[ColoradoTree]

Thank you as always ColoradoTree for your insight.

Have you gotten a chance to evaluate the field this season? You mentioned our current starting lineup is national title-worthy but would you say we are one of the top favorites or are the two teams ahead of us (Georgia and Texas A&M) in the rankings better? Are there multiple contenders or a clear favorite this year? Or is it too early to tell?

Our lack of depth makes me really nervous. We don't really go seven deep like we have in the past. The drop-off from Xu to Houghton is substantial, and it takes Court 6 and changes it from a line we should dominate to one that is a coin flip against even middling opponents. 

So, in that sense, I'd need to wait and see how our lineup looks.

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To that point, I just checked the roster, and Blokhina is no longer on it. Neither is Houghton. Driscoll has been added. 

Houghton has a recent instagram post that notes a new apparel sponsor, L'Etoile Sport, suggesting that she has turned pro. 

Nothing similar from Blokhina, but having seen nothing about a potential transfer, and given the number of ITF tournaments she played in the summer and fall, my assumption is that she is also turning pro. 

Houghton gave us four and a half years, and while she never turned into the player we anticipated when she was such a highly-touted recruit, maybe she'll have her time in the sun on the tour. Best of luck to her!

As to Blokhina, leaving after two seasons of college tennis when you didn't crack the top half of the lineup seems shortsighted. She had a great fall, sure, but it also showed she still wasn't one of our top three (when Yepifanova is healthy). And even on Court 4, she didn't perform as well as I would've expected, given her background. She still did pretty well, mind you, but she often struggled to finish off lesser players, she took some surprising losses, and she didn't overpower players she should have. She played hard for the school we all love, so I'll always be grateful for that, but I find this decision very puzzling. I don't think she's ready. She could certainly prove me wrong! But I just don't see it. 

In any event, it's a gut punch to our prospects this spring. 

1. Glozman
2. Ma
3. Yepifanova
4. Hui
5. Xu
6. TBD

The top five themselves are fine in those spots, but do we play Driscoll at 6? Just like the drop-off from Xu to Houghton was considerable, the drop-off from Houghton to Okpara or Sun is similarly considerable. And this presumes Yepifanova's health, which as I said above, we shouldn't be doing. We could be talking about having both Sun and Okpara in the lineup. 

Eleana Yu, if you'd just had a little patience, you would have had a firm place in the top 6 after all....

Anyway, with this lineup, #3 in the country seems way too high. We're going to need to see considerable dominance from our top 5 against some good teams before I reconsider that.

[ColoradoTree]

Thank you as always ColoradoTree for your insight.

Have you gotten a chance to evaluate the field this season? You mentioned our current starting lineup is national title-worthy but would you say we are one of the top favorites or are the two teams ahead of us (Georgia and Texas A&M) in the rankings better? Are there multiple contenders or a clear favorite this year? Or is it too early to tell?

Our lack of depth makes me really nervous. We don't really go seven deep like we have in the past. The drop-off from Xu to Houghton is substantial, and it takes Court 6 and changes it from a line we should dominate to one that is a coin flip against even middling opponents. 

So, in that sense, I'd need to wait and see how our lineup looks.

---

To that point, I just checked the roster, and Blokhina is no longer on it. Neither is Houghton. Driscoll has been added. 

Houghton has a recent instagram post that notes a new apparel sponsor, L'Etoile Sport, suggesting that she has turned pro. 

Nothing similar from Blokhina, but having seen nothing about a potential transfer, and given the number of ITF tournaments she played in the summer and fall, my assumption is that she is also turning pro. 

Houghton gave us four and a half years, and while she never turned into the player we anticipated when she was such a highly-touted recruit, maybe she'll have her time in the sun on the tour. Best of luck to her!

As to Blokhina, leaving after two seasons of college tennis when you didn't crack the top half of the lineup seems shortsighted. She had a great fall, sure, but it also showed she still wasn't one of our top three (when Yepifanova is healthy). And even on Court 4, she didn't perform as well as I would've expected, given her background. She still did pretty well, mind you, but she often struggled to finish off lesser players, she took some surprising losses, and she didn't overpower players she should have. She played hard for the school we all love, so I'll always be grateful for that, but I find this decision very puzzling. I don't think she's ready. She could certainly prove me wrong! But I just don't see it. 

In any event, it's a gut punch to our prospects this spring. 

1. Glozman
2. Ma
3. Yepifanova
4. Hui
5. Xu
6. TBD

The top five themselves are fine in those spots, but do we play Driscoll at 6? Just like the drop-off from Xu to Houghton was considerable, the drop-off from Houghton to Okpara or Sun is similarly considerable. And this presumes Yepifanova's health, which as I said above, we shouldn't be doing. We could be talking about having both Sun and Okpara in the lineup. 

Eleana Yu, if you'd just had a little patience, you would have had a firm place in the top 6 after all....

Anyway, with this lineup, #3 in the country seems way too high. We're going to need to see considerable dominance from our top 5 against some good teams before I reconsider that.