STANFORD, Calif. - No. 6 Stanford will open play Thursday at the Pac-12 Championships, attempting to capture its second consecutive conference title.
The twist is a format change for the event, which for the first time becomes a dual-match competition as opposed to the traditional singles and doubles tournaments.
Stanford (18-2, 10-0 Pac-12), which claimed the regular-season title last weekend with a victory at California, has locked up the No. 1 seed for the event and will face eighth-seeded Utah, which defeated Arizona 4-2 on Wednesday.
The Cardinal would have to win three matches in successive days to earn its second straight Pac-12 title and earn the Pac-12's automatic NCAA bid.
Regardless, Stanford will be making its 36th consecutive postseason appearance when first round competition gets underway at campus sites in two weeks. The Cardinal is also a likely candidate to host the opening weekend at Taube Family Tennis Stadium on May 12-14.
Stanford jumped two spots in the rankings this week following its recent win over Cal. With the Golden Bears locked in as the No. 2 seed, it is possible the rivals could meet again in Saturday's final at 3 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Networks. Stanford has won 12 of its last 17 meetings against California dating back to 2010.
Five of Stanford's six singles players are ranked this week, led by Melissa Lord (23-4 overall, 14-3 duals) at No. 23. Emma Higuchi (29-3 overall, 18-0 duals) is riding an 18-match winning streak.