Sanaz Marand

Height:
5-6
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Katy, Texas
High School:
Texas Tech High

Enters the spring ranked No. 6 in the nation and No. 1 in the Carolinas Region in doubles with Sophie Grabinski • Went 13-5 in doubles, repeating as ITA regional champions with an 8-6 win over No. 14 Ina Hadziselimovic and Josipa Bek of Clemson • Defeated five ranked opponents and earned an automatic bid to the ITA Intercollegiate Indoor Nationals • Compiled a 9-6 singles record against one of the toughest schedules in the nation • Ranked No. 25 in the nation and No. 3 in the region in singles entering the dual match season • Defeated four ranked singles opponents, including a 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 6 Laura Vallverdu of Miami.

JUNIOR SEASON (2008-09) Earned ITA All-America honors in singles for the second consecutive season by virtue of advancing to the NCAA singles quarterfinals • Also teamed with Sophie Grabinski to earn All-America honors in doubles after the duo finished the season ranked No. 6 in the nation • Ranked as high as No. 10 in the ITA singles poll and as high as No. 3 in the doubles poll • Finished with a 20-8 singles record in dual matches, earning All-ACC honors after compiling an 9-2 league mark • Defeated 16 top-100 opponents on the year, including 10 wins over the top 50 • Highlights from the spring include a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 28 Ellah Nze of Duke on April 1, a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 7 Irina Falconi of Georgia Tech on April 10 and a three-set victory over No. 1 Ani Mijacika of Clemson on April 11 • Dropped just one set during a nine-match winning streak that stretched from March 27 to April 17 • With three wins in the NCAA singles tournament, became just the third player in school history to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals • Despite singles success, was even more impressive in doubles • Teamed with Grabinski to go 18-2 during the spring, including a 7-0 mark in ACC play • Defeated 10 ranked doubles opponents on the season, including six in a row from March 1 to April 17 • Won 12 consecutive doubles matches in the spring, going over two months without a loss • Qualified with Marand for the NCAA doubles tournament • Entered the spring ranked No. 4 in the Southeast Region and No. 47 in the ITA national poll in singles • Also ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 15 in the nation in doubles with Sophie Grabinski • Garnered an additional doubles ranking of No. 45 in the ITA national poll with Katrina Tsang • Captured the ITA Southeast Regional doubles title with Grabinski to earn an automatic bid to the ITA National tournament • Finished the fall with a 4-4 singles record that included a 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 5 Amanda Fink of USC • Also finished the fall 10-3 in doubles matches • Posted a 7-1 record with Grabinski that included a pair of wins at the ITA National tournament over teams from USC and LSU • Playing with Tsang, posted three wins including a victory over No. 39 Ciobanu and Rielley of Notre Dame.

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2007-08) Earned ITA All-America honors in singles by virtue of her final national ranking of No. 13 • Finished the spring season with a singles record of 25-2 and a doubles mark of 17-11 playing primarily with Sophie Grabinski and Katrina Tsang • Named ITA Southeast Region Player to Watch after being ranked in the top 15 for the entire 2008 season • Also earned All-ACC honors after finishing league play with a 9-1 record • Ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation in singles and, along with Grabinski, as high as No. 3 in doubles • Defeated the nation's top-ranked player twice in a three-match span • Topped then-No. 1 Ani Mijacika of Clemson, 6-4, 6-1, in the ACC Tournament • Two matches later defeated No. 1 Aurelija Misevicuite of Arkansas, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, in the NCAA Tournament • Opened the spring with 15 consecutive wins, dropping just one set over that span • Ran off 10 wins in a row following her only regular-season loss to Clemson's Mijacika • Qualified for the NCAA Tournament in both singles and doubles • Earned a No. 9-16 seed in the singles event • Had 19 wins over ranked opponents during 2007-08, including a straight-sets victory over eventual NCAA champion Amanda McDowell of Georgia Tech • Following the season was one of 12 players named to the 2008 USTA Summer Collegiate Team • Entered the spring ranked No. 14 in the nation in singles and No. 8 in the nation in doubles with Grabinski • Compiled an impressive record of 12-4 in singles play during the fall with wins over nine nationally-ranked opponents • Defeated five consecutive ranked opponents during one stretch that included the flight one title at the St. Mary's Classic • Advanced to the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships with a win over No. 47 Anastasia Petukova of Fresno State • Advanced to the semifinals of the ITA Southeast Regional Championships • With Grabinski, won the doubles consolation title at the ITA National Indoor Championships by defeating Melissa Mang and Amanda Granson of Duke, 8-2 • Also defeated top-15 duos from LSU and Tennessee en route to the title.

FRESHMAN SEASON (2006-07) Finished the season with a team-best singles record of 39-10 in singles and a doubles mark of 28-11 • Ranked as high as No. 50 in the nation in singles, finishing the season ranked No. 58 • With partner Caitlin Collins, finished the season ranked No. 24 in the nation in doubles • The duo was ranked as high as No. 17 in the country during the spring campaign • Played primarily at No. 6 singles, finishing with a 19-4 mark in that position • Qualified for the NCAA Championships in both singles and doubles • Advanced to the second round of the doubles tournament with a win over No. 31 Tiffany Clifford and Sarah Foster of Texas A&M • Scored five wins over ranked opponents in singles, including a straight sets victory over Georgia Tech's No. 31 Kirsten Flower in the ACC Tournament • With Collins, won six doubles matches against ranked opponents during the spring, including an 8-4 win over No. 11 Catrina and Christian Thompson of Notre Dame • Also defeated No. 30 Audra Cohen and Caren Seenauth of Miami for their only loss of the season • Earned ACC Player of the Week honors after dropping just one game in two matches against Virginia Tech on Feb. 21 • Compiled a 14-4 record during the fall season • Won five matches at the ITA All-American Championships, just missing the main draw • Teamed with Caitlin Collins for a 9-2 doubles mark that included winning the Blue draw of the Kitty Harrison Invitational.

PREP/PERSONAL Led high school team to the state title as a freshman • Reached the finals of the Easter Bowl • Won ITF Tulsa doubles title • Reached semifinals of both singles and doubles in Houston $10,000 tournament • Majoring in psychology at UNC • Hobbies include listening to music, watching TV, hanging out with friends and watching movies • Admires athletes Roger Federer and Andre Agassi • Lists her biggest sports thrill as reaching the finals of the Easter Bowl and watching herself on TV • Says her parents have had the greatest influence on her athletic career • Lists "The Guardian," "She's the Man," "Patch Adams" and "Step Up" as her favorite movies • "One Tree Hill", "Grey's Anatomy", "Private Practice" and "Gossip Girl" are her favorite TV shows • Sanaz Anna Marand is the daughter of Sunni and Ray Marand • Also has a sister, Sahar, 17 • Born June 21, 1988, in Katy, Texas.