Stanford men’s tennis (6-3) traveled to San Diego last weekend to participate in the 128th annual Pacific Coast doubles tournament at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. The Cardinal took a break from their regular dual meets as four pairs participated in the event.
Over 100 teams entered the bracket over the weekend, with only one eventual winner. The Cardinal duos included some usual pairs as well as some first-time combinations. Sophomores Michael Genender and Sameer Kumar entered the tournament with a 4-1 record together on the year. Seniors Roy Lederman and Brandon Sutter were paired up for the first time, as well as sophomore Jack Barber and freshman William Genesen, who had the longest run of the group, reaching the finals and claiming second place. Junior Tom Fawcett, left without a partner from the Cardinal team, was paired up with Gregory Ouellette, a former tennis pro from Boise State.
In the initial round of 128, Genender/Kumar and Fawcett/Ouellette were given byes, while Lederman and Sutter (8-3) and Barber and Genesen (8-5) each won their initial play-in matches. The tournament format had the players play pro sets of eight games until the round of 16, when the players began regular best of three set games.
During the round of 64, all of the Stanford players won their matches and advanced to the next round. Genender/Kumar won their set 8-2, Fawcett/Ouellette won 8-6, Barber and Genesen won 8-4 and Lederman and Sutter eked out a victory in a tiebreaker 9-8.
In the round of 32, the Stanford players once again came away with four wins. Genender and Kumar won 8-6, Fawcett and Ouellette took their match 8-5, Barber and Genesen triumphed 8-4 and Lederman and Sutter cruised to an 8-1 victory.
Unfortunately for many of the players, this would be their last win of the weekend. In the round of 16, with best of three set matches now in place, three of the Stanford teams were defeated and sent to the consolation ladder. Genender and Kumar (6-7, 7-6, 3-6), Fawcett and Ouellette (5-7, 4-6) and Lederman and Sutter (4-6, 0-6) all exited the tournament at this stage. Yet Barber and Genesen came away with a narrow victory (7-6, 7-6) and a ticket to the quarterfinals.
Barber and Genesen had a phenomenal performance in the remainder of the tournament. They won their quarterfinal match with a strong comeback after dropping the first set, 2-6, 7-6, 6-1. In the semifinals, the dynamic duo won in straight sets 6-4, 7-5. The pair couldn’t close out the tournament, however, ending the event in second place after a hard-fought attempt in the finals (6-3, 6-4).
After dropping two matches in Los Angeles a week ago, the No. 44 ranked Cardinal currently sit at 6-3. Stanford hopes to regain momentum as it hosts a seventh-ranked Cal on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the Taube Family Tennis Center.
Contact Bobby Pragada at bpragada ‘at’ stanford.edu.