TCU’s Tan Advances In NCAA Tennis Championships
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URBANA, Ill. – TCU women’s tennis sophomore Stefanie Tan posted the first big upset of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championships Wednesday morning with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Florida’s Sofie Oyen. The Gators’ Oyen was tabbed as a No. 9-16 seed when the field was released.
Tan, No. 44 in the iTA singles rankings, advances to tomorrow’s round of 32 match-up against Samantha Vickers of Tulsa. Vickers, the No. 18 player in the ITA Singles Rankings, won her first-round match in three sets over No. 29 Hanna Mar of Duke. The match will take place at 9 a.m., and will have live results and live streaming here.
“That was a great win, and I am pleased with how she played,” TCU head coach Dave Borelli said. “She was in control and dominating the match for stretches. When you play student-athletes from Florida and the other highly-ranked programs you have to be persistent. They will not go away at the first sign of something going wrong.”
Tan improved to 23-10 on the season, and her victory over the ITA’s No. 17 ranked
singles player gave her an eighth win over a ranked opponent in 2013. She became the first Horned Frog to win in the NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championship since 2007 when Ana Cetnik defeated a No. 9-16 seed, UCLA’s Riza Zalameda.
The message of intent was sent by Tan in the first set. She was able to get in control of the set en route to her 6-3 first stanza victory. The strong play of Tan’s forced Oyen to switch up her strategy, but the TCU sophomore made sure she was still in control.
“She was in control the whole set,” Borelli noted. “Oyen has one of the best drop shots I have ever seen, and she felt she had to go to it. You have to earn those victories. It is nice to have someone who was willing to rise to the challenge today.”
Tan proved that her first set victory was no fluke as she soared to a 4-0 advantage in the second set. The Gators’ Oyen showed her talent with getting back four consecutive games to even up the set. After a dominating service game to put herself ahead 5-4, Tan converted her second match point on the break to ensure advancement.
“We have to take advantage of the win tomorrow,” Borelli concluded. “She has to come out with the same focus as today. I am pleased with where she is at with her game. She has beaten good players this season and she has come into her own at the right time.”
Tan’s opponent tomorrow, Tulsa’s Samantha Vickers, boasts a 32-4 record in singles play for the Golden Hurricane. She was named the C-USA Player of the Year for 2013.
