[ColoradoTree]

Your #7 Stanford women's tennis team plays host to Kansas State, Arkansas, and Florida State starting this afternoon for ITA Kick-Off Weekend! The winner of this four-team regional joins the winners of fourteen other regionals as well as the University of Washington (as host) at ITA Indoor Nationals, which takes place in Seattle from Feb. 10-13. Given how light our non-conference schedule is, and with the new postseason format only having 8 teams at the final site rather than 16, being in the top 8 and securing home court for the super regional is more important than ever. With relatively few elite matches on our schedule, we need to add a few by playing those teams at Indoor Nationals, and going 2-0 this weekend is the first step. 

None of these other teams is ranked, so let's be clear, Stanford is the very strong favorite to advance out of the weekend.  When the draft took place last year, Stanford was then ranked #13, FSU was #33, Arkansas was #34, and Kansas State was #56. Right now, though, we only have the Top 25. But it would be an absolute shock if Stanford didn't take care of business this weekend. 

FSU and Arkansas start things off at 10am today, while Stanford and Kansas State follow at 1pm. The two losing teams play tomorrow at 10am, and the two winners face off for that Indoor Nationals berth following that match at 1pm. This will be the first time Stanford plays Kansas State, and if they face FSU in the final tomorrow, it'll be the first time we play them, too. (Stanford last played Arkansas at this event last year, winning 4-2.) 

Ranked singles players and doubles teams this weekend, either in the most recent rankings or preseason, with the preseason rank in parentheses:

#11 Connie Ma (#7)
#36 Carolina Gomez Alonso (Arkansas) (NR)
#38 Alexandra Yepifanova (#14)
#44 Alexis Blokhina (#5 newcomer)
#45 Angelica Blake (#105)
#52 Anna Arkadianou (FSU) (NR)
NR Mila Saric (FSU) (#75)
NR Valencia Xu (#83)

#36 Blokhina/Yepifanova (NR)
NR Blake/Ma (#12)
NR Arkadianou/Allen (FSU) (#49)

How to watch: https://gostanford.com/sports/2022/3/17/...ideo-stats

What I'm watching for: Stanford will win today, but how? What does the singles lineup look like, and what are the doubles pairs? Who is dominant and who struggles? Are those struggles early and then overcome, or do they start strong and have to white-knuckle it to the finish?

[ColoradoTree]

Your #7 Stanford women's tennis team plays host to Kansas State, Arkansas, and Florida State starting this afternoon for ITA Kick-Off Weekend! The winner of this four-team regional joins the winners of fourteen other regionals as well as the University of Washington (as host) at ITA Indoor Nationals, which takes place in Seattle from Feb. 10-13. Given how light our non-conference schedule is, and with the new postseason format only having 8 teams at the final site rather than 16, being in the top 8 and securing home court for the super regional is more important than ever. With relatively few elite matches on our schedule, we need to add a few by playing those teams at Indoor Nationals, and going 2-0 this weekend is the first step. 

None of these other teams is ranked, so let's be clear, Stanford is the very strong favorite to advance out of the weekend.  When the draft took place last year, Stanford was then ranked #13, FSU was #33, Arkansas was #34, and Kansas State was #56. Right now, though, we only have the Top 25. But it would be an absolute shock if Stanford didn't take care of business this weekend. 

FSU and Arkansas start things off at 10am today, while Stanford and Kansas State follow at 1pm. The two losing teams play tomorrow at 10am, and the two winners face off for that Indoor Nationals berth following that match at 1pm. This will be the first time Stanford plays Kansas State, and if they face FSU in the final tomorrow, it'll be the first time we play them, too. (Stanford last played Arkansas at this event last year, winning 4-2.) 

