Taking center court in its regular season home opener, the defending national champion and current No. 1 Stanford women’s tennis team (1-0) dominated UC-Davis (1-2) with a 7-0 score.
Stanford was able to run through the doubles matches fairly quickly. Out with a sore muscle in her stomach, sophomore Mallory Burdette was replaced on the No. 1 team by fellow sophomore Stacey Tan. Tan and senior captain Hilary Barte won 8-2. Senior Carolyn McVeigh and junior Veronica Li paired up at the No. 3 spot, also winning 8-2.
Perhaps most interesting was the No. 2 match, showcasing two fresh faces on the team in freshmen Kristie Ahn and Nicole Gibbs. In their first regular season match at home, the two combined for a dominating 8-1 performance that displayed the talent many have been expecting them to bring this year.
“First of all they have a lot of experience together,” said head coach Lele Forood. “They won a pro tournament last year, so they’re used to [playing] together. They played well in the fall at regionals and they’ve taken some losses since then, so we’re trying to get back on the track of how well they played in the fall.”
The two debuted well in singles also. Gibbs started at the No. 2 position while Ahn played No. 3. After serving five double faults in a row in the first set, Ahn settled down to record a 6-3, 6-1 victory. She admitted to nerves afterwards, saying she had been too excited to play on the center courts in her first home match. Gibbs was a dominating force in her match, running down every ball and displaying a powerful return game. She breezed through the first set, dropped the first two games of the second set and then finished her opponent off, 6-0, 6-2.
“They bring a lot of energy, which obviously picks everyone up,” Barte said. “Nicole is super intense and really competitive so I think that brings the fire out in all of us. Kristie’s a little goofier, but she turns it on when she needs to. They’re going to do great and they’ve added a lot to the team.”
Wednesday’s match proved to be the first chance for fans to get a glimpse of Stanford’s recruiting class, ranked No. 2 by The Tennis Recruiting Network. Highlighted by Ahn and Gibbs, the freshman class also includes touted players in Amelia Herring and Elizabeth “Aiyi” Ecker.
“We’ve got a lot of talent there,” Forood said. “That’s a lot of players [in the freshmen class] so I think it bodes well for the future, no doubt. They’re all good players.”
Seeded No. 8 in last year’s NCAA Tournament, Stanford was able to upset both No. 1 Baylor and No. 4 Notre Dame on its way to winning its first NCAA national championship in four years with a nail-biting 4-3 victory over No. 3 Florida in the championship match.
With the graduation of senior co-captain Lindsay Burdette, a major part of that championship run, the Cardinal was forced to watch one half of its best doubles pairing walk away. Burdette paired with current senior Hilary Barte to claim Stanford’s 13th overall doubles title in school history in Lindsay’s last match in school colors. Taking her place is her younger sister, sophomore Mallory Burdette.
“Lindsay was a little more aggressive,” Barte described. “We both served and volley, and we kind of took it to them. Mallory is the same thing, but we take it to them in a different way in that she puts a lot of pressure on them from the baseline and then gets in when she has the opportunity.”
So far this season, Barte and Mallory Burdette have combined to play in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships and All-Americas in the fall, taking home the trophy at All-Americas in October. At Indoors, after losing in the first round, they made a run to the consolation final before being edged by Barbora Kritickova and Alida Muller-Wehlau of Armstrong Atlantic State, 8-6.
“They’re not quite as dominant [now] as they were at All-American’s when they won it in October,” Forood said. “But you know winning a national tournament their first time together is pretty impressive.”
A core of veteran seniors, Barte, McVeigh and Jennifer Yen, will lead this year’s young team. Because of the large contingent of freshmen on the team, this senior leadership could prove essential for the Cardinal’s success.
“It’s definitely an honor [leading the team],” Barte said. “I can’t believe we’re seniors first of all, but I’m excited to show them the ropes and try to be a model by action more than anything else.”
The team will next put its talents on display this weekend, hoping to qualify for National Indoors with matches against Cal Poly and either Oklahoma or UNLV. Match time is 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Taube Tennis Stadium.