Women’s tennis faces early road test

The Stanford women’s tennis team (2-0) travels to South Bend, Indiana, this Friday, for a double-header against non-conference opponents No. 19 Notre Dame (2-1) and No. 31 Ohio State (3-0). The No. 8 Cardinal look to build off of their great start to the season last weekend, when they made easy work of No. 54 Princeton and No. 44 Saint Mary’s at home.

Sophomore Taylor Davidson (above), currently ranked No. 12 in the nation, has yet to lose a set this season. (NICK SALAZAR/The Stanford Daily)

Yet during the team’s first road trip of the season this weekend, although the competition will be much stiffer: Notre Dame presents Stanford’s first real challenge of the year. The Fighting Irish are coming off a strong season last year, in which they made a deep postseason run to the Round of 16 before losing to Alabama. However, the team has big shoes to fill, as two of their top three singles players graduated last season. No. 15 Michigan was able to exploit Notre Dame’s weakened singles lineup in a 5-2 victory last week, and the Cardinal will look to do the same.

The Cardinal will also face Ohio State in South Bend in a neutral site matchup. Ohio State has impressed so far this season, as they are undefeated and are fresh off a tight 4-3 victory against Arizona State, Stanford’s conference foe. The Buckeyes’ lineup features two players who are in the top-100 in the nation and they’re extremely deep overall, returning all their starters from last season.

Stanford will look to continue rolling with sophomores Carol Zhao, Taylor Davidson and Caroline Doyle, who are ranked No. 4, 12 and 13 in the nation, respectively. The trio indisputably comprises the best sophomore class in the nation, and all three have yet to lose a set this season. Other than the Cardinal, only Florida boasts three players in the top 15 in the country.

The lineup is backed up with Krista Hardebeck, Ellen Tsay and Lindsey Kostas at the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots. The three upperclassmen complete a deep singles lineup and provide crucial veteran experience for the team. Stanford’s doubles lineup also looks strong, having clinched the crucial doubles point in its first two matches of the season without dropping a set.

The Cardinal have had a week off since their last match and will be well rested as they travel across the country this weekend. The team will have to make an adjustment to the indoor courts in Indiana after having trained and competed outdoors for a large majority of their time since last season. Although indoor courts play slightly faster and balls bounce higher, the Cardinal should be able to adapt quickly.

The double-header will provide a clear picture of where the season is headed for the Cardinal, who are entering a challenging portion of their schedule. After taking on Harvard next week, the Cardinal will prepare to face Vanderbilt, Duke, Florida and Cal, all of whom are ranked in the top 11 in the country and are legitimate national title contenders.

Leaving South Bend undefeated and with two more victories against solid teams would provide the Cardinal with a great amount of confidence. And if the Cardinal can hold their own over the next month of competition, they will look poised to make a deep postseason run.

The Cardinal will first face Notre Dame in South Bend at 2 p.m. Pacific on Friday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Cardinal will then rest up before taking on Ohio State at 7:30 a.m. Pacific on Saturday.

Contact Neel Ramachandran at neelr ‘at’ stanford.edu.