[ColoradoTree]

The ITA singles and doubles preseason rankings are out, and here's where Stanford's players rank among the other Pac-12 and California schools:

2. Abigail Forbes (UCLA)
3. Janice Tjen (Pepperdine, transferred from Oregon)
9. Bunyawi Thamchaiwat (San Diego State, transferred from Oklahoma State)
13. Victoria Flores (Pepperdine, grad transfer from Georgia Tech)
14. Vanessa Wong (UW)
17. Haley Giavara (Cal)
18. Salma Ewing (USC)
24. Michaela Gordon (even though she's not currently on the roster and I'd understood she was not playing a 5th season, though I think she's in grad school at Stanford this year)
30. Solymar Colling (San Diego)
44. Taisiya Pachkaleva (Pepperdine)
47. Michaela Bayerlova (WSU)
51. Shakhnoza Khatamova (UCSB)
53. Lisa Zaar (Pepperdine)
56. Eryn Cayetano (USC)
57. Mariia Kozyreva (St. Mary's)
59. Shiori Fukuda (Pepperdine)
61. Sedona Gallagher (ASU)
81. Naomi Cheong (USC)
87. Angelica Blake
99. Elizaveta Volodko (UCSB)
106. Julia Rosenqvist (Cal)
107. Jordyn McBride (San Diego)
117. Elizabeth Goldsmith (San Diego)
118. Danielle Willson (USC)
119. Valentina Ivanov (Cal)
123. Giulia Morlet (ASU)
124. Sarah-Maude Fortin (UW)

That's it. Yeesh. As for newcomers, Alexandra Yepifanova comes in as the #9 newcomer, while neither Connie Ma nor Valencia Xiu is ranked (that's a surprise for Ma, given that she's the undisputed #1 recruit in the class). ASU has the #2 newcomer, Patricija Spaka from Latvia, and Cal has the #7 newcomer, Jessica Alsola from Fresno (Alsola doesn't even have a recruiting rank from her freshman and sophomore seasons, got as high as #29 her junior year, and has absolutely exploded since then, climbing as high as #2) But Ma fell off the recruiting rankings at the end of the season, not because she had poor results, but because she played high school tennis and wasn't playing enough tournaments to qualify. So, if the ITA folks were using recruiting rankings as a starting point, they may have missed a bit. 

Anyway, looking around the rankings, the following things stand out:

* Virginia is top-heavy, with the #1 and #8 ranked players, but nobody else
* Last year's national runner-up, Pepperdine, is the only team with six ranked singles players
* UNC has five, along with N.C. State.
* Florida has four, along with Oklahoma (!) and USC. 
* Texas, the defending national champion, has three ranked players. So do Duke, Georgia, Georgia Tech, San Diego (!), Texas A&M, Auburn, Wake Forest, Baylor, Old Dominion(!), and Cal. 
* In the Pac-12, USC has four, Cal has three, UW and ASU have two, and UCLA oddly has just one, along with WSU. Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and Utah have none. 

In Pac-12 doubles, there's just #14 Giavara/Ivanov (Cal) ranked. That's it. The whole conference. One doubles pair in the top 60.

[ColoradoTree]

The ITA singles and doubles preseason rankings are out, and here's where Stanford's players rank among the other Pac-12 and California schools:

2. Abigail Forbes (UCLA)
3. Janice Tjen (Pepperdine, transferred from Oregon)
9. Bunyawi Thamchaiwat (San Diego State, transferred from Oklahoma State)
13. Victoria Flores (Pepperdine, grad transfer from Georgia Tech)
14. Vanessa Wong (UW)
17. Haley Giavara (Cal)
18. Salma Ewing (USC)
24. Michaela Gordon (even though she's not currently on the roster and I'd understood she was not playing a 5th season, though I think she's in grad school at Stanford this year)
30. Solymar Colling (San Diego)
44. Taisiya Pachkaleva (Pepperdine)
47. Michaela Bayerlova (WSU)
51. Shakhnoza Khatamova (UCSB)
53. Lisa Zaar (Pepperdine)
56. Eryn Cayetano (USC)
57. Mariia Kozyreva (St. Mary's)
59. Shiori Fukuda (Pepperdine)
61. Sedona Gallagher (ASU)
81. Naomi Cheong (USC)
87. Angelica Blake
99. Elizaveta Volodko (UCSB)
106. Julia Rosenqvist (Cal)
107. Jordyn McBride (San Diego)
117. Elizabeth Goldsmith (San Diego)
118. Danielle Willson (USC)
119. Valentina Ivanov (Cal)
123. Giulia Morlet (ASU)
124. Sarah-Maude Fortin (UW)

That's it. Yeesh. As for newcomers, Alexandra Yepifanova comes in as the #9 newcomer, while neither Connie Ma nor Valencia Xiu is ranked (that's a surprise for Ma, given that she's the undisputed #1 recruit in the class). ASU has the #2 newcomer, Patricija Spaka from Latvia, and Cal has the #7 newcomer, Jessica Alsola from Fresno (Alsola doesn't even have a recruiting rank from her freshman and sophomore seasons, got as high as #29 her junior year, and has absolutely exploded since then, climbing as high as #2) But Ma fell off the recruiting rankings at the end of the season, not because she had poor results, but because she played high school tennis and wasn't playing enough tournaments to qualify. So, if the ITA folks were using recruiting rankings as a starting point, they may have missed a bit. 

