Semifinal Sweep – Stanford University Athletics

OJAI, Calif. – No. 8 Stanford punched its ticket to the Pac-12 Tournament championship match behind a 4-0 sweep of No. 23 Washington Friday afternoon. The win pushes the Cardinal to a 20-2 overall record, winning its 17th straight match. Stanford is now 15-1 all-time at the Pac-12 Tournament and seeks its fifth championship in six tries. 

Stanford won the doubles point for the ninth straight match, earning wins on courts one and three. Connie Ma and Valencia Xu were the first to finish on three, 6-2 winners for their eighth victory in a row. The No. 18 duo of Angelica Blake and Alexis Blokhina won a 6-4 decision on one after Sara Choy and Alexandra Yepifanova fell on court two to clinch the day’s first point.

The Cardinal jumped out to first set wins in five singles matches, but the match wouldn’t go as straight forward as it once seemed. While No. 24 Yepifanova grinded out a 6-4, 7-5 win over No. 112 Hikaru Sato on court one, her eighth ranked win of the spring, three other Cardinal dropped their second sets and were forced to a third. No. 83 Blokhina gave Stanford a 3-0 lead with a 6-4, 7-6(5) on court four, putting Stanford one win away with three different matches in deciding sets. 

It was No. 43 Blake to find the finish line the fastest, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 on court three to clinch the match for the second time in as many days. Stanford produced four points with the doubles point and singles wins from Blake, Blokhina and Yepifanova in both its tournament wins.

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#8 Stanford 4, #23 Washington 0
DOUBLES
1. #18 Angelica Blake/Alexis Blokhina (STAN) d. #67 Erika Matsuda/Hikaru Sato (UW) 6-4
2. Jennifer Kerr/Astrid Olsen (UW) d. Sara Choy/Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) 6-4
3. Connie Ma/Valencia Xu (STAN) d. Sarah-Maude Fortin/Zehra Suko (UW) 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
 
SINGLES
1. #24 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) d. #112 Hikaru Sato (UW) 6-4, 7-5
2. #18 Connie Ma (STAN) vs. Sarah-Maude Fortin (UW) 6-3, 4-6, 5-5 DNF
3. #43 Angelica Blake (STAN) vs. Astrid Olsen (UW) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
4. #83 Alexis Blokhina (STAN) d. Jennifer Kerr (UW) 6-4, 7-6(5)
5. Valencia Xu (STAN) vs. Erika Matsuda (UW) 6-3, 5-7, 3-3 DNF
6. Sara Choy (STAN vs. Melissa Sakar (UW) 6-7(3), 6-4 DNF
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 3