[ColoradoTree]

Great job by everyone except for Janice Shin. Whether Gordon's absence was a curveball or not, everyone handled it with aplomb, except for Shin, who seemed very much in her own head. A lot of deciding points in that match, so it's not like she wasn't competitive--she just lost the large majority of them. I'm really pleased Madurawe was so dominant, and for Arbuthnott and Blake to do that up top is really impressive--those are a couple of very good players that they just handled with ease. 

Updated percentage of games won, regardless of singles line, by each player:

Madurawe - 85.71%
Choy - 81.82%
Blake - 72.73%
Higuchi - 70%
Gordon - 65.63%
Arbuthnott - 62%
Shin - 44.44%

To translate that back out to match scores, here's what this roughly shakes out to for an average match:

Madurawe - 6-1, 6-1
Choy - 6-1, 6-1 or 6-2
Blake - 6-2, 6-2
Higuchi - 6-2, 6-3
Gordon - 6-3, 6-3
Arbuthnott - 6-3, 6-4
Shin - 5-7, 6-7

Shin's performance so far this year stands out, and not for the reasons she would've wished. Again, the three teams we've played so far aren't all that good, so what should we expect when we play one of the better teams in our conference or one of the teams at Indoor Nationals? I don't think it's insane to start thinking of switching Shin and Choy in the lineup and see how that goes. If nothing else, it might be a useful wake-up call to Janice. Whether it's physical, mental, or just a skill-level thing where she shouldn't be playing this high in the lineup, one hopes it gets figured out soon.

So, the downside is obviously Shin's match, but the positives coming out of this match (assuming Gordon is fine health-wise) are way, way more important. We've been having questions about Arbuthnott, but she just handled the preseason #33 player in the country with ease (and someone who Gordon lost handily to a couple of years ago). If Emily is turning the corner and will be a reliable #2 this year, our outlook just got a lot rosier. And Blake! I've been so impressed with her so far. Thrown into the top half of the lineup as a freshman? That is a very rare thing for Lele to do, and she's rewarded that trust with three great efforts. Higuchi has been everything we've come to depend on over the years. Choy has been taking full advantage of her opportunity. And Madurawe took out whatever frustration she may be feeling at being left out of the singles lineup in the first two matches on her opponent, and ran away with it. Now, this is Hawaii, not a top 25-type team. But that's a pretty darn good top three they have, and that team played some competitive matches throughout the lineup against Washington and Florida State. But aside from Court 3, we were terrific. So, my main takeaway is increased optimism about our prospects this season.

---

FWIW, this is Choy's second clincher of the young season (she also clinched the match against USF). Arbuthnott clinched against Washington State. Those, of course, aren't as important as clinchers in contested matches where the outcome of the dual match is in doubt (e.g., when it's 3-2 with two matches in the third set left on court) or when it's against a top-ranked team.

[ColoradoTree]

Great job by everyone except for Janice Shin. Whether Gordon's absence was a curveball or not, everyone handled it with aplomb, except for Shin, who seemed very much in her own head. A lot of deciding points in that match, so it's not like she wasn't competitive--she just lost the large majority of them. I'm really pleased Madurawe was so dominant, and for Arbuthnott and Blake to do that up top is really impressive--those are a couple of very good players that they just handled with ease. 

Updated percentage of games won, regardless of singles line, by each player:

Madurawe - 85.71%
Choy - 81.82%
Blake - 72.73%
Higuchi - 70%
Gordon - 65.63%
Arbuthnott - 62%
Shin - 44.44%

To translate that back out to match scores, here's what this roughly shakes out to for an average match:

Madurawe - 6-1, 6-1
Choy - 6-1, 6-1 or 6-2
Blake - 6-2, 6-2
Higuchi - 6-2, 6-3
Gordon - 6-3, 6-3
Arbuthnott - 6-3, 6-4
Shin - 5-7, 6-7

Shin's performance so far this year stands out, and not for the reasons she would've wished. Again, the three teams we've played so far aren't all that good, so what should we expect when we play one of the better teams in our conference or one of the teams at Indoor Nationals? I don't think it's insane to start thinking of switching Shin and Choy in the lineup and see how that goes. If nothing else, it might be a useful wake-up call to Janice. Whether it's physical, mental, or just a skill-level thing where she shouldn't be playing this high in the lineup, one hopes it gets figured out soon.

So, the downside is obviously Shin's match, but the positives coming out of this match (assuming Gordon is fine health-wise) are way, way more important. We've been having questions about Arbuthnott, but she just handled the preseason #33 player in the country with ease (and someone who Gordon lost handily to a couple of years ago). If Emily is turning the corner and will be a reliable #2 this year, our outlook just got a lot rosier. And Blake! I've been so impressed with her so far. Thrown into the top half of the lineup as a freshman? That is a very rare thing for Lele to do, and she's rewarded that trust with three great efforts. Higuchi has been everything we've come to depend on over the years. Choy has been taking full advantage of her opportunity. And Madurawe took out whatever frustration she may be feeling at being left out of the singles lineup in the first two matches on her opponent, and ran away with it. Now, this is Hawaii, not a top 25-type team. But that's a pretty darn good top three they have, and that team played some competitive matches throughout the lineup against Washington and Florida State. But aside from Court 3, we were terrific. So, my main takeaway is increased optimism about our prospects this season.

---

FWIW, this is Choy's second clincher of the young season (she also clinched the match against USF). Arbuthnott clinched against Washington State. Those, of course, aren't as important as clinchers in contested matches where the outcome of the dual match is in doubt (e.g., when it's 3-2 with two matches in the third set left on court) or when it's against a top-ranked team.