford won the 2010 NCAA championship as the No. 8 seed and two years ago became the lowest-seeded team at No. 12 to win an NCAA title.
However, Stanford must be considered a national championship contender regardless of seed. After all, the Cardinal has incredibly won nine of its last 10 postseason matches when seeded lower than its opponent.
With that said, here are five storylines heading into this weekend’s competition:
| This Is Nothing New Friday’s match against California (22-3, 9-1 Pac-12) is already being hyped by many national tennis pundits as the best matchup in the round of 16. Sounds a bit odd for a 3-14 matchup but ironically, it sets up exactly like Stanford’s two previous round of 16 matches against familiar opponents. In 2013, it was a five-hour 4-3 victory over No. 5 USC, which entered the match having won 15 in a row while finishing 9-0 to claim the Pac-12 title. In 2014, it was a 4-3 thriller over No. 6 California, in which the Golden Bears were riding a 14-match winning streak after clinching their first-ever Pac-12 championship with a 10-0 mark. |
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| A Closer Look At No. 3 California Conference matchups are often unavoidable when you reach the round of 16, and there will be absolutely no surprises here. With six top-50 singles players and two top-10 doubles teams, this year’s California team is loaded with enough talent to contend for the national title. Riding a 10-match winning streak, the Golden Bears must feel like they have all the momentum after sweeping the regular-season series with a 4-3 triumph on The Farm and 5-2 victory in Berkeley. But this is the postseason and Stanford has been in this spot before. How will the Golden Bears handle the pressure that comes along with being the favorite? |
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| Exactly One Year Ago… Friday’s meeting will come exactly one year to the date of Stanford’s 4-3 round of 16 victory over Cal last season. So, if the Cardinal can win the doubles point and seize early momentum, how will that affect the Golden Bears? Last year’s contest had no shortage of drama. A day-of-match venue change from Athens to Atlanta. A shift from the outdoor courts of Georgia to the indoor courts of Georgia Tech. A Stanford comeback after losing the doubles point and facing a 3-2 deficit. Taylor Davidson shaking off cramps and fatigue to win in three sets. Caroline Doyle trailing 5-3 in the third set and ripping off seven straight points in a deciding tiebreaker. |
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| A True “Big Three” Stanford boasts one of the nation's top sophomore classes in Taylor Davidson, Caroline Doyle and Carol Zhao. The talented trio boasts a combined 83-17 overall record in singles play and is 53-7 in dual match competition. All three players are ranked nationally in both singles and doubles and have earned bids to participate in NCAA Championships. Last season as rookies, the trio combined to provide 10 match clinchers and a 90-21 overall record, with Doyle’s 34 victories leading the group. The three sophomores have also fared pretty well against California in their brief careers, combining for a 16-8 record. It’s also worth noting Doyle did not play in the second match in Berkeley. |
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| Upperclassmen Provide Valuable Experience Not many teams have the luxury of two battled-tested upperclassmen on the backcourts. Junior Krista Hardebeck and senior Ellen Tsay fit that description as remaining players from Stanford’s 2013 NCAA championship squad. Both possess big-match experience. Hardebeck completed one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA history when she rallied from a 5-1 second-set deficit to clinch Stanford’s memorable 4-3 upset of No. 1 Florida. Tsay has been pretty much automatic at No. 5 this season and clinched the Cardinal’s 4-3 rally against USC in the 2013 round of 16. If both players are able to deliver consistently, Stanford becomes a very dangerous threat. |