[Canalejas]

Stanford opens the tournament with a 4-0 win over Idaho.  Idaho only had 5 healthy players to start the match, and had to forfeit at #3 doubles and #6 singles.  The Vandals then had to medically retire at one of the singles matches, giving Stanford a quick 3-0 lead.  From then on it was a race to see which Cardinal player could get the clinching fourth point.

Stanford next faces TCU, 4-0 winners over Rice.

[Canalejas]

Stanford opens the tournament with a 4-0 win over Idaho.  Idaho only had 5 healthy players to start the match, and had to forfeit at #3 doubles and #6 singles.  The Vandals then had to medically retire at one of the singles matches, giving Stanford a quick 3-0 lead.  From then on it was a race to see which Cardinal player could get the clinching fourth point.

Stanford next faces TCU, 4-0 winners over Rice.

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford in a dogfight vs. TCU.  Stanford won the doubles point but trails in the 1st set in 5 of 6 singles matches.

Video streaming does not appear to be working so I am following via https://twitter.com/StanfordWTennis

Go Cardinal!

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford in a dogfight vs. TCU.  Stanford won the doubles point but trails in the 1st set in 5 of 6 singles matches.

Video streaming does not appear to be working so I am following via https://twitter.com/StanfordWTennis

Go Cardinal!

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford in a dogfight vs. TCU.  Stanford won the doubles point but trails in the 1st set in 5 of 6 singles matches.

Video streaming does not appear to be working so I am following via https://twitter.com/StanfordWTennis

Go Cardinal!

Video streaming for some matches available now at http://streamingtennis.com/Cardinal/

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford in a dogfight vs. TCU.  Stanford won the doubles point but trails in the 1st set in 5 of 6 singles matches.

Video streaming does not appear to be working so I am following via https://twitter.com/StanfordWTennis

Go Cardinal!

Video streaming for some matches available now at http://streamingtennis.com/Cardinal/

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford vs. TCU is now 2-2. 

Davidson has fought off 3 match points at #3 to force a 3rd set.  Lord was serving for the match in the 3rd set at #2 but got broken.  She is still up a break at 5-3 and will serve again for the match.  At #4, Lampl just broke her opponent to go up 2-0 in the 3rd set.  '

Stanford has to win 2 of those 3 matches to advance.

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford vs. TCU is now 2-2. 

Davidson has fought off 3 match points at #3 to force a 3rd set.  Lord was serving for the match in the 3rd set at #2 but got broken.  She is still up a break at 5-3 and will serve again for the match.  At #4, Lampl just broke her opponent to go up 2-0 in the 3rd set.  '

Stanford has to win 2 of those 3 matches to advance.

[Spiny_Norman]

Lord served for the match at 5-1 and and 5-3 and was broken each time.  However, at 5-4 she broke back to win her match. Stanford up 3-2.

Lampl up 5-1 and serves for her match at #4.  Davidson up 3-1 at #3.

[Spiny_Norman]

Lord served for the match at 5-1 and and 5-3 and was broken each time.  However, at 5-4 she broke back to win her match. Stanford up 3-2.

Lampl up 5-1 and serves for her match at #4.  Davidson up 3-1 at #3.

[Spiny_Norman]

Lampl wins 6-2 in the 3rd set.  Stanford beats TCU and advances to the round of 16 in Athens vs. 10 seed Michigan.

FYI, TCU's players are from Turkey, Sweden, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, and Germany.

[Spiny_Norman]

Lampl wins 6-2 in the 3rd set.  Stanford beats TCU and advances to the round of 16 in Athens vs. 10 seed Michigan.

FYI, TCU's players are from Turkey, Sweden, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, and Germany.

[JJJ]

Lampl wins 6-2 in the 3rd set.  Stanford beats TCU and advances to the round of 16 in Athens vs. 10 seed Michigan.

FYI, TCU's players are from Turkey, Sweden, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, and Germany.

Thanks for the updates and insights.

[JJJ]

Lampl wins 6-2 in the 3rd set.  Stanford beats TCU and advances to the round of 16 in Athens vs. 10 seed Michigan.

FYI, TCU's players are from Turkey, Sweden, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, and Germany.

