[ColoradoTree]

The last event before the matches start counting kicks off tomorrow, as the team will be in Las Vegas, NV to take part in the Freeman Memorial Championships on UNLV's campus.

What is it? 

An early-season individual tournament, so while the matches count toward our players' individual rankings, our team ranking will be unaffected by it. But because several other top teams will be there, it should be a great early-season test for our players. In addition to #1 Stanford and host UNLV, we should see the top players from #3 UNC, #6 Texas, #7 Pepperdine, #8 UCLA, and #11 Florida. 

While this could have been a full-team tournament since the NCTC was last week, it looks like Coach Lele Forood (or the women's tennis travel budget) decided it should still be treated like a split squad event, so the players who weren't there last week--Melissa Lord, Caroline Lampl, Kimberly Yee, and Niluka Madurawe--will represent the Cardinal in Las Vegas. 

Texas, UCLA, and Florida are mostly at full strength, Pepperdine--like Stanford--has left a couple of its top players at home while also bringing a couple top players, and UNC didn't bring its top few players. 

What happened last year?

Well, two years ago, Melissa Lord won it, beating two Top 10 players (and another ranked player) in the process, but with Lord injured last year, neither Lampl nor Yee (our two representatives at that tournament) had similar success.

When and where?

It gets started tomorrow morning at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada. UNLV has twelve outdoor courts, so they should be able to move through the draws quickly enough. They'll start things off with doubles at 10:00am, then the first two rounds of singles after that. Here's what the Stanford players have in front of them tomorrow:

Singles

Round of 32:

11:00am:
Kimberly Yee vs. Jessie Aney (UNC)
Caroline Lampl vs. Anastasia Kharitonova (Florida)
Niluka Madurawe vs. Abi Altick (UCLA). Altick is a tough draw for Madurawe, so it'll be interesting to see how she handles it. 

12:00pm: 
Melissa Lord vs. Satsuki Takamura (Pepperdine). An international rookie joining for the spring season, Takamura is a bit of a mystery. 

Round of 16
At 2 or 3pm:
* Yee would likely face UCLA's Jada Hart if she gets there.
* Lampl would face either UT's Anna Turati or UNLV's Aiwen Zhu (that is a very tough draw for the 3rd-seeded Turati)
* Madurawe would face either Florida's Tsveta Dimitrova or Pepperdine's Daria Kuczer

Doubles

Round of 16 (at 10:00am):
Lampl/Yee vs. Failla-Iamachikine (Pepperdine)
Lord/Madurawe vs. Li/Asano (UNLV)

Live Scoring?

That's not yet clear, but UNLV doesn't have live video, so I'm not holding out hope. As is often the case, following opposing teams' twitter accounts might be the best way to get information as it happens. If there is live scoring or at least promptly uploaded results of completed matches, you'll probably find it here: http://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=29559

What else has been going on lately?

The dual season hasn't yet begun in earnest, but there has been one Top 10 matchup already. #4 Duke beat #9 Oklahoma State 5-2 in the Bahamas, the first dual match played outside the United States. Duke's #1 player is freshman Maria Mateas, who was the #1-ranked freshman in the preseason rankings and who is now ranked #8 on the strength of her fall season. Mateas rolled right over Oklahoma State's #1, so it looks like we have a new star in women's college tennis, and Duke looks pretty formidable this year.

[ColoradoTree]

The last event before the matches start counting kicks off tomorrow, as the team will be in Las Vegas, NV to take part in the Freeman Memorial Championships on UNLV's campus.

What is it? 

An early-season individual tournament, so while the matches count toward our players' individual rankings, our team ranking will be unaffected by it. But because several other top teams will be there, it should be a great early-season test for our players. In addition to #1 Stanford and host UNLV, we should see the top players from #3 UNC, #6 Texas, #7 Pepperdine, #8 UCLA, and #11 Florida. 

While this could have been a full-team tournament since the NCTC was last week, it looks like Coach Lele Forood (or the women's tennis travel budget) decided it should still be treated like a split squad event, so the players who weren't there last week--Melissa Lord, Caroline Lampl, Kimberly Yee, and Niluka Madurawe--will represent the Cardinal in Las Vegas. 

Texas, UCLA, and Florida are mostly at full strength, Pepperdine--like Stanford--has left a couple of its top players at home while also bringing a couple top players, and UNC didn't bring its top few players. 

What happened last year?

Well, two years ago, Melissa Lord won it, beating two Top 10 players (and another ranked player) in the process, but with Lord injured last year, neither Lampl nor Yee (our two representatives at that tournament) had similar success.

