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Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - ColoradoTree - 01-13-2022

The #17 Stanford women's tennis team kicks off its spring season this weekend with two split-squad tournaments this Friday through Sunday, the Freeman Memorial in Las Vegas and the Torero Tennis Classic in San Diego. No team matches, but these individual tournaments should be a nice opportunity to get some matches in before the team schedule kicks off. Normally when we do these sorts of split-squad tournaments in January, our best players go to the Freeman while the B squad heads to whatever other tournament is on offer, but this year, it's a more even split of talent across the two tournaments. 

Connie Ma, Angelica Blake, Ana Geller, and Niluka Madurawe will head to Las Vegas, while Alexandra Yepifanova, Valencia Xu, Sara Choy, and India Houghton will go to San Diego. The official Stanford website's "preview" (one of those relatively useless "gameday" pages) doesn't mention Gordon or Mossmer going, but USD's website shows Mossmer as one of the Stanford players attending. Without having the draws available publicly yet (at least as far as I can tell), I can't say for sure whether she'll be there or who the Stanford players will be up against. But expected to be in San Diego are nine ranked players other than Yepifanova--we'll see players from Florida State, Kansas, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, and, of course, USD. USD's tournament will have nine separate singles round robin draws and four round robin doubles draws, so that's a lot of potential champions!

Meanwhile, also heading to Las Vegas will be #2 Pepperdine, #5 UCLA, #20 Florida, and Oklahoma State in addition to host UNLV.  Two singles flights there and just one in doubles, so it'll look more like a traditional tournament. 

Once I track down some draws, I'll update this to show when we should see some matches.

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - Lorcan - 01-14-2022

I've been trying to track down draws -- but seems fairly limited so far for both tournaments. 

Valencia Xu appears to be playing against Elizabeth Goldsmith (San Diego) right now at this link:

https://web.track.tennis/events/watch?key=602.MBr441E25q8#/

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - Lorcan - 01-14-2022

Alright, I've finally found some results per UNLV about the Freeman Memorial. Definitely some surprising results.

1st Round:
(1) #9 Connie Ma (STAN) def. Dariya Detkovskaya (OSU) 6-3, 6-1
Ana Geller (STAN) def. (3) #30 Victoria Flores (PEPP) 6-7, 6-2, 6-2
Elysia Bolton (UCLA) def. Angelica Blake (STAN) 6-2, 6-2

2nd Round: 

Nikki Redelijk (PEPP) def. (1) #9 Connie Ma (STAN) 6-1, 7-5
Zita Kovacs (UNLV) def. Ana Geller (STAN) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

Doubles First Round: 

(3) #38 Connie Ma/Angelica Blake (STAN) def. Oona Orpana/Sofia Rojas (OSU) 6-3
(4) #46 Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee (UF) def. Ana Geller/Niluka Madurawe (STAN) 7-5

Certainly a tough draw for Angelica Blake to get Elysia Bolton (unseeded!) in the first round. Ana Geller got a good first round win, but couldn't follow it up with a win over who is presumably UNLV's 1st Singles. It's disappointing to see Connie Ma out so early as well -- just the doubles left at Freeman for Stanford. 

At San Diego's tournament, it seemed to be a similar story of disappointment. 

From what I can find cobbled on individual teams websites the following appears to have happened: 

#46 Margarita Skriabina (Texas Tech) def. #21. Alexandra Yepifanova 6-4 6-2. 
Petra Hule (#22 in singles) and Lesedi Jacobs (FSU) def. Valencia Xu and Alexandra Yepitanova 6-3

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - Lorcan - 01-16-2022

There were some more results from yesterday -- I haven't been able to watch thus far -- but wanted to provide people with an update since I went sleuthing anyway.

Added Consolation Matches: 
#30 Victoria Flores (PEPP) def. #9 Connie Ma (STAN) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
Angelica Blake (STAN) def. #87 Emma Shelton (UF) 6-2, 6-0

Doubles Quarterfinal
(3) #38 Connie Ma/Angelica Blake (STAN) def. Molly Helgesson/Zita Kovacs (UNLV) 6-2

I wasn't able to find anything about the San Diego portion of the schedule. 

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - martyup - 01-16-2022

Bad weekend for Ma.  Bummer.

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - BobK - 01-17-2022

Results

https://gostanford.com/news/2022/1/17/womens-tennis-final-spring-tune-up.aspx

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - ColoradoTree - 01-18-2022

Overall, I'm pretty encouraged by the weekend's results, Ma's two losses notwithstanding.

