02-16-2023, 09:07 AM
I figured coming into the season that with our talent, we were a top-5-to-top-10-ish team with a real chance to pull off a title. I figured Texas, UNC, Duke, Texas A&M, NC State, and maybe Oklahoma would be in that top tier with us. Probably Pepperdine, too.
So, in that vein, losing 4-3 to Duke isn't terrible. They're a fellow top tier team. Losing to Georgia isn't that bad, either--we were tied with them in the preseason rankings. And now we've taken these losses now, and we'll hopefully learn from them going forward.
Early season losses do not equate to losses in May. In 2019, when we last won a national championship, we lost 4-3 to Georgia at National Indoors. We beat them 4-0 for the national championship in May. The year before, we lost 7-0(!) to Vanderbilt in February, and then beat them 4-3 for the national championship in May. So, all is not lost. This team gets better over time.
As to why we're relatively bad in doubles, I can't answer that because I don't know how the program practices. But the proof of the pudding is in the tasting, and clearly it's not something we emphasize sufficiently.
And it's not just this year or the past few years. It's been the past several where we've put ourselves in a hole. In that 2018 title run, we lost the doubles point in 3 of the last 4 matches at NCAAs. In 2016, when we won the title, we lost the doubles point in 4 of the last 5 matches at NCAAs. Before that era, when we had Gibbs, Ahn, the Burdettes, etc., we were generally a very good doubles team.
I don't think Ma's hit a wall--she remains our unquestioned best player. Every player goes through rough patches, and she had them last year, too. But she also found her way into the NCAA singles final as a freshman. This weekend was disappointing because of the missed opportunities, but I still believe this team has the talent to make a run at a title, and we'll see the kind of grit and finishing they develop over the next few months.
Oh, and we play St. Mary's in a couple days, which could be a palate cleanser before we head to Austin for a matchup with Texas a week later.
So, in that vein, losing 4-3 to Duke isn't terrible. They're a fellow top tier team. Losing to Georgia isn't that bad, either--we were tied with them in the preseason rankings. And now we've taken these losses now, and we'll hopefully learn from them going forward.
Early season losses do not equate to losses in May. In 2019, when we last won a national championship, we lost 4-3 to Georgia at National Indoors. We beat them 4-0 for the national championship in May. The year before, we lost 7-0(!) to Vanderbilt in February, and then beat them 4-3 for the national championship in May. So, all is not lost. This team gets better over time.
As to why we're relatively bad in doubles, I can't answer that because I don't know how the program practices. But the proof of the pudding is in the tasting, and clearly it's not something we emphasize sufficiently.
And it's not just this year or the past few years. It's been the past several where we've put ourselves in a hole. In that 2018 title run, we lost the doubles point in 3 of the last 4 matches at NCAAs. In 2016, when we won the title, we lost the doubles point in 4 of the last 5 matches at NCAAs. Before that era, when we had Gibbs, Ahn, the Burdettes, etc., we were generally a very good doubles team.
I don't think Ma's hit a wall--she remains our unquestioned best player. Every player goes through rough patches, and she had them last year, too. But she also found her way into the NCAA singles final as a freshman. This weekend was disappointing because of the missed opportunities, but I still believe this team has the talent to make a run at a title, and we'll see the kind of grit and finishing they develop over the next few months.
Oh, and we play St. Mary's in a couple days, which could be a palate cleanser before we head to Austin for a matchup with Texas a week later.