Commitment Announcement
Sophie Chang Commits to the Wahoos
by Sonny Dearth, 8 September 2014
Special from the
Newport News (Va.) Daily Press, HRVarsity.com
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Sophie Chang's initial instinct toward college tennis was prophetic.
"When I was younger, in fifth grade to about eighth grade, I didn't know much about college tennis, but I knew what the good schools were," she said. "When I first started, I said I'm going to go to
Virginia and play."
Surely enough, that's what will happen. Chang, a homeschooled Blue Chip rising senior from Havre de Grace, Md., has committed to play for the Virginia Cavaliers, who have become one of the nation's top programs in the past few seasons under Mark Guilbeau's coaching. U.Va. finished seventh in last year's final Intercollegiate Tennis Association computer rankings and has no seniors for 2014-15.
Chang, 17, is ranked 25th nationally among 12th-graders by the Tennis Recruiting Network, including sixth in the Mid-Atlantic Section and first in Maryland. She was ranked as high as 17th earlier this year.
"I've always been taught to be a very aggressive player and take control of points," she said. "I love hitting big, going for my shots and taking opportunities as they come."
Chang envisioned her future long ago. As a freshman and sophomore, "I knew I wanted to go somewhere I could drive to," she said.
Along with U.Va., Chang also seriously considered Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, Tennessee, and William & Mary.
"I took a visit in February to UNC, U.Va. and William & Mary," she said. "I loved all my visits. After that, I started to narrow things down."
Among the coaches, "I was most in touch with Coach Mark," she said. Chang said Guilbeau frequently would call to congratulate her on match wins, and she knew the Cavaliers had won their first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title and had advanced to the NCAA team quarterfinals.
Oh, and Danielle Collins - usually U.Va.'s No. 2 player in dual matches -had won the NCAA singles championship to earn a wild-card berth in the U.S. Open, where she won the first set against second-seeded Simona Halep in Arthur Ashe Stadium before succumbing in three sets.
