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Both Stanford tennis programs are in action this weekend, beginning Friday, competing in their respective Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northwest Regional Championships.

In addition to Stanford, the ITA's Northwest Region school's are comprised of California, Eastern Washington, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon, Pacific, Portland, Portland State, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, San Francisco, San Jose State, Santa Clara, UC Davis, Washington and Washington State.

Twenty-four other ITA Regional Championships for NCAA Division I men and women are taking place during this month at campuses throughout the country. The singles finalists and doubles champion from each regional earn berths to the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, slated for Nov. 8-11 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Winners and finalists from the various ITA Regional Championships around the country, plus at-large selections, will make up the singles field of 32 and the 16-team doubles draw.

For the sixth straight season, the Taube Family Tennis Center will serve as the host site for the women's tournament.

Participating in the singles draw for Stanford are Kristie Ahn, Natalie Dillon, Nicole Gibbs, Krista Hardebeck, Lindsey Kostas, Stacey Tan and Ellen Tsay.

The Cardinal will be represented in doubles with teams of Tan/Tsay and Dillon/Hardebeck.

Gibbs is looking to defend her crown after defeating Mallory Burdette 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3) in last year's final. A three-time All-American, Gibbs is coming off one of the best seasons in school history, becoming only the third player in NCAA history to capture both the NCAA singles and doubles titles in the same season. Stanford's first NCAA singles champion since Amber Liu in 2004, Gibbs has produced an 87-11 overall record and 48-2 mark in dual match play.

The tandem of Tan and Tsay will be seeking its second straight doubles crown, defeating Sacramento State's Clarisse Baca and Maria Meliuk 8-4 in last year's match.

On the men's side, this year's event will be hosted by Saint Mary's.

Set to compete in singles for Stanford are Jamin Ball, Sam Ecker, Daniel Ho, Fawaz Hourani, Matt Kandath, Walker Kehrer, Denis Lin, John Morrissey, Nolan Paige, Maciek Romanowicz, Robert Stineman, Trey Strobel and Anthony Tsodikov.

There are six Cardinal doubles teams entered in the draw: Hourani/Tsodikov, Ball/Ho, Lin/Romanowicz, Morrissey/Strobel, Kehrer/Stineman and Kandath/Paige.

Kandath advanced to the semifinals of last year's tournament, falling to teammate and eventual champion Ryan Thacher. The duo of Kehrer and Stineman earned a runner-up finish in the doubles final, dropping a 9-8 (8) decision to California's Carlos Cueto and Ben McLachlan.

— Stanford Athletics

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