URBANA, Ill.- Nicole Gibbs collected another victory on Saturday afternoon, moving into the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championship.
Gibbs easily defeated No. 16 Yana Koroleva of Clemson 6-1, 6-1 and now stands two victories away from becoming
Stanford's first repeat NCAA singles champion since Amber Liu accomplished the feat in 2003-04.
The match was shifted indoors due to weather after Gibbs broke out to a 4-1 lead in the first set.
Saturday's contest was a rematch from earlier this year, when Gibbs took down Koroleva 6-2, 6-2 on Feb. 23 in Stanford's 5-2 neutral-site victory in Gainesville, Fla.
"I was a little concerned at first because the girl I was playing hits a really big ball, and that's her strength, so obviously indoors can favor that type of player," said
Gibbs. "But I think after the first game or so, I realized that I could move her a little more easily on the indoor court, and I actually think the move to indoors made my job a little bit easier today in terms of getting her on the run."
Gibbs, who improved to 28-1 in May during her career, has now won 12 consecutive matches. The junior All-American closed out the 2011-12 campaign by winning 17 matches in a row.
Gibbs can also become the first player to capture the NCAA team and singles crowns in the same season since Duke's Mallory Cecil in 2009 at College Station, Texas.
She will next face No. 31 Breaunna Addison of Texas on Sunday in the semifinals. That match will not begin until at least 11 a.m. PT.
No. 13 Nicole Gibbs
First Round: d. No. 47 Yang Pang (Arkansas) 7-5, 6-4
Second Round: d. No. 58 Ronit Yurovsky (Michigan) 6-4, 6-4
Round of 16: d. No. 4 Christina Sanchez-Quintanar (Texas A&M) 6-4, 6-4
Quarterfinals: d. No. 16 Yana Koroleva (Clemson) 6-1, 6-1
Semifinals: vs. No. 31 Breaunna Addison (Texas) - not before 11 a.m. PT
No. 14 Krista Hardebeck
First Round: d. No. 22 Pleun Burgmans (Auburn) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Second Round: d. No. 76 Cindy Chala (VCU) 1-6, 7-5, 6-4
Round of 16: lost to No. 6 Lauren Herring (Georgia) 6-0, 6-2
No. 25 Kristie Ahn
First Round: lost to No. 15 Petra Niedermayerova (Kansas State) 6-2, 6-1
No. 8 Kristie Ahn/Nicole Gibbs
First Round: lost to No. 15 Isaura Enrique/Samantha Vickers (Tulsa) 6-2, 6-4
No. 28 Stacey Tan/Ellen Tsay
First Round: lost to No. 11 Lauren Embree/Sofie Oyen (Florida) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
