BERKELEY, Calif. – The No. 12 Stanford men's tennis team looked impressive in its ITA Kick-Off Weekend debut, downing Oregon, 4-0, Sunday afternoon at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
With the win, Stanford (2-0) advances to the regional championship match where it will face No. 22 Tulane Monday at 1 p.m. PT back in Berkeley. The winner of Monday's match will earn an automatic berth in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Feb. 16-19 in Seattle, Washington.
"I was pleased with how we played against a high-level opponent," Taube Family Director of Men's Tennis, Paul Goldstein said. "We will need another stronger effort against Tulane on Monday if we want to advance to the National Indoor Championships. We saw production from our lineup against a very good opponent."
Stanford rebounded from a defeat at No. 3 doubles as Tom Fawcett and Axel Geller earned the win at the No. 2 spot and the tandem of Sameer Kumar and Michael Genender downed the 17th-ranked Oregon doubles team of Thomas Laurent and Cormac Clissold at the top spot to capture the doubles point.
The Cardinal picked up its second point when Geller earned the straight set victory at No. 2 singles. Kumar followed with a straight set win at the No. 3 spot. After a hard-earned 7-6(6) win in the first set for David Wilczynski at the No. 4 spot, the senior clinched the Cardinal win with a 6-2 triumph over Oregon's Riki Oshima in the second set.
Fawcett, ranked No. 101 in the nation, made his dual match debut against the Ducks, playing an exciting match at No. 1 singles with Laurent, the sixth-ranked player in the nation. With each player capturing a set, the two were tied at two games apiece in the decisive third set. With Wilczynski's clincher at the No. 4 spot, all unfinished matches were abandoned, including the Fawcett-Laurent match.
The Cardinal improved to 32-3 all-time against Oregon with Sunday's win.
No. 12 Stanford 4, Oregon 0
DOUBLES
1) Michael Genender/Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. No. 17 Thomas Laurent/Cormac Clissold (ORE) 6-3
2) Tom Fawcett/Axel Geller (STAN) d. Armando Soemarno/Charles Roberts (ORE) 6-2
3) Ty Gentry/Simon Stevens (ORE) d. Eric Fomba/David Wilczynski (STAN) 6-1
SINGLES
1) No. 101 Tom Fawcett (STAN) vs. No. 6 Thomas Laurent (ORE) 3-6, 6-3, 2-2 Unfinished
2) Axel Geller (STAN) d. Simon Stevens (ORE) 6-1, 6-2
3) Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. Akihiro Tanaka (ORE) 6-3, 6-2
4) David Wilczynski (STAN) d. Riki Oshima (ORE) 7-6(6), 6-2
5) Cormac Clissold (ORE) vs. Michael Genender (STAN), 6-3, 3-6, 3-0 Unfinished
6) Eric Fomba (STAN) vs. Ty Gentry (ORE), 6-1, 6-7(5), 2-1 Unfinished