The Stanford women’s tennis team (16-3, 8-2 Pac-12) knows the proper way to finish the regular season — by facing off against big time rival Cal (14-5, 8-1 Pac-12) in the Big Slam.
Stanford hasn’t lost a match to Cal in its last seven competitions, dating back to April 2009. The last time these two teams met, Stanford came away with a demonstrative 6-1 victory that proceeded to kick off a seven-match winning streak. In that game, the Cardinal proved dominant in doubles and singles, taking the doubles point and the top five singles points before losing at the No. 6 spot.
“It’s a great matchup for us because it’s been going well for our team the past few years,” explained junior Nicole Gibbs. “It’s their home court, so we’re expecting a closer battle than we had against them last time earlier in the season. They also had a couple injuries so it’s going to be a more competitive match this time but we’re feeling confident in our play and excited to face them.”
The matchup will be more competitive for Stanford this time around as both teams are hovering around a top 10 ranking. The Cardinal is ranked 12th in the nation and playing for a chance to share the Pac-12 title if UCLA can upset No. 5 USC this weekend. California is ninth in the nation and fighting for its own chance to share the title. This match falls on Berkeley’s senior day and will provide extra motivation for Cal’s two senior players Taylor Davis and Annie Goransson.
Stanford is coming into the match with great momentum. It has won five matches in a row, including two impressive wins over the ranked Arizona schools. Every player has been peaking, but none more so than Gibbs, who was recently named Pac-12 Player of the Week. She achieved this by defeating Arizona’s Lacey Smyth 6-3, 6-1 and then overcoming 16th ranked Jacqueline Cako of Arizona State 6-4, 7-5. She also went 2-0 in doubles competitions with partner and fellow junior Kristie Ahn.
“It was a really cool honor for me to receive this week and really good for my confidence in my singles play,” explained Gibbs. “It’s nice to get back to form. I had a couple of really good matches recently and it was awesome to get recognized like that going into such a big match against Cal, but I’m not really thinking about that anymore. I’m just trying to continually improve and get ready for NCAAs and the postseason.”
Cal is also riding on its own end-of-season momentum. The Bears have won four straight and nine out of their last 10 matches. Against opponents they share with Stanford this season, the Golden Bears have gone 10-3. Their biggest losses came against the Los Angeles teams, with USC beating them twice (4-1 and 6-1) and UCLA defeating them once (4-3).
“They have some really heavy hitters on their team so it’ll be a good opportunity for all of us to work on our rankings and play going into Pac-12s and NCAAs,” said Gibbs. “Individually I stack up well against my opponent, and I’m excited for a great challenge on their senior day and on our last match of the season.”
Stanford is set to face Cal beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon at the Hellman Tennis Complex in Berkeley.
Contact Will Seaton at wseaton “at” stanford.edu.