Only Berkeley stands in the way of the Stanford women’s tennis team and a much-deserved two-week match break. After playing six matches in nine days at the National Team Indoor Championships and returning home to begin Pac-10 conference play, the Cardinal has earned some rest.
The team has been performing fantastically so far this season. It cruised through the Indoors Championships, a prestigious early season tournament that teams use to gauge where they stand on the national stage. After defeating the Florida Gators in a repeat of last year’s NCAA Championship match, the players returned home to post two successive shutouts over Pac-10 opponents Oregon and Washington State. They now have seven shutouts in eleven matches.
“We are playing at a really high level of tennis,” said sophomore Natalie Dillon. “We have a lot of depth this year, a lot of talent at every spot. Teams should definitely be scared to play us. It’s exciting to see how all our hard work in the fall has really paid off throughout the first half of this season and hopefully in the second half. “
However, despite the dominating results, the Cardinal dropped to No. 2 in the national rankings behind the new No. 1, Florida.
Around this point in the season, the rankings switch from poll rankings to a computerized point-per-match formula. According to this system, Florida is No. 1 because of the strength of schedule of ACC play. Florida, a member of that conference in women’s tennis, has posted five top-12 victories, all over ACC opponents, including three wins against top-five teams. Stanford boasts six victories in top-20 games, but only has wins over two teams in the top 12. Despite one of those victories–a 4-2 victory over Florida–the Cardinal still finds itself ranked below the Gators.
The new rankings did help some. Senior star Hilary Barte saw herself rise to the top of the rankings and become the country’s new No. 1 player. After her, Kristie Ahn is ranked 13th, Nicole Gibbs is ranked 20th, Mallory Burdette is ranked 24th and Stacey Tan is ranked 46th. In doubles, Barte and Burdette are ranked No. 2 behind No. 1 Sofie Oyen and Allie Will of Florida. This ranking is again a bit misleading, because Barte/Burdette defeated Oyen/Will at Indoors 8-5 two weeks ago.
Aside from the rankings, Stanford is still playing some of its finest tennis at the moment. The team faced the University of San Francisco Thursday afternoon during the few hours of sun that day and prevailed 5-2. There were a few fresh faces playing, as Natalie Dillon, Herring and freshman Elizabeth Ecker all got the chance to play. For Herring and Dillon, it was their dual match season debuts playing at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots, respectively.
“I was nervous,” Herring said. “I’ve never played a dual match before, so it was just interesting to not be in the stands cheering everyone on and instead being on the court having everyone cheer me on. It was a great change.”
Herring struggled in singles, winning her first set before dropping the next two to lose the match, 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (7). However, with her powerful serve clicking in doubles, she paired up with Jennifer Yen to record an easy 8-1 victory.
“My serve was on in doubles, definitely,” Herring said. “It’s usually my serve that I have the most confidence in. If I need a free point, it’s usually what I rely on.”
Dillon also struggled in her match, fighting but falling in two sets, 6-3, 6-2. Her opponent played with heavy topspin and a powerful forehand that challenged Dillon, who played with minor shoulder strains.
“I could have done better,” said Dillon. “I had a couple injuries in my shoulders that I think brought me down a little bit. I did decent, not my best but not my worst.”
Ecker played on Court seven and experienced a very up-and-down match. She breezed through the first set, 6-0. In the second, she lost focus and her opponent forced a third-set tiebreaker. Ecker raced out to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreaker before closing her opponent out, 6-0, 5-7, 1-0 (4).
“We’ve had a long week,” Herring said. “We came back from indoors and we jumped right back into two matches right away. But everyone is getting ready for this weekend and getting really excited for Cal.”
Cal is Stanford’s next opponent–a match that is always circled on the calendar. This year, the Golden Bears are ranked sixth and have only suffered one surprising loss, to Northwestern, in the first round of Indoors. Their top player, Jana Juricova, is ranked 4th in both singles and in doubles, where she pairs up with Mari Andersson.
With a victory, Stanford would continue an unparalleled streak of 172 consecutive wins at home. This is the longest active home winning streak among all sports in Division I athletics. It was Berkeley that last defeated the Cardinal on the Farm, edging out Stanford in 1999 by a 5-4 score. The streak will be tested again by the Cardinal’s cross-town rivals.
Last season, Stanford defeated Cal twice by scores of 5-2 each time, despite Cal being ranked No. 5 during their first meeting. With Stanford as the higher seed in this matchup, the players are hoping not to see another upset this year. The match begins at 12 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Taube Tennis Stadium.