No. 26 (ITA Coaches Poll) Stanford women’s tennis (11-3, 7-2 Pac-12) returns to the Farm after suffering a 7-0 shutout at the hands of No. 9 UCLA (15-3, 9-0 Pac-12) on Friday and beating No. 32 USC (11-8, 5-4 Pac-12) 6-1 on Saturday. 

The weekend marked significant changes in the Cardinal lineup. Fifth-year Emily Arbuthnott, who normally plays in Stanford’s No. 2 spot, was bumped down and replaced by sophomore Angelica Blake, who vacated the third spot for Arbuthnott. The swap proved ineffective against UCLA as both players lost their matches against Bruin opponents. Nevertheless, Blake provided the point that would clinch the match against the Trojans, winning her court two match 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Arbuthnott was the last player on the team to finish her singles match on Saturday, grinding out a three-set victory.

Freshman India Houghton made her second collegiate appearance against the Trojans on Sunday as the No. 6 player for the Cardinal. Playing for the first time since the Cardinal’s season opener against Santa Clara, Houghton, like Arbuthnott, also posted a three set victory 3-6, 6-2, 7-5

Along with Houghton, junior Sara Choy in Stanford’s No. 4 spot and fifth-year Emma Higuchi in the fifth spot rounded out the bottom half of the Cardinal order. Choy and Higuchi both bounced back from singles losses on Friday to win both their matches on Saturday in straight sets. Choy and Higuchi also won their doubles set against the Trojans — something they failed to do against UCLA. 

The weekend’s results put the team at a comfortable third in the conference standings. A win over No. 22 Cal (14-5, 7-2 Pac-12) on Friday would put the team in command of second, but the Cardinal will have to face Hawaii (5-4, 3-2 Big West) at Taube on Tuesday before the “Big Slam”.