May 10, 2008

MALIBU, Calif. - The No. 22 Stanford men's tennis team breezed into the NCAA Second Round, defeating No. 58 UC Santa Barbara today 4-0 in first round action at Pepperdine University. The Cardinal will face No. 13 Pepperdine tomorrow at 1 p.m. as the Waves defeated Hawai'i 4-0 in the day's earlier match.

Stanford had to tough out the doubles point as Blake Muller and Matt Bruch fought out the tie breaker, winning 9-8 (6) in the No. 1 slot over the Gauchos' Philip Therp and Bijan Hejazi. Greg Hirshman and Richard Wire provided the first doubles victory, coasting past Anders Dalskov and Jack Hui, 8-4.

Seventh-ranked Clayton, Muller, and Hirshman won their singles matches to solidify the Cardinal victory. Clayton defeated Therp, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1 singles, Muller upended Alex Konigsfeldt, 6-3, 6-1, and Hirshman easily handled Max Taylor, 6-2, 6-0.

Tomorrow's match against Pepperdine will determine who punches their ticket to the Round of 16 in Tulsa, Okla.

No. 22 Stanford vs. No. 58 UC-Santa Barbara
NCAA First Round - Pepperdine University
Malibu, Calif. - 05/10/08 - 2 p.m.
Final Score: Stanford 4 - UC Santa Barbara 0

Singles Results: Stanford 3 - UCSB 0
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 4
1) #7 Alex Clayton (STAN) d. Philip Therp (UCSB), 6-1, 6-4
2) #80 Matt Bruch (STAN) vs. Bijan Hejazi (UCSB), 6-2, 4-5 unfinished
3) #124 Richard Wire (STAN) vs. Jack Hui (UCSB), 6-3, 0-4, unfinished
4) Blake Muller (STAN) vs. Alex Konigsfeldt (UCSB), 6-3, 6-1
5) Phil Kao (STAN) d. Anders Dalskov (UCSB), 6-2, 4-1 unfinished
6) Greg Hirshman (STAN) d. Max Taylor (UCSB), 6-2, 6-0

Doubles Results: Stanford wins the doubles point
Order of Finish: 3, 1
1) Muller/Bruch (STAN) d. Therp/Hejazi (UCSB), 9-8 (6)
2) Clayton/Kelly (STAN) vs. Finklestein/Konigsfeldt (UCSB), 7-8 unfinished
3) Wire/Hirshman (STAN) d. Dalskov/Hui (UCSB), 8-4