Stanford women win 20th NCAA tennis title

The No. 3 Stanford women’s tennis team won its 20th NCAA championship with a 4-0 victory over No. 2 Georgia on Sunday evening in Orlando.

Playing in its fourth consecutive NCAA final, Stanford (28-1) won its second straight title and 21st national championship overall (20 NCAA, 1 AIAW). The Cardinal’s only loss of the season came against the Bulldogs, a 4-3 setback Feb. 11 in the ITA National Indoor Championships.

After securing the doubles point against Georgia (28-2) in Sunday’s title match, Stanford nabbed three singles wins in straight sets to seal the title. Caroline Lampl, Melissa Lord and Janice Shin each earned 6-2, 6-4 victories, with Shin clinching it for the Cardinal at No. 5.

Sunday’s NCAA title was the 10th for head coach Lele Forood, matching Frank Brennan.

After losing in the semifinals of three straight clay-court tournaments, Rafael Nadal dominated for stretches against his longtime rival, Novak Djokovic, in a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 win in Rome for a record-extending ninth Italian Open title.

“You were asking for titles. Finally, I have a title,” Nadal said.

The timing for Nadal’s return to form could not be better, as he will seek a record-extending 12th title at the French Open starting next weekend.

In the women’s final, Karolina Pliskova took the biggest claycourt trophy of her career, beating Johanna Konta 6-3, 6-4.