Women's Tennis: Northwest Regionals
11-01-2021, 09:01 AM
(10-31-2021, 12:46 PM)TheFarm07 Wrote: When would we know if Gordon is coming back?
ColoradoTree, it sounds like (correct me if I am wrong), but we would have incredible depth in the singles lineup even if Gordon doesn't play, but the other top contenders such as defending champion Texas and Cal, can also match us in that department as well?
How much of a bump in confidence would you have in terms of us contending for the title if Gordon does come back?
Correct. Even if Gordon doesn't come back (and I'd be super confused if she doesn't--why take her off the roster over the summer but keep Shin, and then drop Shin and add Gordon back at the same time you add the three freshmen?), we're a deeper team than we were last year, with a more threatening top three overall:
1. Ma
2. Yepifanova
3. Blake
4. Xu
5. Geller
6. Choy
In other words, Blake plays a line lower than last year, and Geller and Choy each play two lines lower. Especially since most teams can't match our depth overall, someone like Choy who was a great competitor for us last year at #4 is just an unfair matchup for the players she'll see at #6.
Even with that singles lineup, I'd say we're every bit as deep as most other top teams. Texas is still the favorite with that group of now-sophomores who may have taken a developmental leap even after storming to the national title last year, and Stearns-Collins-Chavatipon is a brutal top three. I think Cal had a top 10-caliber roster last year, but they had the bad luck to run into UNC in the Round of 16 of last year's NCAA tournament, and since they bring pretty much everyone back, they should be considered among that top 5. UNC loses their 1, 2, and 5, but even with a weaker incoming class by their standards, they have 5 top 100 players in the preseason rankings. UVA has the #1 and #8 players coming in as well as the #3 newcomer, plus another elite blue chip freshman. Duke has three top 30 players and they bring in two blue chips with 11+ UTRs. And Pepperdine loses their top 2 (and what a top 2, in Lahey and Failla), but they only bring in two top 15 transfers (#3 Janice Tjen from Oregon and #13 Victoria Flores as a grad transfer from Georgia Tech), and one of the better blue chip freshmen (Savannah Broadus). How is it possible to lose players of the caliber of Lahey and Failla and somehow look better on paper than you did last year?
We were a better team last year than our record and final result indicated (we had national finalist Pepperdine on the brink twice), but I still felt like we were a clear step short of the top teams. I no longer feel that way, even without Gordon. Maybe we lose if we play them, but it's not like last year with Arbuthnott and Shin playing so (relatively) poorly, where I felt going into those top-level matches that while we could win, we were unlikely to do so. Texas and Pepperdine might be the two best teams in the country, but we get a shot at both of them in our non-conference slate. UVA might be right there with them, and we get them, too. Can't wait for those matches.
(No, those matches aren't on our official schedule yet, but Stanford is invariably one of the last teams to post its spring schedule. We know we'll get UVA at ITA Kick-Off Weekend if we beat Arkansas first, and the Texas and Pepperdine matches are on those schools' schedules.)
Oh, and with Gordon? Yeah, I like us even more.
(10-31-2021, 12:46 PM)TheFarm07 Wrote: When would we know if Gordon is coming back?
ColoradoTree, it sounds like (correct me if I am wrong), but we would have incredible depth in the singles lineup even if Gordon doesn't play, but the other top contenders such as defending champion Texas and Cal, can also match us in that department as well?
How much of a bump in confidence would you have in terms of us contending for the title if Gordon does come back?
Correct. Even if Gordon doesn't come back (and I'd be super confused if she doesn't--why take her off the roster over the summer but keep Shin, and then drop Shin and add Gordon back at the same time you add the three freshmen?), we're a deeper team than we were last year, with a more threatening top three overall:
1. Ma
2. Yepifanova
3. Blake
4. Xu
5. Geller
6. Choy
In other words, Blake plays a line lower than last year, and Geller and Choy each play two lines lower. Especially since most teams can't match our depth overall, someone like Choy who was a great competitor for us last year at #4 is just an unfair matchup for the players she'll see at #6.
