[ColoradoTree]

After a very successful road trip that saw Stanford continue its undefeated run in singles matches (including against a Colorado team that knocked off #12 Cal a couple days before), 4-0 Stanford returns home for a couple of midweek matches--and perhaps more, as there are no matches currently scheduled for this weekend.

Today, 11:00am: vs. Pacific
Thursday, 2:00pm: vs. St. Mary's

What to expect: UOP lost 7-0 to Cal and 4-3 to UC Davis (who we beat 7-0), so I wouldn't expect anything other than 7-0 today. St. Mary's will be a different story, as Mariia Kozyreva is legitimately quite good--she's the preseason #17 player in the country (there have been no singles/doubles rankings since then), beat #26 Valentina Ivanov of Cal in straight sets, and was about to force a third set vs. USC when USC clinched the team match and play was suspended. But aside from Kozyreva, the overall Gaels team isn't terribly strong (they beat UC Davis just 4-3, losing 4, 5, and 6 singles). Gordon will absolutely have her hands full, and I'm eager to see how she does. 

How to watch: http://streamingtennis.com/Cardinal/?DB_OEM_ID=30600

---

One note: the UOP match has been taken off our schedule as of this morning, but it's still on Pacific's. So, not sure if that match will go forward, or if it'll happen perhaps as an exhibition to get players some matches without having to comply with the one-line rule.

---

Other schedule oddities:

* Pepperdine has us on the schedule for a match on Friday, April 2 at Taube, but it's not on our schedule. (That's the weekend of the Oregon match, so it's a nice way to get two matches that weekend, not to mention as good of a test as we'll have all year.) 
* We are not yet on Cal's schedule, nor are they on ours.
* We are not yet on ASU's schedule, nor are they on ours. Arizona is, and both Arizona and ASU are on Cal's schedule, with an obvious date clear on both our calendar and ASU's for a match that weekend, but it's not on there. 
* We have an open weekend this weekend, so there may be matches added there.
* We have an open weekend between USC/UCLA and the Pac-12 Championships in Ojai, which is where I'd assume we'd see a match against Cal, who has the same weekend open.

[ColoradoTree]

After a very successful road trip that saw Stanford continue its undefeated run in singles matches (including against a Colorado team that knocked off #12 Cal a couple days before), 4-0 Stanford returns home for a couple of midweek matches--and perhaps more, as there are no matches currently scheduled for this weekend.

Today, 11:00am: vs. Pacific
Thursday, 2:00pm: vs. St. Mary's

What to expect: UOP lost 7-0 to Cal and 4-3 to UC Davis (who we beat 7-0), so I wouldn't expect anything other than 7-0 today. St. Mary's will be a different story, as Mariia Kozyreva is legitimately quite good--she's the preseason #17 player in the country (there have been no singles/doubles rankings since then), beat #26 Valentina Ivanov of Cal in straight sets, and was about to force a third set vs. USC when USC clinched the team match and play was suspended. But aside from Kozyreva, the overall Gaels team isn't terribly strong (they beat UC Davis just 4-3, losing 4, 5, and 6 singles). Gordon will absolutely have her hands full, and I'm eager to see how she does. 

How to watch: http://streamingtennis.com/Cardinal/?DB_OEM_ID=30600

---

One note: the UOP match has been taken off our schedule as of this morning, but it's still on Pacific's. So, not sure if that match will go forward, or if it'll happen perhaps as an exhibition to get players some matches without having to comply with the one-line rule.

---

Other schedule oddities:

* Pepperdine has us on the schedule for a match on Friday, April 2 at Taube, but it's not on our schedule. (That's the weekend of the Oregon match, so it's a nice way to get two matches that weekend, not to mention as good of a test as we'll have all year.) 
* We are not yet on Cal's schedule, nor are they on ours.
* We are not yet on ASU's schedule, nor are they on ours. Arizona is, and both Arizona and ASU are on Cal's schedule, with an obvious date clear on both our calendar and ASU's for a match that weekend, but it's not on there. 
* We have an open weekend this weekend, so there may be matches added there.
* We have an open weekend between USC/UCLA and the Pac-12 Championships in Ojai, which is where I'd assume we'd see a match against Cal, who has the same weekend open.

