The No. 16 Stanford women’s tennis team flexed its muscle in singles play, defeating No. 31 Texas, 4-2, in a closer-than-it-looked contest on Saturday afternoon at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Unbeaten in six home matches, Stanford (7-1) put the finishing touches on a three-match homestand sweep.
With rain in the forecast, the teams elected to play singles first while agreeing that the doubles point would be contested only if it was necessary.
The deciding point was provided by Caroline Doyle, who outlasted Neda Koprcina 5-7, 7-6 (0), 6-4 at the No. 2 spot.
Stanford built an early 2-0 lead, thanks to straight-set wins from Emma Higuchi (6-1, 6-0) on court six and Caroline Lampl (7-5, 6-3) at the No. 4 spot.
However, it was a temporary cushion, as Texas (4-4) had already locked up the first set on all four remaining courts.
The Longhorns quickly converted two of those matches, with Bianca Turati defeating Taylor Davidson 6-3, 6-4 in a battle of ranked players at the top line before Petra Granic handed Melissa Lord only her second loss of the season and first since Oct. 23 in a 7-5, 6-3 decision at No. 3.
The final two matches entered their third sets without much separation.
Emily Arbuthnott then surged ahead for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win at the No. 5 spot, giving Stanford a 3-2 lead.
That result left it all up to Doyle, one of Stanford’s most experienced players with everything on the line. Improving to 15-10 in three-setters for her career, Doyle capitalized on the momentum she gained against Koprcina midway through the second set.
Stanford hits the road for its Pac-12 opener, traveling to UCLA on Friday for a 1:30 p.m. match.
Men’s gymnastics
A down-to-the-wire finish that could prove a preview to the NCAA Championship saw the reigning back-to-back NCAA Champions No. 1 Oklahoma just barely edge the second-ranked Cardinal 423.300 to 432.050 Saturday night at Burnham Pavilion.
The Cardinal (10-2, 4-1 MPSF) started the night on floor with a strong start as Bailey Perez crushed a career-best 14.550 to open with Grant Breckenridge following with a 14.100. Taylor Seaton came out to post a huge season-best 14.950 to claim the event title before Jacob Barrus battled off an injury to still nail a 14.750 en route to a 72.000 team score.
Next up on pommel horse the Cardinal stepped up as Stanford posted its best team score of the season with a 71.500. Career-bests from Joey Ringer (14.650) and David Jessen (13.600) highlighted the event with Robert Neff adding a 14.350 to round out the event with OU leading after two rotations.
Headed to rings next Josiah Eng continued his consistency for the Cardinal placing second in the event with a 14.700 that Taylor Seaton followed with a season-best 14.550. OU was dominant in the event though with three of the top five scores going the way of the Sooners, though Stanford posted its best team rings score of the year with a 71.400.
With vault up next Stanford’s Gareth Weiss opened the event with a season-best 14.150 before his brother Barrett Weiss matched his career-best with a 14.700. The season-bests continued with Robert Neff nailing a 14.700 on the stuck landing to set up Taylor Seaton’s 14.800 as the Cardinal put up another team-best with a 73.250.
The Sooners held over a two point lead headed into the final two events as the Cardinal headed to parallel bars where Bailey Perez opened with a career-best 13.100. Grant Breckenridge stepped up next to demolish his season-best with a 14.650 that Robert Neff matched. Jordan DeClerk put the cherry on top with a 14.400 for the team event title and season-best 70.800.
With only the high bar remaining and down over three points, the Cardinal came out in the event and destroyed the best scores the NCAA has seen this season. A career-best from David Jessen (14.650) was followed by a season-best from Taylor Seaton (15.050) as the Cardinal inched closer to the Sooners in score.
The finish on the night was an incredible one as Robert Neff posted the highest score in the NCAA this season on high bar with a phenomenal 15.500 to pull the team score to an NCAA-best 73.650 finish to a nailbiting end that saw OU barely hold onto the win.
The Cardinal will return to action next weekend as the it travels to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face Michigan and Illinois on Saturday at 11 a.m.
A phenomenal showcase by Team USA highlighted the day at the 2017 AT&T American Cup with Stanford’s Akash Modi taking third overall while USA teammate, Oklahoma’s Yul Moldauer took first.
On floor Modi showcased his prowess in the event, taking second on the day with a 13.833 before a fourth-place finish on pommel horse with a 13.466.
Rings saw the entire field step up as Oleg Vernlaiev took the event title with a 14.433 as Modi placed fourth behind Moldauer and Rhohei Kato of Japan to head to the halfway point.
Vault was another strong area for the field with the top seven all landing a 14.000 or better. Modi scored a 14.200 to take sixth before his specialty in parallel bars where he crushed one of the hardest landings in the world to tie for first in the event with Vernlaiev – the defending Olympic gold medalist with a 15.033 score.
Closing out the event, Modi scored a 13.800 on high bar for a third place finish in the event and the all-around.
Baseball
No. 22 Stanford swept a doubleheader and won the four-game series over Texas on Saturday at Sunken Diamond. Junior Quinn Brodey’s second consecutive walk off gave Stanford a 5-2 win in Game 1, and some stellar pitching clinched the sweep in the nightcap, 2-1.
Junior reliever Colton Hock (3-0) earned the win in Game 1 and recorded the save in Game 2. Stanford (9-3), which played nine games in 10 days (went 8-1), has won nine of its last 10. The only loss in that span was a 4-0 setback in the series opener against the Longhorns on Thursday, but the Cardinal rebounded to win the final three games.
Just 18 hours after his game-winning walk off single, Quinn Brodey did it again. The junior blasted a three-run walk off home run in the 10th inning to give Stanford a 5-2 win over Texas in the first game of a doubleheader.
