10-04-2023, 12:30 PM
That is a terrific result for Blake. Love it. Has she taken a leap? She's steadily improved over her time at Stanford, which is not always something we see in the program, but that's a great result for her!
She gets #47 Jessica Alsola of Cal next, while Yepifanova gets 3rd-seeded (and 3rd-ranked) Alexa Noel of Miami, who's a two-time All-American in singles and who transferred from Iowa before last season. Blake's test is much more manageable, even though Alsola played #1 and #2 for Cal last year as a sophomore (and held down the #2 court as a freshman), but don't count Yepifanova out! Both of these matches will be tough, but an objective observer would have to give Blake the better chance of advancing.
FYI, at Northwest Regionals last year, Blokhina beat Alsola in three sets, and in the dual match in April, Yepifanova beat her on the top line, 7-6, 6-2.
She gets #47 Jessica Alsola of Cal next, while Yepifanova gets 3rd-seeded (and 3rd-ranked) Alexa Noel of Miami, who's a two-time All-American in singles and who transferred from Iowa before last season. Blake's test is much more manageable, even though Alsola played #1 and #2 for Cal last year as a sophomore (and held down the #2 court as a freshman), but don't count Yepifanova out! Both of these matches will be tough, but an objective observer would have to give Blake the better chance of advancing.
FYI, at Northwest Regionals last year, Blokhina beat Alsola in three sets, and in the dual match in April, Yepifanova beat her on the top line, 7-6, 6-2.