Sunday, May 22, 2016

Stanford women survive scare, join Cal in NCAA semis

   The Stanford women's victories are becoming more improbable each day.
   Winning 4-3 for the third consecutive match, the No. 15 Cardinal defeated No. 10 Michigan on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
   Taylor Davidson clinched the first two victories on Court 2. This time, No. 67 Caroline Doyle edged No. 68 Kate Fahey 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (4) on Court 3.
   No. 2 Cal, meanwhile, defeated No. 8 Pepperdine 4-2 to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2009.
   Doyle, a junior from San Francisco, snapped a three-match losing streak in singles after trailing 6-5 in the third set and double-faulting four consecutive times at the end of her doubles loss on Court 1.    
   For the fifth time in its last six matches, Stanford triumphed despite losing the doubles point. Each win has come against a top-20 team.
   The Cardinal (18-5) will face No. 6 Vanderbilt (23-5), the defending champion, on Monday at 10 a.m. PDT. The Commodores beat No. 14 Virginia 4-2.
   Vanderbilt routed Stanford, playing without 2015 NCAA singles runner-up Carol Zhao, 4-1 in Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 30. Zhao has since returned to the Cardinal.
   Stanford has won a record 17 NCAA team titles, most recently in 2013. Florida is second with six.
   Cal (23-1) will meet No. 12 Oklahoma State on Monday at 10 a.m. The Cowgirls (28-4) knocked off No. 4 Ohio State 4-2.
   The No. 13 Cal men (20-6) will play No. 5 Ohio State (33-2) today at 10 a.m. in the quarterfinals.
   ATP World Tour -- Third-seeded Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey, both Los Angeles-area residents, beat top-seeded Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind., 6-4, 6-1 to win the Geneva Open. Querrey, 28, was born in San Francisco.

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