Stanford women stay No. 4; Cardinal men rise to No. 5

   The Stanford women remained No. 4, and the Cardinal men improved one spot to No. 5 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings released today.
   The Stanford women (6-1) routed visiting Vanderbilt, which slipped one notch to No. 7, 6-1 on Saturday in a rematch of last year's NCAA final. The Cardinal edged the Commodores 4-3 in Winston-Salem, N.C., for its 19th NCAA team title.
   Stanford will host No. 9 Texas (5-2) on Saturday at noon at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
   The Stanford men (9-2) beat UC Davis 4-0 on Friday and Cal 4-2 on Sunday at Stanford.
   The Cardinal and Bears (2-4), who fell seven places to No. 47, next will play in the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships, Thursday through Sunday in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla. Cal also will face No. 32 Oklahoma State (6-3) on Thursday in La Jolla.
   The Cal women (5-3) jumped eight notches to No. 16 after losing to Vanderbilt 4-3 on Friday and UCLA 4-3 on Saturday and defeating USC 5-2 on Sunday in Berkeley. The Bruins remained No. 5, and the Women of Troy plunged 15 spots to No. 32.
   Cal will host UC Santa Barbara (4-3) on Saturday at noon at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
   Here are the top 10 women's and men's teams (last week's ranking in parentheses):

Women

1. North Carolina (2)
2. Georgia (1)
3. Duke (3)
4. Stanford (4)
5. UCLA (5)
6. Vanderbilt (7)
7. Kansas (8)
8. Oklahoma State (13)
9. Texas (9)
10. South Carolina (6)

Men

1. Ohio State (1)
2. Wake Forest (2)
3. Texas (3)
4. Virginia (4)
5. Stanford (6)
6. North Carolina (5)
7. Baylor (11)
8. Mississippi State (9)
9. Columbia (10)
10. Florida (7)
   The next team, singles and doubles rankings will be released March 5.

Past, present Stanford players dominate

Bob Bryan, left, and Mike Bryan, shown in 2016, won
the first all-brothers final on the ATP World Tour since
1977. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Stanford had a lot to celebrate today.
   The Bryan brothers (1997-98) captured the doubles title in the Delray Beach Open, Nicole Gibbs (2011-13) won an all-Stanford singles final on the women's Challenger circuit, and the Cardinal men beat visiting Cal 4-2 in the Big Slam.
   Top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan, 40-year-old natives of Camarillo in the Los Angeles area, beat second-seeded Ken and Neal Skupski of Great Britain 7-6 (5), 6-4 for their fifth Delray Beach title, 117th overall and first since last April in Monte Carlo.
   It was the first all-brothers doubles final on the ATP World Tour since 1977, when Vijay and Anand Amritraj of India beat John and David Lloyd of Great Britain 6-1, 6-2 at Queen's Club in London.
   Bob Bryan injured his right hip in the Madrid final last May, had replacement surgery in August and returned to the circuit in January.
   "We're very, very, very pleased with how this week's gone," Bob Bryan said on atptour.com. "Our expectations ... have been a little bit lower than they have in the past. We've just been trying to have fun and enjoy our time together, and it's actually resulted in some really good play. We didn't lose a set this week. We're taking care of our serve and just weathering the tough times during matches."
   Unseeded Radu Albot of Moldova won the singles title, saving three championship points in a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7) victory over qualifier Daniel Evans of Great Britain.
   Evans, 28, double-faulted on the 29-year-old Albot's third championship point. Albot also lost the first set in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Both 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) finalists were seeking their first ATP title.
   Gibbs, seeded second, outplayed Kristie Ahn (2011-14), seeded fifth, 6-3, 6-3 in the $25,000 Shoebacca Women's Open in the San Diego suburb of Rancho Santa Fe.
   Gibbs, who will turn 26 next Sunday, improved to 5-0 against Ahn, 26, and claimed her sixth Challenger singles crown (all in the United States). The pair led Stanford to the 2013 NCAA team title.
   The No. 6 Stanford men (9-2), coached by Paul Goldstein, rallied to defeat No. 40 Cal (2-4) after losing the doubles point. Sameer Kumar, ranked 31st, clinched the victory by beating 6-2, 6-4 Yuta Kikuchi on Court 3.
   The No. 24 Cal women defeated No. 17 USC 4-2 in Berkeley. Maria Smith won the clincher, beating Becca Weissmann 6-3, 6-3 on Court 5. The Bears improved to 5-3, and the Women of Troy dropped to 4-2.
   Back on the ATP World Tour, unseeded Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin of France topped third-seeded Ben McLachlan (Cal, 2011-14) of Japan and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-7 (4) [10-3] to win the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

Roundup: McDonald falls in Delray Beach semis, etc.