Anyway, looking around the rankings, the following things stand out:

* Virginia is top-heavy, with the #1 and #8 ranked players, but nobody else
* Last year's national runner-up, Pepperdine, is the only team with six ranked singles players
* UNC has five, along with N.C. State.
* Florida has four, along with Oklahoma (!) and USC. 
* Texas, the defending national champion, has three ranked players. So do Duke, Georgia, Georgia Tech, San Diego (!), Texas A&M, Auburn, Wake Forest, Baylor, Old Dominion(!), and Cal. 
* In the Pac-12, USC has four, Cal has three, UW and ASU have two, and UCLA oddly has just one, along with WSU. Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and Utah have none. 

In Pac-12 doubles, there's just #14 Giavara/Ivanov (Cal) ranked. That's it. The whole conference. One doubles pair in the top 60.

[ColoradoTree]

No schedule or even a full roster yet, but here's what we know about the likely schedule (meaning when the tournaments we usually play are scheduled):

Fall

* Oct. 4-10: ITA All-American Championships (Charleston, SC) (no Stanford players in the main draw yet, but I would expect some to play in qualifying)
* possible: Oct. 8-10: Long Beach State Fall Tournament (this is just a guess, but it's the only CA-based fall tournament, looks like)
* Oct. 22-26: ITA Northwest Regionals at Stanford
* possible: Oct. 28-31: Wildcat Invitational, Tucson, AZ (just a guess)
* possible: Nov. 1-7: ASU Thunderbird Invitational, Tempe, AZ (just a guess, but it would allow those players not qualifying for Fall Nationals to get some fall matches)
* Nov. 4-7: ITA Fall Nationals (for Regional singles finalists and Regional doubles champions, plus a few other avenues for qualification)

Spring

Traditionally, there are a couple of January tournaments in which Stanford players appear, the Freeman Memorial in Las Vegas and another tournament in Palm Springs. Dates on those aren't available yet, though. 

* Jan. 28-31: ITA Kickoff Weekend in Charlottesville, VA. First match will be against last year's #36 team, Arkansas, and if we win (and we'd better), we'll play last year's #9, UVA. UVA will have a very tough top 3, so our recipe there is doubles and singles depth. 
* Feb. 11-14: Indoor Nationals in Madison, WI (if we beat UVA and qualify)

Home Pac-12 matches (dates TBD): UCLA, USC, Oregon, Colorado, Utah
Away Pac-12 matches (dates TBD): Cal, UW, WSU, ASU, Arizona

The 2020 season saw canceled non-conference matches against Harvard and UCSB, so we may see those get added. Our non-conference slate in 2020 also had then-#3 Texas, TCU, UC Davis, St. Mary's, and Hawaii, so expect a similar batch of teams. (And perhaps more added for that 2/11-14 window if we don't qualify for Indoor Nationals). Depending on what covid restrictions/guidelines are in place, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see travel limited.

[ColoradoTree]

No schedule or even a full roster yet, but here's what we know about the likely schedule (meaning when the tournaments we usually play are scheduled):

Fall

* Oct. 4-10: ITA All-American Championships (Charleston, SC) (no Stanford players in the main draw yet, but I would expect some to play in qualifying)
* possible: Oct. 8-10: Long Beach State Fall Tournament (this is just a guess, but it's the only CA-based fall tournament, looks like)
* Oct. 22-26: ITA Northwest Regionals at Stanford
* possible: Oct. 28-31: Wildcat Invitational, Tucson, AZ (just a guess)
* possible: Nov. 1-7: ASU Thunderbird Invitational, Tempe, AZ (just a guess, but it would allow those players not qualifying for Fall Nationals to get some fall matches)
* Nov. 4-7: ITA Fall Nationals (for Regional singles finalists and Regional doubles champions, plus a few other avenues for qualification)

Spring

Traditionally, there are a couple of January tournaments in which Stanford players appear, the Freeman Memorial in Las Vegas and another tournament in Palm Springs. Dates on those aren't available yet, though. 

* Jan. 28-31: ITA Kickoff Weekend in Charlottesville, VA. First match will be against last year's #36 team, Arkansas, and if we win (and we'd better), we'll play last year's #9, UVA. UVA will have a very tough top 3, so our recipe there is doubles and singles depth. 
* Feb. 11-14: Indoor Nationals in Madison, WI (if we beat UVA and qualify)

Home Pac-12 matches (dates TBD): UCLA, USC, Oregon, Colorado, Utah
Away Pac-12 matches (dates TBD): Cal, UW, WSU, ASU, Arizona

The 2020 season saw canceled non-conference matches against Harvard and UCSB, so we may see those get added. Our non-conference slate in 2020 also had then-#3 Texas, TCU, UC Davis, St. Mary's, and Hawaii, so expect a similar batch of teams. (And perhaps more added for that 2/11-14 window if we don't qualify for Indoor Nationals). Depending on what covid restrictions/guidelines are in place, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see travel limited.

