Seventh-seeded Stanford women’s tennis (23-2) will face No. 10 Michigan (23-5) Friday morning for a spot in the final eight. This season, the Cardinal women are not only attempting to repeat as national champions, but are also looking to bring the school’s 114th crown home in order to put Stanford ahead of UCLA for the most NCAA titles ever.
This is the second time in as many years that the Cardinal will face the Biffs in the NCAA tournament. In last year’s quarterfinal, Stanford came up on top thanks to a clinching three-setter from Caroline Doyle. The current senior had given the Cardinal a 4-3 after coming back from a 6-5 deficit in the final set.
This year, the Cardinal started their campaign strong, sweeping Idaho in the first round before rallying to a comeback 4-2 victory against TCU. During the season, the team has only dropped two matches, both on the road, against top-seeded Florida and No. 12 Pepperdine.
Although Stanford is the sixth overall team in the nation, the Cardinal have won the tournament in the past while being an underdog. In particular, the team last year became the lowest ever seed to win it all, taking the crown as a 15th seed. The Cardinal also won it all as 12th and eight seed in 2013 and 2010, respectively.
Once again, the Cardinal hopes to make a long postseason run, and will rely on its team depth in order to do so. The team’s two freshmen, Emily Arbuthnott and Emma Higuchi, have made an impact for the Cardinal, losing very few dual singles on the season. Arbuthnott only dropped two matches, while Higuchi stays undefeated for the Cardinal, riding a 20-game winning streak.
Complementing the lineup, sophomore pair Caroline Lampl and Melissa Lord have chipped in 18 and 16 respective single victories over the season, and led the Cardinal to victory against TCU at home, both coming back from a one-set deficit.
Stanford has also been a competitive doubles team, as senior Taylor Davidson and Arbuthnott have been selected to participate in the NCAA doubles tournament.
Contact Alexandre Bucquet at bucqueta ‘at’ stanford.edu.