Cardinal will end regular season in Berkeley
“Our team is starting to gain a bit of confidence with every match,” said sophomore Bradley Klahn. “Guys are starting to play better. The last few matches have really helped us in making progress moving toward NCAAs.”
Against Santa Clara, Stanford quickly claimed the doubles point and never looked back. Klahn and fellow sophomore Ryan Thacher, the No. 3 doubles team in the nation, finished first, cruising to an 8-1 victory.
Confident in his team’s ability to beat the overmatched Broncos, head coach John Whitlinger switched up his doubles lineup. At the No. 2 spot, junior Ted Kelly took senior Richard Wire’s normal spot alongside junior Alex Clayton. Kelly did not waste his opportunity, winning 8-4 to secure the point.
Freshman Walker Kehrer and junior Greg Hirshman, filling in for freshmen Matt Kandath and Denis Lin, were the only team to lose, 8-5.
Whitlinger kept his regular singles lineup intact and the starters came through. Out of the 14 singles sets played, the Cardinal only lost two. Clayton, Klahn and Wire were the first to finish, giving Stanford the clinching four points.
Against USF, Whitlinger followed a similar strategy for similar results. Clayton and Wire played in the No. 1 doubles spot for the first time all season, easily winning 8-2. Kandath and Lin were back in action, playing in the No. 2 spot, and quickly defeated an overwhelmed Dons team 8-2.
With Thacher receiving a break from doubles, Klahn and Kelly rounded out the doubles lineup, winning 8-2.
Even with Klahn taking a day off from singles, Stanford did not drop a set. Thacher, Lin, Wire, Kandath and Hirshman all won in two sets, while Clayton’s opponent retired in the second set down 6-1, 2-0.
“It was nice to get a little day off from singles,” Klahn said. “I know our coach wanted to get Alex and Rich in at No. 1 doubles. I played with Ted last year. It’s always fun to get out there and get a quick win.”
The victory over San Francisco was Stanford’s third consecutive shutout. The last time the Cardinal lost a point was a week ago against No. 22 Washington.
Stanford knows it cannot expect another easy victory tomorrow at No. 13 California. The last time the Cardinal faced the Golden Bears, on Feb. 20 at the Farm, Cal pulled off a shocking 4-3 upset.
“They beat us on our home courts,” Klahn said. “They showed a lot of desire to come back. I think we’re just going to have to stay on them and not let up.”
Besides the added pressure of the rivalry, tomorrow’s match will carry special significance for Stanford. The match is the final regular season match, and the Cardinal would love to extend its winning streak to seven and maintain its momentum going into the Pac-10 Championships next week.
If Stanford wins, it would also have a chance to claim a share of the Pac-10 title, one of the team’s goals from the outset of the season. In order to do so, the Cardinal will need help; besides defeating Cal, UCLA would need to beat USC this weekend.
The last time the Trojans faced the Bruins, USC won 6-1 at UCLA. USC will be at home tomorrow.
Still, the Stanford players are trying to focus on Berkeley instead of scoreboard watching down in Los Angeles.
“We can only control what we do against Cal,” Klahn said.
The match is set to begin at 1 p.m. in Berkeley, Calif.