[ColoradoTree]

If I'm Emma Higuchi, I think I call it a career (or grad transfer to have tennis pay for a grad program somewhere). If Arbuthnott comes back, the odds that Higuchi stays in the lineup are very slim with Houghton and Geller coming in. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see Shin fall out of the lineup, with Choy, Madurawe, and Houghton all climbing above her. 



If Arbuthnott comes back, I think we're looking at a singles lineup as follows: (1) Gordon; (2) Blake; (3) Arbuthnott; (4) Choy; (5) Houghton; and (6) Shin. That said, if Madurawe or Geller vaulted Shin, I wouldn't be shocked. Blake over Arbuthnott might be a reach, but Blake was so good at #3 this year as a freshman, and I think she's only going to get better. Of course, those leaps in form come from matches and tournaments and training. If you're stuck at home and can't practice or play tournaments, how much can you really improve?

At first glance a lineup that pushes Higuchi (and maybe even Shin) as the odd lady out would look pretty strong, especially at the bottom. My sense is that UNC's phenoms were pretty young so they would probably be the favorites(?) but the line-up you are quoting should be good for a top-4.  I mean, we won a national title with Gordon at #1 as a sophomore, Arbuthnott at the 3 as a Junior, and Shin at 5 and Higuchi at 6.  Not sure Blake is a better 2 than Lord, or that Choy is a better 4 than Arbuthnott, but 5 and 6 were already near automatic wins for us last year, so to see an upgrade at those two positions bodes well.

BC

Yeah, it's definitely a better lineup than this year's was. It's just hard to make an argument that Higuchi is the 6th-best singles player out of that group, so as much as I wish she'd gotten a proper send-off, I don't know that it makes sense for her to stay (assuming that she's even allowed to, of course, given budgetary decisions). 

And while UNC's lineup has some good freshmen (Elizabeth Scotty, Kacie Harvey, and Anika Yarlagadda), but it's their seniors who were at the top of the lineup the last couple of years (Makenna Jones, Alexa Graham, Sara Daavettila). The other main contributor, Cameron Morra, is a sophomore this year. This was really UNC's year, and if some of those seniors don't come back, then the cancelled season hit UNC harder than anyone else. On the other side of things, Jada Hart was UCLA's only player who would've exhausted eligibility this year, so UCLA should be scary next year whether Hart comes back or not. Same thing with Cal--they don't lose much.

[ColoradoTree]

If I'm Emma Higuchi, I think I call it a career (or grad transfer to have tennis pay for a grad program somewhere). If Arbuthnott comes back, the odds that Higuchi stays in the lineup are very slim with Houghton and Geller coming in. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see Shin fall out of the lineup, with Choy, Madurawe, and Houghton all climbing above her. 



If Arbuthnott comes back, I think we're looking at a singles lineup as follows: (1) Gordon; (2) Blake; (3) Arbuthnott; (4) Choy; (5) Houghton; and (6) Shin. That said, if Madurawe or Geller vaulted Shin, I wouldn't be shocked. Blake over Arbuthnott might be a reach, but Blake was so good at #3 this year as a freshman, and I think she's only going to get better. Of course, those leaps in form come from matches and tournaments and training. If you're stuck at home and can't practice or play tournaments, how much can you really improve?

At first glance a lineup that pushes Higuchi (and maybe even Shin) as the odd lady out would look pretty strong, especially at the bottom. My sense is that UNC's phenoms were pretty young so they would probably be the favorites(?) but the line-up you are quoting should be good for a top-4.  I mean, we won a national title with Gordon at #1 as a sophomore, Arbuthnott at the 3 as a Junior, and Shin at 5 and Higuchi at 6.  Not sure Blake is a better 2 than Lord, or that Choy is a better 4 than Arbuthnott, but 5 and 6 were already near automatic wins for us last year, so to see an upgrade at those two positions bodes well.

BC

Yeah, it's definitely a better lineup than this year's was. It's just hard to make an argument that Higuchi is the 6th-best singles player out of that group, so as much as I wish she'd gotten a proper send-off, I don't know that it makes sense for her to stay (assuming that she's even allowed to, of course, given budgetary decisions). 

And while UNC's lineup has some good freshmen (Elizabeth Scotty, Kacie Harvey, and Anika Yarlagadda), but it's their seniors who were at the top of the lineup the last couple of years (Makenna Jones, Alexa Graham, Sara Daavettila). The other main contributor, Cameron Morra, is a sophomore this year. This was really UNC's year, and if some of those seniors don't come back, then the cancelled season hit UNC harder than anyone else. On the other side of things, Jada Hart was UCLA's only player who would've exhausted eligibility this year, so UCLA should be scary next year whether Hart comes back or not. Same thing with Cal--they don't lose much.