10-18-2018, 03:39 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-18-2018, 08:29 PM by ColoradoTree.)
This Friday, the ITA Northwest Regionals kick off from Stanford, with the singles finalists and the doubles champions claiming a spot at ITA Fall Nationals in November. Before we delve into the draws, here are some things to remember:
* In doubles, the Stanford teams of Emily Arbuthnott/Michaela Gordon and Caroline Lampl/Kimberly Yee have already qualified for Fall Nationals through their performances at the ITA All-American Championships a couple of weeks ago (Arbuthnott/Gordon as consolation champions, Lampl/Yee as main draw runners-up), so they're not participating here (though Yee is partnering with Niluka Madurawe). Why, you ask? If they don't play, then perhaps a third Stanford team can get to Fall Nationals, but if they play and win, then that just opens up another at-large spot that wouldn't go to a Stanford team.
* In singles, no one has yet qualified for Fall Nationals, but three Stanford players have a great shot. The rankings of Gordon, Lord, and Arbuthnott mean they might make it even without making the finals of Northwest Regionals, as there are 20 at-large selections to that tournament, and they're selected from a list in order after averaging preseason ranking, UTR, and the unpublished ITA ranking as of October 24. But in order to even be eligible, you need to have reached the Round of 16 at ITA All-Americans (which Lord and Arbuthnott both did) or the regional quarterfinals. Thus, Lord and Arbuthnott are likely already good to go, while Gordon needs to reach the quarterfinals at Northwest Regionals to become eligible for an at-large pick. Remember that most of the top 20 either has already qualified through how they did at All-Americans or will qualify through the regional route, so those three would be near the top of the at-large list and comfortably in the top 20. Lord qualified for an at-large pick last year, but didn't go, presumably due to injury.
* At this tournament last year, Gordon beat Arbuthnott in the singles final, which sent both of them to Fall Nationals. Gordon/Arbuthnott didn't qualify for Fall Nationals in doubles, but because they were both already there for the singles tournament and there was a withdrawal, they got slotted in and then won the whole darn thing.
* Northwest Regionals was an all-Stanford set of semifinals last year, with Arbuthnott beating Lord (7-6, 6-4) and Gordon beating Shin (6-1, 6-0). That'll be tough to top this year, with top 50 players from Washington (#9 Stacey Fung and #25 Vanessa Wong), Cal (#28 Julia Rosenqvist, #29 Anna Bright, and #34 Olivia Hauger), and Oregon (#42 Shweta Sangwan). We dodged two bullets, as much-improved Sophie Whittle from Gonzaga (the ITA All-Americans Champion) is only entering the doubles tournament, as she's already qualified for Fall Nationals in singles, and Washington State decided not to show up, so #17 Michaela Bayerlova isn't in the draw.
Onto the draws!
Singles
On the singles side, here are the seeds, with ranking in parentheses:
(1) Stacey Fung, UW (#9)
(2) Michaela Gordon (#10)
(3) Melissa Lord (#13)
(4) Emily Arbuthnott (#24)
(5) Vanessa Wong, UW (#25)
(6) Julia Rosenqvist, Cal (#28)
(7) Anna Bright, Cal (#29)
(8) Olivia Hauger, Cal (#34)
(9-16) Shweta Sangwan, Oregon (#42)
(9-16) Caroline Lampl (#47)
(9-16) Janice Shin (#56)
(9-16) Emma Higuchi (#63)
(9-16) Maria Kozyreva, St. Mary's (#85)
(9-16) Maddie Pothoff, Santa Clara (#110)
(9-16) Daniela Nasser, Oregon (NR)
(9-16) Niluka Madurawe (NR, freshman)
Cool that Madurawe grabbed a seed there, and that St. Mary's Invitational title obviously loomed large there. The other freshman, Sara Choy, is unseeded, as are the walk-ons. (This tournament is great because the entire Stanford roster participates, scholarship or not.)
Top quarter:
UW's Fung is the #1 seed, which is fair, since she's ranked higher than Gordon (by a single spot, but still). The Stanford players in her quarter of the draw are Lampl and Choy. Lampl would run into Fung in the Round of 16, absent an upset, and Choy will need to knock off Oregon's Nasser (maybe) and then Cal's Rosenqvist (very doubtful) to make a deep run.
