URBANA, Ill. (AP) — No. 12 seed Stanford defeated third-seeded Texas A&M to win the NCAA women’s tennis championship.
Stanford won the national title for the 17th time. Stanford (22-4) also earned its seventh title under coach Lele Forood. The Cardinal were the lowest-seeded team to reach the championship match since 2007.
Stanford’s Nicole Gibbs rallied for a 0-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar to help the Cardinal gain momentum. Gibbs won NCAA singles and doubles titles last season. Kristie Ahn scored a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Cristina Stancu to clinch the match.
Stanford earlier ended top-seeded Florida’s run toward a third consecutive championship while also knocking off fourth-seeded Georgia and fifth-seeded USC over the previous four days.
In its second season under coach Howard Joffe, Texas A&M (26-4) made the school’s first appearance in the championship match.
