STANFORD, Calif. - The postseason for No. 14 Stanford (15-5, 7-3 Pac-12) will begin in a familiar setting: Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Making its 34th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, Stanford will host first and second round competition this weekend on The Farm. The Cardinal’s opponent in the postseason lid-lifter is Stony Brook (15-1, 5-0 America East) at 2 p.m. PT, following the regional’s other matchup between No. 19 Pepperdine (17-6, 8-1 WCC) and No. 43 Auburn (16-13, 3-10 SEC) at 11 a.m. PT.
Single-day tickets are $8 (adult) and $5 (student/youth/senior), while all seats are general admission and available by calling 1-800-STANFORD or visiting www.gostanford.com.
Stony Brook, which also visited Taube Family Tennis Stadium for the first round in 2012, suffered its only loss of the season on March 6 in a 5-2 setback against Harvard. Winners of four consecutive America East championships, the Seawolves boast one nationally-ranked doubles team in No. 83 Elizabeth Tsvetkov and Kristina Vozniak.
The most storied program in college tennis with 17 NCAA championships, Stanford finished fourth in Pac-12 play while being ranked between No. 7-14 in the country throughout the season. The Cardinal has pocketed signature wins against other NCAA Tournament teams such as Notre Dame, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Duke, Arizona State and Pepperdine. That being said, Stanford’s five losses are definitely a rarity, its most setbacks since a 19-5 finish in 2009.
Sophomores Taylor Davidson, Caroline Doyle and Carol Zhao share the team lead with 27 victories apiece and hold down the top three spots of the lineup. All three have earned singles berths at NCAA Championships, with Doyle and Zhao having won their last seven matches. It’s a dangerous trio that possesses significant postseason experience.
Meanwhile, senior Ellen Tsay anchors the bottom of the lineup, having compiled a 22-7 overall record. Tsay, along with juniors Krista Hardebeck and Lindsey Kostas, were members of Stanford’s 2013 NCAA championship team.
The Cardinal is equally strong in doubles, boasting the nation’s second-ranked duo (Davidson/Zhao) and 10th-ranked tandem (Doyle/Tsay).
Stanford owns a 133-17 all-time record in the postseason since the NCAA Tournament went to its present format in 1982. Stanford must be considered a national championship contender regardless of seed. Two years ago, the 12th-seeded Cardinal became the lowest-seeded team to win an NCAA title, knocking off No. 5 USC, No. 4 Georgia and No. 1 Florida before knocking off No. 3 Texas A&M in the final. That championship also extended Stanford's record streak of 37 years in a row with at least one NCAA title and paved the way for a 19th consecutive Directors' Cup.
Incredibly, Stanford, which also captured the 2010 NCAA championship as a No. 8 seed, has won nine of its last 10 NCAA Tournament matches when seeded lower than its opponent.