Even with that singles lineup, I'd say we're every bit as deep as most other top teams. Texas is still the favorite with that group of now-sophomores who may have taken a developmental leap even after storming to the national title last year, and Stearns-Collins-Chavatipon is a brutal top three. I think Cal had a top 10-caliber roster last year, but they had the bad luck to run into UNC in the Round of 16 of last year's NCAA tournament, and since they bring pretty much everyone back, they should be considered among that top 5. UNC loses their 1, 2, and 5, but even with a weaker incoming class by their standards, they have 5 top 100 players in the preseason rankings. UVA has the #1 and #8 players coming in as well as the #3 newcomer, plus another elite blue chip freshman. Duke has three top 30 players and they bring in two blue chips with 11+ UTRs. And Pepperdine loses their top 2 (and what a top 2, in Lahey and Failla), but they only bring in two top 15 transfers (#3 Janice Tjen from Oregon and #13 Victoria Flores as a grad transfer from Georgia Tech), and one of the better blue chip freshmen (Savannah Broadus). How is it possible to lose players of the caliber of Lahey and Failla and somehow look better on paper than you did last year?
We were a better team last year than our record and final result indicated (we had national finalist Pepperdine on the brink twice), but I still felt like we were a clear step short of the top teams. I no longer feel that way, even without Gordon. Maybe we lose if we play them, but it's not like last year with Arbuthnott and Shin playing so (relatively) poorly, where I felt going into those top-level matches that while we could win, we were unlikely to do so. Texas and Pepperdine might be the two best teams in the country, but we get a shot at both of them in our non-conference slate. UVA might be right there with them, and we get them, too. Can't wait for those matches.
(No, those matches aren't on our official schedule yet, but Stanford is invariably one of the last teams to post its spring schedule. We know we'll get UVA at ITA Kick-Off Weekend if we beat Arkansas first, and the Texas and Pepperdine matches are on those schools' schedules.)
Oh, and with Gordon? Yeah, I like us even more.
11-01-2021, 10:55 AM
(10-31-2021, 04:07 PM)BostonCard Wrote: Also, I presume one scholarship we might have already had is spoken for since we signed more players in this year’s class than we really had scholarships for, no?
BC
I think that's right, but as I'm still not entirely sure of this team's scholarship math, I'll go through it here. When we signed Choy and Madurawe, we only had one scholarship available for that class, so I've always assumed (based only on their rankings at the time and relative desirability as recruits) that Madurawe paid her own way for a year but was put on scholarship for her sophomore year once the trio of Lord, Lampl, and Yee left. That would've put us at the 8-scholarship cap for 2019-20, but then covid happened, and Arbuthnott/Higuchi came back for a fifth season on scholarship while we welcomed Houghton/Geller, putting us presumably at 10 scholarships. We lose three scholarship players in Arbuthnott/Higuchi/Shin, but then we add Ma/Yepifanova/Xu. I thought the extra covid scholarship year was personal to the athlete, so it's not like Shin not playing a fifth year means that opens up a spot for a freshman, right? Anyway, here's the roster of presumed scholarship athletes by year:
Fifth year (1): Gordon
Seniors (2): Choy, Madurawe
Juniors (2): Blake, Mossmer
Sophomores (2): Geller, Houghton
Freshmen (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Because Xu wasn't announced with Ma and Yepifanova, I'm inferring she's paying her own way for the year, and at least one of Choy/Madurawe won't be invited back for a fifth covid year. Assuming that's the case, next year's roster looks like this:
Seniors (2): Blake, Mossmer
Juniors (2): Geller, Houghton
Sophomores (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Freshmen (1): TBD
I just hope we manage to avoid the mistake of 2014, though. In the 2013 class, we landed an outstanding trio (Davidson, Doyle, Zhao) and had the #1 class. In the 2015 class, we had another outstanding trio (Lord, Lampl, Yee) and again had the #1 class. But in 2014, we didn't have a class. Outstanding trios can be great for your program overall (that Lord/Lampl/Yee trio won three national titles, after all), but it creates some peaks and valleys and years where you lack senior leadership. It wouldn't be that big of a deal for next year's lineup, since we have seven scholarship athletes returning (and maybe you'd even see Choy and/or Madurawe play a fifth year to help our depth), but it makes hitting on the 2023 class all the more vital.
