Stanford women’s tennis ended its NCAA Tournament run this past weekend in Malibu, Calif. — falling short of bringing home the program’s 21st national title. 

The No. 30 Cardinal opened their 44th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance on a high note, claiming a first-round victory over No. 38 BYU. After dropping the doubles point for the fifth straight match, Stanford responded with straight-set singles victories in the top four spots, led by their freshman class. 

The win marked Stanford’s 172nd all-time NCAA Tournament victory and sent the Cardinal into Saturday’s second round to face No. 11 Pepperdine. 

Despite a promising start, Pepperdine proved too strong for Stanford. After sweeping doubles, The Waves secured singles wins in courts one, two and six to close out a 4-0 victory over the Cardinal. The loss prevented Stanford from advancing to super regionals and closed out a postseason record of 14–11. 

The defeat also marked the third time in program history that Stanford has failed to secure wins in multiple rounds of the NCAA tournament, closing a season spent battling injuries and a limited roster.

Without star players like sophomore Valerie Glozman and senior Alexis Blokhina, Stanford spent the postseason relying heavily on a talented group of younger players. Stanford’s No. 1-ranked freshman class of Monika Ekstrand, Alyssa Ahn and Tianmei Wang played the top three courts throughout the postseason, a role typically reserved for more experienced players. 

Ekstrand is the first freshman to play exclusively on the top court since Connie Ma in the 2021–22 season and went 15–6 this year. She was followed closely by Ahn, who went 12–5 on court two. Wang provided consistent results on court three throughout the season, finishing her season by winning nine of her final 10 matches. 

While the season ended earlier than hoped, Stanford’s freshmen emerged as a clear strength of the program moving forward.