Thanks for the updates and insights.

[terry]

Nice win for the Stanford women!

Thanks for the updates, Spiny.

[terry]

Nice win for the Stanford women!

Thanks for the updates, Spiny.

[BobK]

We play # 10 Michigan on Friday.

[BobK]

We play # 10 Michigan on Friday.

[oldalum]

We were in grave danger of losing this match for a long period of time. TCU won the first singles set on courts 1-5, and went on to win 2 out of the 3 matches decided in 2 sets, tying the match at 2-2. Things were looking very bad at that point; the TCU players were playing extremely well and all of our players on courts 1-5 were looking overmatched. It was impossible to see where we were going to get any points other than Higuchi on 6. The only player I had any confidence might turn things around was Lampl, and that was just because she often loses the first set and then gets rolling. But her opponent was extremely good and playing well so it didn't seem likely. Davidson had to pull two big comebacks to get into a third set on court 3: she was down 0-4 in her second set, managed to get it to 6-6, then in the tiebreaker was down 2-6, but managed to save FOUR match points in a row and went on to win the tiebreaker 8-6 to push her match to a third set. That was brobdingnagian, because if she had lost, TCU would have been up 3-2 very quickly in singles, and much more pressure would have been on Lord and Lampl to win their matches in 3 sets. It was much better to have 3 chances to win 2. As it turned out, both of them won their matches so Davidson's match didn't count, but boy was it important. TCU put a ton of pressure on us and the players responded by gutting out the wins. An exciting and heartstopping match.

[oldalum]

We were in grave danger of losing this match for a long period of time. TCU won the first singles set on courts 1-5, and went on to win 2 out of the 3 matches decided in 2 sets, tying the match at 2-2. Things were looking very bad at that point; the TCU players were playing extremely well and all of our players on courts 1-5 were looking overmatched. It was impossible to see where we were going to get any points other than Higuchi on 6. The only player I had any confidence might turn things around was Lampl, and that was just because she often loses the first set and then gets rolling. But her opponent was extremely good and playing well so it didn't seem likely. Davidson had to pull two big comebacks to get into a third set on court 3: she was down 0-4 in her second set, managed to get it to 6-6, then in the tiebreaker was down 2-6, but managed to save FOUR match points in a row and went on to win the tiebreaker 8-6 to push her match to a third set. That was brobdingnagian, because if she had lost, TCU would have been up 3-2 very quickly in singles, and much more pressure would have been on Lord and Lampl to win their matches in 3 sets. It was much better to have 3 chances to win 2. As it turned out, both of them won their matches so Davidson's match didn't count, but boy was it important. TCU put a ton of pressure on us and the players responded by gutting out the wins. An exciting and heartstopping match.

[fullmetal]

I didn't get to see any of this match, but it sounds like (once again), we have a team full of gamers who can perform under pressure and get the job done.  What an amazing team, and credit to the coaches for what I have to imagine was a deep belief in their players' abilities the extraction thereof.

[fullmetal]

I didn't get to see any of this match, but it sounds like (once again), we have a team full of gamers who can perform under pressure and get the job done.  What an amazing team, and credit to the coaches for what I have to imagine was a deep belief in their players' abilities the extraction thereof.

[oldalum]

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/15/st...-at-ncaas/

[oldalum]

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/15/st...-at-ncaas/

[ColoradoTree]

As usual, the depth on this team is what separates it from others in the conference and around the nation.  Just like last year, when Lampl and Lord played amazingly well as freshmen at the #5 and #6 spots, Emily Arbuthnott and Emma Higuchi have filled that role this year.  Higuchi is basically an automatic point at #6 (she hasn't lost a dual match all year), and Arbuthnott has had her big moments as well, including winning a third-set tiebreaker to clinch a 4-3 win over Vanderbilt earlier this year. Lampl (18-3 in duals) and Lord (16-4) have continued to play well this year, too. 

That depth is illustrated by the fact that Stanford doesn't have a first-team all-conference honoree for the first time in school history, but it has five second-team honorees.  We may not have a dominant #1 this year like we've had in years past with Nicole Gibbs, Amber Liu, or Laura Granville.  But man alive, it's hard to imagine any team in the country being stronger on the back courts--our #6 player, Higuchi, is ranked #71 in the country!

