Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis versus ITA All-American Championships on September 20, 2025
Women's Tennis
vs ITA All-American Championships
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Women's Tennis
Shankle, Blair
Blair Shankle
- Title:
- Women's Tennis Assistant Coach
- Email:
- bshankle@huntsman.utah.edu
Blair Shankle, a three-time All-American Baylor alum, enters her second season with Utah women’s tennis in 2021-22.
In her first season with the Utes, Shankle helped guide the team to a 7-2 Mountain Region record in the spring dual season. Utah recorded wins over BYU (4-2), Boise State (5-2) and Weber State (5-2) to highlight the region run. Shankle helped develop transfer Anastasia Goncharova and see her earn All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors with just one season at the U after she tied for a team-high eight singles wins in dual play and second-most doubles wins with eight in the spring. Also under the guidance of Shankle, Madeline Lamoreaux finished the year ranked No. 6 in singles in the Mountain Region, while Lamoreaux and Emily Dush came in ranked No. 4 in the region for doubles.
Shankle previously held a position as an assistant coach at Ole Miss for two seasons and as a student coach at Baylor while completing her master's degree in accounting.
This past season (spring 2020) at Ole Miss, Shankle assisted the team in achieving a team-high ranking of No. 24 in the ITA/Oracle poll. The Rebels had two singles players ranked in 2020, as well as two doubles teams. Sabina Machalova ranked as high as No. 47, while her and partner Alexa Bortles ranked as high as No. 17 in doubles.
In the fall, Shankle guided the Rebel duo of Tereza Janatova and Anna Vrbenska to a semifinal appearance in the main draw of the ITA Southern Regional Championship. She also saw a pair of Rebels earn a spot in the quarterfinal main draw of singles.
During her first year in Oxford, Shankle helped guide senior Tea Jandric to the ITA Southern Region's Most Improved Senior, as well as garnering an All-SEC Second Team recognition. Jandric went 8-1 in league play, including four ranked wins. Three of the ranked wins were in a row, which was highlighted by taking down No. 4 Contreras of Vanderbilt. Then-sophomore Sabina Machalova was named the ITA Southern Region's Player to Watch.
In the fall, Jandric reached the finals of the ITA Southern Regional, and the pair of Alexa Bortles and rookie Isolde de Jong also reached the finals, falling in a tough three-set thriller to the reigning national champions. The women ended their season with a huge upset, taking down No. 16 Texas A&M 4-2 on Senior Day.
Prior to making the move to Ole Miss, the Dallas, Texas native compiled a decorated collegiate career at Baylor and ended her time as a Bear ranking third in school history in doubles wins (99), tied for fourth in singles winning percentage (.826), sixth in singles wins (109) and seventh in doubles winning percentage (.733). Shankle achieved a high ranking of No. 3 in the ITA/Oracle singles poll, which was the highest in school history.
As a team, she helped lead the Bears to four straight NCAA appearances, including an Elite Eight showing in 2015. During her time, the Bears also collected both the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships in two of her four seasons.
Shankle was an ITA Doubles All-American in 2014 and 2015 after reaching the quarterfinal rounds at the NCAA Doubles Championships both seasons. She then closed out her career as a 2017 ITA Singles All-American after advancing to the Round of 16 in the NCAA tournament.
She earned All-Big 12 honors in both singles and doubles in 2015, 16' and 17', and was named the Big 12 Player of the Week seven times during her career, which included a conference-high four awards during the 2017 season. As a senior, Shankle earned the ITA Most Improved Senior award as the regional and national winner.
Backing up her tremendous success on the court, Shankle was a four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete, three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection and eight-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll selection. In 2017, Shankle was a CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team honoree. She was the first person in program history to be named both an All-American on the court and in the classroom.
In her first season with the Utes, Shankle helped guide the team to a 7-2 Mountain Region record in the spring dual season. Utah recorded wins over BYU (4-2), Boise State (5-2) and Weber State (5-2) to highlight the region run. Shankle helped develop transfer Anastasia Goncharova and see her earn All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors with just one season at the U after she tied for a team-high eight singles wins in dual play and second-most doubles wins with eight in the spring. Also under the guidance of Shankle, Madeline Lamoreaux finished the year ranked No. 6 in singles in the Mountain Region, while Lamoreaux and Emily Dush came in ranked No. 4 in the region for doubles.
Shankle previously held a position as an assistant coach at Ole Miss for two seasons and as a student coach at Baylor while completing her master's degree in accounting.
This past season (spring 2020) at Ole Miss, Shankle assisted the team in achieving a team-high ranking of No. 24 in the ITA/Oracle poll. The Rebels had two singles players ranked in 2020, as well as two doubles teams. Sabina Machalova ranked as high as No. 47, while her and partner Alexa Bortles ranked as high as No. 17 in doubles.
In the fall, Shankle guided the Rebel duo of Tereza Janatova and Anna Vrbenska to a semifinal appearance in the main draw of the ITA Southern Regional Championship. She also saw a pair of Rebels earn a spot in the quarterfinal main draw of singles.
During her first year in Oxford, Shankle helped guide senior Tea Jandric to the ITA Southern Region's Most Improved Senior, as well as garnering an All-SEC Second Team recognition. Jandric went 8-1 in league play, including four ranked wins. Three of the ranked wins were in a row, which was highlighted by taking down No. 4 Contreras of Vanderbilt. Then-sophomore Sabina Machalova was named the ITA Southern Region's Player to Watch.
In the fall, Jandric reached the finals of the ITA Southern Regional, and the pair of Alexa Bortles and rookie Isolde de Jong also reached the finals, falling in a tough three-set thriller to the reigning national champions. The women ended their season with a huge upset, taking down No. 16 Texas A&M 4-2 on Senior Day.
Prior to making the move to Ole Miss, the Dallas, Texas native compiled a decorated collegiate career at Baylor and ended her time as a Bear ranking third in school history in doubles wins (99), tied for fourth in singles winning percentage (.826), sixth in singles wins (109) and seventh in doubles winning percentage (.733). Shankle achieved a high ranking of No. 3 in the ITA/Oracle singles poll, which was the highest in school history.
As a team, she helped lead the Bears to four straight NCAA appearances, including an Elite Eight showing in 2015. During her time, the Bears also collected both the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships in two of her four seasons.
Shankle was an ITA Doubles All-American in 2014 and 2015 after reaching the quarterfinal rounds at the NCAA Doubles Championships both seasons. She then closed out her career as a 2017 ITA Singles All-American after advancing to the Round of 16 in the NCAA tournament.
She earned All-Big 12 honors in both singles and doubles in 2015, 16' and 17', and was named the Big 12 Player of the Week seven times during her career, which included a conference-high four awards during the 2017 season. As a senior, Shankle earned the ITA Most Improved Senior award as the regional and national winner.
Backing up her tremendous success on the court, Shankle was a four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete, three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection and eight-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll selection. In 2017, Shankle was a CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team honoree. She was the first person in program history to be named both an All-American on the court and in the classroom.
Utah Women's Tennis 25-26 Pronunciations
Thursday, September 11
Role models. Trailblazers. Legends. Celebrating our #AAPI student-athletes this month and always.
Monday, May 20
Recap: Utah women's tennis defends home court with victory over Oregon
Tuesday, May 14
A Chat with Anastasia and Mat
Wednesday, June 29
