Baylor women’s tennis senior Blair Shankle advanced to the round of 32 of the NCAA Championship with a two set victory, 6-2, 6-4, in the opening round on Wednesday morning. She bested No. 42-ranked Brittany Lindl of Tennessee for her 10th consecutive win and her 12th over a ranked opponent.
Shankle, the No. 5 overall seed in the bracket and the No. 3-ranked player nationally, will meet Kana Daniel of Pennsylvania in the second round on Thursday at Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Daniel, who was the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championship out of the Ivy League, is ranked No. 119 nationally and owns an 11-7 record on the season.
Daniel, who also competed at 8 a.m. (CT) on Wednesday, defeated Aldila Sutjiadi of Kentucky in two sets, 7-5, 6-3, to advance. First serve between Shankle and Daniel has yet to be determined.
OTHER NOTABLES
? Senior Blair Shankle earned her first singles victory competing as an individual in the NCAA Championship on Wednesday.
? Shankle is 1-1 in her career when competing as an individual in the NCAA Championship singles bracket. She fell in the initial round in 2015, the only other season she qualified for singles play.
? Shankle, the Big 12 Conference’s automatic qualifier, is the No. 5 overall seed in the 64-player field and is ranked No. 3 nationally.
TOP QUOTES
“It was good. We got up early and got a good warmup in in the morning in the indoor and luckily everyone was able to play the matches outside. There wasn’t too much of a delay. I was happy to get the win and it was even better winning in two sets.” – Blair Shankle on her first round victory
“(The NCAA environment) is definitely different, you get used to playing duals, which I love, and then you come back and it’s an individual tournament again. It’s a change of pace, which has been great, but at the same time you have to get used to it again. The first couple rounds you feel rusty, but I love it and I’m excited to be back playing in individuals again. I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do this year.” – Blair Shankle on competing as an individual in the NCAA singles bracket
WHAT’S NEXT
Shankle advances to face Kana Daniel of Pennsylvania in the second round of the NCAA Championship on Thursday. Match time has yet to be determined due to possible rain-related weather delays.
