The Stanford men’s tennis team returns to action this Saturday against a rare East Coast opponent: the Yale Bulldogs. The Cardinal has been off for two weeks since the annual ITA National Team Indoor Championship at the end of February. The team is in the midst of a lull in its schedule before competition picks up after spring break in the buildup to May’s NCAA Championship.
Stanford will be looking to try to build off of the momentum that it has generated in its past few matches. The return of senior all-American Bradley Klahn has infused life back into a Cardinal lineup that had seemed listless for much of the beginning of the dual-match season.
Klahn’s presence has provided some needed depth for head coach John Whitlinger’s squad and has consequently given the Cardinal much better head-to-head singles matchups in its contests. Since Klahn’s return, the Cardinal is 3-1 against quality opponents, including top ten teams Virginia, Baylor and Kentucky.
Coach Whitlinger must hope that Stanford’s momentum has not dissipated over the course of the two-week break from team competition. When asked about this possibility, senior Ryan Thacher said Stanford would be ready.
“The team has taken the past few weeks to address some of the health issues that often arise mid-season,” Thacher said. “That said, practices have been very focused and guys seem anxious to get back out on the court.”
Health issues like the back injury that sidelined Klahn for the beginning of the season are serious concerns for the Cardinal and this two-week lull is the perfect time to address them.
“We know that teams really look forward to playing us on our home courts, and we will have to be ready to compete against Yale,” said Thacher. “Hopefully, we can continue to build off the momentum from our last few matches as we enter into spring break.”
The Bulldogs (4-3) are definitely considered to be underdogs heading into Saturday’s match with No. 9 Stanford. Junior John Huang and Daniel Hoffman, two products of California—Huang from Irvine and Hoffman an Atherton native—lead the Bulldogs in singles.
Stanford is currently 9-4 on the season in what promises to be a very competitive and strong Pac-12 race as always. In the mix is USC, the three-time defending national champion, and UCLA, which demolished Stanford in a 6-1 win a month ago. In recent years however, Stanford has started off slowly—much like this season—but then went on to play its best tennis in May.
Saturday’s match is the Cardinal’s final match before spring break. The action begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Taube Family Tennis Center.