Sanchez-Quintanar Pushes No. 1 Juricova to 3 Sets
Sanchez-Quintanar (Campo de Criptana, Spain), No. 24 in the ITA preseason singles rankings, was somewhat tentative in the first set going up against the tournament's defending champion but changed up her game in the second set, according to A&M assistant coach Mark Weaver.
"After the first set, Cristina was a little down after getting outplayed," he said, "but she started mixing up her shots in the second set and took some chances. It was fun to see the belief in her eye in the second set. You could see it grow, and she believed that she belonged on the court with this girl.
"(Juricova) is 6-foot and very strong on both sides with a big forehand and a solid backhand," Weaver added. "It's hard to find a weakness. You can't battle her firepower, so you just have to change up your game."
Sanchez-Quintanar won the first two games in the second set and went on to build a 4-1 lead en route to the 6-2 win to even the match at a set apiece.
"Cristina changed up her game and made Juricova fight and take it to another level. It was very high quality tennis after the first set, and it was fun to watch."
Sanchez-Quintanar won the first game in the third set before Juricova, who is No. 1 in the ITA preseason singles rankings for the second consecutive year, took over and closed out the match.
"Juricova is one of the most dominant college players over the last three years," Weaver said. "Her experience showed in the third set."
Sanchez-Quintanar, 11-3 since transferring to A&M from Maryland prior to the fall season, will compete in the consolation bracket starting tomorrow. The draw will be announced later today.
Complete coverage of the USTA/ITA National Indoor Collegiate Championships is available at ITATennis.com.