Ranked singles players and doubles teams this weekend, either in the most recent rankings or preseason, with the preseason rank in parentheses:

#11 Connie Ma (#7)
#36 Carolina Gomez Alonso (Arkansas) (NR)
#38 Alexandra Yepifanova (#14)
#44 Alexis Blokhina (#5 newcomer)
#45 Angelica Blake (#105)
#52 Anna Arkadianou (FSU) (NR)
NR Mila Saric (FSU) (#75)
NR Valencia Xu (#83)

#36 Blokhina/Yepifanova (NR)
NR Blake/Ma (#12)
NR Arkadianou/Allen (FSU) (#49)

How to watch: https://gostanford.com/sports/2022/3/17/...ideo-stats

What I'm watching for: Stanford will win today, but how? What does the singles lineup look like, and what are the doubles pairs? Who is dominant and who struggles? Are those struggles early and then overcome, or do they start strong and have to white-knuckle it to the finish?

[ColoradoTree]

Around the rest of the conference, here's the state of play on Kick-Off Weekend:

#11 Cal plays host to #25 Georgia Tech, Princeton, and San Diego. They'll have to get past a pretty solid Princeton team today to have a shot at advancing. 

#13 USC is the #2 seed in the Athens regional, so they'll have to beat Notre Dame and then #6 Georgia in Athens to advance. 

#18 UCLA is the #2 seed in the Miami regional, so they'll have to beat #24 Iowa State and then the #10 Hurricanes in Miami to advance.

#19 ASU is the #2 seed in the Auburn regional, so they have to get past #23 UCF and then #15 Auburn. I like their chances best of all the 2 seeds, frankly, though while they get a more beatable top seed, that comes with a #3 seed that could absolutely beat them. 

Utah is the #2 seed in the Chapel Hill regional, but don't let that fool you. They might beat UNC Charlotte today, but the only reason they're a #2 seed is because nobody else wanted to go to Chapel Hill and get worked by the Tar Heels. 

Arizona is the #3 seed in the College Station regional, so they'll have to pull a brobdingnagian upset over #20 Florida today to even have a shot against #4 Texas A&M. 

Oregon is the #4 seed in the Stillwater regional, so they get #14 Oklahoma State tomorrow and then likely #16 Michigan if they somehow pull that upset. 

Washington State is the #4 seed in Charlottesville, and they're about to get whooped by #8 UVA.

---

USC lost 4-3 to unranked Notre Dame, which finished last season ranked #48, so that's as big of an upset as you're likely to see in college tennis.

---

Stanford's match has been pushed back to a 3:30 start time, as the courts apparently need to dry. Arkansas-FSU hasn't started yet.

[ColoradoTree]

Around the rest of the conference, here's the state of play on Kick-Off Weekend:

#11 Cal plays host to #25 Georgia Tech, Princeton, and San Diego. They'll have to get past a pretty solid Princeton team today to have a shot at advancing. 

#13 USC is the #2 seed in the Athens regional, so they'll have to beat Notre Dame and then #6 Georgia in Athens to advance. 

#18 UCLA is the #2 seed in the Miami regional, so they'll have to beat #24 Iowa State and then the #10 Hurricanes in Miami to advance.

#19 ASU is the #2 seed in the Auburn regional, so they have to get past #23 UCF and then #15 Auburn. I like their chances best of all the 2 seeds, frankly, though while they get a more beatable top seed, that comes with a #3 seed that could absolutely beat them. 

Utah is the #2 seed in the Chapel Hill regional, but don't let that fool you. They might beat UNC Charlotte today, but the only reason they're a #2 seed is because nobody else wanted to go to Chapel Hill and get worked by the Tar Heels. 

Arizona is the #3 seed in the College Station regional, so they'll have to pull a brobdingnagian upset over #20 Florida today to even have a shot against #4 Texas A&M. 

Oregon is the #4 seed in the Stillwater regional, so they get #14 Oklahoma State tomorrow and then likely #16 Michigan if they somehow pull that upset. 

Washington State is the #4 seed in Charlottesville, and they're about to get whooped by #8 UVA.

