STANFORD, Calif. – Yet another memorable campaign for Stanford women’s tennis, the program reached the NCAA semifinals and won its 29th conference championship in 2023. Two players were named All-Americans while a host of other Cardinal student-athletes earned conference and regional honors.
CHAMPIONS AGAIN
Stanford put together a 25-3 overall campaign, including a perfect 10-0 mark in Pac-12 competition and a 14-0 mark at Taube Family Tennis Center.
Following a fall slate that included a semifinal appearance at the ITA Fall National Championships from Connie Ma, Stanford breezed past its first four opponents, including a pair of 4-0 sweeps at ITA Kickoff Weekend. Stanford won one of three contests at the ITA Indoor National Championships, with the win over Vanderbilt starting a 22-match unbeaten streak that spanned four months.
The Cardinal rolled through the Pac-12 before going an unblemished 3-0 at the Pac-12 Championships to earn both the regular season and tournament titles. In Ojai, Stanford blanked Washington and USC in the semifinals and finals, respectively, by 4-0 margins, and earned the right to host the first and second rounds, and eventually a Super Regional, of the NCAA Tournament. Alexandra Yepifanova was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year while Lele Forood was honored as the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the seventh time.
Something about Stanford in May… ?#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/hi5R13yoQi
— Stanford Women’s Tennis (@StanfordWTennis) May 13, 2023
Stanford downed Weber State (4-0) and Oklahoma State (4-1) to reach the Sweet 16, and picked off top-10 ranked Ohio State in the Super Regional (4-1), to advance to Orlando. The seventh-seeded Cardinal faced No. 2 Texas A&M in the quarterfinals, and earned the victory in shutout fashion, 4-0. The run for a 22nd national championship ended in the Final Four, with NC State outlasting the Cardinal at the USTA National Campus.
Winning together ??#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/ITXDh183gk
— Stanford Women’s Tennis (@StanfordWTennis) May 18, 2023
CARDINAL, WHITE & BLUE
Stanford featured a pair of ITA All-Americans in singles, as senior Angelica Blake and sophomore Alexandra Yepifanova both earned national honors for the first time in their careers. Additionally, Valencia Xu was named a second team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American.
Blake constructed her strongest season yet, finishing the year 36-7 overall, including 20-2 in dual matches, with a 16-0 mark on…
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