Hsu Opens Tournament with Upset

For most students, summer means taking a break from the rigors of the school year. However, the same rules don’t necessarily apply to tennis prodigies.

Freshman standout Connie Hsu, the reigning Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Year, hasn’t taken a break from her usual practice regiment but has instead added to it in preparation for the NCAA Division I Singles Championships and it's paying off so far.

Earlier this month, Hsu received the automatic selection for the Ivy League, becoming only one of 15 players nationwide to earn an automatic bid into the tournament at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, Ca. The tournament began last night and will run until the 30th.

“I feel really honored to be able to play in it,” an ecstatic Hsu said before her match. “I know everybody is going to be really good and I’m just going to go out there and play my best game.”

Her best led to the biggest upset of the day.

Going up against All-American and fifth overall seed Kristy Frilling of Notre Dame, Hsu took the first set 6-4 but Frilling responded promptly by taking the second set 6-1. In the decisive third set, Hsu shut down Frilling to win it 6-0, setting a second round match against No. 27 Lindsey Hardenbergh of Virginia.

Hsu's victory — her 21st straight win this spring season — was the biggest upset of the day in the women's draw as she was the only one to knock off a top-five player.

Her match against Hardenbergh is this afternoon at 3:30pm EST.