This year in Pac-12 tennis
SAN FRANCISCO - Pac-12 men's and women's tennis had another successful season on the courts in 2015. With three national runners-up in the NCAA Women's Team and Individual Championships, a co-championship in the tight race for the men's regular season title, and an undefeated Pac-12 season for the USC women, league squads continued the Pac-12's tradition of excellence in collegiate tennis.
The regular season titles came down to the wire for both the men and women. Stanford and USC tied for the men's championship after California came back to hand Stanford its first loss of the season and USC came back to hold off UCLA. For the women, USC finished the season undefeated and clinched the title in the final week of play after holding off UCLA in their final match to avoid tying with California, which had just one loss in Pac-12 play.
The men's coaches voted UCLA sophomore Mackenzie McDonald as the Men's Singles Player of the Year, and the duo of Yannick Hanfmann and Roberto Quiroz of USC were selected as the Men's Doubles Team of the Year and Tom Fawcett of Stanford was the Men's Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. Stanford head coach Paul Goldstein was the Men's Coach of the Year. The women's coaches voted UCLA's Robin Anderson as the Women's Singles Player of the Year, and voted Carol Zhao and Taylor Davidson of Stanford as the Women's Doubles Team of the Year. USC's Madison Westby was selected Women's Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, and Trojan head coach Richard Gallien was the Women's Coach of the Year.
The women saw considerable success in the postseason, as five teams picked up bids for the NCAA Tournament. Seventh-seeded UCLA finished second overall, while top-seeded USC swept three of their four victories to join the Bruins in the semifinals in Waco. Stanford played through the quarterfinals, California reached the third round, and Arizona State reached the second round. Individually, Stanford's Carol Zhao finished as runner-up in the singles draw while California's Klara Fabikova and Zsofi Susanyi were runners-up in doubles. On the men's side, four teams advanced to the postseason, with USC seeded seventh and UCLA seeded 16th, while California and Stanford also earned berths in the tournament. All four teams won their opening match, and USC advanced to the quarterfinals for the 10th-straight season while UCLA made it to the third round of action.
The 2015 Pac-12 Championships showcased some of the top collegiate tennis talent in Ojai, Calif., for the 70th year for the men and the 29th for the women. The second-seeded Trojan men fought back from losing the doubles point to exact revenge over top-seeded Stanford in the men's team championship match to win the tournament title, 4-3. It marked USC's second tournament championship since the team format was established in 2012. The women's individual championships saw UCLA's Catherine Harrison win the singles title while Stanford's Carol Zhao and Taylor Davidson won the doubles title. Harrison's title marked the third-straight singles championship and ninth overall for the UCLA women.
National honors also poured in for Pac-12 tennis, as 15 women and six men earned ITA All-America status. Women's players earning national recognition were: California's Klara Fabikova, Maegan Manasse, Denise Starr and Zsofi Susanyi; Stanford's Taylor Davidson, Caroline Doyle, Ellen Tsay and Carol Zhao; UCLA's Robin Anderson, Jennifer Brady, Catherine Harrison, Kyle McPhillips and Chanelle Van Nguyen; and USC's Giuliana Olmos and Sabrina Santamaria. Men's players earning All-America honors were: Stanford's John Morrissey and Robert Stineman; UCLA's Mackenzie McDonald; and USC's Yannick Hanfmann, Roberto Quiroz and Jonny Wang.