When and where?

It gets started tomorrow morning at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada. UNLV has twelve outdoor courts, so they should be able to move through the draws quickly enough. They'll start things off with doubles at 10:00am, then the first two rounds of singles after that. Here's what the Stanford players have in front of them tomorrow:

Singles

Round of 32:

11:00am:
Kimberly Yee vs. Jessie Aney (UNC)
Caroline Lampl vs. Anastasia Kharitonova (Florida)
Niluka Madurawe vs. Abi Altick (UCLA). Altick is a tough draw for Madurawe, so it'll be interesting to see how she handles it. 

12:00pm: 
Melissa Lord vs. Satsuki Takamura (Pepperdine). An international rookie joining for the spring season, Takamura is a bit of a mystery. 

Round of 16
At 2 or 3pm:
* Yee would likely face UCLA's Jada Hart if she gets there.
* Lampl would face either UT's Anna Turati or UNLV's Aiwen Zhu (that is a very tough draw for the 3rd-seeded Turati)
* Madurawe would face either Florida's Tsveta Dimitrova or Pepperdine's Daria Kuczer

Doubles

Round of 16 (at 10:00am):
Lampl/Yee vs. Failla-Iamachikine (Pepperdine)
Lord/Madurawe vs. Li/Asano (UNLV)

Live Scoring?

That's not yet clear, but UNLV doesn't have live video, so I'm not holding out hope. As is often the case, following opposing teams' twitter accounts might be the best way to get information as it happens. If there is live scoring or at least promptly uploaded results of completed matches, you'll probably find it here: http://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=29559

What else has been going on lately?

The dual season hasn't yet begun in earnest, but there has been one Top 10 matchup already. #4 Duke beat #9 Oklahoma State 5-2 in the Bahamas, the first dual match played outside the United States. Duke's #1 player is freshman Maria Mateas, who was the #1-ranked freshman in the preseason rankings and who is now ranked #8 on the strength of her fall season. Mateas rolled right over Oklahoma State's #1, so it looks like we have a new star in women's college tennis, and Duke looks pretty formidable this year.

[ColoradoTree]

Friday Results:

Singles

Round of 32:

#58 Jessie Aney (UNC) d. Kimberly Yee 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
#47 Caroline Lampl d. Anastasia Kharitonova (Florida), 6-4, 6-1
Niluka Madurawe d. #52 Abi Altick (UCLA) 6-3, 7-6
#13 Melissa Lord d. Satsuki Takamura (Pepperdine), 6-0, 6-1

Round of 16

#49 Aiwen Zhu (UNLV) d. #47 Lampl 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
Madurawe d. #68 Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
#13 Lord d. Anna Bogoslavets (UNLV) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles: 

Round of 16 

Failla/Iamachikine (Pepperdine) d. #17 Lampl/Yee 6-4
Lord/Madurawe d. Li/Asano (UNLV) 6-1

Note: I'll update this reply as more results come in rather than add new replies with each completed match. Also, I'm using the preseason rankings rather than the ones from November, since they're so noisy based on limited competition. This is a better barometer of how good each player is (with the exception of some freshmen who are now ranked, but if that's relevant here, I'll note it for that particular match).

[ColoradoTree]

Friday Results:

Singles

Round of 32:

#58 Jessie Aney (UNC) d. Kimberly Yee 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
#47 Caroline Lampl d. Anastasia Kharitonova (Florida), 6-4, 6-1
Niluka Madurawe d. #52 Abi Altick (UCLA) 6-3, 7-6
#13 Melissa Lord d. Satsuki Takamura (Pepperdine), 6-0, 6-1

Round of 16

#49 Aiwen Zhu (UNLV) d. #47 Lampl 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
Madurawe d. #68 Tsveta Dimitrova (Florida) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
#13 Lord d. Anna Bogoslavets (UNLV) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles: 

Round of 16 

Failla/Iamachikine (Pepperdine) d. #17 Lampl/Yee 6-4
Lord/Madurawe d. Li/Asano (UNLV) 6-1

Note: I'll update this reply as more results come in rather than add new replies with each completed match. Also, I'm using the preseason rankings rather than the ones from November, since they're so noisy based on limited competition. This is a better barometer of how good each player is (with the exception of some freshmen who are now ranked, but if that's relevant here, I'll note it for that particular match).

