11-06-2018, 03:04 PM
Draws are out! In singles, Melissa Lord is the 8th seed, Gordon is the 14th seed (surprised she's not higher), and Arbuthnott and Lampl are unseeded. In doubles, Arbuthnott/Gordon got the 1 seed, while Lampl/Yee got the 3! Shocked to see them that high, but I'm really excited for what that means for the dual season.
Overview:
Gordon's seed is a bit lower than expected, but she did have a disappointing All-Americans, so there aren't a ton of data points. All four Stanford players are in different quarters, which is a welcome bit of luck. If Gordon wins her first round against Purdue's Ambrosio, she'll get the winner of Michigan's Chiara Lommer or USC's Salma Ewing. Ewing is a terrific freshman, so she's a bit of a wild card here. If Gordon advances further, she's in line to get top seed Fernanda Contreras (who lost to Lord in the deciding match of the NCAA final last year) in the Round of 16 on Friday. No shame in losing to Contreras, but I'd really like to at least see her get there by beating USC's Ewing.
Lord's quarter is pretty wide open. If she gets past UGA's Gonzalez, she'll get the winner of Tea Jandric (Ole Miss) and Nina Khmelnitckaia (Kansas), neither of whom should be a serious threat. Then it would be 11th-seeded Kate Fahey of Michigan, who has played #1 for the Wolverines at least the past two years (last year, she took the first set off Gordon 7-5, but Gordon was serving for the second set, up 5-1, when the match was clinched 4-0 in the NCAA second round; two years ago, she beat Caroline Doyle 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 for Michigan's lone point of the day in a 4-1 loss to Stanford in the NCAA Round of 16). In the quarterfinal, she might play 3rd-seeded Levashova of Pepperdine, which would be a great match, but Lord has the talent and the draw to make a deep run here.
Arbuthnott, if she gets past Vanderbilt's Meyer in the first round (I think she should), she'll likely get 10th-seeded Makenna Jones of UNC (who is ranked #2) in the Round of 32 and then 7th-seeded Meible Chi of Duke (ranked #31) in the Round of 16. So, a tough path. Jones took the first set from Gordon 7-6 in the NCAA Round of 16 last year, but Gordon was up a break in the second, so that match was pretty even. In last year's NCAA semis, Lord beat Duke's Chi 6-2, 7-6, but Chi was just a freshman then, and she's had a great fall.
Lampl has the toughest first-round assignment, getting 5th-seeded Kelly Chen of Duke, but if she can pull off that upset, she'd likely get Vanderbilt's Christina Rosca, who Lampl beat 6-4, 6-2 in last year's NCAA final, but whoever she plays in the Round of 16 after that will be a very tough out (that pod of four players might be the toughest group in the draw).
Singles, Round of 64:
All times Pacific (Arizona is now on MST, since it doesn't observe Daylight Saving Time):
7:00am:
(14) Gordon vs. #72 Silvia Ambrosio, Purdue, on Court 7. Ambrosio's ranking doesn't pop, but she's here because she won the Milwaukee Tennis Classic (mostly Midwestern players).
#47 Lampl vs. (5) Kelly Chen (Duke), on Court 19. In last year's NCAA semis, Chen was on serve in the third set against Arbuthnott at #4 when the match was clinched (by Lampl at #3, as it happens). But Chen has been great this fall, so Lampl will have to continue to play at the top of her game to advance.
#24 Arbuthnott vs. #79 Amanda Meyer (Vanderbilt), on Court 9. Meyer won the Ohio Valley Regional to qualify, and it means we get a great rematch from last year's national championship match, where Meyer beat Arbuthnott 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the #4 spot. In last year's dual match, Meyer beat Kimberly Yee 7-6, 7-6, at #6, so Meyer appears to have improved over the course of the year and through this fall as well.
8:45am:
(8) Lord vs. #76 Marta Gonzalez, Georgia, on a court TBD. Lampl rolled through Gonzalez 6-4, 6-2 in last year's NCAA quarterfinals, but you never know with fall tennis tournaments outside the team context--you can get funky results.
Doubles, Round of 32:
2:00pm:
(3) Lampl/Yee vs. Kowalska/Krunic (Penn), on a court TBD. The Penn duo got here as an at-large pick from among the regional runners-up, but they're not currently ranked. Something of a mystery, but I'd expect Lampl/Yee to advance.
2:30pm:
(1) Arbuthnott/Gordon vs. Hart/Bolton (UCLA), on Court 13. Man alive, that is a rough first round draw. Hart/Bolton are ranked 29th, but UCLA is so tough at doubles and Bolton is a future star (she's the #3 "newcomer" in the rankings). It would be an upset if we lost, but it wouldn't be shocking and shouldn't be all that disappointing if it happens. Hart/Bolton are good enough to win the whole thing. (So are we, of course.)