1. Ma
2. Yepifanova
3. Gordon
4. Blake
5. Xu
6. Geller
LOOKING AHEAD

Anyway, we'll get our first look at whatever lineup will be this Thursday at 2:00pm vs. UC Davis. That match is at Taube, so I believe folks can attend (masked and distanced). Then that's it for a week until ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Charlottesville where Stanford will play Arkansas. The Razorbacks are sort of a UW/WSU-level team, usually ranked in the 40s (sometimes higher), and while they don't always make the NCAA tournament, they're usually at least on the bubble. Assuming we get past them, it'll be host UVA, who boast one of the best 1-2 punches in college tennis. That one should be a gem of a match, and I feel reasonably optimistic given our depth.

That's part of why I'm relatively pleased with the weekend's results. If we're going to have success this year, it'll be because we dominate at the 3-6 singles lines. If you're seeing Blake, Xu, and Geller playing well, then the pieces are coming together for us to have some success. Heck, even if Gordon doesn't play yet, pencil in Choy at #6. She has pushed great players, ranked or otherwise, to third sets and won some--she should feast on #6 singles players.

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - Spiny_Norman - 01-22-2022

Gordon no longer listed on the Stanford roster on gostanford.com.

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - martyup - 01-23-2022

I see we swept Davis 7-0.

https://gostanford.com/news/2022/1/20/womens-tennis-starting-with-a-sweep.aspx

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - ColoradoTree - 01-25-2022

Davis went as expected (if it were anything other than 7-0, I'd be sounding the alarm), but the big takeaways for me were the lineup order:

1. Ma
2. Yepifanova
3. Blake
4. Xu
5. Houghton
6. Choy

When was the last time we saw freshmen at 1, 2, and 4?? Even the great ones like Gibbs often start further back in the lineup. (Of course, one exception to that was Michaela Gordon--more on her in a minute.) This is a team that is built for the future, for sure, but the future might be starting now. 

The 4-6 lines are where the interest really is for me. We knew it would probably be Ma-Yepifanova at the top, though we weren't sure where Gordon would slot in. Xu at 4 isn't a total shock, but where is Geller? And Houghton over Choy is curious, too. Coming out of high school, I expected Houghton to be a top half of the lineup type of player, and not only did that not materialize last year but she was usually out of the lineup altogether. So, if this suggests that she's taken a big jump in terms of her development and game, then that's terrific news. Houghton had been ranked as the #1 recruit in her class at times, and if she's back on that trajectory, that's great news. Coming in, I expected her to contribute more than Geller. Anyway, maybe Geller tweaked something in her second-round loss at the Freeman, so this could simply be giving rest, and matches like UC Davis are where we tend to sit someone out if they're not quite 100%. But with the ITA's one-line rule, the fact that Lele is saying she thinks Blake is better than Xu, and Xu is better than Houghton, and Houghton is better than Choy--that's all interesting news for us. That can change, of course. But you can't move a player more than one line in between matches (the rule is designed to avoid stacking a lineup for a match where you put a sacrificial lamb at #1 and then have a better chance at 2-6), so this is likely Lele's view of the team right now. The exception to that rule is injuries, as you can take a player out of the lineup entirely and then slot them back in roughly where they were before. So, we could see Geller as high as 3 against Arkansas, pushing everyone else down a line. I highly doubt Lele thinks Geller is below Choy in the pecking order, so my suspicion is that we'll see her back in the middle of the singles lineup soon. 

OK, so back to Gordon. I have no more information than you do, but I will note that she was originally off the roster in the summer, she was added back on (with Shin being removed at the same time) before the fall season started, but she didn't participate in any fall tournaments and her only participation was the Hawaii trip, where she played one singles match. She's in grad school at Stanford, I understand, and I don't believe she played any matches this past summer. Being ranked in the ITA preseason rankings suggests that as of late summer/early fall, she intended to come back. Anyway, there's a story here to be told, so I'd love to hear what happened from Lele, but I suspect we're not going to get the full story unless Michaela chooses to tell us, maybe in a piece for the official website. Perhaps this was a way to get fall semester paid for? Perhaps it was to offer a little mentoring in the fall to the freshmen? Maybe she never really intended to come back, but Lele tried to persuade her as insurance in case one didn't materialize, but when everyone showed up and was playing great, she was surplus to requirements? Maybe she'd been dealing with a nagging injury, hoped the time off would get it better, and it just didn't? The fact that Gordon didn't play last summer suggested to me she was certainly not ramping up for an attempt at a pro career. Maybe she's done, and if so, she's been a hell of a contributor for us. But the career of a Stanford great like Gordon should go out with a bang, not a whimper.

