EVANSTON, Ill. - Four times this season, Stanford played matches ending in 4-3 outcomes, all resulting in disappointing losses.
On Sunday in a hostile environment facing elimination, the Cardinal got the one that mattered most.
Sophomore Tom Fawcett's thrilling 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 victory over Konrad Zieba at the top spot of the lineup clinched No. 29 Stanford's 4-3 upset of No. 14 Northwestern in the NCAA second round. The Cardinal (15-10, 4-3 Pac-12) advanced to the NCAA round of 16 for the first time since a quarterfinal finish in 2012.
Fitting that the clincher would come from Fawcett, one of four underclassmen in Stanford's ever-improving singles lineup. The hard-hitting, power-serving Fawcett survived a back-and-forth match in which he saw a 5-2 first-set lead disappear as Zieba ripped off five straight games. Fawcett then won eight of the next nine games on the way to clinching his fifth match of the season while improving his career record in three-setters to 8-2.
Making the comeback more impressive was the fact Stanford trailed 1-0 after losing the doubles point. It marked the first time since a 4-1 victory over Rice back on March 3 that the Cardinal rebounded to win a match despite losing doubles.
At that point, the contest was resembling many of Stanford's early-season encounters against top-ranked competition: a hard-fought, close call ultimately ending in a loss. Within basically a one-month winter span, the Cardinal had suffered 4-3 setbacks to No. 16 Columbia, No. 26 Texas, No. 18 California and No. 4 UCLA.
Sunday's match would be different.
Senior Nolan Paige, who had entered NCAA competition having lost six of his last seven matches, won for the second straight day by contributing a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Fedor Baev at the No. 4 spot.
Freshman Sameer Kumar followed with a 6-1, 7-5 victory on court five, giving Stanford its first lead of the afternoon at 2-1.
Northwestern then made its charge, evening the match at 2-2 when Strong Kirchheimer defeated sophomore David Wilczynski 6-0, 6-4 and claiming a 3-2 advantage after Sam Shropshire took down freshman Michael Genender 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 2 spot.
Senior Maciek Romanowicz brought the Cardinal within 3-3 after notching a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Alp Horoz on court six.
The pressure then shifted to Fawcett, who has not played anywhere except the No. 1 spot since arriving on The Farm. When it was all said and done three hours later, Fawcett had delivered the biggest victory of his career.
The postseason win is another positive step in the process for second-year head coach Paul Goldstein, who also guided Stanford into the NCAA second round last season.
No. 29 Stanford 4, No. 14 Northwestern 3
DOUBLES
1) Baev/Kirchheimer (NW) d. No. 23 Fawcett/Romanowicz (STAN) 7-5
2) Shropshire/Zieba (NW) d. Paige/Wilczynski (STAN) 6-2
3) Yale Goldberg/Kumar (STAN) d. Horoz/Mihir Kumar (NW) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
SINGLES
1) No. 15 Tom Fawcett (STAN) d. No. 20 Konrad Zieba (NW) 5-7, 6-0, 6-4
2) No. 40 Sam Shropshire (NW) d. Michael Genender (STAN) 6-3, 6-4
3) No. 57 Strong Kirchheimer (NW) d. No. 87 David Wilczynski (STAN) 6-0, 6-4
4) Nolan Paige (STAN) d. Fedor Baev (NW) 6-3, 6-2
5) Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. Ben Vandixhorn (NW) 6-1, 7-5
6) Maciek Romanowicz (STAN) d. Alp Horoz (NW) 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 3, 2, 6, 1
