10-21-2021, 09:34 AM
It's the day before the tournament, and still no draws posted. But the player list is out, and it shows that Gordon is not playing (for reasons unknown), so she will not defend her title and become a 4-time Northwest Regionals champion. Nicole Mossmer is also not playing, and Sara Choy is only playing doubles, meaning we have seven players in the singles draw and four doubles teams.
Also absent are Cal's Giavara and Ivanov as well as WSU's Bayerlova. Whether that's due to another tournament or illness/injury is unclear, but Giavara and Ivanov not being there is a big boost to Stanford's chances of success at this home regional. That 2016 win for Cal's Popovic? It broke a 6-year streak of Stanford regional singles champions (Taylor Davidson in 2015, Carol Zhao in 2014, Kristie Ahn in 2010 and 2013, Krista Hardebeck in 2012, and Nicole Gibbs in 2011). So it's been 9 out of the past 10 Northwest Regionals where Stanford has won the singles title.
As for Mossmer, I know she missed time due to a health scare (I'm unclear on the details), and the fact that she's still on the roster suggests she hasn't medically retired yet. But while our roster has plenty of depth for now, at a certain point having one of eight scholarships tied up in a player who has barely seen the court is a misallocation of resources. If memory serves, a player can medically retire and stay on scholarship but is no longer charged to that team's total (please correct me if I'm wrong on that). Even if she's come back, she's missed out on so much development time, and it's difficult to imagine her being a contributor going forward. And FWIW, there have been a few Instagram posts showing the team practicing, and Angelica Blake "took over" the athletic department account to show a day in her life, including practice and dinner with the team, and I did not see Mossmer, Gordon, or Geller in any of those posts. (Geller is set to play this weekend, however.)
Also of note is that on the player list, 145 players are listed for the singles draw and 140 for the doubles draw (so, 70 teams). But the draw is 128 singles players and 64 doubles teams, so either this is preliminary and some will drop from the formal tournament and maybe play some added matches on the side instead, or there will have to be qualifying draws. The schedule is tight to squeeze in qualifying rounds of singles and doubles, so I'd assume some will just be dropped from the main draw and there will be some added matches. Hopefully we find out soon!
Also absent are Cal's Giavara and Ivanov as well as WSU's Bayerlova. Whether that's due to another tournament or illness/injury is unclear, but Giavara and Ivanov not being there is a big boost to Stanford's chances of success at this home regional. That 2016 win for Cal's Popovic? It broke a 6-year streak of Stanford regional singles champions (Taylor Davidson in 2015, Carol Zhao in 2014, Kristie Ahn in 2010 and 2013, Krista Hardebeck in 2012, and Nicole Gibbs in 2011). So it's been 9 out of the past 10 Northwest Regionals where Stanford has won the singles title.
As for Mossmer, I know she missed time due to a health scare (I'm unclear on the details), and the fact that she's still on the roster suggests she hasn't medically retired yet. But while our roster has plenty of depth for now, at a certain point having one of eight scholarships tied up in a player who has barely seen the court is a misallocation of resources. If memory serves, a player can medically retire and stay on scholarship but is no longer charged to that team's total (please correct me if I'm wrong on that). Even if she's come back, she's missed out on so much development time, and it's difficult to imagine her being a contributor going forward. And FWIW, there have been a few Instagram posts showing the team practicing, and Angelica Blake "took over" the athletic department account to show a day in her life, including practice and dinner with the team, and I did not see Mossmer, Gordon, or Geller in any of those posts. (Geller is set to play this weekend, however.)
Also of note is that on the player list, 145 players are listed for the singles draw and 140 for the doubles draw (so, 70 teams). But the draw is 128 singles players and 64 doubles teams, so either this is preliminary and some will drop from the formal tournament and maybe play some added matches on the side instead, or there will have to be qualifying draws. The schedule is tight to squeeze in qualifying rounds of singles and doubles, so I'd assume some will just be dropped from the main draw and there will be some added matches. Hopefully we find out soon!