OJAI, Calif. – Tom Fawcett added his name to the Stanford record books and led the way in a 4-2 win over fourth-seeded Oregon in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals Thursday at Ojai Valley Tennis Club.
Fawcett's triumph in singles marked a milestone for the junior as he claimed his career 40th victory in dual play. The win places his name on the list of career dual victories in Stanford history – a list dotted with legends of the sport.
"One word describes this – RESILIENCY," stated Taube Director of Men's Tennis Paul Goldstein. "Oregon served for the doubles on two courts before we came back to win on both. In singles, Tom was down 6-1 in the first set tiebreak and David was down a set – both never gave in as they fed off of one another's energy."
Oregon threatened in all three matches in doubles with David Wilczynski and Brandon Sutter battling back to win 7-5 before the Ducks took the match at the No. 2 spot. Fawcett and Yale Goldberg put up a monstrous effort to win the break and claim the point 7-5.
Singles saw William Genesen continue on his tear, taking a straight-sets win at No. 6 to push his win streak to eight. The Ducks kept hunting though, taking wins at Nos. 4 and 3 to knot it 2-2.
Brandon Sutter claimed his 14th dual win of the year to put Stanford on the cusp, but it was Fawcett that would add his second clincher of the season and 10th of his career at No. 1. While the Cardinal faced a 6-1 deficit in the tiebreak in the first set, he surged back to win it and take the momentum into the second set where he closed the door 6-4.
"William and Brandon were both unbelievable," continued Goldstein. "Both had been struggling with illness recently, and they fought through it to play their hearts out in as gutsy of a performance that I have been around. Right now we are all about recovery as we prepare for an excellent UCLA team."
The Cardinal returns to the Pac-12 semifinals where it will face No. 5 UCLA – the team that the Cardinal fell to in semis in last season's Pac-12 Tournament. Match time is set for 12 p.m. PT at the Ojai Valley Athletic Club.
No. 17 Stanford 4, No. 21 Oregon 2
DOUBLES
1) No. 57 Fawcett/Yale Goldberg (STAN) d. Laurent/Clissold (ORE) 7-5
2) Armando Soemarno/Amos (ORE) d. Genender/Kumar (STAN) 6-4
3) Sutter/Wilczynski (STAN) d. Tanaka/Stevens (ORE) 7-5
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
SINGLES
1) No. 11 Tom Fawcett (STAN) d. No. 25 Thomas Laurent (ORE) 7-6 (7), 6-4
2) David Wilczynski (STAN) led Akihiro Tanaka (ORE) 4-6, 6-3, 3-2, susp.
3) Simon Stevens (ORE) d. Sameer Kumar (STAN) 7-6 (5), 6-3
4) Jayson Amos (ORE) d. No. 112 Michael Genender (STAN) 6-3, 7-5
5) Brandon Sutter (STAN) d. Cormac Clissold (ORE) 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
6) William Genesen (STAN) d. Ty Gentry (ORE) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 3, 5, 1