Stanford men’s tennis captures ACC title

No. 8 Stanford men’s tennis (22-5, 13-3 ACC) defeated No. 6 Virginia (20-7, 9-4 ACC) 4-2 to win the ACC Championships on Sunday afternoon in Cary, N.C., marking a standout entrance season in the conference. On the path to the final, the Cardinal came back from deficits in all three matches to defeat No. 17 Florida State (18-8, 9-4 ACC) 4-3 and No. 19 Duke (18-8, 9-4 ACC) 4-2 in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. 

Senior Max Basing was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the tournament after clinching wins in all three matches for the Cardinal.

On Sunday, Stanford trailed early as Virginia took the doubles point. Though top doubles pairing sophomores Nico Godsick and Hudson Rivera won their match against the No. 30 ranked doubles team, both second and third doubles teams lost.

 No. 9 ranked junior Samir Banerjee won his top singles match by default, with his No. 6 ranked opponent retiring at 3-6, 5-3. On court five, freshman Alex Razeghi gave Stanford a 2-1 lead with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) win. No. 71 ranked graduate student Henry von der Schulenburg followed, delivering a 6-3, 6-3 win on court four. Von der Schulenburg leads the team with 19 wins across the season. 

Virginia narrowed the lead to 3-2 as sophomore Kyle Kang was defeated on court two 7-6 (2), 6-2, but Basing clinched his third match in a row on court three with a 7-5, 6-2 score to close out the tournament.

On Saturday, the Cardinal defeated the Blue Devils 4-2 in another comeback match in the semifinals, two weeks after defeating them at home 4-0. Stanford lost the doubles point on courts one and three, and Banerjee lost the top singles match 6-2, 6-2, putting Duke at 2-0.

Stanford, however, came back to win the next four matches in a row. Rivera won on court six 6-3, 6-2, Von der Schulenburg tied the match with a 6-1, 6-3 win on court four, and Razeghi took home a 6-3, 6-2 win on court five. 

Basing took the Cardinal to the championship match with a three-set win on court three, clinching the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. 

Friday’s quarterfinals match against the Seminoles came down to two three-set thrillers as the Cardinal trailed 2-3. Stanford went for the doubles point first, with wins from top doubles pair Kang and von der Schulenburg 6-4 against the No. 18 ranked doubles pair in the country. Basing and Rivera secured the doubles point with a 7-5 win on court three. 

Banerjee was defeated at the top singles spot 6-2, 6-3. Von der Schulenburg gave Stanford a 2-1 edge with a 6-4, 6-3 win on court four, but Razeghi and Kang lost their matches on courts five and two, respectively. The match counted on both remaining singles players to win.

Rivera finished first on court six, tying the match at 3-3 with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 win. Basing clinched the match on court three, with a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2 thriller.

Next for the Cardinal will be the NCAA tournament in May. The selection show will be on Monday, April 28 at 2 p.m.

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