[oldalum]

That's a depressing preseason list, both for us and the Pac-12, but we're a young team. CT, care to offer any predictions/hopes for our players' individual rankings at the end of the season?? I could use some preseason encouragement!

[oldalum]

That's a depressing preseason list, both for us and the Pac-12, but we're a young team. CT, care to offer any predictions/hopes for our players' individual rankings at the end of the season?? I could use some preseason encouragement!

[ColoradoTree]

That's a depressing preseason list, both for us and the Pac-12, but we're a young team. CT, care to offer any predictions/hopes for our players' individual rankings at the end of the season?? I could use some preseason encouragement!

I think leaving Connie Ma off the newcomer rankings is going to look like an all-time rankings error. She's going to play high in our lineup from day one, and she might be our #1. By the end of the year, I think Ma, Alexandra Yepifanova, and Blake are all top 100-type players, and probably Geller and Houghton ranked as well. Talent-wise, the group of Yepifanova, Ma, and Valencia Xu is the best single incoming trio I can think of us ever having, and I mean that. It's a bonkers group. 

FYI, the KPSF Open was held at the Golden Gate Park Tennis Courts last week (it's a USTA event rather than a college-sanctioned ITA event), and it had players from Stanford, USF, St. Mary's, among others, including local younger and older players. Here's how the players were seeded:

(1) Connie Ma 
(2) Jovana Jovic (Serbian pro)
(3) Yepifanova
(4) Mariia Kozyreva (St. Mary's 5th year)
(5) Xu
(6) Geller
(7) Blake (surprisingly low!)
(8) Niluka Madurawe

Also playing, but unseeded, was India Houghton. 

First round:
(1) Ma def. Emma Pell (HS player) 6-0, 6-1
Arianna Capogrosso (USF senior) def. (6) Geller 7-5, 7-5
(5) Xu def. Sophia Sappa (HS player) 6-1, 6-1
(7) Blake withdrew due to injury before her match started, giving her opponent a walkover
Houghton def. Emily Tan (HS player) 7-5, 6-2
(3) Yepifanova def. Katsiaryna Skachkova (Belarussian pro) 6-2, 6-3
(8) Madurawe def. Alexis Johnson (UOP sophomore) 6-0, 6-0

Second round: 

(1) Ma def. Caragh Courtney (USF) 6-0, 6-2
(5) Xu def. Phoebe Xiaoyao Jiang (HS player) 6-1, 6-0
Houghton def. (3) Yepifanova 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
(8) Madurawe def. Natalie Dias (HS player) 6-0, 6-0

Quarterfinals:

(1) Ma def. Capogrosso (USF) 6-0, 6-0
(5) Xu withdrew due to injury before she was set to play Mariia Kozyreva from St. Mary's, giving her a walkover
Houghton def. Mya Bui (USF) 6-0, ret.
(2) Jovana Jovic def. (8) Madurawe 6-2, 6-0

Semifinals

(1) Ma def. (4) Mariia Kozyreva (St. Mary's) 6-0, 4-6, 6-1
(2) Jovana Jovic def. Houghton 6-3, 6-4

Championship

(1) Ma def. (2) Jovic 6-3, 7-6

So, congrats to Connie Ma on her first collegiate title in her first time wearing a Stanford uniform! A lot of high school players and other folks, since it's a USTA open tournament, so we can't put too much stock in it, but there are still some useful takeaways:

1. The seeding: Ma was the top seed. Out of the new/returning Stanford players, Ma was the top seed. And the three freshmen were the three highest-seeded players from Stanford. I'm not reading too much into Blake's seeding--she's not playing #5 for us this year, so that there are four players ahead of her is probably a feature of a busier summer schedule for them compared to her. 
2. Ma cruising: she won her first three matches easily against lesser players, but then knocked off two legitimately good players in Kozyreva and Jovic to take the title. That's impressive stuff.
3. Houghton making a leap? Seeing her beat Yepifanova, albeit in a third-set match tiebreaker, is a really good win. If she's stepped up her game this year, that's a great sign for us. 
4. No bad losses. Not one player took a loss that should be beneath them. There were some injury withdrawals, but I'm guessing Lele wanted players to bow out at the slightest sign of a tweak and not risk anything major. We'll have to watch for Blake and Xu at the next tournament, but one thing you often see at fall tournaments is inexplicable results and disappointing losses, and we didn't see that here.

[ColoradoTree]

That's a depressing preseason list, both for us and the Pac-12, but we're a young team. CT, care to offer any predictions/hopes for our players' individual rankings at the end of the season?? I could use some preseason encouragement!

I think leaving Connie Ma off the newcomer rankings is going to look like an all-time rankings error. She's going to play high in our lineup from day one, and she might be our #1. By the end of the year, I think Ma, Alexandra Yepifanova, and Blake are all top 100-type players, and probably Geller and Houghton ranked as well. Talent-wise, the group of Yepifanova, Ma, and Valencia Xu is the best single incoming trio I can think of us ever having, and I mean that. It's a bonkers group. 