[ColoradoTree]

A really nice day for Madurawe. Lord took care of business, too, and no shame in Lampl losing to Zhu on her home court. Here’s what’s on tap tomorrow:

Singles 

Quarterfinals (at 11:00am)

#13 Lord d. #62 McCartney Kessler (FLA) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 (a great win--Kessler is actually #29 in the current rankings after a good fall season, and might be Florida's #1 this year)
#40 Petra Granic (Texas) d. Madurawe, 6-2, 6-3

A good win for Lord, and no shame in losing for Madurawe.

Semifinals

#40 Petra Granic (Texas) d. Lord 7-6, 6-1

Doubles 

Quarterfinals (at 10am)

Lord/Madurawe d. #6 Andrews/Broomfield (UCLA) 6-2

[ColoradoTree]

A really nice day for Madurawe. Lord took care of business, too, and no shame in Lampl losing to Zhu on her home court. Here’s what’s on tap tomorrow:

Singles 

Quarterfinals (at 11:00am)

#13 Lord d. #62 McCartney Kessler (FLA) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 (a great win--Kessler is actually #29 in the current rankings after a good fall season, and might be Florida's #1 this year)
#40 Petra Granic (Texas) d. Madurawe, 6-2, 6-3

A good win for Lord, and no shame in losing for Madurawe.

Semifinals

#40 Petra Granic (Texas) d. Lord 7-6, 6-1

Doubles 

Quarterfinals (at 10am)

Lord/Madurawe d. #6 Andrews/Broomfield (UCLA) 6-2

[ColoradoTree]

Lord fell in the singles semifinals, and Lord/Madurawe lost in the doubles semifinals, 7-5, to a duo from Texas. 

All in all, not a bad tournament:

* Lord made the semis, and notched a good ranked win that will help her own ranking. 
* Madurawe showed us she could handle a spot in the singles lineup if she needed to, taking down UCLA's #2, Abi Altick. 
* Yee showed some good fight in singles, giving a ranked player a good match and showing us that she's perhaps taken a step herself and might deserve a spot in the lineup.
* Lampl went 3-1 in singles, picking up a couple of wins in added matches over Texas players, including a ranked player, so that should help not only her ranking but also in the dual match against Texas in a few weeks.
* Lord and Madurawe, despite being thrown together and likely not intended to play together this season, made the semifinals, knocking off one of the better doubles teams in the country (and the top seed at this tournament), UCLA's Andrews/Broomfield, by a 6-2 score to do it. 

Just about the only downside was Lampl/Yee in doubles, a team we expect to do great things at the #2 position this year. They lost 6-4 to a Pepperdine duo playing together for the first time, and then lost 6-3 to a Texas pair in an added match before finishing up with a win over what might be Florida's #1 pair, 6-2. Ended on a good note, at least!

It gets real starting this Saturday, though, as ITA Kick-Off Weekend sees St. Mary's, SMU, and Washington State come to town. We shouldn't have too much trouble with St. Mary's on Saturday, though Gordon (assuming she's still at #1) will have the day's toughest match against the Gaels' #1, Mariia Kozyreva, who is currently ranked #62 and was the preseason #85.

[ColoradoTree]

Lord fell in the singles semifinals, and Lord/Madurawe lost in the doubles semifinals, 7-5, to a duo from Texas. 

All in all, not a bad tournament:

* Lord made the semis, and notched a good ranked win that will help her own ranking. 
* Madurawe showed us she could handle a spot in the singles lineup if she needed to, taking down UCLA's #2, Abi Altick. 
* Yee showed some good fight in singles, giving a ranked player a good match and showing us that she's perhaps taken a step herself and might deserve a spot in the lineup.
* Lampl went 3-1 in singles, picking up a couple of wins in added matches over Texas players, including a ranked player, so that should help not only her ranking but also in the dual match against Texas in a few weeks.
* Lord and Madurawe, despite being thrown together and likely not intended to play together this season, made the semifinals, knocking off one of the better doubles teams in the country (and the top seed at this tournament), UCLA's Andrews/Broomfield, by a 6-2 score to do it. 

Just about the only downside was Lampl/Yee in doubles, a team we expect to do great things at the #2 position this year. They lost 6-4 to a Pepperdine duo playing together for the first time, and then lost 6-3 to a Texas pair in an added match before finishing up with a win over what might be Florida's #1 pair, 6-2. Ended on a good note, at least!

It gets real starting this Saturday, though, as ITA Kick-Off Weekend sees St. Mary's, SMU, and Washington State come to town. We shouldn't have too much trouble with St. Mary's on Saturday, though Gordon (assuming she's still at #1) will have the day's toughest match against the Gaels' #1, Mariia Kozyreva, who is currently ranked #62 and was the preseason #85.