STANFORD, Calif. - No. 1 Stanford blanked Washington State 4-0 on Sunday afternoon at Taube Family Tennis Stadium, sweeping through ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
With the win, Stanford (2-0) booked a spot in next month's ITA National Team Indoor Championships, a tournament the Cardinal has not participated in since defeating Florida to win the event in 2011.
Janice Shin provided the clincher with a 6-1, 6-4 victory at the No. 5 spot, finishing just ahead of a trio of teammates who were one game away from the same outcome.
Stanford easily captured the doubles point for a 1-0 lead, dropping only two games combined at the Nos. 1 and 3 spots.
After clinching her 19th career match yesterday, Emily Arbuthnott was first off the court this time with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph at the No. 4 spot.
Melissa Lord then delivered a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the No. 2 spot, putting Stanford on the brink of clinching.
Shin made it official with her second win in as many days.
Simply participating in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships should only cement the Cardinal's already lofty ranking. It would also likely translate into a more manageable postseason path for Stanford, which has inexplicably been seeded higher than No. 5 only once (at No. 1 in 2011) over the last 10 years. Then again, it hasn't really mattered much, as the Cardinal has produced four NCAA titles during that stretch: 2010, 2013, 2016, 2018.
The most decorated program in women's college tennis, Stanford is searching for its 20th NCAA title in 2019. The Cardinal is loaded with firepower, returning its entire singles and doubles lineups from last year's national championship team while having also added two impact freshmen.
No. 1 Stanford 4, Washington State 0
DOUBLES
1) No. 7 Lampl/Yee (STAN) d. Mylonas/Sato (WSU) 6-2
2) Melisa Ates/Lee (WSU) led No. 13 Arbuthnott/Gordon (STAN) 5-4, unfinished
3) Lord/Madurawe (STAN) d. Bayerlova/Miksovska (WSU) 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 1
SINGLES
1) No. 103 Michaela Gordon (STAN) led No. 83 Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) 6-2, 5-4, unfinished
2) Melissa Lord (STAN) d. Hikaru Sato (WSU) 6-1, 6-2
3) Caroline Lampl (STAN) led Tiffany Mylonas (WSU) 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
4) No. 16 Emily Arbuthnott (STAN) d. Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) 6-1, 6-3
5) No. 51 Janice Shin (STAN) d. Yang Lee (WSU) 6-1, 6-4
6) No. 38 Emma Higuchi (STAN) led Aneta Miksovska (WSU) 6-2, 5-2, unfinished
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 5
SMU 4, Saint Mary's 0
DOUBLES
1) Buss/Shapovalova (SMU) d. Clement/Goyette (SMC) 6-2
2) Kozyreva/Ville (SMC) d. Kulicke/Perez-Lopez (SMU) 5-4, unfinished
3) Hoellebeck/Traxler (SMU) d. Abdelouahid/Pieters (SMC) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1
SINGLES
1) Liza Buss (SMU) d. No. 62 Mariia Kozyreva (SMC) 6-2, 7-5
2) Vivienne Kulicke (SMU) led Clementine Clement (SMC) 1-6, 6-3, 5-1, unfinished
3) Anzhelika Shapovalova (SMU) d. Hind Abdelouahid (SMC) 6-3, 7-6 (1)
4) Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU) vs. Chloe Goyette (SMC) 6-3, 4-6, 2-2, unfinished
5) Karina Traxler (SMU) d. Liesl Pieters (SMC) 6-4, 6-2
6) Katherine Jakeway (SMU) led Aubane Ville (SMC) 6-3, 4-3, unfinished
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 3