05-06-2024, 11:57 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-06-2024, 12:13 PM by ColoradoTree.)
Per tennis commentator John Parsons (@JTweetsTennis), we have our explanation as to why Yu isn't on the postseason roster: she has entered the transfer portal.
He noted that this is the first transfer out of Stanford that he can recall, and I can't recall another one, either.
There is no better university where you could play tennis. There is no better women's tennis program. That's why this program is the brass ring for so many high school tennis players.
It is, in a word, stunning.
No reason given, but given how she's largely been on the outside of the lineup looking in, it seems entirely reasonable to speculate that this decision is related to playing time. And yes, this lineup is one of the hardest to make as a freshman. And historically, this program has attracted the kind of student-athlete that recognizes and accepts how difficult it is to make the lineup but commits to trying to work her way up the lineup each year. There are often blue chips on this roster that barely crack the roster their entire careers--heck, India Houghton is one of them. Kimberly Yee came in with Melissa Lord and Caroline Lampl as three blue chips, and while Yee played some at #6 her freshman year, she barely played singles again.
I mean, I'm on record here as saying I would've dropped Xu from the singles lineup in favor of Yu months ago. Xu's results have been wanting, and every time Yu has stepped in at 6, she's dominated. But I'm not in practice everyday, and I don't know how Yu has performed versus Xu. Heck, perhaps Lele knew this was coming months ago as soon as she first decided Hui should play higher than Yu, and then with an eye toward NCAAs in May, decided to keep playing Xu at 6 rather than Yu because she knew she wouldn't be able to count on Yu being there in May and she needed Xu to work through her struggles so she could be playing well when it mattered most.
But that's all speculation. I'm not an insider, just a fan. And speaking as a fan, all I can say is that I'm stunned. Transferring for more playing time is something that happens in other programs. Or at other schools. But not this program.
I'm also a little angry. This is a team that is capable of winning a national championship, and not having Yu as injury insurance appreciably lessens the odds of us winning. And if the decision to sit out the postseason was hers, then it is selfish. Maybe a smart business decision, if she wants to preserve her health ahead of a transfer, but still a selfish one. (And really, how often does the #7 get injured?)
I have to assume that the player-coach relationship got pretty bad here, and there are always two sides to every story. But as this appears to be the first outgoing transfer of Lele's entire tenure, my suspicion is that the issue here lies more on the player side of the relationship. I don't doubt that Lele has had hundreds of difficult conversations with student-athletes who have professional ambitions and are unhappy with their place in the pecking order. That's part and parcel of being at a place that attracts the very best and being in a sport that is hierarchical by nature. And history tells us that Lele has been able to manage those conversations before well enough, or at least well enough to avoid the player leaving. Until now.
Sure, playing time next year would have been an uncertain prospect, what with Blake leaving and #1 recruit Valerie Glozman coming in. But in her junior year, Yu would've been looking at being in a top 3 with Hui and Glozman. And Lele has shown that just because you play above someone one year doesn't mean you'll stay above them forever. People progress differently, after all.
Anyway, the immediate lineup impacts are mitigated by what I just said: next year we lose Blake (as well as Geller and Houghton) but gain Glozman, so we still have an excellent (and championship-caliber) top 6. But right now, our #7 would be Emma Sun, and that gives me heartburn. Perhaps we might gain another grad transfer like we did with Okpara this year, too.
But it upends the math the year after that:
Spring 2025:
Seniors (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Juniors (2): Blokhina, Sun
Sophomores (1): Hui
Freshmen (1): Glozman
(There are other recruits listed as having been offered by Stanford, but they're walk-on caliber.)
Spring 2026:
Seniors (2): Blokhina, Sun
Juniors (1): Hui
Sophomores (1): Glozman
Freshmen: TBD
The recruiting hole gets all the bigger when you think about replacing that class of Ma, Yepifanova, and Xu. We have to crush it in the Class of 2025. And no reason to think we won't, as all of a sudden our lineup goes from being very difficult to crack to looking like certain playing time for a couple of incoming freshmen. A pretty attractive prospect.