Second quarter:
Lord is the top seed here, and it all sets up nicely for her to go through to the semifinal here. #85 Kozyreva of St. Mary's is the seed she'll face in the Round of 16, and the quarterfinal matchup would be either Higuchi or Cal's Hauger, both players Lord should solidly beat when healthy.
Third quarter:
Arbuthnott and Wong are the top seeds, but they don't have much of a history if they meet in the quarterfinal. Last year, Lord lost a tough three-setter to Wong when we played UW in Seattle, but quickly exorcised those demons a couple weeks later at the Pac-12 tournament, 6-1, 6-1. Wong would have to get past Janice Shin in the Round of 16, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she competes with Wong.
Fourth quarter:
This is Gordon's quarter, and the other high seed she'll face is 7th-seeded Anna Bright of Cal. Bright has done well, but Gordon is the better player, and I'd expect Gordon to get through (she beat Bright 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals of last year's Northwest Regionals, for what it's worth). But Bright will have to get past Stanford's Madurawe first, and that match is one I'm looking forward to seeing. And Gordon would have to get past Oregon's Sangwan first, who's no easy out. (Lord needed three tough sets to beat her in last year's Northwest Regionals.)
Doubles
Less Stanford action because we've already qualified two teams for Fall Nationals, but Madurawe-Yee have the 4 seed, and Lord-Shin have the 3 seed. Assuming they start to advance, I'll pay a little more attention, but (1) Rosenqvist/Bright (Cal) will be tough, as will (2) Sangwan/Eshet of Oregon (Sangwan won the title last year with the since-graduated Alyssa Tobita).
Can I watch?
For the first time this year, you can! Live scoring and video is available at the usual site, http://streamingtennis.com/Cardinal/?DB_OEM_ID=30600. If you're in town, head on by Taube and check it out!
Tomorrow’s action really should be routine, though, and you should expect every Stanford scholarship athlete to roll convincingly. Lampl kicks things off at 10:15, Sara Choy is up at 11:30, Kimberly Yee is at 12:00, Janice Shin is at 1:00, Emily Arbuthnott is at 2:00, and Madurawe is at 2:30. Gordon and Lord have first-round byes, and Higuchi is through to the second round because her opponent withdrew due to injury. Second round action follows later in the afternoon, with Gordon and Lampl up at 3:30 with the others to follow.
In doubles, Higuchi and Choy are up at 9:15, but the other doubles teams don’t play until Saturday.
This is a fun tournament. Enjoy, folks.
* In doubles, the Stanford teams of Emily Arbuthnott/Michaela Gordon and Caroline Lampl/Kimberly Yee have already qualified for Fall Nationals through their performances at the ITA All-American Championships a couple of weeks ago (Arbuthnott/Gordon as consolation champions, Lampl/Yee as main draw runners-up), so they're not participating here (though Yee is partnering with Niluka Madurawe). Why, you ask? If they don't play, then perhaps a third Stanford team can get to Fall Nationals, but if they play and win, then that just opens up another at-large spot that wouldn't go to a Stanford team.
* In singles, no one has yet qualified for Fall Nationals, but three Stanford players have a great shot. The rankings of Gordon, Lord, and Arbuthnott mean they might make it even without making the finals of Northwest Regionals, as there are 20 at-large selections to that tournament, and they're selected from a list in order after averaging preseason ranking, UTR, and the unpublished ITA ranking as of October 24. But in order to even be eligible, you need to have reached the Round of 16 at ITA All-Americans (which Lord and Arbuthnott both did) or the regional quarterfinals. Thus, Lord and Arbuthnott are likely already good to go, while Gordon needs to reach the quarterfinals at Northwest Regionals to become eligible for an at-large pick. Remember that most of the top 20 either has already qualified through how they did at All-Americans or will qualify through the regional route, so those three would be near the top of the at-large list and comfortably in the top 20. Lord qualified for an at-large pick last year, but didn't go, presumably due to injury.
* At this tournament last year, Gordon beat Arbuthnott in the singles final, which sent both of them to Fall Nationals. Gordon/Arbuthnott didn't qualify for Fall Nationals in doubles, but because they were both already there for the singles tournament and there was a withdrawal, they got slotted in and then won the whole darn thing.