FYI, the KPSF Open was held at the Golden Gate Park Tennis Courts last week (it's a USTA event rather than a college-sanctioned ITA event), and it had players from Stanford, USF, St. Mary's, among others, including local younger and older players. Here's how the players were seeded:

(1) Connie Ma 
(2) Jovana Jovic (Serbian pro)
(3) Yepifanova
(4) Mariia Kozyreva (St. Mary's 5th year)
(5) Xu
(6) Geller
(7) Blake (surprisingly low!)
(8) Niluka Madurawe

Also playing, but unseeded, was India Houghton. 

First round:
(1) Ma def. Emma Pell (HS player) 6-0, 6-1
Arianna Capogrosso (USF senior) def. (6) Geller 7-5, 7-5
(5) Xu def. Sophia Sappa (HS player) 6-1, 6-1
(7) Blake withdrew due to injury before her match started, giving her opponent a walkover
Houghton def. Emily Tan (HS player) 7-5, 6-2
(3) Yepifanova def. Katsiaryna Skachkova (Belarussian pro) 6-2, 6-3
(8) Madurawe def. Alexis Johnson (UOP sophomore) 6-0, 6-0

Second round: 

(1) Ma def. Caragh Courtney (USF) 6-0, 6-2
(5) Xu def. Phoebe Xiaoyao Jiang (HS player) 6-1, 6-0
Houghton def. (3) Yepifanova 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
(8) Madurawe def. Natalie Dias (HS player) 6-0, 6-0

Quarterfinals:

(1) Ma def. Capogrosso (USF) 6-0, 6-0
(5) Xu withdrew due to injury before she was set to play Mariia Kozyreva from St. Mary's, giving her a walkover
Houghton def. Mya Bui (USF) 6-0, ret.
(2) Jovana Jovic def. (8) Madurawe 6-2, 6-0

Semifinals

(1) Ma def. (4) Mariia Kozyreva (St. Mary's) 6-0, 4-6, 6-1
(2) Jovana Jovic def. Houghton 6-3, 6-4

Championship

(1) Ma def. (2) Jovic 6-3, 7-6

So, congrats to Connie Ma on her first collegiate title in her first time wearing a Stanford uniform! A lot of high school players and other folks, since it's a USTA open tournament, so we can't put too much stock in it, but there are still some useful takeaways:

1. The seeding: Ma was the top seed. Out of the new/returning Stanford players, Ma was the top seed. And the three freshmen were the three highest-seeded players from Stanford. I'm not reading too much into Blake's seeding--she's not playing #5 for us this year, so that there are four players ahead of her is probably a feature of a busier summer schedule for them compared to her. 
2. Ma cruising: she won her first three matches easily against lesser players, but then knocked off two legitimately good players in Kozyreva and Jovic to take the title. That's impressive stuff.
3. Houghton making a leap? Seeing her beat Yepifanova, albeit in a third-set match tiebreaker, is a really good win. If she's stepped up her game this year, that's a great sign for us. 
4. No bad losses. Not one player took a loss that should be beneath them. There were some injury withdrawals, but I'm guessing Lele wanted players to bow out at the slightest sign of a tweak and not risk anything major. We'll have to watch for Blake and Xu at the next tournament, but one thing you often see at fall tournaments is inexplicable results and disappointing losses, and we didn't see that here.

[Sakibomb25]

That's a depressing preseason list, both for us and the Pac-12, but we're a young team. CT, care to offer any predictions/hopes for our players' individual rankings at the end of the season?? I could use some preseason encouragement!

I think leaving Connie Ma off the newcomer rankings is going to look like an all-time rankings error. She's going to play high in our lineup from day one, and she might be our #1. By the end of the year, I think Ma, Alexandra Yepifanova, and Blake are all top 100-type players, and probably Geller and Houghton ranked as well. Talent-wise, the group of Yepifanova, Ma, and Valencia Xu is the best single incoming trio I can think of us ever having, and I mean that. It's a bonkers group. 

FYI, the KPSF Open was held at the Golden Gate Park Tennis Courts last week (it's a USTA event rather than a college-sanctioned ITA event), and it had players from Stanford, USF, St. Mary's, among others, including local younger and older players. Here's how the players were seeded:

(1) Connie Ma 
(2) Jovana Jovic (Serbian pro)
(3) Yepifanova
(4) Mariia Kozyreva (St. Mary's 5th year)
(5) Xu
(6) Geller
(7) Blake (surprisingly low!)
(8) Niluka Madurawe

Also playing, but unseeded, was India Houghton. 

First round:
(1) Ma def. Emma Pell (HS player) 6-0, 6-1
Arianna Capogrosso (USF senior) def. (6) Geller 7-5, 7-5
(5) Xu def. Sophia Sappa (HS player) 6-1, 6-1
(7) Blake withdrew due to injury before her match started, giving her opponent a walkover
Houghton def. Emily Tan (HS player) 7-5, 6-2
(3) Yepifanova def. Katsiaryna Skachkova (Belarussian pro) 6-2, 6-3
(8) Madurawe def. Alexis Johnson (UOP sophomore) 6-0, 6-0

Second round: 

(1) Ma def. Caragh Courtney (USF) 6-0, 6-2
(5) Xu def. Phoebe Xiaoyao Jiang (HS player) 6-1, 6-0
Houghton def. (3) Yepifanova 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
(8) Madurawe def. Natalie Dias (HS player) 6-0, 6-0

