[ColoradoTree]

ColoradoTree, isn't the reason why we only had seven scholarship players this year because we had one reserved for CiCi Bellis? I mentioned her in passing in another post and I know she's been brought up on this board before, but for those who aren't aware, Bellis opted to turn pro in September after reaching the the third round of the U.S. Open. She had previously committed to Stanford in July while competing in the Bank of the West Classic which is a WTA event held on Stanford's campus. While she would've only been a freshman this year, I think it's safe to say that she easily would've been one of the most dominant players college women's tennis has ever seen. Crazy to think that we still reached the finals this year despite missing out on such an elite talent.

It's fun to imagine what might have been.  Boy howdy, she would have been something else at Taube. 

But to answer your question, "yes, with qualifications."  She definitely had an offer, and Arbuthnott and Higuchi had already committed a few months before Bellis did, if I remember correctly, so her commitment meant she would have brought the roster to the full eight scholarships.  She begged off just a couple months later, but the entire time, I think both Lele and Cici (now there's a R&B duo just waiting to happen) were on the same page.  Cici certainly made no bones about the fact that she was still actively considering turning pro and that she would do just that if her rankings continued to climb (they did, and she did).  And I remember Lele saying something after Cici turned pro that it was always a 50/50 proposition that Bellis would ever enroll, even with the verbal commitment--more of a "if I go to college, I'll go to Stanford" commitment.  But certainly, if Bellis had decided to enroll, we would have been thrilled to give her that 8th scholarship. 

I doubt that Lele's intent in playing with 6 or 7 scholarship athletes most recent years (we had a full deck last year when we won the title) was with an eye toward potentially landing Bellis, though.  I think that, absent the availability of a player of Bellis's caliber, Lele sticks with 7 and keeps a spot open for a 2018 player.  Of course, as we all realized at the time, we knew Bellis was potentially a one-and-done, and at most a two-and-done.  So, she would have freed up a scholarship that year anyway.  Either way, taking Bellis would have been a tremendous coup. 

To illustrate what I'm saying, here's the roster movement over the last several years:

2018: Set to play year with 7 scholarships; will hopefully lose no one; will add TBD
2017: Played year with 7 scholarships; lost Davidson and Doyle; added Gordon and Shin
2016: Played year with 8 scholarships; lost Zhao, Hardebeck, and Kostas; added Higuchi and Arbuthnott
2015: Played year with 6 scholarships; lost Ellen Tsay; added Lampl, Lord, and Yee
2014: Played year with 7 scholarships: lost Kristie Ahn, added *no one*
2013: Played year with 6 scholarships: lost Nicole Gibbs, Stacey Tan; added Zhao, Davidson, and Doyle

I'd be interested to learn what happened in that 2014 recruiting cycle.  Did we just whiff on some folks we had lined up?  Tennis recruiting is a tricky thing, given how few spots are available each year: just 1 or 2, and maybe 3 in a crazy year (2015 counts as crazy--when you have three interested blue chips that qualify academically, you throw roster balance out the window and you take them).  If you think you have someone locked up and she turns pro, or she flips at the last minute, you're sunk.  Or maybe it was just a down year for smart, blue chip tennis players? 

Of course, there's a wrinkle with the Cici Bellis recruiting saga.  Around the same time Higuchi and Arbuthnott committed, so did 5-star Lexi Milunovich from Connecticut, who would have been our 8th scholarship.  At some point, she must have decommitted, because she was listed in a July article as a Harvard commit.  Not clear what her status ever really was, or whether she was ever offered a scholarship or told that she had one if Bellis didn't come.  But it's at least possible that we were planning on taking Milunovich as our 8th, Bellis started showing more interest, we then naturally cooled on Milunovich, and she jumped ship for a place that wanted her more.  (She played #3 for Harvard this year.)

[ColoradoTree]

ColoradoTree, isn't the reason why we only had seven scholarship players this year because we had one reserved for CiCi Bellis? I mentioned her in passing in another post and I know she's been brought up on this board before, but for those who aren't aware, Bellis opted to turn pro in September after reaching the the third round of the U.S. Open. She had previously committed to Stanford in July while competing in the Bank of the West Classic which is a WTA event held on Stanford's campus. While she would've only been a freshman this year, I think it's safe to say that she easily would've been one of the most dominant players college women's tennis has ever seen. Crazy to think that we still reached the finals this year despite missing out on such an elite talent.

It's fun to imagine what might have been.  Boy howdy, she would have been something else at Taube. 

But to answer your question, "yes, with qualifications."  She definitely had an offer, and Arbuthnott and Higuchi had already committed a few months before Bellis did, if I remember correctly, so her commitment meant she would have brought the roster to the full eight scholarships.  She begged off just a couple months later, but the entire time, I think both Lele and Cici (now there's a R&B duo just waiting to happen) were on the same page.  Cici certainly made no bones about the fact that she was still actively considering turning pro and that she would do just that if her rankings continued to climb (they did, and she did).  And I remember Lele saying something after Cici turned pro that it was always a 50/50 proposition that Bellis would ever enroll, even with the verbal commitment--more of a "if I go to college, I'll go to Stanford" commitment.  But certainly, if Bellis had decided to enroll, we would have been thrilled to give her that 8th scholarship. 

I doubt that Lele's intent in playing with 6 or 7 scholarship athletes most recent years (we had a full deck last year when we won the title) was with an eye toward potentially landing Bellis, though.  I think that, absent the availability of a player of Bellis's caliber, Lele sticks with 7 and keeps a spot open for a 2018 player.  Of course, as we all realized at the time, we knew Bellis was potentially a one-and-done, and at most a two-and-done.  So, she would have freed up a scholarship that year anyway.  Either way, taking Bellis would have been a tremendous coup. 

To illustrate what I'm saying, here's the roster movement over the last several years:

2018: Set to play year with 7 scholarships; will hopefully lose no one; will add TBD
2017: Played year with 7 scholarships; lost Davidson and Doyle; added Gordon and Shin
2016: Played year with 8 scholarships; lost Zhao, Hardebeck, and Kostas; added Higuchi and Arbuthnott
2015: Played year with 6 scholarships; lost Ellen Tsay; added Lampl, Lord, and Yee
2014: Played year with 7 scholarships: lost Kristie Ahn, added *no one*
2013: Played year with 6 scholarships: lost Nicole Gibbs, Stacey Tan; added Zhao, Davidson, and Doyle

I'd be interested to learn what happened in that 2014 recruiting cycle.  Did we just whiff on some folks we had lined up?  Tennis recruiting is a tricky thing, given how few spots are available each year: just 1 or 2, and maybe 3 in a crazy year (2015 counts as crazy--when you have three interested blue chips that qualify academically, you throw roster balance out the window and you take them).  If you think you have someone locked up and she turns pro, or she flips at the last minute, you're sunk.  Or maybe it was just a down year for smart, blue chip tennis players? 

Of course, there's a wrinkle with the Cici Bellis recruiting saga.  Around the same time Higuchi and Arbuthnott committed, so did 5-star Lexi Milunovich from Connecticut, who would have been our 8th scholarship.  At some point, she must have decommitted, because she was listed in a July article as a Harvard commit.  Not clear what her status ever really was, or whether she was ever offered a scholarship or told that she had one if Bellis didn't come.  But it's at least possible that we were planning on taking Milunovich as our 8th, Bellis started showing more interest, we then naturally cooled on Milunovich, and she jumped ship for a place that wanted her more.  (She played #3 for Harvard this year.)