Stanford University defeated Brigham Young University 4-2 in the first round of the NCAA women’s tennis tournament on May 1. The match took place in Malibu, California.
This win marks Stanford’s 172nd all-time victory in NCAA Tournament play, with a postseason record now standing at 172 wins and 24 losses. The team will advance to the second round and is set to face either Pepperdine or UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.
Although Stanford lost the doubles point for the fifth consecutive dual match, they rebounded strongly in singles competition. The Cardinal secured straight-set victories at the top four singles positions, including key wins from its highly regarded freshman class. Tianmei Wang won her match at No. 3 singles with a score of 6-2, 6-1 against Sue Yan Tan. Alyssa Ahn responded after a recent loss by defeating Kendall Kovick on court two, winning 6-2, 6-3. Monika Ekstrand added another victory over Gracie Levelston on court one with scores of 7-5 and 6-2.
Senior captain Caroline Driscoll clinched the overall win for Stanford by overcoming Yu-Yun Chen in straight sets: “Driscoll has now won four straight, her longest streak of the season, and is 3-2 in her career in NCAA team competition.” According to match results provided by Stanford Athletics, other notable outcomes included Bella Lewis securing a point for BYU over Emma Sun and an unfinished match between Sein Myoung (Stanford) and Sage Bergeson (BYU).
With this result, Stanford continues its strong tradition of success in collegiate women’s tennis tournaments as it looks ahead to further rounds.