Quarterfinals:

(1) Ma def. Capogrosso (USF) 6-0, 6-0
(5) Xu withdrew due to injury before she was set to play Mariia Kozyreva from St. Mary's, giving her a walkover
Houghton def. Mya Bui (USF) 6-0, ret.
(2) Jovana Jovic def. (8) Madurawe 6-2, 6-0

Semifinals

(1) Ma def. (4) Mariia Kozyreva (St. Mary's) 6-0, 4-6, 6-1
(2) Jovana Jovic def. Houghton 6-3, 6-4

Championship

(1) Ma def. (2) Jovic 6-3, 7-6

So, congrats to Connie Ma on her first collegiate title in her first time wearing a Stanford uniform! A lot of high school players and other folks, since it's a USTA open tournament, so we can't put too much stock in it, but there are still some useful takeaways:

1. The seeding: Ma was the top seed. Out of the new/returning Stanford players, Ma was the top seed. And the three freshmen were the three highest-seeded players from Stanford. I'm not reading too much into Blake's seeding--she's not playing #5 for us this year, so that there are four players ahead of her is probably a feature of a busier summer schedule for them compared to her. 
2. Ma cruising: she won her first three matches easily against lesser players, but then knocked off two legitimately good players in Kozyreva and Jovic to take the title. That's impressive stuff.
3. Houghton making a leap? Seeing her beat Yepifanova, albeit in a third-set match tiebreaker, is a really good win. If she's stepped up her game this year, that's a great sign for us. 
4. No bad losses. Not one player took a loss that should be beneath them. There were some injury withdrawals, but I'm guessing Lele wanted players to bow out at the slightest sign of a tweak and not risk anything major. We'll have to watch for Blake and Xu at the next tournament, but one thing you often see at fall tournaments is inexplicable results and disappointing losses, and we didn't see that here.

Thanks for all the detailed info! Looking forward to this year's team. It is a shame Gordon won't be playing with the team, especially if she is at Stanford... but sounds like she just wants to move on. But we would be very, very good with Gordon in the line-up.

Just how good are Yepifanova and Xu? Would they be ranked No. 1 in any other years? Granted I know rankings are never accurate and change depending on the year, but hoping that this past year was a rather deep year in terms of talent since we have the No. 1, 2 and 4 ranked players (heading into HS senior years).

I am also hoping that Gellar and Houghtelling made some big strides as well.

[Sakibomb25]

That's a depressing preseason list, both for us and the Pac-12, but we're a young team. CT, care to offer any predictions/hopes for our players' individual rankings at the end of the season?? I could use some preseason encouragement!

I think leaving Connie Ma off the newcomer rankings is going to look like an all-time rankings error. She's going to play high in our lineup from day one, and she might be our #1. By the end of the year, I think Ma, Alexandra Yepifanova, and Blake are all top 100-type players, and probably Geller and Houghton ranked as well. Talent-wise, the group of Yepifanova, Ma, and Valencia Xu is the best single incoming trio I can think of us ever having, and I mean that. It's a bonkers group. 

FYI, the KPSF Open was held at the Golden Gate Park Tennis Courts last week (it's a USTA event rather than a college-sanctioned ITA event), and it had players from Stanford, USF, St. Mary's, among others, including local younger and older players. Here's how the players were seeded:

(1) Connie Ma 
(2) Jovana Jovic (Serbian pro)
(3) Yepifanova
(4) Mariia Kozyreva (St. Mary's 5th year)
(5) Xu
(6) Geller
(7) Blake (surprisingly low!)
(8) Niluka Madurawe

Also playing, but unseeded, was India Houghton. 

First round:
(1) Ma def. Emma Pell (HS player) 6-0, 6-1
Arianna Capogrosso (USF senior) def. (6) Geller 7-5, 7-5
(5) Xu def. Sophia Sappa (HS player) 6-1, 6-1
(7) Blake withdrew due to injury before her match started, giving her opponent a walkover
Houghton def. Emily Tan (HS player) 7-5, 6-2
(3) Yepifanova def. Katsiaryna Skachkova (Belarussian pro) 6-2, 6-3
(8) Madurawe def. Alexis Johnson (UOP sophomore) 6-0, 6-0

Second round: 

(1) Ma def. Caragh Courtney (USF) 6-0, 6-2
(5) Xu def. Phoebe Xiaoyao Jiang (HS player) 6-1, 6-0
Houghton def. (3) Yepifanova 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
(8) Madurawe def. Natalie Dias (HS player) 6-0, 6-0

Quarterfinals:

(1) Ma def. Capogrosso (USF) 6-0, 6-0
(5) Xu withdrew due to injury before she was set to play Mariia Kozyreva from St. Mary's, giving her a walkover
Houghton def. Mya Bui (USF) 6-0, ret.
(2) Jovana Jovic def. (8) Madurawe 6-2, 6-0

Semifinals

(1) Ma def. (4) Mariia Kozyreva (St. Mary's) 6-0, 4-6, 6-1
(2) Jovana Jovic def. Houghton 6-3, 6-4

Championship

(1) Ma def. (2) Jovic 6-3, 7-6

So, congrats to Connie Ma on her first collegiate title in her first time wearing a Stanford uniform! A lot of high school players and other folks, since it's a USTA open tournament, so we can't put too much stock in it, but there are still some useful takeaways:

1. The seeding: Ma was the top seed. Out of the new/returning Stanford players, Ma was the top seed. And the three freshmen were the three highest-seeded players from Stanford. I'm not reading too much into Blake's seeding--she's not playing #5 for us this year, so that there are four players ahead of her is probably a feature of a busier summer schedule for them compared to her. 
2. Ma cruising: she won her first three matches easily against lesser players, but then knocked off two legitimately good players in Kozyreva and Jovic to take the title. That's impressive stuff.
3. Houghton making a leap? Seeing her beat Yepifanova, albeit in a third-set match tiebreaker, is a really good win. If she's stepped up her game this year, that's a great sign for us. 
4. No bad losses. Not one player took a loss that should be beneath them. There were some injury withdrawals, but I'm guessing Lele wanted players to bow out at the slightest sign of a tweak and not risk anything major. We'll have to watch for Blake and Xu at the next tournament, but one thing you often see at fall tournaments is inexplicable results and disappointing losses, and we didn't see that here.

Thanks for all the detailed info! Looking forward to this year's team. It is a shame Gordon won't be playing with the team, especially if she is at Stanford... but sounds like she just wants to move on. But we would be very, very good with Gordon in the line-up.

Just how good are Yepifanova and Xu? Would they be ranked No. 1 in any other years? Granted I know rankings are never accurate and change depending on the year, but hoping that this past year was a rather deep year in terms of talent since we have the No. 1, 2 and 4 ranked players (heading into HS senior years).

I am also hoping that Gellar and Houghtelling made some big strides as well.

[ColoradoTree]

Hard to say for sure, but this feels like it was a good recruiting class overall. UTR ratings were generally a bit higher at the top of this class than most past top classes, but we'll see. I have very high hopes for Connie Ma in particular, but Yepifanova does strike me as a player that could've been #1 in a past class, depending on the year (she was #1 for parts of this season, but usually when Ma's lack of tournaments started to drop her ranking). Xu is excellent as well, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see her play above a number of older players this year.

Here's the article from June when they were named the top class in the country, and the first unanimous #1 class in the history of the rankings: https://www.tennisrecruiting.net/article...=356459180

We're going to be pretty darn good. Young, but good.

[ColoradoTree]

Hard to say for sure, but this feels like it was a good recruiting class overall. UTR ratings were generally a bit higher at the top of this class than most past top classes, but we'll see. I have very high hopes for Connie Ma in particular, but Yepifanova does strike me as a player that could've been #1 in a past class, depending on the year (she was #1 for parts of this season, but usually when Ma's lack of tournaments started to drop her ranking). Xu is excellent as well, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see her play above a number of older players this year.

Here's the article from June when they were named the top class in the country, and the first unanimous #1 class in the history of the rankings: https://www.tennisrecruiting.net/article...=356459180

We're going to be pretty darn good. Young, but good.

[ColoradoTree]

Our roster just got posted, and there are three expected additions: Ma, Xu, and Yepifanova. But there's an unexpected fourth addition: Michaela Gordon. And there's a subtraction from the preliminary roster as well: Janice Shin is no longer on the roster.

Gordon coming back is a wonderful surprise, and if it holds and wasn't some sort of technical error, we're that much tougher. Imagine:

1. Gordon
2. Ma
3. Blake
4. Yepifanova
5. Geller
6. Houghton/Xu/Choy/Madurawe

That's a bonkers lineup.

There's also a bare bones 2021-22 schedule up, though it only discloses one event: the ITA Northwest Regionals from October 22-26.

[ColoradoTree]

Our roster just got posted, and there are three expected additions: Ma, Xu, and Yepifanova. But there's an unexpected fourth addition: Michaela Gordon. And there's a subtraction from the preliminary roster as well: Janice Shin is no longer on the roster.

Gordon coming back is a wonderful surprise, and if it holds and wasn't some sort of technical error, we're that much tougher. Imagine:

1. Gordon
2. Ma
3. Blake
4. Yepifanova
5. Geller
6. Houghton/Xu/Choy/Madurawe

That's a bonkers lineup.

There's also a bare bones 2021-22 schedule up, though it only discloses one event: the ITA Northwest Regionals from October 22-26.

[ColoradoTree]

Also, for whatever reason, Stanford didn't play in the ITA All-American Championships held in Charleston, SC last week and the week before (including qualifying). So, while players at the top of our lineup will be able to improve their rankings through dual match play, the players at the bottom will likely be unranked come season's end, because they won't have played enough ranked players to boost their own rankings. So, don't be surprised come NCAAs to see us as a top 5 team but with relatively few ranked singles players.