---

USC lost 4-3 to unranked Notre Dame, which finished last season ranked #48, so that's as big of an upset as you're likely to see in college tennis.

---

Stanford's match has been pushed back to a 3:30 start time, as the courts apparently need to dry. Arkansas-FSU hasn't started yet.

[martyup]

Are today's matches being postponed to tomorrow?  Looks like nothing is happening today.

[martyup]

Are today's matches being postponed to tomorrow?  Looks like nothing is happening today.

[ColoradoTree]

Are today's matches being postponed to tomorrow?  Looks like nothing is happening today.

Arkansas-Florida State is on now, and they're starting with singles play, with doubles to be played only if they need to break a 3-3 tie. I would imagine our match will do the same, just to get the match in more quickly. 

So far, each team has won three first sets, so they may need to play doubles after all. But in theory you could then have those two teams play doubles on the back courts while Stanford-K State got started with doubles on the stadium courts, or vice versa? Not sure if they'd do that, though.

[ColoradoTree]

Are today's matches being postponed to tomorrow?  Looks like nothing is happening today.

Arkansas-Florida State is on now, and they're starting with singles play, with doubles to be played only if they need to break a 3-3 tie. I would imagine our match will do the same, just to get the match in more quickly. 

So far, each team has won three first sets, so they may need to play doubles after all. But in theory you could then have those two teams play doubles on the back courts while Stanford-K State got started with doubles on the stadium courts, or vice versa? Not sure if they'd do that, though.

[ColoradoTree]

Ok, singles is about to get going, and despite it not being a legal line movement, the singles lineup is back to normal, with Ma at the top followed by Yepifanova, Blokhina, Blake, Xu, and Choy. Singles first to get the match in, so hopefully things go quickly!

[ColoradoTree]

Ok, singles is about to get going, and despite it not being a legal line movement, the singles lineup is back to normal, with Ma at the top followed by Yepifanova, Blokhina, Blake, Xu, and Choy. Singles first to get the match in, so hopefully things go quickly!

[Sakibomb25]

Ok, singles is about to get going, and despite it not being a legal line movement, the singles lineup is back to normal, with Ma at the top followed by Yepifanova, Blokhina, Blake, Xu, and Choy. Singles first to get the match in, so hopefully things go quickly!

So if it isn’t legal… what happens?

[Sakibomb25]

Ok, singles is about to get going, and despite it not being a legal line movement, the singles lineup is back to normal, with Ma at the top followed by Yepifanova, Blokhina, Blake, Xu, and Choy. Singles first to get the match in, so hopefully things go quickly!

So if it isn’t legal… what happens?

[ColoradoTree]

You can challenge the results of those individual matches, but you only have an incentive to do that in close team matches. Here, Ma’s win could’ve been invalidated and we still win the dual match easily, so KSU has no reason to challenge. And now it’s fine, since Ma could’ve moved up one line today and one line tomorrow, so having her at 1 is fine going forward. Still was weird to see it happen the other day, though.

Anyway, we won quickly on courts 1, 2, 3, and 5, with Choy one point away from clinching herself when the match was abandoned. Blake led on 4 as well, but it was just moving a little more slowly. 

Florida State tomorrow, as they needed to get the doubles point after singles for a 4-3 win.

[ColoradoTree]

You can challenge the results of those individual matches, but you only have an incentive to do that in close team matches. Here, Ma’s win could’ve been invalidated and we still win the dual match easily, so KSU has no reason to challenge. And now it’s fine, since Ma could’ve moved up one line today and one line tomorrow, so having her at 1 is fine going forward. Still was weird to see it happen the other day, though.

Anyway, we won quickly on courts 1, 2, 3, and 5, with Choy one point away from clinching herself when the match was abandoned. Blake led on 4 as well, but it was just moving a little more slowly. 

Florida State tomorrow, as they needed to get the doubles point after singles for a 4-3 win.

