This weekend rushes us with the riveting ITA Northwest Regional women’s tennis tournament. The best tennis teams in the nation will be congregating on Stanford, for the 12th consecutive year, to battle it out on the court.

The list of teams in this tournament is hefty, specifically including Oregon and California, two top-40 teams as ranked by the ITA. Fortunately, though, our Stanford Cardinal are ranked first in the nation, and they are defending NCAA champions after they took down Vanderbilt last year.

This, paired with the fact that the tournament will be on our very own Taube Family Tennis Stadium will definitely boost the Cardinal over the edge. Expect to see some hard hits, aces and finesse by the illustrious Stanford women’s tennis team.

Watch out for Melissa Lord, who is currently ranked 25th in the nation in Singles, and is starting her senior year. She was 19-5 overall last year and was an all Pac-12 Second Team selection. She’s definitely someone who is fun to watch, and as she begins her final year, it can be exciting to see what else she has tucked away in her sleeves.

Sophomore Michaela Gordon is another name to watch out for, the defending champion of the tournament after claiming the singles title in her freshman year. She’ll be looking to defend her crown this weekend.

This weekend should be a fun introduction to another great year in Stanford women’s tennis. The Cardinal are favorites to win not only the Northwest Regional ITA tournament but the NCAA Championship for another consecutive year.

Contact Julio Ballista at juliob ‘at’ stanford.edu.