WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Freshman Janice Shin had been an eager spectator the last two years, closely monitoring Stanford's endless parade of clutch postseason runs as the Cardinal made an annual practice of outperforming its NCAA seed.
On Thursday, Shin made the most of her opportunity to participate.
Clinching her second straight match and fifth of the season, Shin punctuated No. 15 Stanford's emphatic 4-1 victory over North Carolina in the round of 16 at the NCAA Championships.
The Cardinal (21-3, 9-0 Pac-12) has now won 17 of its last 20 NCAA matches when seeded lower than its opponent, an incredible stretch that dates back to 2010 and has yielded three national championships (2016, 2013, 2010). The winningest program in collegiate history with 19 national championships (18 NCAA, 1 AIAW) boasting a 150-19 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, Stanford has been seeded higher than No. 5 only once (at No. 1 in 2011) over the last 10 years.
Thursday's stunner might have been the biggest of the streak. Defending three-time ACC champion North Carolina (28-4, 12-2 ACC) entered the match seeded No. 2 in the NCAA draw but ranked No. 1 in the country, with the disparity likely coming from its 4-3 loss to top-seeded Vanderbilt back in February. Showcasing a lineup that features six ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams, North Carolina also enjoyed the advantage of playing what amounted to a home match, with Tar Heel fans making the roughly 90-minute commute from nearby Chapel Hill.
When your team keeps pulling off "upsets" in May, and everyone wants to know the secret. #GoStanford ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/thPL7WDYQu
— Stanford Women's Tennis (@StanfordWTennis) May 17, 2018
It appeared even more bleak after North Carolina captured a hard-fought doubles point, taking a pivotal 1-0 lead on the strength of a 7-5 victory on court three.
However, just like in 17 of the previous 20 matches in which Stanford faced long odds as an underdog, none of it mattered.
Confidently putting the doubles point in the rear view, Stanford proceeded to ambush North Carolina in singles, storming its way to first-set victories on four courts and silencing the blue-clad crowd inside the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center.
The Cardinal evened the match at 1-1 following a clinical 6-4, 6-1 win from Melissa Lord over Alle Sanford at the No. 2 spot. In perhaps her most dominant performance since returning from injury in late March, Lord improved to 12-0 in NCAA matches for her career.
Stanford moved in front 2-1 thanks to a 6-1, 6-4 victory from Emma Higuchi over Chloe Ouellet-Pizer on court six. Higuchi has been virtually an automatic point for the Cardinal this season and has won 15 in a row since her last loss on Feb. 24.
Emily Arbuthnott's 6-3, 6-1 win over Alexa Graham at the No. 4 position continued the momentum, putting Stanford ahead 3-1. Arbuthnott provided the clincher in Stanford's NCAA quarterfinal victory against North Carolina in 2017.
The clincher then came from Shin, who collected her ninth straight victory by dispatching of Jessie Aney 6-3, 6-2 on court five.
Just doing what we do. #GoStanford
A post shared by @ stanfordwtennis on May 17, 2018 at 11:52am PDT
Stanford next faces No. 7 Georgia on Saturday in the quarterfinals at 9 a.m. PT. Inclement weather is expected throughout the team portion of the tournament, making another indoors match a possibility.
No. 15 Stanford 4, No. 1 North Carolina 1
DOUBLES
1) No. 3 Arbuthnott/Gordon (STAN) d. No. 4 Aney/Graham (UNC) 6-4
2) No. 33 Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) d. No. 84 Lampl/Kimberly Yee (STAN) 6-3
3) Marika Akkerman/Jones (UNC) d. Lord/Shin (STAN) 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES
1) No. 2 Makenna Jones (UNC) led No. 15 Michaela Gordon (STAN) 7-6 (2), 1-2, unfinished
2) No. 40 Melissa Lord (STAN) d. No. 26 Alle Sanford (UNC) 6-4, 6-1
3) No. 46 Sara Daavettila (UNC) led No. 93 Caroline Lampl (STAN) 6-4, 5-2, unfinished
4) No. 43 Emily Arbuthnott (STAN) d. No. 95 Alexa Graham (UNC) 6-3, 6-1
5) No. 96 Janice Shin (STAN) d. No. 85 Jessie Aney (UNC) 6-3, 6-2
6) No. 102 Emma Higuchi (STAN) d. No. 119 Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (UNC) 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 4, 5
Stanford Head Coach Lele Forood:
"We like to think we've got a lot of points once we get to the singles, but we were disappointed after the doubles. It was pretty close overall. After doubles, we had a little anger, a little frustration and I think we channeled it pretty well in how we came out in singles."
"Janice has been been a star. Just incredibly clutch. She has been the clincher now a couple times in this tournament and she is getting the hang of it. But everybody played awesome today."
Stanford Freshman Janice Shin:
"I just stayed focused, but I'm really excited and happy we got it done. Looking forward to Saturday. We did what we always do and put pressure on them. Doubles was really tough because we had some chances and let them slip away. We stayed really focused in the singles. Emma came back and Mel (Melissa Lord) crushed it, so we all were really focused to get those singles points on the board."
North Carolina Head Coach Brian Kalbas:
"The finality of a loss is always tough, but I told the team how proud I was. We did some things this year, we never won a national title and an ACC title in the same year. I give Stanford a lot of credit for losing the doubles point and coming back in singles. They really played well, seemed like every big play and opportunity went their way. We didn't so much lose rather, they just grabbed the win. They've won a lot of championships and are a very confident team. Down the stretch they were believers."