---

A reminder of the roster math. There are still 8 scholarships, and women's tennis is a headcount sport, but there's the covid bonus year that Gordon gets to have. At least, that's what I'm assuming based on (1) my recollection of what the precise extension was, and (2) the fact that there was a roster just published with her name on it. Anyway, here's what it looks like:

Fifth Year (1): Michaela Gordon
Seniors (2): Sara Choy, Niluka Madurawe
Juniors (2): Angelica Blake, Nicole Mossmer
Sophomores (2): Ana Geller, India Houghton
Freshmen (3): Connie Ma, Alexandra Yepifanova, Valencia Xu

So, even assuming Gordon's scholarship doesn't count against the eight, that's still one person who is paying her own way. My presumption has been that it's Xu, who was the lowest-ranked recruit in the class (who peaked as merely the #3 player in the class rather than #1 like the other two) and who (unlike Ma and Yepifanova) wasn't announced as part of the incoming class on the official website and wasn't reported as signing a NLI. I remember when scholarship math meant that Madurawe likely had to pay her own way for a year as a blue chip recruit, and how she was almost certainly the highest-ranked player ever not to be on scholarship out of the gate, and here we are again, with Xu coming in as a stronger recruit than Madurawe was, and she must not be on scholarship now, either.

Anyway, I'm really, really excited for that Virginia match in Charlottesville for kick-off weekend.

[ColoradoTree]

Also, for whatever reason, Stanford didn't play in the ITA All-American Championships held in Charleston, SC last week and the week before (including qualifying). So, while players at the top of our lineup will be able to improve their rankings through dual match play, the players at the bottom will likely be unranked come season's end, because they won't have played enough ranked players to boost their own rankings. So, don't be surprised come NCAAs to see us as a top 5 team but with relatively few ranked singles players.

---

A reminder of the roster math. There are still 8 scholarships, and women's tennis is a headcount sport, but there's the covid bonus year that Gordon gets to have. At least, that's what I'm assuming based on (1) my recollection of what the precise extension was, and (2) the fact that there was a roster just published with her name on it. Anyway, here's what it looks like:

Fifth Year (1): Michaela Gordon
Seniors (2): Sara Choy, Niluka Madurawe
Juniors (2): Angelica Blake, Nicole Mossmer
Sophomores (2): Ana Geller, India Houghton
Freshmen (3): Connie Ma, Alexandra Yepifanova, Valencia Xu

So, even assuming Gordon's scholarship doesn't count against the eight, that's still one person who is paying her own way. My presumption has been that it's Xu, who was the lowest-ranked recruit in the class (who peaked as merely the #3 player in the class rather than #1 like the other two) and who (unlike Ma and Yepifanova) wasn't announced as part of the incoming class on the official website and wasn't reported as signing a NLI. I remember when scholarship math meant that Madurawe likely had to pay her own way for a year as a blue chip recruit, and how she was almost certainly the highest-ranked player ever not to be on scholarship out of the gate, and here we are again, with Xu coming in as a stronger recruit than Madurawe was, and she must not be on scholarship now, either.

Anyway, I'm really, really excited for that Virginia match in Charlottesville for kick-off weekend.

[BostonCard]

AS they say on the social medias... "big, if true"

BC

[BostonCard]

AS they say on the social medias... "big, if true"

BC

[ColoradoTree]

A couple more items added to the fall schedule: 

1. Stanford Invitational on November 5-7. We don't usually host an invitational, so I'm not entirely sure what the scope of this will be, but it's opposite the Fall Nationals the same weekend, so it seems like it's an opportunity to get quality matches for our players who don't qualify for Fall Nationals, and that's a terrific idea. ASU is also hosting an invitational the same weekend

2. Hawaii Invitational on November 20-21. Stanford usually plays exhibition matches against the University of Hawaii in a November trip, but I've always understood that trip to be more of a perk and less about serious competitive matches. (And because we go there, they usually play at Stanford in the spring season.) But now it's on the calendar as an invitational, so whether that means it's still just the two teams but now we want these matches to count, or whether there will be additional top players there, I can't say. But especially after we didn't compete in ITA All-Americans this fall, we need to get all of our players, but especially our younger players, some matches. Hopefully more teams send their best to Hawaii for that one. 

I'll do a separate preview thread for Northwest Regionals when we have more information about the draw, but as we're eight days away, here are the basics: it's one of twelve regional championships that qualify players to the Fall Nationals. Historically, the two singles finalists and the doubles champion from each region have qualified for the 64-player singles field and the 32-team doubles field at Fall Nationals, along with a large number of at-large selections based on rankings and approximately 12 players who qualified through performance at other tournaments. This year, however, it's a shrunken 32-player singles field to go with a 32-team doubles field, and the at-large selections are gone for singles and nearly all gone for doubles. The selection criteria also no longer expressly state that the 24 regional finalists will make it--now it says 24 "Regional Selections (2 players per ITA region)." That could be a distinction without a difference, and we'll have to wait and see whether the ITA makes selections based on rankings rather than tournament performance. 