Mackenzie McDonald, playing near home in the $100,000 San Fran-
cisco Challenger last February, lost to Radu Albot of Moldova 3-6,
6-0, 6-0 tonight in the semifinals of the Delray Beach Open. Photo
by Paul Bauman

   Both Mackenzie McDonald and Radu Albot are small and fast.
   Both were seeking their first ATP Tour final.
   The difference tonight was experience.
   Coming from behind for the second consecutive match, the 29-year-old Albot defeated the 23-year-old McDonald 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 in a semifinal matchup of unseeded players in the Delray Beach Open.
   It was Albot's second ATP semifinal in three weeks and third overall. The 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter), 160-pound (73-kilogram) McDonald, from Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, had never been that far until this week.
   Albot, 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters) and 152 pounds (69 kilograms), trailed by a set and a service break in his 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) quarterfinal victory over fourth-seeded Steve Johnson of Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles region.
   Albot, ranked 82nd, evened his career record against McDonald, ranked 84th, at 1-1. McDonald won 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the second round of qualifying in Shanghai last October.
   The Delray Beach Open will produce a first-time ATP Tour champion, as Albot is scheduled to play qualifier Daniel Evans of Great Britain on Sunday. Evans, also 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters), stunned second-seeded John Isner 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, breaking the 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) American's serve three consecutive times.
   Evans also ousted third seed and defending champion Frances Tiafoe in the first round and sixth seed Andreas Seppi of Italy in the quarterfinals.
   In doubles, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan reached their first final since Bob underwent right hip replacement surgery last August and their seventh in Delray Beach.
   The 40-year-old Bryan twins (Stanford, 1997-98) beat unseeded Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Jamie Cerretani of Reading, Mass., 6-3, 7-5.
   The Bryans, seeking their fifth Delray Beach title, will face brothers Ken Skupski, 35, and Neal Skupski, 29, of Great Britain. Seeded second, they downed unseeded Albot and Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 6-4, 6-2.
   Open 13 Provence -- Third-seeded Ben McLachlan (Cal, 2011-14) of Japan and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands will play unseeded Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin of France for the title in Marseille, France.
   McLachlan, a New Zealand native who plays for his mother's native country, and Middelkoop beat unseeded Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Oswald of Austria 3-6, 7-5 [10-7] on Friday.
   Women's Challenger -- Former Stanford teammates Nicole Gibbs and Kristie Ahn will meet in the final of the $25,000 Shoebacca Women's Open in Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area.
   In the all-American semifinals, the second-seeded Gibbs, 25, outlasted 18-year-old Ann Li 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and the fifth-seeded Ahn, 26, routed 20-year-old qualifier Usue Arconada 6-1, 6-1 in 72 minutes.
   Gibbs is 4-0 against Ahn. This will be their first meeting since Gibbs' 6-2, 7-5 victory in the quarterfinals of the $50,000 Waco (Texas) Challenger in November 2015 and their first in a final.
   Gibbs and Ahn led Stanford to the 2013 NCAA championship.
   Men's Challenger -- Fourth-seeded Andre Goransson (Cal, 2014-17) of Sweden and Marc-Andrea Huesler of Switzerland nipped third-seeded Gonzalo Escobar of Ecuador and Luis David Martinez of Venezuela 6-3, 3-6 [11-9] in the final of the $54,160 Morelos (Mexico) Open.
   Goransson, 24, won his third Challenger doubles title. His first came in the $100,000 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger in 2017 with former Cal teammate Florian Lakat of France.
   College women -- No. 4 Stanford dominated No. 7 Vanderbilt 6-1 at Stanford in a rematch of the 2018 NCAA final.
   Janice Shin, ranked 58th, gave the Cardinal (6-1) a 5-1 lead with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over Carolyn Campana, a freshman from Hillsborough, on Court 5.
   Vanderbilt's victory came on Court 1 as third-ranked Fernanda Contreras edged 16th-ranked Michaela Gordon, a sophomore from Saratoga, 7-6 (6), 0-6 [14-12].
   No. 40 Melissa Lord and Niluka Madurawe, a freshman from Sunnyvale, clinched the doubles point for Stanford on Court 3. No. 15 Emily Arbuthnott and Gordon of Stanford were tied 4-4 on Court 2 when their match was abandoned.
   Hillsborough, Sunnyvale and Saratoga are in the Bay Area.
   Stanford nipped Vanderbilt 4-3 last May in Winston-Salem, N.C., for its 19th NCAA team title.
   In Berkeley today, No. 5 UCLA edged No. 24 Cal 4-3. In the deciding match, Abi Altick nipped 69th-ranked Anna Bright 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Court 4.
   UCLA's Alaina Miller, a senior from Saratoga, won at No. 5 singles and No. 3 doubles.

