Year in Review: Women's TennisYear in Review: Women's Tennis
Women's Tennis

Year in Review: Women's Tennis

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.


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.

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 court three. Her only dual match losses this spring were on court one, a pair of three-set defeats in Los Angeles. She featured a 15-match win streak from late March until her loss in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship.

Yepifanova, the Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year, finished with a 36-8 record overall in singles play, going 21-3 in dual matches, primarily on court one. Until her loss to UCLA's Fangran Tian in the NCAA Singles Round of 16, Yepifanova had gone undefeated against Pac-12 opponents the entire season, and totaled a team-high 14 victories over ranked opponents.

Xu played the majority of the season on court five in singles, going 13-6, along with a 3-0 record on court four. Overall in singles play, Xu boasted a 26-8 record. In doubles, Xu partnered primarily with Connie Ma and saw immense success on court three, as the duo went 17-3 this spring. Xu ended her season winning six singles matches in a row and was 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament.

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

NameHonors
Angelica BlakeITA All-America - Singles
ITA Northwest Region Most Improved Senior
All-Pac-12 First Team
NCAA All-Tournament Team - No. 3 Singles
Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Sara ChoyITA Northwest Region Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award
All-Pac-12 Second Team
ITA Scholar-Athlete
Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Ana GellerITA Scholar-Athlete
Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
India HoughtonITA Scholar-Athlete
Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Connie MaAll-Pac-12 First Team
Pac-12 Player of the Week (April 4, 2023)
ITA Scholar-Athlete
Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Emma SunITA Scholar-Athlete
Valencia XuAll-Pac-12 Second Team
CSC Academic All-America Second Team
ITA Scholar-Athlete
Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Alexandra YepifanovaITA All-America - Singles
Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year
All-Pac-12 First Team
Two-time Pac-12 Player of the Week (Jan. 31, March 28, 2023)
ITA Scholar-Athlete
Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
Lele ForoodPac-12 Coach of the Year
ITA Northwest Region Coach of the Year
Frankie BrennanITA Northwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year