Doesn't look like that one will be Lutkemeyer, who seems set on UCLA for a one-and-done before embarking on a pro career. And top recruit Brantmeier will be a tough get with her best friend and training/usual doubles partner Kimmi Hance a freshman at UCLA this year, though Brantmeier is also friendly with Yepifanova, so we'll see. (Yepifanova has beaten Brantmeier in the four matches they've played, including in the finals of the 2019 US Open Juniors and of a top ITF event in San Diego this past spring, but Brantmeier is a year and change younger than Sasha. They've played at least one time together as a doubles pair, too, at an ITF tournament this past spring.) Alexis Blokhina is another name I'll be watching as signing day approaches.
(10-31-2021, 04:07 PM)BostonCard Wrote: Also, I presume one scholarship we might have already had is spoken for since we signed more players in this year’s class than we really had scholarships for, no?
BC
I think that's right, but as I'm still not entirely sure of this team's scholarship math, I'll go through it here. When we signed Choy and Madurawe, we only had one scholarship available for that class, so I've always assumed (based only on their rankings at the time and relative desirability as recruits) that Madurawe paid her own way for a year but was put on scholarship for her sophomore year once the trio of Lord, Lampl, and Yee left. That would've put us at the 8-scholarship cap for 2019-20, but then covid happened, and Arbuthnott/Higuchi came back for a fifth season on scholarship while we welcomed Houghton/Geller, putting us presumably at 10 scholarships. We lose three scholarship players in Arbuthnott/Higuchi/Shin, but then we add Ma/Yepifanova/Xu. I thought the extra covid scholarship year was personal to the athlete, so it's not like Shin not playing a fifth year means that opens up a spot for a freshman, right? Anyway, here's the roster of presumed scholarship athletes by year:
Fifth year (1): Gordon
Seniors (2): Choy, Madurawe
Juniors (2): Blake, Mossmer
Sophomores (2): Geller, Houghton
Freshmen (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Because Xu wasn't announced with Ma and Yepifanova, I'm inferring she's paying her own way for the year, and at least one of Choy/Madurawe won't be invited back for a fifth covid year. Assuming that's the case, next year's roster looks like this:
Seniors (2): Blake, Mossmer
Juniors (2): Geller, Houghton
Sophomores (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Freshmen (1): TBD
I just hope we manage to avoid the mistake of 2014, though. In the 2013 class, we landed an outstanding trio (Davidson, Doyle, Zhao) and had the #1 class. In the 2015 class, we had another outstanding trio (Lord, Lampl, Yee) and again had the #1 class. But in 2014, we didn't have a class. Outstanding trios can be great for your program overall (that Lord/Lampl/Yee trio won three national titles, after all), but it creates some peaks and valleys and years where you lack senior leadership. It wouldn't be that big of a deal for next year's lineup, since we have seven scholarship athletes returning (and maybe you'd even see Choy and/or Madurawe play a fifth year to help our depth), but it makes hitting on the 2023 class all the more vital.
Doesn't look like that one will be Lutkemeyer, who seems set on UCLA for a one-and-done before embarking on a pro career. And top recruit Brantmeier will be a tough get with her best friend and training/usual doubles partner Kimmi Hance a freshman at UCLA this year, though Brantmeier is also friendly with Yepifanova, so we'll see. (Yepifanova has beaten Brantmeier in the four matches they've played, including in the finals of the 2019 US Open Juniors and of a top ITF event in San Diego this past spring, but Brantmeier is a year and change younger than Sasha. They've played at least one time together as a doubles pair, too, at an ITF tournament this past spring.) Alexis Blokhina is another name I'll be watching as signing day approaches.
