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Stanford Women’s NCAA title highlights this year in Pac-12 tennis

Jun 15, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO – Pac-12 men's and women's tennis enjoyed another successful season on the courts in 2018. The STANFORD women captured the 2018 NCAA Tennis crown for their second national title in three years (2016) to add to their nation-leading 19 overall NCAA championships. Pac-12 men’s regular-season and tournament champion UCLA advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinal to lead the Pac-12 in the postseason. In total, 11 Pac-12 tennis teams, seven men’s and four women’s, were selected to compete in the NCAA Championship. Two Pac-12 players and two coaches were honored with ITA national awards to cap off the 2018 season.

At the 2018 Pac-12 Men’s Tennis Championship, No. 1 seed UCLA avenged its 2017 Conference runner-up finish by besting No. 3 seed USC, 4-1, to clinch the team title. Top-seeded Stanford bounced back from an early doubles deficit to knock off No. 2 seed UCLA, 4-2, and capture the second annual Pac-12 Women’s Tennis Tournament team championship at Libbey Park in Ojai, Calif.

UCLA swept all four individual awards of the men’s tennis All-Pac-12 honors for the 2018 season, as determined by a polling of the Conference coaches. The Bruins’ Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Martin Redlicki was voted Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year and after consistently being the No. 1 singles player in the ITA National rankings, he also earned ITA Senior Player of the Year.

Redlicki and teammate Evan Zhu were tabbed the Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year for the second straight season as the pair won the 2018 NCAA Men’s Tennis doubles title for the 13th NCAA doubles crown in program history. Keegan Smith was named the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year and Billy Martin earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Stanford’s Brandon Coupe won Performance ITA Assistant Coach of the Year as the Cardinal finished 22-4 overall this season for its best record in 15 years.

Stanford earned the Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship for the third consecutive year after winning the inaugural team tournament crown in 2017 and the league’s regular-season title in 2016. The Cardinal swept through the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament and only conceded five total points through the postseason, defeating Duke, 4-2, in the semifinals and Vanderbilt, 4-3, in the title match.

Stanford’s Michaela Gordon was named Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year and then collected the ITA National Rookie of the Year honor, becoming the first Cardinal recipient since 2011. Gordon and No. 1 court partner Emily Arbuthnott earned Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year and received the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Women’s Tennis Doubles Championship.

UCLA’s Ena Shibahara was voted Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year for the second straight year. Stanford’s Lele Forood was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the sixth time in her 18 seasons at the helm and also earned Wilson ITA National Coach of the Year for the second time in her career (2003, 2018). Forood collects Stanford’s fifth all-time women’s National Coach of the Year nod and 11th for the Pac-12 since Arizona State won the inaugural award in 1984.

Four Pac-12 women’s and six men’s pairs competed in the NCAA Doubles Championship while 13 women and seven men earned spots in the NCAA Singles Tournament. ARIZONA STATE’s pair of Ilze Hattingh and Lauryn John-Baptiste advanced to the quarterfinals while Ena Shibahara from UCLA and Emily Arbuthnott from Stanford advanced to the singles round of 16. The men’s side was highlighted by Martin Redlicki’s semifinal finish and fellow Bruin duo of Austin Rapp and Keegan Smith reaching the doubles semifinals.

National honors also poured in for Pac-12 tennis, as eight women and nine men earned ITA All-America status.

Women’s ITA All-Americans
Emily Arbuthnott, Stanford (Singles/ Doubles)
Terri Fleming, UCLA (Doubles)
Stacey Fung, Washington (Singles)
Michaela Gordon, Stanford (Singles/ Doubles)
Jada Hart, UCLA (Doubles)
Ilze Hattingh, Arizona State (Doubles)
Lauryn John-Baptiste, Arizona State (Doubles)
Ena Shibahara, UCLA (Singles)

Men’s ITA All-Americans
Tom Fawcett, STAN (Singles)
Brandon Holt, USC (Singles/Doubles)
Jack Jaede, USC (Doubles)
Austin Rapp, UCLA (Doubles)
Martin Redlicki, UCLA (Singles/Doubles)
Keegan Smith, UCLA (Doubles)
Riley Smith, USC (Doubles)
Laurens Verboven, USC (Doubles)
Evan Zhu, UCLA (Doubles)