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RE: Women's Tennis: UCLA and USC - Spiny_Norman - 04-12-2021

(04-12-2021, 02:13 AM)Sakibomb25 Wrote:  
(04-09-2021, 06:30 PM)Spiny_Norman Wrote:  WVB did not make the NCAAs, Women's Tennis looks like they may be on the outside for NCAAs and Women's Soccer is only at .500 after going 1-3-2 in the last 6 matches. Tough year for 3 defending national championship programs.

You really aren't being fair to either volleyball or soccer team, especially if you have been paying attention.

With women's volleyball, not practicing has really hurt them. They have the talent, and you can see the damage they can do with more time together (taking No. 8 Washington to 16-14 in the fifth on the Husky's homecourt isn't an easy task). Add to the injuries they have had (McClure to start off the season, then throw in Cambell, L. Smith, Lougeay, and Kendall Kipp and that's three starters right there). It wasn't the prettiest seasons for sure, but I'm going to give them a pass because it's something completely out of their control.

The soccer team also got hit with a bunch of injuries and graduations. Not only did Stanford lose Macario (a generational talent) a year early, they also lost Sophia Smith two years ahead of schedule. Add on losing Naomi Girma, their anchor on defense and one of the best defensive players in college, it's no wonder they havent' done as well as they have. They just don't have the talent we are accustomed to. It will be interesting to see how recruiting shapes up to see if this is the new norm, or if it really was the early departures of Macario and Smith that really hurt us.

I have been paying attention and was aware of the injuries and graduations/defections and impact of Covid restrictions. That's why I said that each had experienced a tough season. Tough for the players and for the coaches. Not what they are used to.

Sakibomb25 - Sakibomb25 - 04-12-2021

(04-12-2021, 09:01 AM)Spiny_Norman Wrote:  
(04-12-2021, 02:13 AM)Sakibomb25 Wrote:  
(04-09-2021, 06:30 PM)Spiny_Norman Wrote:  WVB did not make the NCAAs, Women's Tennis looks like they may be on the outside for NCAAs and Women's Soccer is only at .500 after going 1-3-2 in the last 6 matches. Tough year for 3 defending national championship programs.

You really aren't being fair to either volleyball or soccer team, especially if you have been paying attention.

With women's volleyball, not practicing has really hurt them. They have the talent, and you can see the damage they can do with more time together (taking No. 8 Washington to 16-14 in the fifth on the Husky's homecourt isn't an easy task). Add to the injuries they have had (McClure to start off the season, then throw in Cambell, L. Smith, Lougeay, and Kendall Kipp and that's three starters right there). It wasn't the prettiest seasons for sure, but I'm going to give them a pass because it's something completely out of their control.

The soccer team also got hit with a bunch of injuries and graduations. Not only did Stanford lose Macario (a generational talent) a year early, they also lost Sophia Smith two years ahead of schedule. Add on losing Naomi Girma, their anchor on defense and one of the best defensive players in college, it's no wonder they havent' done as well as they have. They just don't have the talent we are accustomed to. It will be interesting to see how recruiting shapes up to see if this is the new norm, or if it really was the early departures of Macario and Smith that really hurt us.

I have been paying attention and was aware of the injuries and graduations/defections and impact of Covid restrictions. That's why I said that each had experienced a tough season. Tough for the players and for the coaches. Not what they are used to.

Apologies for the tone - I misread your post. Just tired of people bagging on these teams and knowing what the full story is.

RE: Women's Tennis: UCLA and USC - ColoradoTree - 04-12-2021

If we'd had a full fall season and the usual tournament play, I think Stanford more or less lives up to its #4 preseason ranking, finishing second to UCLA in the Pac-12 and losing in the NCAA quarters or semis. No team improves over the long haul like Stanford does, and Lele is an absolute master at having her team playing its best tennis when NCAAs roll around. But this year just doesn't allow for that in-year improvement to any similar degree. It stinks. But that said, here's the overly optimistic view of Stanford's chances:

* I figured Stanford would be second in the Pac-12 and here we are, tied for second with just a home date with Cal standing in between us and the conference 2 seed. We suffered a shocking upset on the road to Oregon, but other than that, our two losses are to other teams in that upper echelon of teams nationwide. That's not so bad! It wreaks havoc on our ranking because we just don't have enough good wins to climb as high as other teams, but a fluky upset road loss plus two losses to top teams isn't inconsistent with a team capable of a deep postseason run. 