11-02-2021, 03:40 PM
Aside from those three names, anyone else of note that we should keep an eye out for that could help Stanford?
Aside from those three names, anyone else of note that we should keep an eye out for that could help Stanford?
11-03-2021, 01:24 PM
(11-02-2021, 03:40 PM)Sakibomb25 Wrote: Aside from those three names, anyone else of note that we should keep an eye out for that could help Stanford?
Could be any number of international players--hard to ever glean their interest level in coming to college before they actually announce. And it's always possible we flip a verbal commitment if we can get a player admitted (maybe someone like Rachel Gailis, the #2 recruit who is from Studio City, CA but committed to Florida). But other than the names I mentioned, there are four blue chip seniors who haven't committed:
* Ann Guerry from Atlanta, GA (a borderline blue chip, has peaked at #20 in the class the last couple of years; that's pretty low for what we usually see in our incoming classes)
* Rebecca Lynn from Newport Beach, CA (peaked at #13 the last couple of years and peaked at #8/9 the two years before that)
* Whitley Pate from Mount Pleasant, SC (peaked at #21 this year and in the 30s the last few years)
* Emma Sun from Newbury Park, CA (peaked at #15 this year, which is a big jump from past seasons--she's a late riser)
But Brantmeier is a difference-maker, and Blokhina might be, too. If Lele can't get one of those two, I wouldn't be surprised at all if she left one scholarship open in the hopes of getting five out of the next two classes. I get the sense that the Class of 2023 is a bit deeper than this one.
(11-02-2021, 03:40 PM)Sakibomb25 Wrote: Aside from those three names, anyone else of note that we should keep an eye out for that could help Stanford?
Could be any number of international players--hard to ever glean their interest level in coming to college before they actually announce. And it's always possible we flip a verbal commitment if we can get a player admitted (maybe someone like Rachel Gailis, the #2 recruit who is from Studio City, CA but committed to Florida). But other than the names I mentioned, there are four blue chip seniors who haven't committed:
* Ann Guerry from Atlanta, GA (a borderline blue chip, has peaked at #20 in the class the last couple of years; that's pretty low for what we usually see in our incoming classes)
* Rebecca Lynn from Newport Beach, CA (peaked at #13 the last couple of years and peaked at #8/9 the two years before that)
* Whitley Pate from Mount Pleasant, SC (peaked at #21 this year and in the 30s the last few years)
* Emma Sun from Newbury Park, CA (peaked at #15 this year, which is a big jump from past seasons--she's a late riser)
But Brantmeier is a difference-maker, and Blokhina might be, too. If Lele can't get one of those two, I wouldn't be surprised at all if she left one scholarship open in the hopes of getting five out of the next two classes. I get the sense that the Class of 2023 is a bit deeper than this one.
11-05-2021, 11:23 PM
(11-03-2021, 01:24 PM)ColoradoTree Wrote:(11-02-2021, 03:40 PM)Sakibomb25 Wrote: Aside from those three names, anyone else of note that we should keep an eye out for that could help Stanford?
Could be any number of international players--hard to ever glean their interest level in coming to college before they actually announce. And it's always possible we flip a verbal commitment if we can get a player admitted (maybe someone like Rachel Gailis, the #2 recruit who is from Studio City, CA but committed to Florida). But other than the names I mentioned, there are four blue chip seniors who haven't committed:
* Ann Guerry from Atlanta, GA (a borderline blue chip, has peaked at #20 in the class the last couple of years; that's pretty low for what we usually see in our incoming classes)
* Rebecca Lynn from Newport Beach, CA (peaked at #13 the last couple of years and peaked at #8/9 the two years before that)
* Whitley Pate from Mount Pleasant, SC (peaked at #21 this year and in the 30s the last few years)
* Emma Sun from Newbury Park, CA (peaked at #15 this year, which is a big jump from past seasons--she's a late riser)
But Brantmeier is a difference-maker, and Blokhina might be, too. If Lele can't get one of those two, I wouldn't be surprised at all if she left one scholarship open in the hopes of getting five out of the next two classes. I get the sense that the Class of 2023 is a bit deeper than this one.