The top of the lineup has shifted a bit over the course of the year, with last year's #2, Taylor Davidson (10-7 in duals), playing #1 for most of the year but struggling somewhat.  She missed a couple of matches due to illness, and she played #3 when she came back, with fellow senior Caroline Doyle (9-8) taking over the top spot and Lord playing at #2.  Since then, that's been the lineup, so no reason to think it'll change again. 

As noted, #10 Michigan is next up, and the match is 9am ET/6am PT, taking place in Athens, GA (the official team twitter account will probably tweet out a link to the livestream, or else you can probably just find it on the University of Georgia women's tennis page).  Stanford is ranked #6 but was given the #7 seed in the NCAA tournament.  If Stanford ends up beating Michigan, it'll likely start like many other contested matches this year: get the doubles point (doubles has been much more successful this year than last year) and get a quick win from Higuchi to go up 2-0.  Then, just get two more points however you can--often, it's Lord at #2, Lampl at #4, or Arbuthnott at #5, but every player has clinched a dual match this year, including Doyle (vs. Texas and Cal in the Pac-12 championship match) and Davidson (against USC and Oklahoma State).  And Davidson seems to find an extra gear in NCAAs, regardless of how she's played up to that point.  (As others noted, her comeback in the second set vs. TCU was a big momentum shift in that match. To come from down 0-4 in the set and 2-6 in the tiebreaker to win is just nuts, and that had to be a shot in the arm for Lampl and Lord, trying to close out their matches.) 

Just like every year, no one wants to play Stanford come tournament time.  And I love that.

[ColoradoTree]

As usual, the depth on this team is what separates it from others in the conference and around the nation.  Just like last year, when Lampl and Lord played amazingly well as freshmen at the #5 and #6 spots, Emily Arbuthnott and Emma Higuchi have filled that role this year.  Higuchi is basically an automatic point at #6 (she hasn't lost a dual match all year), and Arbuthnott has had her big moments as well, including winning a third-set tiebreaker to clinch a 4-3 win over Vanderbilt earlier this year. Lampl (18-3 in duals) and Lord (16-4) have continued to play well this year, too. 

That depth is illustrated by the fact that Stanford doesn't have a first-team all-conference honoree for the first time in school history, but it has five second-team honorees.  We may not have a dominant #1 this year like we've had in years past with Nicole Gibbs, Amber Liu, or Laura Granville.  But man alive, it's hard to imagine any team in the country being stronger on the back courts--our #6 player, Higuchi, is ranked #71 in the country!

The top of the lineup has shifted a bit over the course of the year, with last year's #2, Taylor Davidson (10-7 in duals), playing #1 for most of the year but struggling somewhat.  She missed a couple of matches due to illness, and she played #3 when she came back, with fellow senior Caroline Doyle (9-8) taking over the top spot and Lord playing at #2.  Since then, that's been the lineup, so no reason to think it'll change again. 

As noted, #10 Michigan is next up, and the match is 9am ET/6am PT, taking place in Athens, GA (the official team twitter account will probably tweet out a link to the livestream, or else you can probably just find it on the University of Georgia women's tennis page).  Stanford is ranked #6 but was given the #7 seed in the NCAA tournament.  If Stanford ends up beating Michigan, it'll likely start like many other contested matches this year: get the doubles point (doubles has been much more successful this year than last year) and get a quick win from Higuchi to go up 2-0.  Then, just get two more points however you can--often, it's Lord at #2, Lampl at #4, or Arbuthnott at #5, but every player has clinched a dual match this year, including Doyle (vs. Texas and Cal in the Pac-12 championship match) and Davidson (against USC and Oklahoma State).  And Davidson seems to find an extra gear in NCAAs, regardless of how she's played up to that point.  (As others noted, her comeback in the second set vs. TCU was a big momentum shift in that match. To come from down 0-4 in the set and 2-6 in the tiebreaker to win is just nuts, and that had to be a shot in the arm for Lampl and Lord, trying to close out their matches.) 

Just like every year, no one wants to play Stanford come tournament time.  And I love that.

