Commitment Profile
Cassandra Vazquez Joins Tar Heels' Elite Team
by
Ali Jones, 25 November 2013
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Cassandra Vazquez was born around the time her soccer-playing father got "obsessed with playing tennis," as he described it. She tagged along to the tennis courts with him, and almost 15 years later, her own passion for the sport has not only continued, it has only intensified.
The blue chip recruit has topped her Texas Section rankings and currently holds the sixth spot in the TennisRecruiting's Class of 2014. She has traveled the world for ITF events and is currently 107th.
In the Fall of 2014, however, the 5-foot-9 righty will stay put in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to play for Coach Brian Kalbas' stellar Tar Heels squad.
Vazquez joins the company of collegiate women's tennis' elite, among them Hayley Carter and Jamie Loeb. Loeb, 19-1 for the season, is the first freshman in almost 30 years to win back-to-back Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships and USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in the same season. Carter was a semifinalist at the Indoors as well and finished 19-3.
"When I began my search for schools, I knew that I wanted to attend somewhere with strong academics and an equally respected athletics program," Vazquez said. "I was able to find the best of both worlds at UNC. As an added bonus, I felt the coaching staff and the team were exactly what I wanted."
Based on her past results, Vazquez's future may be just as bright as her University of North Carolina teammates.
Having dominated the Texas section early on, Vazquez then worked her way up the ITF rankings, starting at age 14 and playing the qualies in three tournaments. She earned main draw privileges in all of them.
In 2012, Vazquez won her first doubles title and first singles, both in Monterrey, Mexico. Her subsequent results have shown her to be a true contender - winning both singles and doubles titles at events in Uruguay, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.
In the U.S., Vazquez has done remarkable well, too. Her 2013 highlight was qualifying for the junior U.S. Open, but her resume befits a consistent blue chip athlete.