Let's hope.
Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip.
(11-03-2021, 01:24 PM)ColoradoTree Wrote:(11-02-2021, 03:40 PM)Sakibomb25 Wrote: Aside from those three names, anyone else of note that we should keep an eye out for that could help Stanford?
Could be any number of international players--hard to ever glean their interest level in coming to college before they actually announce. And it's always possible we flip a verbal commitment if we can get a player admitted (maybe someone like Rachel Gailis, the #2 recruit who is from Studio City, CA but committed to Florida). But other than the names I mentioned, there are four blue chip seniors who haven't committed:
* Ann Guerry from Atlanta, GA (a borderline blue chip, has peaked at #20 in the class the last couple of years; that's pretty low for what we usually see in our incoming classes)
* Rebecca Lynn from Newport Beach, CA (peaked at #13 the last couple of years and peaked at #8/9 the two years before that)
* Whitley Pate from Mount Pleasant, SC (peaked at #21 this year and in the 30s the last few years)
* Emma Sun from Newbury Park, CA (peaked at #15 this year, which is a big jump from past seasons--she's a late riser)
But Brantmeier is a difference-maker, and Blokhina might be, too. If Lele can't get one of those two, I wouldn't be surprised at all if she left one scholarship open in the hopes of getting five out of the next two classes. I get the sense that the Class of 2023 is a bit deeper than this one.
Let's hope.
Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip.
11-11-2021, 08:42 AM
Brantmeier is going to UNC, and Lutkemeyer (as expected) is heading to UCLA. It's not clear to me that either will be there for long, though. I think both will leave early for the pro tour. That leaves Blokhina as the U.S. player on the board that is most exciting, and we don't yet know her plans. She did play doubles with Valencia Xu this summer, though, including in the girls' tournament at the U.S. Open.
Nothing from Stanford on whether they landed any international players, but it was just the first day of the signing period after all. And if there are a few Lele likes better in next year's class, that would be the better course, even though it messes with roster math a bit.
Nothing from Stanford on whether they landed any international players, but it was just the first day of the signing period after all. And if there are a few Lele likes better in next year's class, that would be the better course, even though it messes with roster math a bit.
Brantmeier is going to UNC, and Lutkemeyer (as expected) is heading to UCLA. It's not clear to me that either will be there for long, though. I think both will leave early for the pro tour. That leaves Blokhina as the U.S. player on the board that is most exciting, and we don't yet know her plans. She did play doubles with Valencia Xu this summer, though, including in the girls' tournament at the U.S. Open.
Nothing from Stanford on whether they landed any international players, but it was just the first day of the signing period after all. And if there are a few Lele likes better in next year's class, that would be the better course, even though it messes with roster math a bit.
Nothing from Stanford on whether they landed any international players, but it was just the first day of the signing period after all. And if there are a few Lele likes better in next year's class, that would be the better course, even though it messes with roster math a bit.
11-11-2021, 12:38 PM
And as of this morning, Blokhina picks Stanford! From her Instagram comments, sounds like it's been in the works for a long time and this has long been a dream for her, but she's also played it close to the vest in terms of talking to tennis-specific publications--I couldn't find any bread crumbs about college interest from her before she announced. Here's a profile of her:
* Currently the #6 recruit in the class, and she's been a riser (peak ranking of #15 as a freshman, #12 as a sophomore, and #9 as a junior)
* She's currently ranked #52 in the world junior rankings with a career high ranking of 46. That's a
* She's a hard-hitting lefty from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Not super tall, but compact and powerful.
