01-14-2019, 03:52 PM
Looks like a change in the calendar--the National Collegiate Tennis Classic was held this past weekend rather than this upcoming weekend in La Quinta.
No update from the official Stanford page (either a preview or a recap), but piecing things together from the Daily Bruin as well as limited updates from the USD, Ole Miss, and Arizona team websites, here's what we know so far:
* UCLA, Arizona, Ole Miss, and USD also participated, with UCLA sending just a few players, including highly-touted freshman Taylor Johnson in her first collegiate tennis (she was a 2019 grad who enrolled early).
* Stanford participants included Michaela Gordon, Emily Arbuthnott Emma Higuchi, Janice Shin, and Sara Choy, with Higuchi being the 3 seed and Shin the 4 seed. (I can't say for sure, but from that, I feel safe in inferring that Gordon was the 1 and Arbuthnott the 2.)
* It appears to have been a 24-player tournament, with the 8 seeds getting byes into the Round of 16.
* Due to rain, the tournament wasn't completed; it looks like only a couple of the quarterfinal matches got completed.
Round of 32 results:
Sara Choy d. Maria Tyrina (USD) 7-6, 6-2
Round of 16 results:
(1) Gordon lost to USD's Solymar Colling, 7-5, 6-3
(2) Arbuthnott d. Daniela Morales (USD) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
* (3) Higuchi d. (8) Alaina Miller (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
(4) Shin d. Taylor Johnson (UCLA) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Choy d. #114 Anna Vrbenska (Ole Miss) 6-3, 6-3
* Just who Emma Higuchi played in the Round of 16 is uncertain. The Daily Bruin reports that Higuchi beat UCLA's Alaina Miller 6-3, 6-4 in the Round of 16, but the official Ole Miss site claims its own Alexa Bortles beat UCLA's Miller 6-3, 6-3 in the Round of 16, and the Arizona site claims Higuchi beat UA's Marie Van Aelst, 6-3, 6-4 in that round, so since the Arizona and Ole Miss sites aren't in conflict, I'll go with them and assume the Daily Bruin misread something.
Quarterfinal results:
(3) Higuchi d. Emma Wilson (Arizona) 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. FYI, Wilson is a transfer from Fresno State who was that team's #1 and is ranked #86 in the country.
Unclear who Arbuthnott, Shin, and Choy were set to play, but there is no mention of their matches on the other teams' websites, and as one of the quarterfinals was USD vs. Ole Miss, at least one of the quarterfinals was an all-Stanford affair (if it was even played). One of the Stanford players would have been set to play USD's Kati Kukaras, but that one looks like it never got played. (I'll update with any details if the Stanford site provides any.)
In doubles, it looks like Arbuthnott/Gordon made the final, but it wasn't contested. They beat USD's Chow/Tyrina 6-3 before beating UA's Wesbrooks/Wilson 12-10; they would have played UCLA's Taylor Johnson and Alaina Miller in the final.
Anyway, a nice weekend for Higuchi and Choy, at least, and a "meets expectations" weekend for everyone else except for Gordon, whose upset loss is a weird one given her strong performance in the recent Blizzard Wild Card Challenge.
Up next:
This weekend is the Freeman Memorial Championships, starting this Friday in Las Vegas on UNLV's campus. In addition to #1 Stanford and host UNLV, the tournament will see players from #3 UNC, #6 Texas, #7 Pepperdine, #8 UCLA, and #11 Florida take part, so it'll be a great early-season challenge, and an opportunity for Gordon to rebound and notch some wins against some top players. I'll post draws if and when they're available, but the general schedule is below. There will be two flights each of singles and doubles, so everyone on the roster should get some matches.
