With a resounding 5-2 victory over No. 9 California this past Saturday, the No. 2 Stanford women’s tennis team clinched the Pac-10 regular season title, perhaps the first of many titles the Cardinal could bring home this year.
Stanford (23-0, 8-0 Pac-10) remains the nation’s only undefeated team in Division I women’s tennis, with 42 consecutive wins going back to February of last year. This is the third straight Pac-10 regular season title for the women, including the shared league title in 2008 with UCLA.
“It was a really unique experience for me,” said freshman Nicole Gibbs. “Not a lot of people get to come in to such a successful season their first year. Kristie and I really enjoyed playing in the lineup and being able to contribute consistently to the team’s successes. Everyone was really proud of the effort we put in to get there.”
The match proved to be a statement day for a number of reasons. With its defeat of No. 9 Cal (16-6, 6-2), the Cardinal has now earned wins over five top-10 teams. That’s one more than the No. 1 Florida Gators, who only have four wins over top-10 squads. Since the Gators are only ranked above the Cardinal due to strength of schedule, surely this must help Stanford’s case of returning to the top spot.
On a more individual level, the nation’s No. 2 team of senior Hilary Barte and sophomore Mallory Burdette pulled off the upset of Berkeley’s top-ranked team of Mari Andersson and Jana Juricova. The final score of 8-6 gave credence to the argument that Barte and Burdette should be America’s top-ranked pair.
Cal initially took a 1-0 lead in doubles when No. 34 Annie Goransson and Anett Schutting defeated No. 37 Kristie Ahn and Gibbs, 8-2, on the second court. Stanford leveled the score after senior Carolyn McVeigh and sophomore Stacey Tan bested Cal’s Marina Cossou and Tayler Davis, 8-3. Barte and Burdette’s upset clinched the doubles point before the team began singles play.
Tan, a sophomore ranked 55th in the nation, played a beautiful singles match to be first off the court, winning 6-2, 6-2 over Cossou. Ahn, the nation’s No. 22 player as just a freshman, put Stanford within one point of clinching the match after coming off her court with a 6-3, 6-0 win.
Up 3-0 and on the brink, Stanford lost its first point when No. 25 Andersson edged No. 19 Burdette, 6-4, 6-4. Any momentum the Golden Bears could have hoped to gain from their win, though, was taken away after Gibbs clinched the match–and the Pac-10 title–with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Schutting.
“I didn’t even realize what happened,” Gibbs said. “I thought, ‘Oh, we beat Cal,’ not ‘Oh, we just clinched the Pac-10’. After Frankie told me that I clinched, I felt really good but also just proud of our team and everything we’ve done this season.”
California and Stanford split the last two points, as Veronica Li defeated No. 48 Davis 6-3, 6-4, and top ranked Juricova defeated the fourth-ranked Barte 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the day’s only three-setter.
It didn’t feel that much different from any other dual match,” Gibbs said. “We’ve been a little spoiled by the fact that we haven’t even had any 4-3 victories this year. We’re just going get our business done, and that’s the end of it.”
“We had the same approach coming into the Cal match,” Gibbs continued. “We’re obviously really excited about the potential for the solo Pac-10 title. I don’t think we were particularly nervous. We were just excited to compete.”
With the regular season completed, Stanford now begins preparation for the postseason and the Pac-10 tournament, where it will come in as the No. 1 seed and look to defend its championship.