* She's got a 7-4 record against other blue chips in the past year or so: she beat Yepifanova 6-2, 6-4 back in March (avenging a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Yepifanova from the previous summer); she lost in three sets to Valencia Xu in August (around when she was partnering with her in doubles at the U.S. Open girls' tournament); she also has a couple of three-set losses to South Carolina freshman Sarah Hamner, the top-ranked newcomer in the ITA rankings this year who won the ITA All-American Tournament this past fall and who came into Fall Nationals as the 3 seed, losing to preseason #12 Alexa Noel of Iowa in a third-set tiebreaker.
* Back in February 2020, she beat Mell Reasco (then of Ecuador, now the 4th-ranked newcomer at UGA) in three sets--Reasco won the Southeast regional (which is stocked with good SEC/ACC teams) this fall and made it to the quarters at Fall Nationals, the same round Ma reached.
* At age 13, she won the Florida state 18u tournament, the youngest-over champion there.
* She upset 3rd-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider in the second round of the US Open girls' tournament this past September, 6-2, 7-6, avenging what had been a 0-3 record against Shnaider coming into the match.
* She's got less of a record against top blue chips than others mainly because she seems to be focusing on European-based ITF junior tournaments with few American players (there are way way more tournaments over there than there are here). That suggests she's serious about sounding out a pro career at some point, so if she vaults to the top of our lineup sooner rather than later, she might be a risk to move on, but heck, if she manages to beat out Ma and Yepifanova in this lineup, she's probably good enough to go pro whenever she wants.
Anyway, she's legit, and she's a great get for the program--to convince her to come to Stanford when we've got that ridiculous trio one class above her is a heck of a sales job, and it speaks well of not only Lele but of Blokhina and what she wants out of tennis, knowing how hard it will be to crack the top part of the lineup next year.
Unclear yet whether she'll be only member of the class. If she is, that's just fine by me, because she's a great one. Here's next year's roster math, assuming neither Choy nor Madurawe takes a fifth year:
Seniors (2): Blake, Mossmer
Juniors (2): Geller, Houghton
Sophomores (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Freshmen (1): Blokhina
That's our eight, unless one of Choy or Madurawe comes back or we get an international recruit. Another scholarship would have to come from somewhere, though, whether it's a Mossmer medical retirement or another "pay your way for a year and we'll get you on scholarship next year" situation.
* Currently the #6 recruit in the class, and she's been a riser (peak ranking of #15 as a freshman, #12 as a sophomore, and #9 as a junior)
* She's currently ranked #52 in the world junior rankings with a career high ranking of 46. That's a
* She's a hard-hitting lefty from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Not super tall, but compact and powerful.
* She's got a 7-4 record against other blue chips in the past year or so: she beat Yepifanova 6-2, 6-4 back in March (avenging a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Yepifanova from the previous summer); she lost in three sets to Valencia Xu in August (around when she was partnering with her in doubles at the U.S. Open girls' tournament); she also has a couple of three-set losses to South Carolina freshman Sarah Hamner, the top-ranked newcomer in the ITA rankings this year who won the ITA All-American Tournament this past fall and who came into Fall Nationals as the 3 seed, losing to preseason #12 Alexa Noel of Iowa in a third-set tiebreaker.
* Back in February 2020, she beat Mell Reasco (then of Ecuador, now the 4th-ranked newcomer at UGA) in three sets--Reasco won the Southeast regional (which is stocked with good SEC/ACC teams) this fall and made it to the quarters at Fall Nationals, the same round Ma reached.
* At age 13, she won the Florida state 18u tournament, the youngest-over champion there.
* She upset 3rd-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider in the second round of the US Open girls' tournament this past September, 6-2, 7-6, avenging what had been a 0-3 record against Shnaider coming into the match.