[ColoradoTree]

Oh, and the Pac-12 Championships are apparently moving from Ojai to San Diego. Not precisely sure why, but that may be of some interest to you folks who might actually be able to attend in person.

[ColoradoTree]

Oh, and the Pac-12 Championships are apparently moving from Ojai to San Diego. Not precisely sure why, but that may be of some interest to you folks who might actually be able to attend in person.

[Jamesy]

There's no matches going on in taube right now so looks like the UOP match is a no go

[Jamesy]

There's no matches going on in taube right now so looks like the UOP match is a no go

[ColoradoTree]

Weird. It was a late addition, only showing up on our schedule after the Colorado match and then coming down again today--I wonder if Lele was hearing from players that they were a little sore after four matches in nine days and some time on the road. That would certainly be reasonable. Alternatively (or in combination), I wonder if it presages a match or two being added this weekend, making a few days off before St. Mary's more desirable. 

But playing UOP doesn't add anything to our schedule, so this is more than fine. It's just a weird hiccup that may mean something and may mean nothing.

[ColoradoTree]

Weird. It was a late addition, only showing up on our schedule after the Colorado match and then coming down again today--I wonder if Lele was hearing from players that they were a little sore after four matches in nine days and some time on the road. That would certainly be reasonable. Alternatively (or in combination), I wonder if it presages a match or two being added this weekend, making a few days off before St. Mary's more desirable. 

But playing UOP doesn't add anything to our schedule, so this is more than fine. It's just a weird hiccup that may mean something and may mean nothing.

[ColoradoTree]

ITA Rankings Update

Stanford moves up four spots in the rankings, from #28 to #24. It's still a coaches' poll--the same group of coaches that had us as the #4 preseason team--so this is frustrating. It makes one think that Stanford is being punished for playing later and withdrawing from ITA Kickoff Weekend rather than the coaches (most of whose teams have been playing for a couple months by now) giving an honest assessment of where they think this team ranks, and that they're going to make this team earn its climb back up the rankings. There's an element of fairness there--we haven't played anybody good, so why should we vault over somebody who has beaten somebody good--but still. They know we're good. Here are the Pac-12 teams in the rankings:

#5 UCLA (up 1 spot from last week)
#17 Cal (down 5)
#21 USC (down 5)
#24 Stanford (up 4)
#26 ASU (down 2)
#38 Washington State (up 9)
#40 Washington (down 1)
#47 Colorado (up from NR)

Utah got some undetermined number of votes as well. 

Current Pac-12 Standings 

Note: I put all losses and notable or conference wins so far in parentheses:

T1. Stanford (2-0 Pac-12, 4-0 overall) (Ws over CU, Utah)
T1. UCLA (2-0, 8-2) (Ws over UW, WSU, Cal (n/c), USC (n/c), Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, San Diego; Ls to Cal (n/c), Texas)
3. ASU (1-0, 6-3) (Ws over Oregon, Oklahoma, Kansas State; Ls to Baylor, Texas Tech, Rice)
T4. Cal (1-1, 7-2) (Ws over Utah, UCLA (n/c), WSU (n/c); Ls to CU, UCLA (n/c))
T4. Colorado (1-1, 7-3) (W over Cal; Ls to Stanford, Iowa State, Denver)
T4. Oregon (1-1, 7-2) (W over Arizona, Ls to ASU and Gonzaga)
T4. USC (1-1, 7-4) (Ws over UW, Oklahoma State, Denver; Ls to WSU, Pepperdine (twice), UCLA (n/c))
T4. Washington State (1-1, 6-5) (W over USC; Ls to UCLA, Cal (n/c), Texas A&M, UW (n/c), Baylor)
9. Arizona (0-1, 8-4) (Ls to Oregon, Kansas, KSU, Texas Tech)
T10. Washington (0-2, 7-3) (W over WSU (n/c); Ls to UCLA, USC, Baylor)
T10. Utah (0-2, 6-4) (Ls to Stanford, Cal, Denver, Texas A&M)