McDonald tops del Potro; Cal women fall to No. 7 Vandy

Mackenzie McDonald, playing in the San Francisco Challenger
last February, beat ailing Juan Martin del Potro, ranked fourth,
tonight in the Delray Beach Open to reach his first ATP Tour
semifinal. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Mackenzie McDonald reached two milestones in his blossoming career tonight.
   The 23-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area recorded his first victory over a top-10 player to reach his first ATP Tour semifinal.
   However, there was a catch. McDonald's opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, was playing in his first tournament since breaking his right kneecap in Shanghai in October.
   The unseeded McDonald, ranked 84th, edged the top-seeded del Potro, ranked fourth, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in the Delray Beach Open. Del Potro played with his knee heavily taped, and his mobility was limited during the 2-hour, 18-minute battle.
   McDonald, now based in Orlando, Fla., will surpass his career high of No. 76 in Monday's updated rankings.
   The Delray Beach Open is guaranteed to have a first-time ATP finalist, as the 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) and 160-pound (73-kilogram) McDonald is scheduled to meet Radu Albot, 29, of Moldova at 5 p.m. California time (Tennis Channel).
   Albot, even smaller than McDonald at 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters) and 152 pounds (69 kilograms), surprised fourth-seeded Steve Johnson of Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles area 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
   In the other semifinal, second-seeded John Isner of Dallas is set to play qualifier Daniel Evans of Great Britain at noon (Tennis Channel).
   The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) del Potro, who won the 2011 Delray Beach title, blasted 16 aces and won 81 percent of the points on his first serve (48 of 59) against McDonald. Del Potro, though, converted only one of six first serves in the tiebreaker.
   McDonald pounded nine aces and won 82 percent of the points on his first delivery (40 of 49).
   It was the first meeting between del Potro, who defeated Roger Federer to win the 2009 U.S. Open before undergoing four wrist operations, and McDonald, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last July.
   College women -- Cal's Julia Rosenqvist shocked the nation's third-ranked player, but the No. 24 Bears lost to No. 7 Vanderbilt 4-3 in Berkeley.
   In the deciding match, ninth-ranked Christina Rosca defeated 20th-ranked Olivia Hauger 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Court 2. Rosenqvist, ranked 45th, beat Fernanda Contereras 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Court 1.
   Stanford (5-1) will host Vanderbilt (5-2) on Saturday at noon in a rematch of the NCAA final last May. The Cardinal won 4-3 for its 19th NCAA team title.

Serena returns to top 10; Stanford men rise to No. 6

   Serena Williams returned to the top 10 this week for the first time since July 2017.
   Williams, a 37-year-old part-time resident of Silicon Valley, rose one spot to No. 10. She has not played since reaching the quarterfinals of last month's Australian Open, but other players have failed to defend their ranking points.
   Williams went on maternity leave after winning the 2017 Australian Open and returned in March 2018. She fell as low as No. 491 last March before advancing to the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals.
   Sloane Stephens, a 25-year-old Fresno product, improved one spot to a career-high No. 3. Naomi Osaka remained No. 1, and Simona Halep rose one notch to No. 2.
   College rankings -- The Stanford men (7-2) jumped from No. 10 to No. 6 after beating then-No. 4 Florida 4-1 on Sunday in the consolation bracket of the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship in Chicago.
   Cal (2-3), which stunned then-No. 5 USC 4-3 in Los Angeles on Feb. 9, went from unranked to No. 40.
   Stanford's Axel Geller fell three places to No. 13 in singles, and Cal's Yuta Kikuchi and Jacob Brumm dropped five spots to No. 13 in doubles.
   In the women's team rankings, defending NCAA champion Stanford (5-1) slipped one place to No. 4, and Cal (4-1), which shocked then-No. 7 Pepperdine 4-3 in Malibu on Saturday, rose one notch to No. 24.
   Stanford's Michaela Gordon, a sophomore from Saratoga in the San Francisco Bay Area, improved seven spots to No. 16 in singles. She defeated then-No. 19 Eden Richardson, who won the NCAA doubles title last year with LSU teammate Jessica Golovin, on Feb. 8.
   The Cardinal's Emily Arbuthnott fell five places to No. 19, and Cal's Olivia Hauger jumped eight spots to No. 20. Hauger topped Pepperdine's Evgeniya Levashova, who was ranked No. 13 at the time.
   Cal's Anna Bright and Jasie Dunk slipped one notch to No. 23 in doubles.

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Stanford men fall to Virginia in ITA National Indoors

   The No. 10 Stanford men lost to No. 13 Virginia 4-2 today in the first round of the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship in Chicago.
   Carl Soderlund, a junior from Sweden, beat Axel Geller, a sophomore from Argentina, 6-4, 7-5 on Court 1 to clinch the victory for the Cavaliers (8-1).
   Stanford (6-2) will play No. 19 Tulane (4-4) on Saturday in the consolation bracket. The Green Wave lost to No. 2 Ohio State 4-0.