Overview:
Gordon's seed is a bit lower than expected, but she did have a disappointing All-Americans, so there aren't a ton of data points. All four Stanford players are in different quarters, which is a welcome bit of luck. If Gordon wins her first round against Purdue's Ambrosio, she'll get the winner of Michigan's Chiara Lommer or USC's Salma Ewing. Ewing is a terrific freshman, so she's a bit of a wild card here. If Gordon advances further, she's in line to get top seed Fernanda Contreras (who lost to Lord in the deciding match of the NCAA final last year) in the Round of 16 on Friday. No shame in losing to Contreras, but I'd really like to at least see her get there by beating USC's Ewing.
Lord's quarter is pretty wide open. If she gets past UGA's Gonzalez, she'll get the winner of Tea Jandric (Ole Miss) and Nina Khmelnitckaia (Kansas), neither of whom should be a serious threat. Then it would be 11th-seeded Kate Fahey of Michigan, who has played #1 for the Wolverines at least the past two years (last year, she took the first set off Gordon 7-5, but Gordon was serving for the second set, up 5-1, when the match was clinched 4-0 in the NCAA second round; two years ago, she beat Caroline Doyle 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 for Michigan's lone point of the day in a 4-1 loss to Stanford in the NCAA Round of 16). In the quarterfinal, she might play 3rd-seeded Levashova of Pepperdine, which would be a great match, but Lord has the talent and the draw to make a deep run here.
Arbuthnott, if she gets past Vanderbilt's Meyer in the first round (I think she should), she'll likely get 10th-seeded Makenna Jones of UNC (who is ranked #2) in the Round of 32 and then 7th-seeded Meible Chi of Duke (ranked #31) in the Round of 16. So, a tough path. Jones took the first set from Gordon 7-6 in the NCAA Round of 16 last year, but Gordon was up a break in the second, so that match was pretty even. In last year's NCAA semis, Lord beat Duke's Chi 6-2, 7-6, but Chi was just a freshman then, and she's had a great fall.
Lampl has the toughest first-round assignment, getting 5th-seeded Kelly Chen of Duke, but if she can pull off that upset, she'd likely get Vanderbilt's Christina Rosca, who Lampl beat 6-4, 6-2 in last year's NCAA final, but whoever she plays in the Round of 16 after that will be a very tough out (that pod of four players might be the toughest group in the draw).
Singles, Round of 64:
All times Pacific (Arizona is now on MST, since it doesn't observe Daylight Saving Time):
7:00am:
(14) Gordon vs. #72 Silvia Ambrosio, Purdue, on Court 7. Ambrosio's ranking doesn't pop, but she's here because she won the Milwaukee Tennis Classic (mostly Midwestern players).
#47 Lampl vs. (5) Kelly Chen (Duke), on Court 19. In last year's NCAA semis, Chen was on serve in the third set against Arbuthnott at #4 when the match was clinched (by Lampl at #3, as it happens). But Chen has been great this fall, so Lampl will have to continue to play at the top of her game to advance.
#24 Arbuthnott vs. #79 Amanda Meyer (Vanderbilt), on Court 9. Meyer won the Ohio Valley Regional to qualify, and it means we get a great rematch from last year's national championship match, where Meyer beat Arbuthnott 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the #4 spot. In last year's dual match, Meyer beat Kimberly Yee 7-6, 7-6, at #6, so Meyer appears to have improved over the course of the year and through this fall as well.
8:45am:
(8) Lord vs. #76 Marta Gonzalez, Georgia, on a court TBD. Lampl rolled through Gonzalez 6-4, 6-2 in last year's NCAA quarterfinals, but you never know with fall tennis tournaments outside the team context--you can get funky results.
Doubles, Round of 32:
2:00pm:
(3) Lampl/Yee vs. Kowalska/Krunic (Penn), on a court TBD. The Penn duo got here as an at-large pick from among the regional runners-up, but they're not currently ranked. Something of a mystery, but I'd expect Lampl/Yee to advance.
2:30pm:
(1) Arbuthnott/Gordon vs. Hart/Bolton (UCLA), on Court 13. Man alive, that is a rough first round draw. Hart/Bolton are ranked 29th, but UCLA is so tough at doubles and Bolton is a future star (she's the #3 "newcomer" in the rankings). It would be an upset if we lost, but it wouldn't be shocking and shouldn't be all that disappointing if it happens. Hart/Bolton are good enough to win the whole thing. (So are we, of course.)