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford faces Michigan, the same team they beat 4-3 in the national quarterfinals last year. Caroline Doyle won a 3rd set tie-breaker at #3 for the winning point.

There is also a direct Stanford connection to the UM team.  The associate head coach is Teryn Ashley-Fitch who played at Stanford from 1996-2000 and won 2 team national championships.

This will be a very tough match.  Go Cardinal!!

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford faces Michigan, the same team they beat 4-3 in the national quarterfinals last year. Caroline Doyle won a 3rd set tie-breaker at #3 for the winning point.

There is also a direct Stanford connection to the UM team.  The associate head coach is Teryn Ashley-Fitch who played at Stanford from 1996-2000 and won 2 team national championships.

This will be a very tough match.  Go Cardinal!!

[DC 86]

Thanks for the excellent preview, ColoradoTree.

[DC 86]

Thanks for the excellent preview, ColoradoTree.

[ColoradoTree]

If Stanford ends up beating Michigan, it'll likely start like many other contested matches this year: get the doubles point (doubles has been much more successful this year than last year) and get a quick win from Higuchi to go up 2-0.  Then, just get two more points however you can--often, it's Lord at #2, Lampl at #4, or Arbuthnott at #5, but every player has clinched a dual match this year, including Doyle (vs. Texas and ןɐɔ in the Pac-12 championship match) and Davidson (against Under Stanford Control (again) and Oklahoma State).

True to form, Stanford won the doubles point handily, with the #1 combo of Taylor Davidson and Emily Arbuthnott winning 6-1 and the #3 pair of Caroline Lampl and Emma Higuchi winning 6-0.  Higuchi was then the first to book a win, 6-0, 6-2 at the #6 spot to make it 2-0. 

In singles, Stanford won first sets from Melissa Lord at #2, Taylor Davidson at #3, and Emma Higuchi at #6, who has since won.  Here's a brief update, with a reminder that Stanford needs just two more wins to win the match: 

#1: Doyle lost the first set 6-3, but won the second 6-1, with the third yet to start.
#2: Lord is up 6-4, 5-4 and will serve for her match.
#3: Davidson won her first set 6-4, her game deserted her in the second and she lost it 6-1, and she now leads 2-1 in the third.
#4. Lampl lost her first set 7-5 and trails 3-2 in the second set. 
#5. Arbuthnott lost her first set 6-3, but turned on the gas in the second set and won that set 6-0 to force a third.  She is on serve in the third set, down 1-0.

[ColoradoTree]

If Stanford ends up beating Michigan, it'll likely start like many other contested matches this year: get the doubles point (doubles has been much more successful this year than last year) and get a quick win from Higuchi to go up 2-0.  Then, just get two more points however you can--often, it's Lord at #2, Lampl at #4, or Arbuthnott at #5, but every player has clinched a dual match this year, including Doyle (vs. Texas and ןɐɔ in the Pac-12 championship match) and Davidson (against Under Stanford Control (again) and Oklahoma State).

True to form, Stanford won the doubles point handily, with the #1 combo of Taylor Davidson and Emily Arbuthnott winning 6-1 and the #3 pair of Caroline Lampl and Emma Higuchi winning 6-0.  Higuchi was then the first to book a win, 6-0, 6-2 at the #6 spot to make it 2-0. 

In singles, Stanford won first sets from Melissa Lord at #2, Taylor Davidson at #3, and Emma Higuchi at #6, who has since won.  Here's a brief update, with a reminder that Stanford needs just two more wins to win the match: 

#1: Doyle lost the first set 6-3, but won the second 6-1, with the third yet to start.
#2: Lord is up 6-4, 5-4 and will serve for her match.
#3: Davidson won her first set 6-4, her game deserted her in the second and she lost it 6-1, and she now leads 2-1 in the third.
#4. Lampl lost her first set 7-5 and trails 3-2 in the second set. 
#5. Arbuthnott lost her first set 6-3, but turned on the gas in the second set and won that set 6-0 to force a third.  She is on serve in the third set, down 1-0.

[ColoradoTree]

Stanford 2, Michigan 0

After a great start, things have tightened up noticeably, with four of the five remaining matches into a third set and Stanford hoping Lampl can push her match into a third set. 

