Did Sandra Day O'Connor become a Supreme Court Judge because she bonked Rehnquist in law school?

From a NY Times Op-Ed:
Because others on the list had more imposing legal credentials, Judge O'Connor was no sure thing. But she had a friend in court - literally - in William Rehnquist, then an associate justice, whom she had briefly dated when they were both students at Stanford Law School, and the endorsement of her home state senator, Barry Goldwater, then Mr. Conservative of the Republican Party. Attorney General Smith liked her, too. Most important, as Mr. Reagan later said, he was "charmed" by Judge O'Connor. When he interviewed her in the White House, they spent much of the time discussing horses and Judge O'Connor's childhood on an Arizona ranch. Mr. Reagan never interviewed anyone else.