He noted that this is the first transfer out of Stanford that he can recall, and I can't recall another one, either.
There is no better university where you could play tennis. There is no better women's tennis program. That's why this program is the brass ring for so many high school tennis players.
It is, in a word, stunning.
No reason given, but given how she's largely been on the outside of the lineup looking in, it seems entirely reasonable to speculate that this decision is related to playing time. And yes, this lineup is one of the hardest to make as a freshman. And historically, this program has attracted the kind of student-athlete that recognizes and accepts how difficult it is to make the lineup but commits to trying to work her way up the lineup each year. There are often blue chips on this roster that barely crack the roster their entire careers--heck, India Houghton is one of them. Kimberly Yee came in with Melissa Lord and Caroline Lampl as three blue chips, and while Yee played some at #6 her freshman year, she barely played singles again.
I mean, I'm on record here as saying I would've dropped Xu from the singles lineup in favor of Yu months ago. Xu's results have been wanting, and every time Yu has stepped in at 6, she's dominated. But I'm not in practice everyday, and I don't know how Yu has performed versus Xu. Heck, perhaps Lele knew this was coming months ago as soon as she first decided Hui should play higher than Yu, and then with an eye toward NCAAs in May, decided to keep playing Xu at 6 rather than Yu because she knew she wouldn't be able to count on Yu being there in May and she needed Xu to work through her struggles so she could be playing well when it mattered most.
But that's all speculation. I'm not an insider, just a fan. And speaking as a fan, all I can say is that I'm stunned. Transferring for more playing time is something that happens in other programs. Or at other schools. But not this program.
I'm also a little angry. This is a team that is capable of winning a national championship, and not having Yu as injury insurance appreciably lessens the odds of us winning. And if the decision to sit out the postseason was hers, then it is selfish. Maybe a smart business decision, if she wants to preserve her health ahead of a transfer, but still a selfish one. (And really, how often does the #7 get injured?)
I have to assume that the player-coach relationship got pretty bad here, and there are always two sides to every story. But as this appears to be the first outgoing transfer of Lele's entire tenure, my suspicion is that the issue here lies more on the player side of the relationship. I don't doubt that Lele has had hundreds of difficult conversations with student-athletes who have professional ambitions and are unhappy with their place in the pecking order. That's part and parcel of being at a place that attracts the very best and being in a sport that is hierarchical by nature. And history tells us that Lele has been able to manage those conversations before well enough, or at least well enough to avoid the player leaving. Until now.
Sure, playing time next year would have been an uncertain prospect, what with Blake leaving and #1 recruit Valerie Glozman coming in. But in her junior year, Yu would've been looking at being in a top 3 with Hui and Glozman. And Lele has shown that just because you play above someone one year doesn't mean you'll stay above them forever. People progress differently, after all.
Anyway, the immediate lineup impacts are mitigated by what I just said: next year we lose Blake (as well as Geller and Houghton) but gain Glozman, so we still have an excellent (and championship-caliber) top 6. But right now, our #7 would be Emma Sun, and that gives me heartburn. Perhaps we might gain another grad transfer like we did with Okpara this year, too.
But it upends the math the year after that:
Spring 2025:
Seniors (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Juniors (2): Blokhina, Sun
Sophomores (1): Hui
Freshmen (1): Glozman
(There are other recruits listed as having been offered by Stanford, but they're walk-on caliber.)
Spring 2026:
Seniors (2): Blokhina, Sun
Juniors (1): Hui
Sophomores (1): Glozman
Freshmen: TBD
The recruiting hole gets all the bigger when you think about replacing that class of Ma, Yepifanova, and Xu. We have to crush it in the Class of 2025. And no reason to think we won't, as all of a sudden our lineup goes from being very difficult to crack to looking like certain playing time for a couple of incoming freshmen. A pretty attractive prospect.