It had been a year and a half since the transfer had competed in a match that mattered.
All of the days spent practicing in the comforts of her home were now lost, and all that seemed to matter was her performance on the court that day, Jan. 27 — the opener of the Terrapin women’s tennis season.
So as the Terps opened their season against Navy inside the Tennis Center at College Park, junior Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, understandably, was having some pre-match jitters.
“Everyone I knew there just told me, ‘I know you’re nervous and your friends are all here watching,” Sanchez-Quintanar said, “but just go out there and play hard.'”
Her first official dabblings in tennis since 2009 showed she had little to worry about. Teamed with freshman doubles partner Jordaan Sanford, Sanchez-Quintanar cruised to an 8-0 victory against the Mids before easily handling Navy’s Stefanie Ton, 6-0, 6-3, in singles.
From then until now, little has changed. As the No. 34 Terps’ undefeated stalwart, Sanchez-Quintanar has been one of the key forces in the revitalization of the women’s program, helping turn a recent history of mediocrity into newfound success.
But her even getting to this point was something hard to envision a few years ago. After completing high school, Sanchez-Quintanar entertained the possibility of becoming a full-time professional. She busied herself with professional tournaments in Spain and began playing for a Barcelona-based squad. But professional competition turned out to be an expensive venture, and Sanchez-Quintanar decided it was in her best interest to pursue a tennis career and college education abroad.
“Cristina and I had a mutual friend in Talito,” coach Howard Joffe said, referencing Gonzalo Corrales, a former tennis player at Georgia and the sports director at scouting service AGM Sports. “He told me about her potential. I was lucky to get her since she was recruited by top tennis schools.”
NCAA residency rules, however, barred her from playing last year. So as the Terps struggled through a 5-14 year, perhaps their greatest talent — Sanchez-Quintanar defeated 2009 Junior Wimbledon singles champion Noppawan Lertcheewakarn in straight sets in a practice match early last season — had to stand idly by.
“I wasn’t eligible for a year after coming over, but I knew I wanted to come to the University of Maryland because it offered D-I competition,” she said. “It wasn’t a huge problem for me.”
But before she ever made her mark on the tennis court, Sanchez-Quintanar’s athletic career at this university took a slight detour. After getting the go-ahead from Joffe, she made the cut for the Terp women’s soccer team, which finished the regular season ranked No. 3 nationally.
“I decided to try to do both this year,” she said. “I like to be active, and thankfully coach Joffe allowed me to play soccer in the fall. Some days I play soccer, some days I play tennis and other days I play both. It’s really not hard at all, and I always have time to study.”
“She is able to do something she’s dreamed of doing, and I think it’s paying dividends because she’s just happier overall,” Joffe said. “It’s a very unusual thing for a coach to do, especially with a player that’s that good.”
This tennis season, however, has proven to be her coming-out party. After spending time in the No. 3 position for singles in the first five matches, she has played the past four matches at No. 1 — a slot that doesn’t seem as if it will change anytime soon. She has a 10-0 record in singles and has been a key component in the Terps’ rise in the ITA rankings after being absent from them since April 2007.
Even in the Terps’ two losses this season at Boston College and Virginia Tech, she endured wire-to-wire bouts before ultimately triumphing. Against the Eagles, Sanchez-Quintanar defeated Veronica Corning, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), in a tiebreaking third set, and she beat the Hokies’ Yasmin Hamza, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6. She has also delivered the match points in singles against Columbia and Delaware.
“She’s one of the toughest players on the team,” assistant Dianne Matias said. “She’s very professional and has a good work ethic. Most importantly, she’s a role-model figure to the rest of the team to work really hard.”
In addition to her perfect singles record, she holds an unblemished doubles record as well. With Sanford, the duo has a perfect 11-0 mark on the season.
“It’s really lucky for me,” Sanford said of her experience as Sanchez-Quintanar’s partner. “She’s really good at doubles, and I’ve been learning from her all season.”
Sanchez-Quintanar’s performance has wowed more than just her fellow players. Her play this season has already left a lasting impression on her head coach, who knows that his recruiting decision, despite the wait, has paid off.
“Cristina’s performance as of late is pretty self-evident,” Joffe said. “She’s won 22 straight matches, and I can tell you this right now — we’re not even ranked without her. Her work ethic is extraordinary, and she helps our rank-and-file players as well. To say that she’s the backbone of the team wouldn’t be a lie.”
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