Stancu played in six International Tennis Federation (ITF) sanctioned tournaments in her home country of Romania during the summer, winning three doubles titles with fellow compatriot Raluca Elena Platon, and also winning one singles championship. In addition, Stancu was a one-time runner-up in both singles and doubles and twice reached the semifinals in doubles.
Stancu credited Aggie head coach Howard Joffe and her experience as a collegiate tennis player at Texas A&M for much of her success in the summer tournaments.
“I managed to raise awareness about college tennis and the tough level that we have to face in the United States,” Stancu said. “It was so obvious for many players and coaches that my tennis has improved a lot, as well as the way I think on the court and the decisions that I am making. Howard Joffe definitely took my tennis to another level, and I have to thank him for many, many things.”
In her professional debut at the $10,000 Bucharest in June, Stancu won the doubles championship with Platon. Stancu also won three singles matches in the singles qualifying draw to advance to the main draw. She then won another three matches before falling in three sets in the semifinals.
At the $10,000 Iasi in early July, Stancu and Platon won their second consecutive doubles title, and Stancu reached the championship match in singles.
Stancu and Platon reached the finals of the $10,000 Timisoara in late July. Stancu also won two singles matches in the qualifying draw to advance to the main draw, where won her first match before falling in the round of 16.
In early August, Stancu and Platon reached the semifinals of the $10,000 Arad. Stancu also won two singles matches in the qualifying draw to advance to the main draw, where she dropped a three-set match in the round of 32.
Stancu swept the championship titles at the $10,000 Bucharest in mid-August. She won five singles matches, including a straight-set victory over No. 1 seed and fellow countrywoman Irina Maria Bara in the semifinals, as well as a three-set victory in the finals.
Stancu and Platon upset both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds en route to winning their third doubles championship title.
Most recently, Stancu and Platon reached the semifinals at the $25,000 Mamaia.
“An interesting thing that occurred when I came back [to Romania] was that an old friend of mine [Platon] wanted to play doubles with me even though I didn't have a ranking anymore,” Stancu added. “She was the only one that asked, and in six tournaments we won three titles. It was great to play with her, and from the very first match we got along and we managed to play some great doubles.”
Stancu, who was No. 9 in the 2014 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) final singles rankings, returned to the U.S. last week and plans to continue to play professional tournaments while in the States.
Stancu's complete summer results are available at ITFTennis.com
Joffe's Aggies open the 2014 fall campaign Friday-Sunday, Sept. 12-14 at the Baylor Invitational in Waco.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M women's tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M women's tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieWomensTennis.