STANFORD, Calif. – In yet another memorable campaign for Stanford women's tennis, the program reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the 39th time in 42 NCAA Tournaments and won program's third consecutive Pac-12 Tournament title. 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 an 8-1 mark in Pac-12 competition and a 13-1 mark at Taube Family Tennis Center.
Following a fall slate that included a consolation singles victory at the ITA Fall National Championships from Connie Ma, Stanford won its first five matches, including a 4-3 win over No. 2 Texas A&M in San Diego. Stanford won two of three contests as part of a semifinal appearance the ITA Indoor National Championship, 4-0 over No. 8 Florida and 4-1 over No. 12 Ohio State. Overall, the Cardinal went 7-2 against top-10 opponents in the spring.
An 8-1 conference mark earned Stanford the No. 2 seed at the Pac-12 Championship in Ojai in late April. Stanford rolled through its opponents, capturing its sixth Pac-12 Tournament in seven tries with victories over No. 41 Arizona (4-0), No. 11 USC (4-2) and No. 10 California (4-0). The final Pac-12 Tournament featured the Cardinal's third consecutive title and second championship consecutive sweep. Beginning in 2017, the league hosted seven team tournaments and Stanford won six (no event in 2020). The Cardinal finished 19-1 all-time at the Pac-12 Tournament. Angelica Blake was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and Katherine Hui Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, while Lele Forood was honored as the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the eighth time.
In the NCAA Tournament, Stanford downed UMass (4-0) and No. 32 LSU (4-0) to reach the Sweet 16, and picked off No. 14 North Carolina State in the Super Regional (4-0), to advance to Stillwater. The second-seeded Cardinal's run for a 22nd national championship ended in the quarterfinals, a 4-1 loss to No. 7 Georgia.
CARDINAL, WHITE & BLUE
Stanford featured a pair of ITA All-Americans in singles, as Connie Ma and Alexandra Yepifanova both earned national honors for the second times in their careers.
Academically, Ma was named the Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year for women's tennis, and teammates Valencia Xu (first team) and Alexandra Yepifanova (second team) joined her as Academic All-Americans.
Ma picked up a pair of ranked wins as part of a run to the round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championship in Stillwater, and wrapped up her season with a 40-6 overall record, a team-best 21-2 record in duals, and a 24-5 mark against nationally-ranked opponents. She was tied with Alexandra Yepifanova for second on the team in clinchers (5) and finished the season ranked seventh nationally.
Yepifanova highlighted Stanford's participation in Stillwater with a run to the quarterfinals, which cemented her All-America status. Her tournament kicked off with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded Kari Miller of Michigan, before continuing with a three-set win in the second round over Georgia's No. 41 Alexandra Vecic 6-7, 6-2, 6-2. She took down No. 50 Luciana Perry of Ohio State in the Round of 16 7-6, 6-1 before running into eighth-seeded and eventual national champion Alexa Noel of Miami, to whom she fell 6-2, 6-3. Yepifanova wrapped up her season at 26-8 overall in singles, including a 16-4 record against nationally-ranked opponents, and was No. 20 in the final ITA rankings.
Blake was also voted the ITA Northwest Region Senior Player of the Year in her final season at Stanford. The graduate student played exclusively at the No. 1 spot, going 14-6 overall and 13-4 in duals. She was 7-2 against conference opponents and 10-6 against nationally-ranked foes.
The Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Katherine Hui played primarily at No. 5 and went 16-6 in her debut season. She was 15-4 in duals and 9-1 against Pac-12 opponents. Teaming up with Valencia Xu in doubles, the pair went 19-6 during the dual season at No. 3 and beat the only two ranked doubles teams they faced - Washington's No. 78 Melissa Sakar and Catherine Gagnon (6-2) and USC's No. 42 Parker Fry and Grace Piper (6-4).
ARTHUR ASHE AWARD
Connie Ma was named the national recipient of the the 2024 Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award. The ITA Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award recognizes outstanding student-athletes in all five divisions (NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and JUCO) at the regional and national level. This prestigious award, which dates back to 1982, is presented to the men's and women's national student-athletes who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements in ways that embody the legacy of tennis icon and humanitarian Arthur Ashe Jr. Ma is Stanford's fifth all-time winner of the Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award and first in nearly 30 years. Other Cardinal winners are Amy Chiminello (1996), Heather Willens (1992), Patty Fendick (1987) and Linda Tates (1984).
Outside of tennis, the human biology major has a commitment to volunteer initiatives and desire to pursue medicine. She has been involved in Cardinal Free Clinics, which is a student-led clinic partnered with Stanford Healthcare, that provides free transitional care to those that don't have a means of obtaining health insurance, or can't afford to, as well as anyone else who are impacted by barriers to access. Ma currently works as a Mandarin interpreter, where she helps to bridge the language barrier between Mandarin-speaking patients and their families and medical staff.
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
| Name | Honors |
|---|---|
| Angelica Blake | ITA Northwest Region Senior Player of the Year Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year All-Pac-12 First Team Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll Pac-12 Player of the Week (February 27, 2024) |
| Alexis Blokhina | All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention |
| Ana Geller | ITA Scholar-Athlete Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll |
| India Houghton | ITA Scholar-Athlete Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll |
| Katherine Hui | ITA Northwest Region Rookie of the Year Pac-12 Freshman of the Year All-Pac-12 Second Team ITA Scholar-Athlete |
| Connie Ma | ITA All-America - Singles ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award (National) ITA Northwest Region Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award ITA Northwest Region Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award CSC Women's Tennis Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year CSC Academic All-America First Team All-Pac-12 First Team ITA Scholar-Athlete Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll Pac-12 Player of the Week (April 23, 2024) |
| Chidimma Okpara | ITA Scholar-Athlete |
| Emma Sun | Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll |
| Valencia Xu | All-Pac-12 Second Team CSC Academic All-America First Team All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention ITA Scholar-Athlete Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll |
| Alexandra Yepifanova | ITA All-America - Singles CSC Academic All-America Second Team ITA Northwest Region Player to Watch All-Pac-12 First Team ITA Scholar-Athlete Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll Pac-12 Player of the Week (February 13, 2024) |
| Eleana Yu | ITA Scholar-Athlete |
| Lele Forood | Pac-12 Coach of the Year ITA Northwest Region Coach of the Year |
| Frankie Brennan | ITA Northwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year |