With a 6-1 win over St. Mary’s at the Taube Tennis Stadium on Thursday afternoon, the No. 2 Stanford women’s tennis team increased its record-breaking NCAA home winning streak to 179 victories, the longest string of home wins in all of Division I athletics. The Cardinal (22-0, 7-0 Pac-10) has also won forty-one straight matches, with its last defeat dating back to February 2010 against UCLA.
The Gaels (11-7) came to Stanford having won nine out of their previous ten matches, but were handed a quick defeat at the hands of the Stanford women. The Cardinal won the first doubles point with victories from senior Hilary Barte and sophomore Mallory Burdette on court one, defeating St. Mary’s Alex Poorta and Anna Chkhikvishvili, 8-2.
Court two also saw the Cardinal take control, as senior Carolyn McVeigh and sophomore Stacey Tan slipped past Jenny Jullien and Claire Soper 9-7. Doubles on court three, however, was less convincing: junior Veronica Li and senior Jennifer Yen dropped the pro-set, 8-4, to Catherine Isip and Diana Bukajeva.
Singles was smooth sailing, as every Cardinal player besides Tan, who was defeated by the Gaels Jenny Jullie 6-4, 6-3, recorded a straight-set victory. Barte, freshman Nicole Gibbs, Li and McVeigh all recorded easy wins over their St. Mary’s opponents. Burdette got a win as well, but struggled in the second set after crushing her opponent, Isip, 6-0 in the first. Gibbs, who was playing on the court next to her, described the intensity of the match.
“Mall [Mallory] was up 40-0 at 5-3 in the second set, tying up three match points. Isip made a comeback, though,” Gibbs said. “Mall finally won the second set on her sixth match point 7-6 (6). She is definitely one of the grittiest players and a total fighter, and the fact that she fought through is a testament to her determination.”
The victory was an important one for the Cardinal as it looks ahead to Saturday. The team will be traveling across the bay to face No. 16 Cal at Berkeley in the final match of the regular season. Stanford, which stands at 7-0 in league play compared to Cal’s record of 6-1, has also clinched at least a share of the Pac-10 title even with a possible loss to Cal. In order to capture the full title, however, Stanford needs a win at Berkeley.
“I think our match today was a really key part of our preparation for this weekend,” Gibbs said. “We’ll have a practice tomorrow to work on whatever doesn’t feel good and to rid ourselves of the kinks.
“I think the way we’re viewing this match is, ‘Yeah we have a piece of the Pac-10 title, but we’re not looking to share it,’” she said with a laugh.
The Cardinal faced the Golden Bears under two months ago at home, thrashing them 5-2 and only dropping matches on courts one and two of the singles. Stanford also wants a win this weekend to close out its regular schedule and enter the postseason undefeated.
“Just the fact that it’s going to be Cal’s senior day means that there will be a whole lot of energy around the match, and preparing for that atmosphere is especially important,” Gibbs said. “Our beat-down of them last time will give them even more impetus to win, so we must be ready.”
The Cardinal faced Cal in last year’s match-up with the Pac-10 title at stake. Last year’s victory over Cal not only gave Stanford the Pac-10 crown, but also momentum moving forward—something the players hope will transfer from this weekend’s events.
“The way the season has gone, a win this weekend would be the icing on the cake,” Gibbs said. “The biggest plus of going undefeated would be the confidence our team would have entering Pac-10s and NCAAs. I really think that we are totally in the place to do it and would be really excited to see that happen.”
Last year, with only one loss, Stanford entered the NCAA tournament as huge underdogs, just barely inside the top ten. This year, the Cardinal looks to enter the tournament with the respect it feels it deserves.
The Cardinal and Golden Bears are set to duke it out for control of the Pac-10 title this Saturday at 12 p.m. in Berkeley.