On the heels of another weekend sweep of ranked opponents, the No. 10 Cardinal women’s tennis team (6-0) will embark on its most difficult two-match stretch of the season when it heads to Gainesville, Florida for dates with No. 16 Duke and No. 2 Florida.
Stanford has only faced ranked opponents in its first six duals of the season, and the Blue Devils and Gators will mark the Cardinal’s third and fourth top-20 opponents.
Last season, when the then-No. 3 Cardinal faced the No. 5 Gators at home, Stanford ran away with a 7-0 sweep in a battle of the titans — Stanford and Florida have combined for four of the last five national titles. Stanford is 5-2 in its last seven matchups against the Gators. Meanwhile, Stanford is 8-1 all-time against Duke and will meet the Blue Devils on the court for the first time since 2006.
None of the Cardinal’s three star sophomores, No. 10 Carol Zhao, No. 14 Taylor Davidson and No. 16 Caroline Doyle, has lost a dual match this season and the trio will look to improve on their perfect 18-0 start. The Gators will throw three top-20 singles players of their own into the fray, as they boast the Nos. 3, 6 and 13 players in the nation atop their lineup. At the bottom of Stanford’s lineup, junior Lindsey Kostas is expected to return after being forced to retire from the Cardinal’s 4-3 win over Vanderbilt due to back spasms.
The Cardinal will seek to claim their fourth 8-0 start in the last five years against Duke at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Florida at 9 a.m. on Sunday.
Contact Do-Hyoung Park at dpark027 ‘at’ stanford.edu.