Publication Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2005
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Stanford's home streak has no end in sight
Stanford's home streak has no end in sight
(April 13, 2005) Cardinal has won 91 straight matches at home since 1999
by Rick Eymer
Pinewood grad Lejla Hodzic had yet to gain her national No. 1 ranking in girls' 14-and-under the last time the Stanford women's tennis team lost a home match.
Two-time defending NCAA singles champion Amber Liu was still two years away from her national No. 1 ranking in the 18-and-under division.
In other words, it has been awhile - since Feb. 27, 1999 to be exact.
The top-ranked Cardinal will bring a 91-match home winning streak into play against visiting Cal Poly on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in the final regular-season match at Taube Tennis Center.
Stanford (6-0, 19-0) clinched its 19th consecutive Pac-10 team title with a pair of victories in Los Angeles over the weekend. The Cardinal beat No. 3 USC, 4-3, on Friday and No. 11 UCLA, 5-2, on Saturday.
Stanford won despite missing 20th-ranked Erin Burdette, out with a shoulder injury. Stanford won despite Liu and Alice Barnes each losing their first dual matches of the season. Stanford won without being able to use the 10th-ranked doubles tandem, and has won all season without the 19th-ranked singles player in the nation, who transferred out of Stanford following last season's national championship.
The Women of Troy have lost twice all season - both times they faced Stanford. UCLA was the national runnerup last season - to Stanford.
The Cardinal have finished among the top three in the nation every year since finishing fifth in 1985.
Liu had won 12 straight matches at No. 1 before falling twice last weekend; Barnes won 11 straight at No. 2 and is 16-1 in dual meets overall.
Stanford doesn't just have a couple of highly-ranked players, it usually has an abundance. Theresa Logar (45) is 9-0 at No. 4 singles and 7-2 at No. 3; Whitney Deason (51) is 15-1 and Anne Yelsey (105) is 16-2. Hodzic, who plays sparingly in singles, is ranked 38th.
The Cardinal has perfected the winning formula and that's translated into 48 straight victories overall, and a home winning percentage that defies all odds.
When Cal beat Stanford, 5-4, in that 1999 home match (Stanford featured futures' circuit pros Marissa Irvin, Teryn Ashley, Gabriela Lastra and Lauren Kalvaria), it ended a 52-match home win streak. The Cardinal went on to win the national title.
Stanford's previous home loss was a 6-3 decision to eventual national champion Texas on March 5, 1995 (current volunteer assistant coach Julie Scott played on the team then), and that ended a 31-match home streak.
Since losing to Texas in the 1992 national semifinal match, Stanford is 171-2 at home.
Saturday's win over the Bruins also gave Stanford's senior class - Burdette and Kara Guzman - its 100th victory.
Stanford figures to make it 92 straight at home against Cal Poly and will have to wait until May 13, when the NCAA team tournament begins, to extend that streak this season.
The Cardinal close out the regular season at California on Saturday at noon.
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