* She's got less of a record against top blue chips than others mainly because she seems to be focusing on European-based ITF junior tournaments with few American players (there are way way more tournaments over there than there are here). That suggests she's serious about sounding out a pro career at some point, so if she vaults to the top of our lineup sooner rather than later, she might be a risk to move on, but heck, if she manages to beat out Ma and Yepifanova in this lineup, she's probably good enough to go pro whenever she wants.
Anyway, she's legit, and she's a great get for the program--to convince her to come to Stanford when we've got that ridiculous trio one class above her is a heck of a sales job, and it speaks well of not only Lele but of Blokhina and what she wants out of tennis, knowing how hard it will be to crack the top part of the lineup next year.
Unclear yet whether she'll be only member of the class. If she is, that's just fine by me, because she's a great one. Here's next year's roster math, assuming neither Choy nor Madurawe takes a fifth year:
Seniors (2): Blake, Mossmer
Juniors (2): Geller, Houghton
Sophomores (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Freshmen (1): Blokhina
That's our eight, unless one of Choy or Madurawe comes back or we get an international recruit. Another scholarship would have to come from somewhere, though, whether it's a Mossmer medical retirement or another "pay your way for a year and we'll get you on scholarship next year" situation.
And as of this morning, Blokhina picks Stanford! From her Instagram comments, sounds like it's been in the works for a long time and this has long been a dream for her, but she's also played it close to the vest in terms of talking to tennis-specific publications--I couldn't find any bread crumbs about college interest from her before she announced. Here's a profile of her:
* Currently the #6 recruit in the class, and she's been a riser (peak ranking of #15 as a freshman, #12 as a sophomore, and #9 as a junior)
* She's currently ranked #52 in the world junior rankings with a career high ranking of 46. That's a
* She's a hard-hitting lefty from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Not super tall, but compact and powerful.
* She's got a 7-4 record against other blue chips in the past year or so: she beat Yepifanova 6-2, 6-4 back in March (avenging a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Yepifanova from the previous summer); she lost in three sets to Valencia Xu in August (around when she was partnering with her in doubles at the U.S. Open girls' tournament); she also has a couple of three-set losses to South Carolina freshman Sarah Hamner, the top-ranked newcomer in the ITA rankings this year who won the ITA All-American Tournament this past fall and who came into Fall Nationals as the 3 seed, losing to preseason #12 Alexa Noel of Iowa in a third-set tiebreaker.
* Back in February 2020, she beat Mell Reasco (then of Ecuador, now the 4th-ranked newcomer at UGA) in three sets--Reasco won the Southeast regional (which is stocked with good SEC/ACC teams) this fall and made it to the quarters at Fall Nationals, the same round Ma reached.
* At age 13, she won the Florida state 18u tournament, the youngest-over champion there.
* She upset 3rd-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider in the second round of the US Open girls' tournament this past September, 6-2, 7-6, avenging what had been a 0-3 record against Shnaider coming into the match.
* She's got less of a record against top blue chips than others mainly because she seems to be focusing on European-based ITF junior tournaments with few American players (there are way way more tournaments over there than there are here). That suggests she's serious about sounding out a pro career at some point, so if she vaults to the top of our lineup sooner rather than later, she might be a risk to move on, but heck, if she manages to beat out Ma and Yepifanova in this lineup, she's probably good enough to go pro whenever she wants.
Anyway, she's legit, and she's a great get for the program--to convince her to come to Stanford when we've got that ridiculous trio one class above her is a heck of a sales job, and it speaks well of not only Lele but of Blokhina and what she wants out of tennis, knowing how hard it will be to crack the top part of the lineup next year.
Unclear yet whether she'll be only member of the class. If she is, that's just fine by me, because she's a great one. Here's next year's roster math, assuming neither Choy nor Madurawe takes a fifth year:
Seniors (2): Blake, Mossmer
Juniors (2): Geller, Houghton
Sophomores (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Freshmen (1): Blokhina
That's our eight, unless one of Choy or Madurawe comes back or we get an international recruit. Another scholarship would have to come from somewhere, though, whether it's a Mossmer medical retirement or another "pay your way for a year and we'll get you on scholarship next year" situation.
