The Stanford men’s tennis team started slowly, but finished the weekend on a high note at the Sherwood Cup in Westlake Village, Calif. After winning only one of seven matches on the first day of singles, the Cardinal got it together and finished the tournament with a 10-8 singles record.

Enlarge
#gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/8384
Stanford Daily File Photo

Sophomore Kevin Kaiser and the Cardinal men struggled in the first day of play at the Sherwood Cup, but stepped up in the consolation rounds. In singles, Kaiser lost twice before posting a 6-1, 6-2 win on the third day of competition.

“We didn’t start out very well,” head coach John Whitlinger said. “But we got better every day, and I was pleased with the progress we made.”

Six Cardinal players were entered in the singles bracket on day one, but only freshman Greg Hirshman recorded a first-round singles victory, downing Josh Miller of UCLA 6-4, 6-3. Hirshman’s reward was a second-round matchup with No. 1 Robert Farah of USC, where he fell 6-0, 6-2. Sophomore Paul Morrissey received a bye in the first round and fought hard in the second round against Jordan Rux of Baylor, but Rux prevailed in a three-setter, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.

On that first day of play, sophomore Kevin Kaiser, freshman Ted Kelly and sophomore Richard Wire all fell in three-set matches.

Day two was more promising for the Stanford squad. In the consolation singles first round, Kelly, Wire and junior Blake Muller all picked up straight-set victories. In the second round of consolation play on the third day, the Cardinal went 5-3 in singles action, as Wire, Muller, Hirshman, Kaiser and senior Phil Kao all won in straight sets.

“We had a nice couple of wins [on the third day],” Whitlinger said. “By the end of the tournament, we were playing some pretty good tennis.”

In doubles action, three of Stanford’s teams fell in the first round. The Cardinal’s top duo of Kelly and Muller advanced to the quarterfinal on a bye, and then went on to win two tight matches over seeded teams. That earned them a berth in the finals against No. 4 seed Attila Bucko and Denes Lukacs of Baylor.

In the finals, Baylor was serving for the match at 7-6, but Stanford broke serve to tie it 7-7. However, in the very next game, Kelly’s serve was broken and the Baylor duo held serve to prevail, 9-7.

“Ted and Blake competed well,” Whitlinger said. “They did a nice job. A few breaks here and there were the difference.”

Now the Cardinal is set for the real grind as its season is set to begin.

“This was a good tournament to get going,” Whitlinger said. “It was good to get guys some match play in them and get ready for this weekend.”

The Stanford men will need their best effort this weekend as they begin the dual season with matches against No. 23 Tulsa on Saturday and No. 2 Georgia on Sunday, both in Tulsa, Okla.