The Cardinal earned a split of its homestand against the Southern California schools.
STANFORD, Calif. -- No. 4 Stanford answered its first loss in nearly a year with its ninth shutout of the season in a 4-0 victory against No. 13 Southern California on Saturday afternoon at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
After dropping a hard-fought 4-3 decision to No. 3 UCLA on Friday for only its fourth home loss since 1999, Stanford (14-1, 6-1 Pac-12) bounced back with a quick and decisive victory against USC (14-6, 5-2 Pac-12).
The Cardinal earned a split of its homestand against the Southern California schools, which promised to be one of its final hurdles before postseason play begins in May.
Stanford captured the doubles point for a 1-0 lead, surrendering only five games combined while posting victories at the Nos. 1 and 3 spots.
Similar to Friday’s match, Stanford received immediate boosts from Carol Zhao and Caroline Doyle. The Cardinal extended its lead to 2-0 following a 6-2, 6-3 victory from Zhao on court three, then received a 6-4, 6-2 triumph from Doyle on court six. Both rookies are Stanford’s hottest players as of late, with Zhao having won 14 in a row while Doyle is riding a 12-match winning streak.
Leading 3-0, Kristie Ahn provided the clincher with a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Zoe Scandalis at the top spot of the lineup. One day after suffering only her third loss of the year, Ahn notched her team-leading 25th win of the year.
The remaining singles matches were abandoned.
