The No. 11 Stanford men’s tennis team returns home to the Taube Family Tennis Center this weekend with back-to-back Pac-12 matches against Oregon and Washington. These two matches promise to be closely contested, as the teams will try to get into good position heading into the inaugural Pac-12 Championship starting April 25th in Ojai, Calif.
On Friday afternoon the Cardinal (12-5, 2-0 Pac-12) will welcome the No. 62-ranked Oregon Ducks to the Farm. The Ducks are coming off trouncings at the hands of USC and UCLA and are looking to rebound this weekend against the Northern California powerhouses Stanford and Cal.
The Ducks (5-7, 0-2 Pac-12) are led by a top-heavy singles lineup anchored by underclassmen. Sophomores Alex Rovello and Robin Cambier hold down the top two spots of the singles rotation, and Cambier is coming off a recent 15-match winning streak. Playing in the third slot for the Ducks is freshman Daniel Sardu. The influx of talented underclassmen into the top of the lineup has the Oregon coaches and fans excited about their future. For the present, however, it certainly looks as if Stanford will be the favorite in Friday’s match.
Saturday afternoon brings in the No. 22 Washington Huskies (12-5, 0-2 Pac-12). Like the Ducks, the Huskies are coming off losses in their first two Pac-12 matches of the season, also against USC and UCLA. The Huskies are led by talented junior Kyle McMorrow, who is ranked No. 14 in the country. His singles match against either Bradley Klahn or Ryan Thacher on the No. 1 singles court will surely not be one to miss.
The Cardinal will be looking to improve upon the momentum that it garnered by beating pesky Pac-12 opponents Arizona and Colorado last weekend. Head coach John Whitlinger has been very careful to keep his team concentrated on the task at hand by always focusing on the next match.
“The biggest match is Friday; it’s our next match and the one we are focused on,” Whitlinger said. “After Friday’s match we will start preparing for Saturday against Washington. We don’t want to look ahead to our road trip next weekend to L.A. against USC and UCLA. We’ll save preparing for those matches after the ones this weekend are finished.”
The team is beginning its stretch of tennis that will define its season. Pac-12 play through the beginning of April will lead up to the Pac-12 Championship starting April 25. Then the Pac-12 Championship will lead to the season-ending NCAA Championship, beginning May 11 in Athens, Ga.
“All we’re trying to do is keep improving,” said Whitlinger. “We still have a ways to go and will try to get a little better with each match. We’re hoping to begin peaking at the right time.”
The two matches this weekend will be important building blocks if the Stanford men’s tennis team hopes to reach its goal of winning the NCAA tournament.
The Cardinal will host Oregon at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and then square off against Washington at 1 p.m. on Saturday.