STANFORD, Calif. – Defending NCAA champion Stanford is about to be tested this weekend, bracing for one of its most difficult nonconference road swings in recent memory.
The Cardinal (3-0) has opened its season with three consecutive shutouts, but the competition is about to ramp up significantly. No. 5 Stanford faces No. 6 Oklahoma State (8-1) on Friday in a rematch of last year's national championship, then travels to No. 1 Florida (7-0) two days later to resume what has become the best rivalry in college tennis.
Stanford's season will not be defined by its outcomes this weekend. After all, the Cardinal still has contenders Vanderbilt, Texas and Pepperdine on the schedule, along with its usual challenging Pac-12 slate. However, this weekend's highly anticipated matches stand out for a variety of reasons.
Friday's 3 p.m. PT contest against Oklahoma State will be played in Orlando, Fla., at the 1,200-seat USTA National Campus, the first off-campus stadium built specifically for college tennis. The 2016 NCAA final rematch will be streamed live on ESPN3 and is part of the 2017 College MatchDay series, which features free admission, a kids' clinic, live music and on-site giveaways.
Stanford captured its 19th national championship (18 NCAA, 1 AIAW) in 2016, defeating No. 12 Oklahoma State in a 4-3 thriller in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Trailing 3-1 against the first-time finalist Cowgirls, the Cardinal completed its comeback when Taylor Davidson outlasted Vladica Babic in a dramatic three-setter at the No. 2 position. No. 15 Stanford became the lowest-seeded team to win an NCAA title, knocking off No. 2 Florida, No. 10 Michigan and No. 6 Vanderbilt in a span of five days prior to reaching the final.
Two days later, Stanford travels north to Gainesville, Fla., for the latest chapter of the sport's best rivalry against No. 1 Florida. The rivalry started to gain momentum seven years ago, when Stanford defeated Florida 4-3 to capture the 2010 NCAA title. Since 2010, the powerhouses have hooked up 10 times overall, with the Cardinal winning seven. Four of the matches have taken place in the postseason while Sunday's contest will represent the sixth straight of a home-and-home series in the regular season, as both programs have the mutual respect to test themselves early.
Also on the line is Florida's 161-match overall home winning streak, which is the longest active home winning streak of any NCAA Division I team in any sport. The Gators last home loss came back on May 15, 2004 against Miami in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. A scenario exists in which Oklahoma State could snap the streak first on Saturday afternoon, when the Cowgirls face the Gators less than 24 hours after playing the Cardinal. Regardless, it means a very quick turnaround for Florida, which will then host Stanford at 9 a.m. PT on Sunday.
Florida still has some work to do to catch Stanford, which owns the longest active home winning streak in NCAA history, producing a 184-match winning streak at Taube Family Tennis Stadium from 1999-2011.