"Cristina is an extraordinary young lady," Joffe said. "A two-sport athlete at the University of Maryland - soccer and tennis -- Ms. Sanchez was able to distinguish herself as a student as well, attaining over a 3.5 GPA. As a soccer player, she was part of a top-10 national team last year. Tennis-wise, Sanchez led her team to the highest national ranking in school history while qualifying for the NCAA tournament in both singles and doubles.
"Above all this is a young lady of unquestionable character and class, and I'm delighted that she has elected to join the Aggies."
The junior from Campo de Criptana, Spain, had a historic run during her one year with the Terps, becoming the first Maryland tennis player to advance to the NCAA round of 32 with her 6-3, 6-4 first-round victory over now current teammate Nazari Urbina of Texas A&M at the 2011 NCAA Singles Championships.
Sanchez-Quintanar began her career with the Terps in January and opened with 14 consecutive singles victories. She posted a 17-5 record overall in the spring, including a 10-4 record at the No. 1 singles line. Sanchez-Quintanar tallied six victories over ranked opponents, including a 6-4, 7-6 (4) upset over No. 14 Zoe De Bruycker of North Carolina.
Sanchez-Quintanar was named the ACC Women's Tennis Player of the Week after leading the Terps to a 4-3 win over 11th-ranked Virginia, Maryland's first win over a top-15 ranked opponent since 2006. A member of the All-ACC Academic Team, she also was named the 2011 ITA Atlantic Region Player to Watch and finished the season ranked 34th in the nation in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) after leading Maryland to a 13-10 record and a No. 34 final team ranking.
Sanchez-Quintanar teamed with Jordaan Sanford in doubles for most of 2011 and opened the spring with 13 consecutive wins. The duo would later knock off the nation's top-ranked doubles team at the time, Josipa Bek and Keri Wong of Clemson, 8-5, on April 3.
The Terps pair finished the spring 18-4 in dual matches at the No. 1 line and earned a berth in the NCAA Doubles Championships. Â Sanchez-Quintanar and Sanford fell in three sets to 12th-ranked Linda Abu Meshrefova and Nida Hamilton of Northwestern in the first round and were No. 26 in the final ITA doubles ranking.
Sanchez-Quintanar and the Aggies open the fall season Sept. 16-18 with part of the squad participating in the Midland Invitational in Midland, Texas, and the others competing in the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C.