Both of Brodey’s walk offs came with two out. Saturday’s winner was set up when sophomore Alec Wilson led of the 10th with a double. After a strikeout, Duke Kinamon was intentionally walked. A fielder’s choice brought up Brodey, who muscled one the opposite way – it bounced off the top off the wall and out, and sparked another Cardinal celebration.
Texas scored in its first at bat for the second straight game. David Hamilton singled and scored on a double to left by Zane Gurwitz. Stanford got two hits in the second when Mikey Diekroeger and Daniel Bakst each singled, but both were left on.
After that, neither team had a hit between the third and sixth innings.
Freshman starter Erik Miller retired 16 of the 17 batters he faced after the first inning. He finished with three strikeouts in a career-best 7 1/3 innings, and allowed just four hits, two walks and two runs.
Senior starter Chris Castellanos (2-0) shut down the Longhorns through seven, and junior reliever Colton Hock slammed the door shut on the game and series with two more scoreless innings.
After two straight walk offs, Stanford took its first in-game lead of the series in the second inning. Mikey Diekroeger led off with a single, Kyle Stowers walked and Daniel Bakst singled to right to load the bases. Diekroeger came home on a wild pitch to make it 1-0.
Stanford (9-3) doubled its lead in the fifth when Quinn Brodey knocked home Matt Winaker with a two-out single to center.
Softball
Stanford earned a seventh-inning comeback victory against Jacksonville but could not overcome an early deficit against No. 11 Alabama, splitting a pair of games Saturday at the Easton Crimson Classic.
The Cardinal (12-7) entered the seventh inning against the Dolphins (11-7) down 4-3 but scored five runs to retake the lead, 8-4, and earn the win. Stanford surrendered three first-inning runs against the Crimson Tide (17-2) and could not generate the offense needed to close the gap, falling 4-0.
Kiana Pancino (3-1) had an excellent day in the circle, pitching in both games and earning the victory against Jacksonville. She came in as relief in the first inning against Alabama and limited the Crimson Tide to one run on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
It was nearly a game of missed opportunities for the Cardinal against Jacksonville. Stanford left runners on base in all seven innings and did not cross the plate until the top of the fifth inning.
Teaghan Cowles led Stanford offensively, going 3-for-5 with a team-high three RBI, a double and a triple. Lauren Bertoy had a big game offensively as well, hitting 3-for-3 with a double, a run and a walk.
Men’s volleyball
No. 8 Stanford fired on all cylinders offensively in a 25-20, 25-17, 25-23 sweep over No. 15 Penn State, Saturday, in Rec Hall.
The Cardinal (11-7) hit a season-high .444 as a team, while holding the Nittany Lions (12-7) to a .261 clip. Stanford also turned in a solid defensive effort, totaling 26 digs and 6.0 blocks. The Cardinal capitalized on 17 Penn State hitting errors and 12 service errors, while siding out at a rate of 74 percent.
Redshirt junior opposite Clay Jones recorded a season-best 12 kills on .556 hitting to lead the Cardinal. Redshirt senior outside hitter Gabriel Vega added 10 kills on .333 hitting, while freshman Eric Beatty chipped in with eight kills and a career-high eight blocks. In total, Stanford’s pin hitters posted 30 of the team’s 41 kills Saturday.
Junior setter Kyle Dagostino directed the offense with 34 assists, while collecting seven digs, a kill, an ace and a solo block. Redshirt junior middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw hit .500 with seven kills, while freshman middle blocker Stephen Moye had three kills on .600 hitting. Rakestraw and Moye each also notched two blocks and an ace. Junior libero Evan Enriques finished with six digs and three assists.
Beach volleyball
No. 13 Stanford opened its 2017 campaign with wins over Santa Clara and Cal Poly on Saturday at the Stanford Sand Volleyball Stadium.
“Karissa, Lauren and I were thrilled with the team’s response to adversity today,” said first-year head coach Andrew Fuller. “A cornerstone of this program is leaning into those moments and seeing through the fog of less than ideal performances.”
The Cardinal started the day with a 5-0 win against Santa Clara, with all matches ending in two sets. No. 5 pair Courtney Bowen and Kat Anderson started the dual with a 21-11, 21-19 win. The No. 3 pair of Catherine Raquel and Shannon Richardson followed with a 21-18, 21-12 win, before No. 4 Morgan Hentz and Caitlin Keefe clinched the match at 3-0.
No. 2 pair Ivana Vanjak and Payton Chang dominated their match, winning 21-9, 21-11. Kathryn Plummer and Jenna Gray completed the sweep at the No. 1 position, winning 21-13, 24-22.
Stanford made it two wins on opening day with a 4-1 win against Cal Poly in the day’s final dual. Playing with an unchanged lineup, Stanford got off to a strong start in the No. 5 match courtesy of Bowen and Anderson, who won 21-14, 21-10.
Raquel and Richardson backed it up with a three-set win, 21-16, 24-22, 15-10. Hentz and Keefe also fought off a loss in the second set to clinch in the third – their match finished 21-15, 18-21, 15-10.
Cal Poly got a point back in the No. 1 match, as Plummer and Gray dropped a 21-18, 21-17 decision. Vanjak and Chang closed out the final match of the day, claiming a 21-11, 21-16 win at the No. 2 spot.
“Cal Poly and Santa Clara brought the fire at every flight, and each of our pairs had to grapple with challenging situations when they weren’t playing their best,” added Fuller. “We are excited for each opponent to challenge us and make us play with great togetherness this season.”
Stanford returns to action Sunday with dual matches against Saint Mary’s at noon and Pacific at 3 p.m.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics