((TEXAS A&M PRESS RELEASE))
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Cristina Stancu represents Texas A&M on the 2014 ITA Division I All-America Team for women’s tennis, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association officially announced today.
Stancu (pronounced STAN-coo) is the sixth player in Aggie women’s tennis history to earn ITA All-America honors in singles, having garnered the distinction after receiving a top 16 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship 64-player field. The senior from Constanta, Romania, also was No. 9 in the ITA final singles rankings.
A player must meet any of the following criteria to earn ITA All-America honors in singles: be a top-16 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship; reach the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship; or finish in the Top 20 in the final ITA national singles rankings.
It is the third consecutive year Texas A&M head women’s tennis coach Howard Joffe has had a player earn All-America distinction. Stancu joins Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, who was the first-ever Joffe-coached All-American in 2012 and capped her two-year Aggie career by becoming A&M’s first two-time tennis All-American in 2013.
Previous A&M All-Americans are Helga Vieira (2005) and Kim Laubushagne (1987), who each joined the elite club after reaching at least the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship. In addition, Jessica Roland (2004) and Lynn Staley (1991) were named All-America after finishing in the Top 20 in the final ITA singles rankings.
Stancu, the 2014 ITA Texas Region Senior Player of the Year and a member of both the All-SEC Team and the SEC All-Tournament Team, finished the season 33-9 overall in singles – including 21-6 against ranked opponents -- after reaching the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship. Her 33 wins ties for the sixth most victories in a single season in A&M history.
Stancu, A&M’s lone senior, guided the Aggies to the NCAA Championship round of 16, a 21-7 record and a No. 9 final ranking in 2014.
To view the entire listing of the 2014 ITA All-Americans from all divisions as well as former ITA All-Americans, click here.
About the ITA Awards program:
As the governing body of collegiate tennis, the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of varsity collegiate tennis players. The ITA, which is comprised of nearly 1,700 men's and women's varsity coaches and 20,000 student-athletes from over 1,200 institutions, has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership, sportsmanship and athletic performance. Awards are given to both men and women, on the Regional and National levels to all Divisions represented within the ITA (NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, and Community and Junior Colleges). The ITA annually recognizes over 3,000 student-athletes on an individual and team basis from over 500 different varsity tennis programs. For more information on the ITA Awards program, please visit http://www.itatennis.com/AwardsAndRankings/ITA_Award_Winners.htm.
Visit AggieAthletics.com for more information on Texas A&M women’s tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M women’s tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieWomensTennis.