#1: 3-6, 6-1, 2-2.  Four straight breaks of serve to open the third set.  Doyle to serve next, so hopefully she can consolidate. 
#2: 6-4, 5-7, 1-0.  Lord was serving at 5-2 in the second, but lost five straight games.  That's a disheartening and surprising drop in form.  I hope she's not injured.  She has never lost at the NCAAs.  That said, she broke Minor to start the third set, so perhaps she's back on track. 
#3: 6-4, 1-6, 4-3.  Davidson can be streaky and feeds off emotion. After a bad second set, she's right back in it now.
#4. 5-7, 5-4. A slow mover.  Lampl is fighting, though.  If she wins her second set and Stanford needs the point, she'll win her match.  She hasn't lost at the NCAAs, either.  (She and Lord were both undefeated last year in Stanford's run to the title.)
#5. 3-6, 6-0, 3-3.  Arbuthnott hasn't been able to keep up the pressure she put on Ruder-Hook in the second set. 

[ColoradoTree]

Stanford 2, Michigan 0

After a great start, things have tightened up noticeably, with four of the five remaining matches into a third set and Stanford hoping Lampl can push her match into a third set. 

#1: 3-6, 6-1, 2-2.  Four straight breaks of serve to open the third set.  Doyle to serve next, so hopefully she can consolidate. 
#2: 6-4, 5-7, 1-0.  Lord was serving at 5-2 in the second, but lost five straight games.  That's a disheartening and surprising drop in form.  I hope she's not injured.  She has never lost at the NCAAs.  That said, she broke Minor to start the third set, so perhaps she's back on track. 
#3: 6-4, 1-6, 4-3.  Davidson can be streaky and feeds off emotion. After a bad second set, she's right back in it now.
#4. 5-7, 5-4. A slow mover.  Lampl is fighting, though.  If she wins her second set and Stanford needs the point, she'll win her match.  She hasn't lost at the NCAAs, either.  (She and Lord were both undefeated last year in Stanford's run to the title.)
#5. 3-6, 6-0, 3-3.  Arbuthnott hasn't been able to keep up the pressure she put on Ruder-Hook in the second set. 

[BobK]

3-0 as Davidson wins. 

[BobK]

3-0 as Davidson wins. 

[ColoradoTree]

Stanford 3, Michigan 0

Davidson closed out a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 win to make the overall match 3-0 and put Stanford one match away from the win. 

#1: 3-6, 6-1, 2-4.  Fahey has started to assert herself in the third set here. 
#2: 6-4, 5-7, 3-1.  After her drop in form at the end of the second set (losing five straight), Lord is back in the driver's seat. 
#4. 5-7, 6-5.  Lommer will serve to force a second-set tiebreak.  Michigan desperately needs to get a point on the board to build some momentum, but Caroline Lampl sure isn't an easy out.
#5. 3-6, 6-0, 4-3.  After two uneven sets in terms of play, the third set is very close. 

[ColoradoTree]

Stanford 3, Michigan 0

Davidson closed out a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 win to make the overall match 3-0 and put Stanford one match away from the win. 

#1: 3-6, 6-1, 2-4.  Fahey has started to assert herself in the third set here. 
#2: 6-4, 5-7, 3-1.  After her drop in form at the end of the second set (losing five straight), Lord is back in the driver's seat. 
#4. 5-7, 6-5.  Lommer will serve to force a second-set tiebreak.  Michigan desperately needs to get a point on the board to build some momentum, but Caroline Lampl sure isn't an easy out.
#5. 3-6, 6-0, 4-3.  After two uneven sets in terms of play, the third set is very close. 

[2006alum]

Regardless of outcome, it's pretty crappy that they had a west coast team start one of the first matches. It couldn't have been later than 6 a.m. PST when we had to take the court for warmups, which is really dang early if you're 19.

Go Stanford!

[2006alum]

Regardless of outcome, it's pretty crappy that they had a west coast team start one of the first matches. It couldn't have been later than 6 a.m. PST when we had to take the court for warmups, which is really dang early if you're 19.

Go Stanford!