10-21-2017, 04:20 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-22-2017, 06:19 AM by ColoradoTree.)
And its an all-Stanford semifinal on the bottom half as well, this one all-freshman to boot, as Janice Shin prevails in a third-set tiebreaker over ×ÉÉs Maria Smith. Shell face her classmate Michaela Gordon tomorrow for a place in the finals and the automatic ticket to ITA Fall Nationals that goes with it!
Both doubles teams advanced as well, but face tough roads in the semis: Lord/Lampl play top-seeded Popovic/Hauger from ×ÉÉ while Arbuthnott/Gordon get Oregons top duo of Sangwan/Tobita. Only the champion gets the automatic spot at Fall Nationals, but the runner-up is eligible for an at-large berth.
On the singles front, Melissa Lord is almost certainly through to the ITA Fall Nationals, so if the goal were to maximize the number of Stanford entrants to that tournament, an Arbuthnott-Gordon final would give us three. But for Stanfords success this season, I dont want Lord to be the kind of player who struggles to beat Arbuthnott. And selfishly and from a tennis standpoint, I just really want to see Lord play Gordon. That could be one terrific display.
Both doubles teams advanced as well, but face tough roads in the semis: Lord/Lampl play top-seeded Popovic/Hauger from ×ÉÉ while Arbuthnott/Gordon get Oregons top duo of Sangwan/Tobita. Only the champion gets the automatic spot at Fall Nationals, but the runner-up is eligible for an at-large berth.
On the singles front, Melissa Lord is almost certainly through to the ITA Fall Nationals, so if the goal were to maximize the number of Stanford entrants to that tournament, an Arbuthnott-Gordon final would give us three. But for Stanfords success this season, I dont want Lord to be the kind of player who struggles to beat Arbuthnott. And selfishly and from a tennis standpoint, I just really want to see Lord play Gordon. That could be one terrific display.