* Northwest Regionals was an all-Stanford set of semifinals last year, with Arbuthnott beating Lord (7-6, 6-4) and Gordon beating Shin (6-1, 6-0). That'll be tough to top this year, with top 50 players from Washington (#9 Stacey Fung and #25 Vanessa Wong), Cal (#28 Julia Rosenqvist, #29 Anna Bright, and #34 Olivia Hauger), and Oregon (#42 Shweta Sangwan). We dodged two bullets, as much-improved Sophie Whittle from Gonzaga (the ITA All-Americans Champion) is only entering the doubles tournament, as she's already qualified for Fall Nationals in singles, and Washington State decided not to show up, so #17 Michaela Bayerlova isn't in the draw.
Onto the draws!
Singles
On the singles side, here are the seeds, with ranking in parentheses:
(1) Stacey Fung, UW (#9)
(2) Michaela Gordon (#10)
(3) Melissa Lord (#13)
(4) Emily Arbuthnott (#24)
(5) Vanessa Wong, UW (#25)
(6) Julia Rosenqvist, Cal (#28)
(7) Anna Bright, Cal (#29)
(8) Olivia Hauger, Cal (#34)
(9-16) Shweta Sangwan, Oregon (#42)
(9-16) Caroline Lampl (#47)
(9-16) Janice Shin (#56)
(9-16) Emma Higuchi (#63)
(9-16) Maria Kozyreva, St. Mary's (#85)
(9-16) Maddie Pothoff, Santa Clara (#110)
(9-16) Daniela Nasser, Oregon (NR)
(9-16) Niluka Madurawe (NR, freshman)
Cool that Madurawe grabbed a seed there, and that St. Mary's Invitational title obviously loomed large there. The other freshman, Sara Choy, is unseeded, as are the walk-ons. (This tournament is great because the entire Stanford roster participates, scholarship or not.)
Top quarter:
UW's Fung is the #1 seed, which is fair, since she's ranked higher than Gordon (by a single spot, but still). The Stanford players in her quarter of the draw are Lampl and Choy. Lampl would run into Fung in the Round of 16, absent an upset, and Choy will need to knock off Oregon's Nasser (maybe) and then Cal's Rosenqvist (very doubtful) to make a deep run.
Second quarter:
Lord is the top seed here, and it all sets up nicely for her to go through to the semifinal here. #85 Kozyreva of St. Mary's is the seed she'll face in the Round of 16, and the quarterfinal matchup would be either Higuchi or Cal's Hauger, both players Lord should solidly beat when healthy.
Third quarter:
Arbuthnott and Wong are the top seeds, but they don't have much of a history if they meet in the quarterfinal. Last year, Lord lost a tough three-setter to Wong when we played UW in Seattle, but quickly exorcised those demons a couple weeks later at the Pac-12 tournament, 6-1, 6-1. Wong would have to get past Janice Shin in the Round of 16, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she competes with Wong.
Fourth quarter:
This is Gordon's quarter, and the other high seed she'll face is 7th-seeded Anna Bright of Cal. Bright has done well, but Gordon is the better player, and I'd expect Gordon to get through (she beat Bright 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals of last year's Northwest Regionals, for what it's worth). But Bright will have to get past Stanford's Madurawe first, and that match is one I'm looking forward to seeing. And Gordon would have to get past Oregon's Sangwan first, who's no easy out. (Lord needed three tough sets to beat her in last year's Northwest Regionals.)
Doubles
Less Stanford action because we've already qualified two teams for Fall Nationals, but Madurawe-Yee have the 4 seed, and Lord-Shin have the 3 seed. Assuming they start to advance, I'll pay a little more attention, but (1) Rosenqvist/Bright (Cal) will be tough, as will (2) Sangwan/Eshet of Oregon (Sangwan won the title last year with the since-graduated Alyssa Tobita).
Can I watch?
For the first time this year, you can! Live scoring and video is available at the usual site, http://streamingtennis.com/Cardinal/?DB_OEM_ID=30600. If you're in town, head on by Taube and check it out!
Tomorrow’s action really should be routine, though, and you should expect every Stanford scholarship athlete to roll convincingly. Lampl kicks things off at 10:15, Sara Choy is up at 11:30, Kimberly Yee is at 12:00, Janice Shin is at 1:00, Emily Arbuthnott is at 2:00, and Madurawe is at 2:30. Gordon and Lord have first-round byes, and Higuchi is through to the second round because her opponent withdrew due to injury. Second round action follows later in the afternoon, with Gordon and Lampl up at 3:30 with the others to follow.
In doubles, Higuchi and Choy are up at 9:15, but the other doubles teams don’t play until Saturday.
This is a fun tournament. Enjoy, folks.