Nearly a month ago, there were no Stanford men set to compete at the ITA National Indoor Championships. But after four weeks of solid play, four Cardinal tennis players have qualified for the tournament and will be opening play today in Columbus, Ohio.

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Sophomore Richard Wire and freshman teammate Alex Clayton will play in the singles draw of this weekend’s ITA Indoor Championships in Columbus, Ohio. The team of Blake Muller and Ted Kelly will take on the doubles field. #gallery http://daily.stanford.org/image/full/8116
Stanford Daily File Photo

Sophomore Richard Wire and freshman teammate Alex Clayton will play in the singles draw of this weekend’s ITA Indoor Championships in Columbus, Ohio. The team of Blake Muller and Ted Kelly will take on the doubles field.

The Indoor Championships is, perhaps, the toughest tournament in the country after the NCAA Championships. A 32-player singles bracket and 16-team doubles bracket filled with the top players in the nation should make for an exciting weekend of tennis. On top of that, two of the four Cardinal players are freshmen and will be making their first appearances in high-level collegiate competition.

“This is a great tournament and a great field,” head coach John Whitlinger said. “Everyone in the tournament has qualified to be there. Every match will be a tough one.” Sophomore Richard Wire and freshman Alex Clayton will be in singles action for the Cardinal, while junior Blake Muller and freshman Ted Kelly will play in the doubles bracket. Wire and Muller/Kelly qualified by winning their respective brackets at the Regional Championships last weekend in Seattle, while Clayton qualified three weeks ago at the ITA All-American Championships by reaching the quarterfinals.

Muller and Kelly draw Ross Cunningham and Andy Connelly of the University of Tulsa in the first round. A win there would set up a potential matchup with the top-seeded duo in the country, Somdev Devvarman and Treat Huey of Virginia.

“I’m looking forward to getting back on the court and seeing if [Ted and I] can continue playing like we did in Seattle,” said Muller. “All the best teams will be here, so now we can really judge where we stand and where we need to go.”

Contrasting playing styles helped Muller and Kelly win their bracket two weeks ago, and that is what they hope will carry them far this week. On one side of the court there’s Muller, who is used to championship-caliber tournaments after being on the team for three years and having much past success in doubles with fellow junior Matt Bruch. His partner, Kelly, is a freshman who will be experiencing the big-tournament atmosphere for the first time.

“Ted has a big serve, and our games complement each other really well,” Muller said. “He may not have a ton of experience at the college level, but he certainly has played plenty of big matches [at the junior level] and knows how to play under pressure.

“He has the ability and we as a team have the ability to do well here. It’s just making sure that we play within ourselves,” added Muller.

Clayton plays Dominic Inglot of Virginia in the first round, while Wire draws Jack Baker of South Alabama. Clayton and Wire are in tough positions — if they win their opening round matches, each player will face one of the higher seeded players in the tournament.

“If I play well, I feel I can win a few rounds,” said Wire. “Indoors suits my game, and I have been playing well recently, so I’m looking forward to making progress in the tournament.

“It’s also exciting because Stanford has four guys going, so we hope for a good team showing.”

Whitlinger would not put it past his players to make a run at the title, but what matters first is improvement and consistency.

“All the guys are playing well right now, but so are a lot of people,” he said. “I’m looking to see if the guys can build off their play and keep winning, also how they do playing at the national level, how they stand up to the national competition.”

Despite the looming challenge, the players are excited and ready for the big weekend ahead of them. Whitlinger pointed out that the four will have a lot of fun playing, even if the results are not what they set out for.

Play opens today at the Racquet Club of Columbus at 11 a.m. with the first-round doubles matches, followed by first-round singles. The tournament is hosted by Ohio State University.