But first up is Northwest Regionals, which traditionally has been a 128-player field in which every Stanford player, scholarship or walk-on, plays. The field is drawn from the teams in the ITA Northwest Region, including Stanford, Cal, Washington, Washington State, and Oregon from the Pac-12 as well as smaller-conference schools like St. Mary's, Gonzaga, USF, San Jose State, Santa Clara, etc. In addition to our own players, that field would include Cal freshman Jessica Alsola (the 7th-ranked newcomer) as well as the following ranked players: #14 Vanessa Wong (UW), #17 Haley Giavara (Cal), #47 Michaela Bayerlova (WSU), #57 Mariia Kozyreva (SMC), #106 Julia Rosenqvist (Cal), #109 Catherine Broerman (Gonzaga), #119 Valentina Ivanov (Cal), and #124 Sarah-Maude Fortin (UW). But keep in mind our region suffers from the same bias that affects the team rankings, where a bunch of good-but-not-great teams and players in the SEC (and to a lesser extent, the ACC) beat each other up and climb the rankings because the rankings criteria give major credit to good wins and discount losses, so there's a "rising tide lifts all (SEC/ACC) boats" effect in play. And the relative dearth of ranked players in our region does not reflect the quality of players. If Gordon plays, I am highly confident we'll be a top 5 team by season's end, but the singles rankings won't reflect that. 

There was no tournament last year, but Michaela Gordon has won all three she's played. In fall 2019, Gordon won the singles title (beating St. Mary's Mariia Kozyreva), and Arbuthnott/Blake won the doubles title over a Washington pair. In 2018, Gordon beat Caroline Lampl in the singles championship match, while Madurawe/Yee won the doubles title. In 2017, then-freshman Gordon beat Arbuthnott in the singles final, while a couple of Stanford duos lost in the semis (though Gordon/Arbuthnott made it into the Fall Nationals doubles draw as an alternate and then won the whole darn thing). 2016 was the last time Stanford didn't claim the singles title, as then-freshman Emma Higuchi made it through to the final before falling to Cal's Karla Popovic.

[ColoradoTree]

A couple more items added to the fall schedule: 

1. Stanford Invitational on November 5-7. We don't usually host an invitational, so I'm not entirely sure what the scope of this will be, but it's opposite the Fall Nationals the same weekend, so it seems like it's an opportunity to get quality matches for our players who don't qualify for Fall Nationals, and that's a terrific idea. ASU is also hosting an invitational the same weekend

2. Hawaii Invitational on November 20-21. Stanford usually plays exhibition matches against the University of Hawaii in a November trip, but I've always understood that trip to be more of a perk and less about serious competitive matches. (And because we go there, they usually play at Stanford in the spring season.) But now it's on the calendar as an invitational, so whether that means it's still just the two teams but now we want these matches to count, or whether there will be additional top players there, I can't say. But especially after we didn't compete in ITA All-Americans this fall, we need to get all of our players, but especially our younger players, some matches. Hopefully more teams send their best to Hawaii for that one. 

I'll do a separate preview thread for Northwest Regionals when we have more information about the draw, but as we're eight days away, here are the basics: it's one of twelve regional championships that qualify players to the Fall Nationals. Historically, the two singles finalists and the doubles champion from each region have qualified for the 64-player singles field and the 32-team doubles field at Fall Nationals, along with a large number of at-large selections based on rankings and approximately 12 players who qualified through performance at other tournaments. This year, however, it's a shrunken 32-player singles field to go with a 32-team doubles field, and the at-large selections are gone for singles and nearly all gone for doubles. The selection criteria also no longer expressly state that the 24 regional finalists will make it--now it says 24 "Regional Selections (2 players per ITA region)." That could be a distinction without a difference, and we'll have to wait and see whether the ITA makes selections based on rankings rather than tournament performance. 

But first up is Northwest Regionals, which traditionally has been a 128-player field in which every Stanford player, scholarship or walk-on, plays. The field is drawn from the teams in the ITA Northwest Region, including Stanford, Cal, Washington, Washington State, and Oregon from the Pac-12 as well as smaller-conference schools like St. Mary's, Gonzaga, USF, San Jose State, Santa Clara, etc. In addition to our own players, that field would include Cal freshman Jessica Alsola (the 7th-ranked newcomer) as well as the following ranked players: #14 Vanessa Wong (UW), #17 Haley Giavara (Cal), #47 Michaela Bayerlova (WSU), #57 Mariia Kozyreva (SMC), #106 Julia Rosenqvist (Cal), #109 Catherine Broerman (Gonzaga), #119 Valentina Ivanov (Cal), and #124 Sarah-Maude Fortin (UW). But keep in mind our region suffers from the same bias that affects the team rankings, where a bunch of good-but-not-great teams and players in the SEC (and to a lesser extent, the ACC) beat each other up and climb the rankings because the rankings criteria give major credit to good wins and discount losses, so there's a "rising tide lifts all (SEC/ACC) boats" effect in play. And the relative dearth of ranked players in our region does not reflect the quality of players. If Gordon plays, I am highly confident we'll be a top 5 team by season's end, but the singles rankings won't reflect that. 

There was no tournament last year, but Michaela Gordon has won all three she's played. In fall 2019, Gordon won the singles title (beating St. Mary's Mariia Kozyreva), and Arbuthnott/Blake won the doubles title over a Washington pair. In 2018, Gordon beat Caroline Lampl in the singles championship match, while Madurawe/Yee won the doubles title. In 2017, then-freshman Gordon beat Arbuthnott in the singles final, while a couple of Stanford duos lost in the semis (though Gordon/Arbuthnott made it into the Fall Nationals doubles draw as an alternate and then won the whole darn thing). 2016 was the last time Stanford didn't claim the singles title, as then-freshman Emma Higuchi made it through to the final before falling to Cal's Karla Popovic.