Season Concludes in Orlando – Stanford University Athletics

ORLANDO – Stanford’s season came to a conclusion in The Sunshine State, as the Cardinal wrapped up the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. The week was highlighted by a run to the quarterfinals in singles by senior Angelica Blake, making her first appearance at the event.

Stanford featured three players selected into the singles draw and one doubles team, but sophomore Connie Ma withdrew prior to the start of the tournament. Blake was joined by Alexandra Yepifanova in singles, while partnering with Alexis Blokhina in doubles.

Blake’s run cemented an All-America campaign for the fourth-year player, undoubtedly playing the best tennis of her career through the last several months. Her tournament kicked off with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 victory over ninth-ranked Anastaysia Komar of LSU before continuing with a pair of straight set wins in the second round and round of 16. She took down 19th-ranked Savannah Broadus of Pepperdine 7-5, 6-2 before notching the highest ranked win of her career, defeating No. 3 Lea Ma of Georgia 6-4, 7-6(0). One of the final eight players remaining, Blake ran into Layne Sleeth of Oklahoma, ranked 50th, falling just short 7-6(4), 6-4.

Blake wraps up her season at 36-7 overall in singles, including a 20-2 mark in dual matches and a perfect 16-0 record on court three. She earned 11 ranked victories on the year and featured a 15-match win streak from late March until the NCAA quarterfinals.

Yepifanova, the Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year, also solidified All-America honors, earning a pair of victories in the singles tournament before losing to the eventual champion for the second straight year. She earned a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 59 Ava Markham of Wisconsin in the first round, following that up with a 7-6(3), 6-3 win over No. 63 Mell Reasco of Georgia in the second. The Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Fangran Tian of UCLA, handed Yepifanova a 7-5, 6-3 loss in the round of 16. Yepifanova was 36-8 on the year, going 21-3 in dual matches, with a team-high 14 victories over ranked opponents.

In doubles, Blake and Blokhina were strong early, finding a 4-1 lead, but dropped five games in a row in the first set, eventually losing the match 6-4, 6-1 to No. 9 Nell Miller and Amelia Rajecki of NC State.

Stanford boasts 14 NCAA singles champions all-time, its last coming in 2013 as Nicole Gibbs won her second straight title.

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NCAA SINGLES FIRST ROUND (May 22)
No. 29 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) d. No. 59 Ava Markham (WISC) 6-4, 6-3
No. 44 Angelica Blake…