[ColoradoTree]

ITA Rankings Update

Stanford moves up four spots in the rankings, from #28 to #24. It's still a coaches' poll--the same group of coaches that had us as the #4 preseason team--so this is frustrating. It makes one think that Stanford is being punished for playing later and withdrawing from ITA Kickoff Weekend rather than the coaches (most of whose teams have been playing for a couple months by now) giving an honest assessment of where they think this team ranks, and that they're going to make this team earn its climb back up the rankings. There's an element of fairness there--we haven't played anybody good, so why should we vault over somebody who has beaten somebody good--but still. They know we're good. Here are the Pac-12 teams in the rankings:

#5 UCLA (up 1 spot from last week)
#17 Cal (down 5)
#21 USC (down 5)
#24 Stanford (up 4)
#26 ASU (down 2)
#38 Washington State (up 9)
#40 Washington (down 1)
#47 Colorado (up from NR)

Utah got some undetermined number of votes as well. 

Current Pac-12 Standings 

Note: I put all losses and notable or conference wins so far in parentheses:

T1. Stanford (2-0 Pac-12, 4-0 overall) (Ws over CU, Utah)
T1. UCLA (2-0, 8-2) (Ws over UW, WSU, Cal (n/c), USC (n/c), Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, San Diego; Ls to Cal (n/c), Texas)
3. ASU (1-0, 6-3) (Ws over Oregon, Oklahoma, Kansas State; Ls to Baylor, Texas Tech, Rice)
T4. Cal (1-1, 7-2) (Ws over Utah, UCLA (n/c), WSU (n/c); Ls to CU, UCLA (n/c))
T4. Colorado (1-1, 7-3) (W over Cal; Ls to Stanford, Iowa State, Denver)
T4. Oregon (1-1, 7-2) (W over Arizona, Ls to ASU and Gonzaga)
T4. USC (1-1, 7-4) (Ws over UW, Oklahoma State, Denver; Ls to WSU, Pepperdine (twice), UCLA (n/c))
T4. Washington State (1-1, 6-5) (W over USC; Ls to UCLA, Cal (n/c), Texas A&M, UW (n/c), Baylor)
9. Arizona (0-1, 8-4) (Ls to Oregon, Kansas, KSU, Texas Tech)
T10. Washington (0-2, 7-3) (W over WSU (n/c); Ls to UCLA, USC, Baylor)
T10. Utah (0-2, 6-4) (Ls to Stanford, Cal, Denver, Texas A&M)

[oldalum]

CT, given the results so far, how do you see the pecking order among Cal, UCLA, and us? (I am assuming we will finish as the top 3 in the Pac-12, but correct me if that's wrong)

[oldalum]

CT, given the results so far, how do you see the pecking order among Cal, UCLA, and us? (I am assuming we will finish as the top 3 in the Pac-12, but correct me if that's wrong)

[ColoradoTree]

This week in the Pac-12:

* Stanford hosts St. Mary's on Thursday but otherwise doesn't have anything scheduled this weekend, though I hope that'll change.
* UCLA plays at Pepperdine on Friday
* Cal plays at San Diego on Sunday
* Oregon hosts CU on Friday and Utah on Sunday
* Arizona/ASU play at the Washington schools on Friday/Sunday
* USC plays at UC Santa Barbara on Friday and hosts Pepperdine on Sunday
* In addition to hosting the Arizona schools, WSU is hosting Utah for what appears to be a non-conference match

[ColoradoTree]

This week in the Pac-12:

* Stanford hosts St. Mary's on Thursday but otherwise doesn't have anything scheduled this weekend, though I hope that'll change.
* UCLA plays at Pepperdine on Friday
* Cal plays at San Diego on Sunday
* Oregon hosts CU on Friday and Utah on Sunday
* Arizona/ASU play at the Washington schools on Friday/Sunday
* USC plays at UC Santa Barbara on Friday and hosts Pepperdine on Sunday
* In addition to hosting the Arizona schools, WSU is hosting Utah for what appears to be a non-conference match

[ColoradoTree]

Video isn't working (at least not for me), but Stanford took the doubles point. 