[martyup]

I see we beat Florida State 4-0.  On to the ITA National Team Indoors on Feb 10 - 14.

[martyup]

I see we beat Florida State 4-0.  On to the ITA National Team Indoors on Feb 10 - 14.

[ColoradoTree]

It was a shuffled lineup in both singles and doubles, but Stanford did indeed take it 4-0. 

Emma Sun joined the lineup while Valencia Xu dropped out of it, but I wouldn't read too much into Xu's absence. Perhaps she felt some tightness and Lele didn't want to risk anything, or perhaps Lele wanted to give Emma a chance to play. Anyway, Stanford took the doubles point behind wins from Blake/Blokhina on 1 and Choy/Ma on 3 (Yepifanova/Sun lost on 2). Then this is how it played out on singles:

1. Yepifanova def. #52 Arkadaniou 6-2, 7-5
2. Ma def. Saric 6-4, 6-0
3. Blake had split her first two sets and was about to start a third when the match was called. 
4. Blokhina led Lancelot 7-5, 2-2
5. Choy def. Bissett 6-2, 6-2
6. Sun trailed Amendola 2-6, 4-5. 

So, a job nicely done, and Stanford punches its ticket to Indoor Nationals. The singles lineup remains unsettled, but that's not uncommon in the early going. I still think it's madness to have Ma anywhere but at 1, but Lele is the best, so I'm sure she has her reasons. 

Next up is Pepperdine this Saturday, Feb. 4, at noon. Make it to campus if you can! Should be an absolute barnburner.

[ColoradoTree]

It was a shuffled lineup in both singles and doubles, but Stanford did indeed take it 4-0. 

Emma Sun joined the lineup while Valencia Xu dropped out of it, but I wouldn't read too much into Xu's absence. Perhaps she felt some tightness and Lele didn't want to risk anything, or perhaps Lele wanted to give Emma a chance to play. Anyway, Stanford took the doubles point behind wins from Blake/Blokhina on 1 and Choy/Ma on 3 (Yepifanova/Sun lost on 2). Then this is how it played out on singles:

1. Yepifanova def. #52 Arkadaniou 6-2, 7-5
2. Ma def. Saric 6-4, 6-0
3. Blake had split her first two sets and was about to start a third when the match was called. 
4. Blokhina led Lancelot 7-5, 2-2
5. Choy def. Bissett 6-2, 6-2
6. Sun trailed Amendola 2-6, 4-5. 

So, a job nicely done, and Stanford punches its ticket to Indoor Nationals. The singles lineup remains unsettled, but that's not uncommon in the early going. I still think it's madness to have Ma anywhere but at 1, but Lele is the best, so I'm sure she has her reasons. 

Next up is Pepperdine this Saturday, Feb. 4, at noon. Make it to campus if you can! Should be an absolute barnburner.

[Spiny_Norman]

Full results from the ITA Kickoff Weekend here - https://slam.tennis/ita/kickoff/women

UCLA upset by Iowa State. USC upset by Notre Dame. Cal upset by San Diego (a future Stanford opponent).

I hope that the weather is good for Saturday's match vs. Pepperdine. Stanford cannot afford a rainout against a top 10 opponent.

[Spiny_Norman]

Full results from the ITA Kickoff Weekend here - https://slam.tennis/ita/kickoff/women

UCLA upset by Iowa State. USC upset by Notre Dame. Cal upset by San Diego (a future Stanford opponent).

I hope that the weather is good for Saturday's match vs. Pepperdine. Stanford cannot afford a rainout against a top 10 opponent.

[ColoradoTree]

Full results from the ITA Kickoff Weekend here - https://slam.tennis/ita/kickoff/women

UCLA upset by Iowa State. USC upset by Notre Dame. Cal upset by San Diego (a future Stanford opponent).

I hope that the weather is good for Saturday's match vs. Pepperdine. Stanford cannot afford a rainout against a top 10 opponent.

