By Alexandre Bucquet on April 23, 2017

Putting away the game with a three-set win at the No. 5 spot, freshman Emily Arbuthnott capped a Cardinal comeback and secured No. 8 Stanford women’s tennis’ (18-2, 10-0 Pac-12) 12th victory in its past 17 matches against No. 16 Cal (15-4, 8-2 Pac). With the win, the Cardinal remain undefeated in conference play and secure the first seed in the Pac-12 tournament, which starts Wednesday.

Stanford started off by taking the doubles point. Freshman Emma Higuchi and sophomore Caroline Lampl were the first to score, winning 6-1 on Court 3, but Cal answered on the first court, taking the set 6-4. Senior Caroline Doyle and sophomore Melissa Lord eventually powered through a tiebreaker to put the Cardinal ahead 1-0.

The Bears didn’t take long to answer, earning straight-set victories at the No. 2 and 3 spots. Senior Taylor Davidson was the first to fall on Court 3, while Lord also dropped her match 6-4, 6-3.

Higuchi tied things up at two apiece as she cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 victory on Court 6, her 18th success in a row.

Cal then moved back ahead 3-2 after Doyle was edged in three sets, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4), on Court 1.

Lampl won her first three-setter of the season at the No. 4 spot, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4, which tied the dual 3-3 and shifted the attention to Arbuthnott. The freshman secured the win after three sets with her team-high seventh clincher of the season.

Heading into the postseason, it looks like the Cardinal will stay at home, where they are undefeated for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. Before then, the Cardinal will attempt to repeat as Pac-12 tournament champions when they try to defend their title in Ojai, California on April 26-29.

Contact Alexandre Bucquet at bucqueta ‘at’ stanford.edu.