Stanford (0-0) vs. Saint Mary's (0-0) | Saturday • Jan. 12 • 1:00 p.m.
Maples Pavilion • Stanford, Calif.
Live Results: Stanford
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STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford men's tennis team opens the 2019 dual season Saturday, as the Cardinal hosts Saint Mary's at 1 p.m. at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Note: The match was originally scheduled for Sunday, but moved to Saturday due to heavy rain expected in the area on Sunday.
The Cardinal begins the 2019 dual slate ranked No. 10 in the ITA poll, after closing the 2018 season No. 7 overall. Several members of the Cardinal's lineup from last spring return in 2019, including sophomore Axel Geller, senior Sameer Kumar, senior Michael Genender and junior William Genesen. Added to the lineup is a highly rated class of newcomers.
Stanford recorded its best season in 15 years in 2018, completing the campaign with a 22-4 mark. The Cardinal, ranked in the top-five in the ITA poll for the majority of the season. Stanford reached as high as No. 2 in the rankings and earned the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Championships.
Serving as one of 16 NCAA regional hosts in its 11th consecutive NCAA appearance, the Cardinal posted a 4-0 victory over New Mexico State in the first round, before dropping a 4-3 decision to No. 38 Ole Miss in a marathon second-round match at Taube Family Tennis Stadium last spring.
Stanford graduated three key members of its lineup from last season in Tom Fawcett, David Wilczynski and Eric Fomba. A three-time ITA All-American, Fawcett completed his Cardinal career 27th in program history in career dual victories (53). He played in the NCAA Singles Championship all four years on The Farm. Wilczynski ranks 31st in all-time dual wins with 76. In his lone season at Stanford as a graduate student, Fomba earned All-Pac-12 honors.
Geller, who primarily played No. 2 singles in his first season at Stanford last year, posted 18 wins overall and a 16-6 dual record during. The All-Pac-12 selection was ranked nationally for most of the season. He defeated six nationally-ranked opponents throughout his freshman campaign.
Stanford is 7-0 all-time against Saint Mary's. The two teams last met during the 2017 dual season, with the Cardinal posting a 7-0 win over the Gaels.
Saturday's season opener is one of several January home matches. Following Saturday's contest against the Gaels, the Cardinal will host Santa Clara on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The ITA Kick-Off Weekend pits Stanford against UCF on Jan. 26. Oregon and Minnesota will also compete at Taube Family Tennis Stadium on Jan. 26 with the winner of the two matches facing each other the next day. Stanford faces another early-season test when it travels to No. 2 Ohio State Feb. 2 in its first road contest of the year.