Friday:
10:00am: Doubles Round of 16
Singles R32: To follow
Singles R16: To follow
Saturday:
10:00am: Doubles Quarterfinals
Singles QF: To follow
Singles SF: To follow
Sunday:
10:00am: Doubles Semifinals
Doubles Final: To follow
Singles Final: To follow
No update from the official Stanford page (either a preview or a recap), but piecing things together from the Daily Bruin as well as limited updates from the USD, Ole Miss, and Arizona team websites, here's what we know so far:
* UCLA, Arizona, Ole Miss, and USD also participated, with UCLA sending just a few players, including highly-touted freshman Taylor Johnson in her first collegiate tennis (she was a 2019 grad who enrolled early).
* Stanford participants included Michaela Gordon, Emily Arbuthnott Emma Higuchi, Janice Shin, and Sara Choy, with Higuchi being the 3 seed and Shin the 4 seed. (I can't say for sure, but from that, I feel safe in inferring that Gordon was the 1 and Arbuthnott the 2.)
* It appears to have been a 24-player tournament, with the 8 seeds getting byes into the Round of 16.
* Due to rain, the tournament wasn't completed; it looks like only a couple of the quarterfinal matches got completed.
Round of 32 results:
Sara Choy d. Maria Tyrina (USD) 7-6, 6-2
Round of 16 results:
(1) Gordon lost to USD's Solymar Colling, 7-5, 6-3
(2) Arbuthnott d. Daniela Morales (USD) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
* (3) Higuchi d. (8) Alaina Miller (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
(4) Shin d. Taylor Johnson (UCLA) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Choy d. #114 Anna Vrbenska (Ole Miss) 6-3, 6-3
* Just who Emma Higuchi played in the Round of 16 is uncertain. The Daily Bruin reports that Higuchi beat UCLA's Alaina Miller 6-3, 6-4 in the Round of 16, but the official Ole Miss site claims its own Alexa Bortles beat UCLA's Miller 6-3, 6-3 in the Round of 16, and the Arizona site claims Higuchi beat UA's Marie Van Aelst, 6-3, 6-4 in that round, so since the Arizona and Ole Miss sites aren't in conflict, I'll go with them and assume the Daily Bruin misread something.
Quarterfinal results:
(3) Higuchi d. Emma Wilson (Arizona) 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. FYI, Wilson is a transfer from Fresno State who was that team's #1 and is ranked #86 in the country.
Unclear who Arbuthnott, Shin, and Choy were set to play, but there is no mention of their matches on the other teams' websites, and as one of the quarterfinals was USD vs. Ole Miss, at least one of the quarterfinals was an all-Stanford affair (if it was even played). One of the Stanford players would have been set to play USD's Kati Kukaras, but that one looks like it never got played. (I'll update with any details if the Stanford site provides any.)
In doubles, it looks like Arbuthnott/Gordon made the final, but it wasn't contested. They beat USD's Chow/Tyrina 6-3 before beating UA's Wesbrooks/Wilson 12-10; they would have played UCLA's Taylor Johnson and Alaina Miller in the final.
Anyway, a nice weekend for Higuchi and Choy, at least, and a "meets expectations" weekend for everyone else except for Gordon, whose upset loss is a weird one given her strong performance in the recent Blizzard Wild Card Challenge.
Up next:
This weekend is the Freeman Memorial Championships, starting this Friday in Las Vegas on UNLV's campus. In addition to #1 Stanford and host UNLV, the tournament will see players from #3 UNC, #6 Texas, #7 Pepperdine, #8 UCLA, and #11 Florida take part, so it'll be a great early-season challenge, and an opportunity for Gordon to rebound and notch some wins against some top players. I'll post draws if and when they're available, but the general schedule is below. There will be two flights each of singles and doubles, so everyone on the roster should get some matches.
Friday:
10:00am: Doubles Round of 16
Singles R32: To follow
Singles R16: To follow
Saturday:
10:00am: Doubles Quarterfinals
Singles QF: To follow
Singles SF: To follow
Sunday:
10:00am: Doubles Semifinals
Doubles Final: To follow
Singles Final: To follow