The UCLA loss isn't good, but it's not awful. Iowa State went onto upset Miami 4-3, so the Cyclones were clearly rolling. It's the USC loss that's a real shocker. Cal losing is also a big disappointment, but losing to San Diego isn't really all that terrible. They're a borderline top 25 team and they have a legit #1 with Solymar Colling. That said, a 4-1 loss on your home courts to an unranked team is pretty rough. USD got the doubles point, which probably set off alarm bells, but it gave USD what it needed. If the matches all get played out, this could have been a 4-3 match (On Court 3, USD's Desiatnikov, ranked #95 in the preseason, was trying to force a third set against Cal's Wiersholm, ranked #97 in the preseason, and Court 5 was also into a third set. Cal's Alsola rolled to an easy win on Court 2, but Colling beat Giavara in a close one on Court 1, USD's Goldsmith crushed Cal's Hannah Viller Moeller in a surprise, and USD also got a straightforward win on Court 6.) 

But USC had no business losing to Notre Dame no matter whose courts they play on. Yes, it's a funny game sometimes, but an upset that big just shouldn't happen. They certainly reloaded with a heckuva recruiting class, but losing Salma Ewing to Texas A&M as a transfer might be hurting more than they'd hoped. 

Overall, no question that this weekend was bad on balance for Stanford's postseason chances, with none of the four other ranked teams in the Pac-12 qualifying for Indoor Nationals. So, Stanford's case for the top eight this postseason will depend on our ranked non-conference matchups: #1 Texas, #9 Pepperdine, whoever we get at Indoor Nationals, and San Diego, who will be ranked by the time we play them. 

Regional winners by conference:

SEC: 4
ACC: 3
Big 12: 3
Big Ten: 2
WCC: 2
Pac 12: 1
 
Not a pretty sight....

[ColoradoTree]

Full results from the ITA Kickoff Weekend here - https://slam.tennis/ita/kickoff/women

UCLA upset by Iowa State. USC upset by Notre Dame. Cal upset by San Diego (a future Stanford opponent).

I hope that the weather is good for Saturday's match vs. Pepperdine. Stanford cannot afford a rainout against a top 10 opponent.

The UCLA loss isn't good, but it's not awful. Iowa State went onto upset Miami 4-3, so the Cyclones were clearly rolling. It's the USC loss that's a real shocker. Cal losing is also a big disappointment, but losing to San Diego isn't really all that terrible. They're a borderline top 25 team and they have a legit #1 with Solymar Colling. That said, a 4-1 loss on your home courts to an unranked team is pretty rough. USD got the doubles point, which probably set off alarm bells, but it gave USD what it needed. If the matches all get played out, this could have been a 4-3 match (On Court 3, USD's Desiatnikov, ranked #95 in the preseason, was trying to force a third set against Cal's Wiersholm, ranked #97 in the preseason, and Court 5 was also into a third set. Cal's Alsola rolled to an easy win on Court 2, but Colling beat Giavara in a close one on Court 1, USD's Goldsmith crushed Cal's Hannah Viller Moeller in a surprise, and USD also got a straightforward win on Court 6.) 

But USC had no business losing to Notre Dame no matter whose courts they play on. Yes, it's a funny game sometimes, but an upset that big just shouldn't happen. They certainly reloaded with a heckuva recruiting class, but losing Salma Ewing to Texas A&M as a transfer might be hurting more than they'd hoped. 

Overall, no question that this weekend was bad on balance for Stanford's postseason chances, with none of the four other ranked teams in the Pac-12 qualifying for Indoor Nationals. So, Stanford's case for the top eight this postseason will depend on our ranked non-conference matchups: #1 Texas, #9 Pepperdine, whoever we get at Indoor Nationals, and San Diego, who will be ranked by the time we play them. 

Regional winners by conference:

SEC: 4
ACC: 3
Big 12: 3
Big Ten: 2
WCC: 2
Pac 12: 1
 
Not a pretty sight....