[ColoradoTree]

I just checked the roster, and the class years have been updated for next year. Arbuthnott, Gordon, and Higuchi are gone, but Shin is still there, listed as a graduate student. So, she's coming back. And DC, assuming you're right (and if she's on scholarship), then that means we only have one scholarship for the incoming freshman class. 

I find it very hard to believe Lele would allow that to happen, so I presume Janice Shin is off the tennis books, and we've got two scholarships available for the three freshmen. Shin may still be around, and she may even play a little, but Lele wouldn't risk the future of the program so a player who wasn't even top 6 by the end of the year can have a year of grad school for free. 

Then after next year, when Choy and Madurawe graduate, Xu gets one scholarship and we have room for one freshman in the following class. We'll be a very good team this spring, but we should be a championship contender in 2023--Blake as a senior, Geller and Houghton as juniors, and Ma/Yepifanova/Xu as sophomores. That's an absolutely absurd top 6, and it'll be reasonably seasoned, too. I've described our lineup the past few years as a 1, a couple of 3s, and a bunch of 6s, but that's a lineup with plenty of 1s and 2s. 

DC, I hadn't realized the scholarship cap was just a one-year thing. That's particularly devastating for a team like UNC that looked unbeatable in 2020, brought back a loaded group for 2021 and fell in the semis. That was the championship window they'd been preparing for, and while it's not closed, Daavettila, Graham, and Jones aren't walking back through that door. UNC goes from being a "holy crap" team to merely being a very good team that could pull it off if things go right. Texas is just as scary with all that young talent they have, but I remain convinced that UNC would've won the title in 2020.

[ColoradoTree]

I just checked the roster, and the class years have been updated for next year. Arbuthnott, Gordon, and Higuchi are gone, but Shin is still there, listed as a graduate student. So, she's coming back. And DC, assuming you're right (and if she's on scholarship), then that means we only have one scholarship for the incoming freshman class. 

I find it very hard to believe Lele would allow that to happen, so I presume Janice Shin is off the tennis books, and we've got two scholarships available for the three freshmen. Shin may still be around, and she may even play a little, but Lele wouldn't risk the future of the program so a player who wasn't even top 6 by the end of the year can have a year of grad school for free. 

Then after next year, when Choy and Madurawe graduate, Xu gets one scholarship and we have room for one freshman in the following class. We'll be a very good team this spring, but we should be a championship contender in 2023--Blake as a senior, Geller and Houghton as juniors, and Ma/Yepifanova/Xu as sophomores. That's an absolutely absurd top 6, and it'll be reasonably seasoned, too. I've described our lineup the past few years as a 1, a couple of 3s, and a bunch of 6s, but that's a lineup with plenty of 1s and 2s. 

DC, I hadn't realized the scholarship cap was just a one-year thing. That's particularly devastating for a team like UNC that looked unbeatable in 2020, brought back a loaded group for 2021 and fell in the semis. That was the championship window they'd been preparing for, and while it's not closed, Daavettila, Graham, and Jones aren't walking back through that door. UNC goes from being a "holy crap" team to merely being a very good team that could pull it off if things go right. Texas is just as scary with all that young talent they have, but I remain convinced that UNC would've won the title in 2020.