2023 NCAA Championships: Freshman Tian, senior Sleeth to play for D1 women's title

ORLANDO - Two players at opposite ends of their intercollegiate careers will compete in the last singles match of the 2022-23 Division I women's college tennis season, as UCLA freshman Tian Fangran and University of Oklahoma senior Layne Sleeth will square off Saturday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. for the national title. 

The two booked their spots in the championship match with a pair of contrasting semifinal wins Friday, as matches began outdoors in Orlando but then were completed indoors due to rain. Tian, who hasn't lost a set thus far, continued her march through the women's field with a 6-3, 6-2 win over fellow a first-year, USC's Maddy Sieg, while Sleeth rallied from deficits in both the first and third sets of her 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win over NC State junior Amelia Rajecki. 

Beijing native Tian, the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year for legendary coach Stella Sampras-Webster's Bruins, is the first UCLA player to compete in the national individual final since Keri Phebus, who won the title, in 1995.

"This match took a little bit longer than I thought [to sink in]," Tian said afterwards. "I didn't realize I won until, like, now. It's kind of crazy, this tournament. I didn't think I would reach so far, but I just kind of played one match at a time, and I really enjoy competing here."

Sleeth, from Markham, Ontario, meanwhile, is the first Sooner to ever reach the championship match. To make school history, the Canadian saved three set points en route to turning around the first set against Rajecki, and later, came from 3-1 down in the decider to book a spot in the championship.

Unseeded in this draw, Sleeth has come from behind in two of her five wins so far; she also rallied from a set behind in her win over the No. 6 seed, Duke University's Chloe Beck, in the last 16.