* We lost 7-0 to UCLA and that's a bummer. We were shorthanded, sure, but still. But does that mean we can't beat UCLA? In 2019, we lost 4-3 to Georgia at National Indoors and turned around and beat them 4-0 in the national title match. In 2018, we lost 7-0 to Vanderbilt in Nashville before beating them 4-3 in the national title match. So let's go line by line with UCLA, assuming we'll need four points from singles:

1. Gordon didn't play her best against Forbes the first time around, but she's absolutely good enough to beat her, especially on a neutral court.
2. Hart got Blake this time, but think of last year. The first matchup, Hart beat Blake 6-2, 6-1. The second time? Blake won 6-0, 6-4. Blake has the talent to take Hart out, and convincingly so. 
3. Arbuthnott lost 7-5 in her third set against Bolton. Who says she can't flip that result next time?
4. Vivian Wolff crushed Janice Shin. She won't crush Ana Geller.
5. Sara Choy had been through the ringer in her last couple of matches before she fell short and lost not just the second set but a third-set match tiebreaker to Sasha Vagramov. If Choy's legs are fresher, I like her chances.
6. Goulak wiped the floor with Higuchi. So perhaps we throw a different opponent at her this time around. Goulak is a big hitter and a poor matchup for Higuchi, but what if Madurawe or Houghton is there instead? 

Anyway, sure, UCLA is better than we are right now, but are they 7-0 better? Reader, they are not. And we are absolutely capable of getting four points against UCLA. 

(And to be clear, we'll absolutely make NCAAs. Just a question of whether or not we host the first/second rounds.)

RE: Women's Tennis: UCLA and USC - ColoradoTree - 04-12-2021

And consider what this team might be in store for next year, with the two top recruits in the country (Connie Ma and Alexandra Yepifanova) already signed, with another top ten recruit (Valencia Xu) verbally committed, presumably just waiting on a scholarship to open up (or for Ma/Yepifanova to forego college tennis). 

Arbuthnott and Higuchi exhaust their extra year of eligibility this year, so they won't be back. Gordon and Shin could have an extra year if they want it, but they're seniors this year and are presumably planning for their lives after undergrad. (I think those extra years are "use it or lose it," so while I don't think that Gordon or Shin foregoing that fifth year would open up a scholarship, I don't know for sure that it wouldn't.) If they come back, though, here's the roster math:

Fifth years (2): Michaela Gordon, Janice Shin
Seniors (2): Sara Choy, Niluka Madurawe
Juniors (2): Angelica Blake, Nicole Mossmer
Sophomores (2): Ana Geller, India Houghton
Freshmen (2/3): Connie Ma, Alexandra Yepifanova (and maybe Valencia Xu)

The roster math doesn't work right now with Xu, but it's nice to know she hasn't already signed somewhere else, and she's seemingly still intent on coming. Maybe she'll do what either Choy or Madurawe did their freshmen years and pay her own way freshman year and jump on scholarship the following year. (That roster math was never made clear, but on paper, it sure looked like we were one over.) 

Next year, Jada Hart will finally leave UCLA, and Vivian Wolff will join her (maybe Annette Goulak and Abi Altick, too). That golden class at UNC will finally be gone, as Sara Daavettila, Alexa Graham, Alle Sanford, and Makenna Jones will leave. UCLA will still be super tough, as Bolton and Forbes are still young, and they keep adding blue chips like we do, but UNC's time as the favorite will come to an end, at least. (They've still got oodles of talent, too.) I like our chances next year, though whether Gordon comes back for another year impacts that analysis.

RE: Women's Tennis: UCLA and USC - BobK - 04-13-2021

https://gostanford.com/index.aspx

The Srs. Whatever it means for the extra year