Gordon played #1 with Madurawe but is not in the singles lineup--whether that's due to injury in doubles or was planned to give her some rest or other players a shot is unclear, but everyone else is playing up a line (at least, according to the live scoring--I can't confirm with video)3. I'd suspect the former, if only because this wouldn't been one of Gordon's few opportunities this season against a highly ranked player, and she would've wanted that challenge (and the boost it would've given her NCAA singles championship prospects). 

Stanford 1, St. Mary's 0

1. #63 Arbuthnott vs. #17 Kozyreva
2. Geller vs. Harris
3. Choy vs. McIntyre
4. #114 Shin vs. Massey
5. Madurawe vs. Tevez
6. Higuchi vs. Ville

If anyone has a contact at the Athletic Department and could ask them what the deal is with Blake, that would be great! This would be a very different lineup with her near the top and pushing everyone else down a line.

---

CT, given the results so far, how do you see the pecking order among Cal, UCLA, and us? (I am assuming we will finish as the top 3 in the Pac-12, but correct me if that's wrong)

Agreed that we'll finish in the top 3. Coming into the season, I saw UCLA as a clear #1, us behind them a bit but clearly ahead of everyone else, and then probably Cal and then USC. UCLA stomping Cal in their first match this year made sense to me, while Cal pulling off the upset was pretty shocking, though UCLA played that match without Elysia Bolton. I'll stick with my preseason prediction for now, but I think UCLA is vulnerable to some 4-3 matches where a team beats them on Courts 3 through 6. If we're gonna beat UCLA, it's probably a 4-3 match where we lose the doubles point and thus get four singles wins, and that task is a good deal more likely if Angelica Blake is back in the fold. If our lineup is Gordon-Arbuthnott-Blake-Geller-Choy-Shin, I could absolutely see us get wins on 3, 4, and 5, with the match coming down to whether Gordon beats Bolton at 1 or Shin pulls it off at 6.

---

Stanford 1, St. Mary's 0

1. Arbuthnott trails 0-4
2. Geller leads 4-0
3. Choy leads 3-1
4. Shin leads 3-0
5. Madurawe leads 3-1
6. Higuchi leads 3-1

Arbuthnott might be first off court, and not in a good way. Otherwise, things look more like you'd expect.

[ColoradoTree]

Video isn't working (at least not for me), but Stanford took the doubles point. 

Gordon played #1 with Madurawe but is not in the singles lineup--whether that's due to injury in doubles or was planned to give her some rest or other players a shot is unclear, but everyone else is playing up a line (at least, according to the live scoring--I can't confirm with video)3. I'd suspect the former, if only because this wouldn't been one of Gordon's few opportunities this season against a highly ranked player, and she would've wanted that challenge (and the boost it would've given her NCAA singles championship prospects). 

Stanford 1, St. Mary's 0

1. #63 Arbuthnott vs. #17 Kozyreva
2. Geller vs. Harris
3. Choy vs. McIntyre
4. #114 Shin vs. Massey
5. Madurawe vs. Tevez
6. Higuchi vs. Ville

If anyone has a contact at the Athletic Department and could ask them what the deal is with Blake, that would be great! This would be a very different lineup with her near the top and pushing everyone else down a line.

