Stanford women win thriller to reach NCAA final

Taylor Davidson, shown in 2014, won the deciding
match 7-6 in the third set today. Tri Nguyen/
TriNguyenPhotography.com

   Today's women's semifinal between No. 7 seed and defending champion Stanford and No. 3 Ohio State in the NCAA Championships came down to a tiebreaker.
   Predictably, Cardinal senior Taylor Davidson won it.
   Davidson, ranked 54th, edged Gabriella De Santis, ranked 95th, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (5) on Court 3 to lift Stanford a 4-3 rain-delayed victory over Ohio State in Athens, Ga. The Cardinal overcame a 2-0 deficit to end the Buckeyes' 18-match winning streak.
   In last year's final, Davidson beat Vladica Babic of Oklahoma State 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 on Court 2 to give Stanford a 4-3 victory. It was Davidson's third victory in the deciding match in the tournament.
   The Cardinal (26-2) will face rival Florida (28-3), the No. 1 seed, on Tuesday at 2 p.m. PDT (ESPNU). The Gators defeated No. 4 Vanderbilt 4-2.
   The second-seeded Virginia men, meanwhile, will play for their third consecutive NCAA title and fourth in five years. The Cavaliers advanced with a 4-2 victory over No. 3 Ohio State in Athens.
   Virginia's Collin Altamirano, a junior from Sacramento ranked 40th, dominated Martin Joyce 6-0, 6-3 on Court 4 but lost 6-4 in doubles with J.C. Aragone to Hunter Tubert and JJ Wolf on Court 3.
   The Cavaliers (33-1) will meet Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina (29-4) on Tuesday at 10 a.m. (ESPNU). The Cavaliers are 3-0 against the Tar Heels this season.
   Virginia can become the fourth school, and first outside the Pacific-12 Conference, to win three or more straight men's team titles. Others that have accomplished the feat are UCLA (1952-54), USC (1962-64, 1966-69 and 2009-12) and Stanford (1988-90, 1995-98).