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - ColoradoTree - 01-25-2022

Thinking about the lineup implications of Gordon bowing out, and while it obviously hurts our chances somewhat, it's not fatal to the team's chances this year. Bottom line, even if she were healthy, I probably put Ma ahead of her--Ma is just that good. And maybe Yepifanova, too. So, we're really arguing about the differences between the following lineups:

1. Ma
2. Yepifanova
3. Gordon
4. Blake
5. Xu
6. Geller

-OR- 

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

We're far stronger at 1-2 than we were last year. Yepifanova is going to have a significantly higher winning percentage at that line than Arbuthnott did, and as good as she was, Gordon was far from an automatic win. Gordon went 10-7 at the top line last year, and I'd be willing to bet a modest sum that Ma beats that percentage. Gordon at 3, though? That's darn near automatic, except for when we play teams like UNC that have a group of 3-4 players that all could plausibly play 1 for them. Blake at 4 is similarly automatic, Xu would clean up at 5, and Geller would make a mockery of 6. That's the kind of depth that wins you national championships. 

But let's look at what we do have. Blake at 3 is still pretty deadly (she lost one match at #3 last year, to Pachkaleva of Pepperdine, who is currently ranked #18 in the country after a stellar fall season). At #2 last year, she beat now-#1-in-the-whole-country Eryn Cayetano of USC in three sets, lost to UCLA super-senior Jada Hart, and took top 10 player Jessica Failla of Pepperdine to three sets at NCAAs. I would certainly enjoy the luxury of playing her at #4, but even at #3 she'll be heavily favored against most of her opponents. Xu at 4 will be favored against most, and if she plays like she can, she could become just as automatic at 4 as I expect Blake will be at 3. Geller at 5 should be near-automatic if that's where she lands. And whether it's Choy or Houghton at 6, I would frankly expect them to win every single time out. 

We're still deeper than nearly anyone in the country. Maybe we're closer to "incredibly impressive depth" on the dial now, when we would've been at "ludicrous depth" before, but it's still going to be hard for most teams to match up with us. 

FYI, #9 Cal knocked off #2 Pepperdine 4-3 in Malibu over the weekend. Pachkaleva didn't play for Pepperdine (unclear why), but after Pepperdine won doubles handily, here's how singles went:

1. #31 Fukuda (Pepp) def. Giavara (Cal) 6-1, 5-7, 7-5
2. #10 Zaar (Pepp) def. #108 Ivanov (Cal) 6-2, 6-2
3. #110 Alsola (Cal) def. #30 Flores (Pepp) 6-3, 7-6
4. Rosenqvist (Cal) def. #93 Tjen (Pepp) 6-2, 6-3 (surprisingly poor showing from the preseason #3 player in the country in Tjen)
5. Wiersholm (Cal) def. Redelijk (Pepp) 7-5, 7-5 (Wiersholm is Cal's other freshman besides Alsola)
6. Viller Moeller (Cal) def. #36 Broadus (Pepp) 6-1, 6-3 (poor result from Savannah Broadus there)

The Pac-12 race this year will be an absolute slobberknocker. Four teams that look like they make a deep run--us, Cal, USC, and UCLA. With Pepperdine, that's five California teams that no one will be eager to play at NCAAs.

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - DC 86 - 01-25-2022

Thanks CT, always appreciate your in-depth analysis of this team.

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - TheFarm07 - 01-25-2022

(01-25-2022, 04:02 PM)DC 86 Wrote:  Thanks CT, always appreciate your in-depth analysis of this team.

Second that. I was going to ask you about an updated analysis and you beat me to the punch; thank you!

It sounds like even though we have a really deep and talented team, we are not the only ones and it will be a tough climb to reclaim a national title.

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - martyup - 01-26-2022

I like the two letter names.  It makes typing tennis posts much quicker.  I say we adopt it for the entire team.  :•)


1. Ma
2. Ye
3. Ba
4. Xu
5. Ge
6. Hu/Cy

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - ColoradoTree - 01-26-2022

(01-25-2022, 04:07 PM)TheFarm07 Wrote:  
(01-25-2022, 04:02 PM)DC 86 Wrote:  Thanks CT, always appreciate your in-depth analysis of this team.

Second that. I was going to ask you about an updated analysis and you beat me to the punch; thank you!

It sounds like even though we have a really deep and talented team, we are not the only ones and it will be a tough climb to reclaim a national title.

That's pretty much it. Pepperdine, Texas, UNC, Georgia, UCLA, Cal, USC, Duke, UVA.... this feels like a really top-heavy year in women's college tennis. Stanford looks like a top 5 team to me, but then again, so do several other teams. 