---

CT, given the results so far, how do you see the pecking order among Cal, UCLA, and us? (I am assuming we will finish as the top 3 in the Pac-12, but correct me if that's wrong)

Agreed that we'll finish in the top 3. Coming into the season, I saw UCLA as a clear #1, us behind them a bit but clearly ahead of everyone else, and then probably Cal and then USC. UCLA stomping Cal in their first match this year made sense to me, while Cal pulling off the upset was pretty shocking, though UCLA played that match without Elysia Bolton. I'll stick with my preseason prediction for now, but I think UCLA is vulnerable to some 4-3 matches where a team beats them on Courts 3 through 6. If we're gonna beat UCLA, it's probably a 4-3 match where we lose the doubles point and thus get four singles wins, and that task is a good deal more likely if Angelica Blake is back in the fold. If our lineup is Gordon-Arbuthnott-Blake-Geller-Choy-Shin, I could absolutely see us get wins on 3, 4, and 5, with the match coming down to whether Gordon beats Bolton at 1 or Shin pulls it off at 6.

---

Stanford 1, St. Mary's 0

1. Arbuthnott trails 0-4
2. Geller leads 4-0
3. Choy leads 3-1
4. Shin leads 3-0
5. Madurawe leads 3-1
6. Higuchi leads 3-1

Arbuthnott might be first off court, and not in a good way. Otherwise, things look more like you'd expect.

[ColoradoTree]

Stanford 1, St. Mary's 0

1. Arbuthnott trails 1-6, 0-2
2. Geller leads 6-0, 2-1
3. Choy leads 6-2, 0-0
4. Shin leads 4-3
5. Madurawe leads 5-4
6. Higuchi leads 6-1, 1-0 


Geller booked her set first, then Higuchi, then Choy. Can't see what's happening with Madurawe or why her match has tightened (she went from 4-1 up to 4-4, 0-40, but she managed to win four straight to stay on serve). 

Anyway, this match is already something of a letdown for me. The result was never in much doubt, but the Gordon-Kozyreva match would've been quite the headliner. Arbuthnott getting run off the court is disheartening. Great stuff from Geller/Choy/Higuchi, though.

---

Stanford 1, St. Mary's 0

1. Arbuthnott trails 1-6, 0-5
2. Geller leads 6-0, 5-1
3. Choy leads 6-2, 0-3 (what's going on here?)
4. Shin leads 5-4
5. Madurawe leads 6-4, 0-1
6. Higuchi leads 6-1, 3-0

---

Stanford 2, St. Mary's 1

1. Arbuthnott loses 1-6, 0-6
2. Geller wins 6-0, 6-1
3. Choy leads 6-2, 3-3 (won three in a row, so that's nice)
4. Shin leads 6-4, 1-0
5. Madurawe leads 6-4, 3-2
6. Higuchi wins 6-1, 6-0

Geller made it 2-0 before Kozyreva got it to 2-1, and several minutes later, Higuchi made it 3-1. I mean, Kozyreva is plainly better than Arbuthnott, but jeez, you'd really hope to see a better performance out of Arbuthnott there.

[ColoradoTree]

Stanford 1, St. Mary's 0

1. Arbuthnott trails 1-6, 0-2
2. Geller leads 6-0, 2-1
3. Choy leads 6-2, 0-0
4. Shin leads 4-3
5. Madurawe leads 5-4
6. Higuchi leads 6-1, 1-0 


Geller booked her set first, then Higuchi, then Choy. Can't see what's happening with Madurawe or why her match has tightened (she went from 4-1 up to 4-4, 0-40, but she managed to win four straight to stay on serve). 

Anyway, this match is already something of a letdown for me. The result was never in much doubt, but the Gordon-Kozyreva match would've been quite the headliner. Arbuthnott getting run off the court is disheartening. Great stuff from Geller/Choy/Higuchi, though.

---

Stanford 1, St. Mary's 0

1. Arbuthnott trails 1-6, 0-5
2. Geller leads 6-0, 5-1
3. Choy leads 6-2, 0-3 (what's going on here?)
4. Shin leads 5-4
5. Madurawe leads 6-4, 0-1
6. Higuchi leads 6-1, 3-0

---

Stanford 2, St. Mary's 1

1. Arbuthnott loses 1-6, 0-6
2. Geller wins 6-0, 6-1
3. Choy leads 6-2, 3-3 (won three in a row, so that's nice)
4. Shin leads 6-4, 1-0
5. Madurawe leads 6-4, 3-2
6. Higuchi wins 6-1, 6-0

Geller made it 2-0 before Kozyreva got it to 2-1, and several minutes later, Higuchi made it 3-1. I mean, Kozyreva is plainly better than Arbuthnott, but jeez, you'd really hope to see a better performance out of Arbuthnott there.

