The Stanford men’s tennis team plays host to its fiercest rival—the California Golden Bears—this Saturday afternoon at the Taube Family Tennis Center. The annual Big Slam is perennially one of the most highly anticipated matches on the Stanford tennis schedule, as these two storied programs have had many legendary clashes in the past.
The Cardinal is coming off one of its best weekends of the year, having defeated two top-10 opponents and narrowly lost to another at the National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Virginia. At that tournament, No. 9 Stanford squeezed by No. 7 Baylor in the first round, put up a great fight against No. 2 UVA in the second round and then rebounded with a resounding win against No. 6 Kentucky in the consolations.
In Virginia, Stanford was buoyed by the return of two of their top players who had been out with injuries: junior Denis Lin returned from a one match absence and senior Bradley Klahn fully returned to play for the first time this dual-match season.
The return of Klahn paid immediate dividends for the Cardinal, who had been playing leaderless so far this season. Klahn’s return to the top of the lineup also greatly helps coach John Whitlinger lengthen out his lineup and better utilize the solid depth that is one of Stanford’s strengths.
“It really means a lot to the rest of the guys having Brad back,” Whitlinger said early in the week, “I had no idea he would be ready to go until right before the doubles match against Baylor. He’s just such a competitor, such a fighter, and he really wanted to play. It was really a big boost for our team.”
Having Klahn back also means Whitlinger can return to his normal doubles pairing and try to turn around Stanford’s abnormally weak play in doubles, a definite positive for the squad. Klahn’s return is already showing dividends in this regard, as the team went 2-1 in the doubles portion of their matches over the weekend in Virginia, a large improvement considering the level of the competition.
Against No. 13 Cal on Saturday, Stanford’s new-look lineup will surely be tested in what promises to be a lively environment at Taube. Cal is led on singles this year by the nationally ranked duo of Ben McLachlan and Carlos Cueto, ranked No. 44 and No. 67 respectively. Their record on the season is 5-4. At the National Indoor Championship, the Golden Bears were trounced by No. 4 Georgia and No. 8 UCLA before defeating No. 12 Pepperdine.
Whenever Stanford and Cal meet in any sport, there always seem to be some sort of fireworks, and Saturday’s matchup proves to be nothing out of the ordinary in this respect. These two teams know each other very well, and whenever they meet, tough, tight and exciting matches seem to always ensue.
The rivalry renews at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Taube Family Tennis Center.