Latest ITA rankings just dropped, and here's the top 25:

1. Texas
2. UNC
3. Georgia
T4. Cal
T4. UCLA
6. Duke
7. Pepperdine
8. N.C. State
9. UVA
10. UCF
11. Ohio State
12. Georgia Tech
13. Texas A&M
14. Michigan
15. USC (up 2 spots)
16. Stanford (steady)
17. Oklahoma
18. Florida State
19. Florida
20. Tennessee
21. LSU
22. Baylor
23. Miami
24. Oklahoma State
25. Auburn

USC's jump appears to be a belief by the committee that beating Loyola Marymount and USF 4-0 and St. Mary's 4-2 is better than a 7-0 win over UC Davis. Which is fine, I guess? But that's silly. St. Mary's is indeed a better win than we have, but not that much better, and they lost two matches, at 1 and 3! (No Cayetano or Cheong in the lineup for that match, though Cayetano played #1 in the Loyola/USF matches.) If Cheong doesn't play, that knocks USC back a step in my estimation--they don't quite have the same depth we do.
(01-26-2022, 09:46 AM)martyup Wrote:  I like the two letter names.  It makes typing tennis posts much quicker.  I say we adopt it for the entire team.  :•)


1. Ma
2. Ye
3. Ba
4. Xu
5. Ge
6. Hu/Cy

Like the periodic table of tennis!

RE: Women's Tennis: January Tournaments - Sakibomb25 - 01-26-2022

(01-25-2022, 02:55 PM)ColoradoTree Wrote:  Davis went as expected (if it were anything other than 7-0, I'd be sounding the alarm), but the big takeaways for me were the lineup order:

1. Ma
2. Yepifanova
3. Blake
4. Xu
5. Houghton
6. Choy

When was the last time we saw freshmen at 1, 2, and 4?? Even the great ones like Gibbs often start further back in the lineup. (Of course, one exception to that was Michaela Gordon--more on her in a minute.) This is a team that is built for the future, for sure, but the future might be starting now. 

The 4-6 lines are where the interest really is for me. We knew it would probably be Ma-Yepifanova at the top, though we weren't sure where Gordon would slot in. Xu at 4 isn't a total shock, but where is Geller? And Houghton over Choy is curious, too. Coming out of high school, I expected Houghton to be a top half of the lineup type of player, and not only did that not materialize last year but she was usually out of the lineup altogether. So, if this suggests that she's taken a big jump in terms of her development and game, then that's terrific news. Houghton had been ranked as the #1 recruit in her class at times, and if she's back on that trajectory, that's great news. Coming in, I expected her to contribute more than Geller. Anyway, maybe Geller tweaked something in her second-round loss at the Freeman, so this could simply be giving rest, and matches like UC Davis are where we tend to sit someone out if they're not quite 100%. But with the ITA's one-line rule, the fact that Lele is saying she thinks Blake is better than Xu, and Xu is better than Houghton, and Houghton is better than Choy--that's all interesting news for us. That can change, of course. But you can't move a player more than one line in between matches (the rule is designed to avoid stacking a lineup for a match where you put a sacrificial lamb at #1 and then have a better chance at 2-6), so this is likely Lele's view of the team right now. The exception to that rule is injuries, as you can take a player out of the lineup entirely and then slot them back in roughly where they were before. So, we could see Geller as high as 3 against Arkansas, pushing everyone else down a line. I highly doubt Lele thinks Geller is below Choy in the pecking order, so my suspicion is that we'll see her back in the middle of the singles lineup soon. 

OK, so back to Gordon. I have no more information than you do, but I will note that she was originally off the roster in the summer, she was added back on (with Shin being removed at the same time) before the fall season started, but she didn't participate in any fall tournaments and her only participation was the Hawaii trip, where she played one singles match. She's in grad school at Stanford, I understand, and I don't believe she played any matches this past summer. Being ranked in the ITA preseason rankings suggests that as of late summer/early fall, she intended to come back. Anyway, there's a story here to be told, so I'd love to hear what happened from Lele, but I suspect we're not going to get the full story unless Michaela chooses to tell us, maybe in a piece for the official website. Perhaps this was a way to get fall semester paid for? Perhaps it was to offer a little mentoring in the fall to the freshmen? Maybe she never really intended to come back, but Lele tried to persuade her as insurance in case one didn't materialize, but when everyone showed up and was playing great, she was surplus to requirements? Maybe she'd been dealing with a nagging injury, hoped the time off would get it better, and it just didn't? The fact that Gordon didn't play last summer suggested to me she was certainly not ramping up for an attempt at a pro career. Maybe she's done, and if so, she's been a hell of a contributor for us. But the career of a Stanford great like Gordon should go out with a bang, not a whimper.

Speaking of mega impact classes... it got me thinking of the Class of 2002 - Marissa Irvin, Keiko Tokuda, Gabriela Lastra and Lauren Kalvaria. Irvin played the No. 1 spot her first two years before turning pro and the remaining classmates were brobdingnagian contributors all four years on The Farm. They class won three national titles at Stanford - pretty amazing group.