[magnus]

Stanford 2, St. Mary's 1

1. Arbuthnott loses 1-6, 0-6
2. Geller wins 6-0, 6-1
3. Choy leads 6-2, 3-3 (won three in a row, so that's nice)
4. Shin leads 6-4, 1-0
5. Madurawe leads 6-4, 3-2
6. Higuchi wins 6-1, 6-0

Should be 3-1 right?  Doubles + 2 singles.
PS. Thanks a bunch for the continuous updates and commentary!

[magnus]

Stanford 2, St. Mary's 1

1. Arbuthnott loses 1-6, 0-6
2. Geller wins 6-0, 6-1
3. Choy leads 6-2, 3-3 (won three in a row, so that's nice)
4. Shin leads 6-4, 1-0
5. Madurawe leads 6-4, 3-2
6. Higuchi wins 6-1, 6-0

Should be 3-1 right?  Doubles + 2 singles.
PS. Thanks a bunch for the continuous updates and commentary!

[ColoradoTree]

Stanford 2, St. Mary's 1

1. Arbuthnott loses 1-6, 0-6
2. Geller wins 6-0, 6-1
3. Choy leads 6-2, 3-3 (won three in a row, so that's nice)
4. Shin leads 6-4, 1-0
5. Madurawe leads 6-4, 3-2
6. Higuchi wins 6-1, 6-0

Should be 3-1 right?  Doubles + 2 singles.
PS. Thanks a bunch for the continuous updates and commentary!

Yep!

---

Stanford 5, St. Mary's 1

3. Choy leads 6-2, 6-5
4. Shin won 6-4, 6-0
5. Madurawe won 6-4, 6-3

---

Choy closes it out 7-5 in her second and it's a 6-1 Stanford win! 

Good to see dominating performances from Geller and Higuchi, good job taking control by Shin, and it's good to see Choy refusing to lose control in finishing out her match. But seeing Arbuthnott get just destroyed like that... well, that doesn't feel good. 

Not sure if Gordon was hurt or what, but perhaps the gostanford.com recap will shed some light on things!

[ColoradoTree]

Stanford 2, St. Mary's 1

1. Arbuthnott loses 1-6, 0-6
2. Geller wins 6-0, 6-1
3. Choy leads 6-2, 3-3 (won three in a row, so that's nice)
4. Shin leads 6-4, 1-0
5. Madurawe leads 6-4, 3-2
6. Higuchi wins 6-1, 6-0

Should be 3-1 right?  Doubles + 2 singles.
PS. Thanks a bunch for the continuous updates and commentary!

Yep!

---

Stanford 5, St. Mary's 1

3. Choy leads 6-2, 6-5
4. Shin won 6-4, 6-0
5. Madurawe won 6-4, 6-3

---

Choy closes it out 7-5 in her second and it's a 6-1 Stanford win! 

Good to see dominating performances from Geller and Higuchi, good job taking control by Shin, and it's good to see Choy refusing to lose control in finishing out her match. But seeing Arbuthnott get just destroyed like that... well, that doesn't feel good. 

Not sure if Gordon was hurt or what, but perhaps the gostanford.com recap will shed some light on things!

[ColoradoTree]

No mention of why Gordon didn't play singles in the official recap, but it does reveal that--despite the posted schedule--Stanford's next match will be a home tilt against Arizona State on Friday, Mar. 19, so that confirms no matches this weekend and that the ASU absence from the posted schedule isn't meaningful.

[ColoradoTree]

No mention of why Gordon didn't play singles in the official recap, but it does reveal that--despite the posted schedule--Stanford's next match will be a home tilt against Arizona State on Friday, Mar. 19, so that confirms no matches this weekend and that the ASU absence from the posted schedule isn't meaningful.