* Currently the #6 recruit in the class, and she's been a riser (peak ranking of #15 as a freshman, #12 as a sophomore, and #9 as a junior)
* She's currently ranked #52 in the world junior rankings with a career high ranking of 46. That's a
* She's a hard-hitting lefty from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Not super tall, but compact and powerful.
* She's got a 7-4 record against other blue chips in the past year or so: she beat Yepifanova 6-2, 6-4 back in March (avenging a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Yepifanova from the previous summer); she lost in three sets to Valencia Xu in August (around when she was partnering with her in doubles at the U.S. Open girls' tournament); she also has a couple of three-set losses to South Carolina freshman Sarah Hamner, the top-ranked newcomer in the ITA rankings this year who won the ITA All-American Tournament this past fall and who came into Fall Nationals as the 3 seed, losing to preseason #12 Alexa Noel of Iowa in a third-set tiebreaker.
* Back in February 2020, she beat Mell Reasco (then of Ecuador, now the 4th-ranked newcomer at UGA) in three sets--Reasco won the Southeast regional (which is stocked with good SEC/ACC teams) this fall and made it to the quarters at Fall Nationals, the same round Ma reached.
* At age 13, she won the Florida state 18u tournament, the youngest-over champion there.
* She upset 3rd-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider in the second round of the US Open girls' tournament this past September, 6-2, 7-6, avenging what had been a 0-3 record against Shnaider coming into the match.
* She's got less of a record against top blue chips than others mainly because she seems to be focusing on European-based ITF junior tournaments with few American players (there are way way more tournaments over there than there are here). That suggests she's serious about sounding out a pro career at some point, so if she vaults to the top of our lineup sooner rather than later, she might be a risk to move on, but heck, if she manages to beat out Ma and Yepifanova in this lineup, she's probably good enough to go pro whenever she wants.
Anyway, she's legit, and she's a great get for the program--to convince her to come to Stanford when we've got that ridiculous trio one class above her is a heck of a sales job, and it speaks well of not only Lele but of Blokhina and what she wants out of tennis, knowing how hard it will be to crack the top part of the lineup next year.
Unclear yet whether she'll be only member of the class. If she is, that's just fine by me, because she's a great one. Here's next year's roster math, assuming neither Choy nor Madurawe takes a fifth year:
Seniors (2): Blake, Mossmer
Juniors (2): Geller, Houghton
Sophomores (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Freshmen (1): Blokhina
That's our eight, unless one of Choy or Madurawe comes back or we get an international recruit. Another scholarship would have to come from somewhere, though, whether it's a Mossmer medical retirement or another "pay your way for a year and we'll get you on scholarship next year" situation.
11-11-2021, 02:09 PM
(11-11-2021, 01:42 PM)oldalum Wrote:(11-11-2021, 12:38 PM)ColoradoTree Wrote: it speaks well of not only Lele but of Blokhina and what she wants out of tennis and schoolFixed it for you. :)
That's what I was implying, but apologies for not being clear! For a lot of top junior players, tennis is the end in and of itself--college is merely a detour to the pro tour, so any college situation where you might not play top 2-3 early is a non-starter. For Blokhina to come here with the current crop of freshmen where they are (and recognizing Ma is likely to stay all four years due to her family's education-first emphasis) suggests she is willing to use and leverage tennis in pursuit of other goals (like getting into Stanford and getting an outstanding education), and playing lower in the lineup (at least for a bit) is less important to her than coming to Stanford is.
Of course, just because Ma is (seemingly) entrenched ahead of her doesn't mean Blokhina doesn't think she can surpass Blake, Xu, or Yepifanova next year. And more power to her! Internal competition for position is a heck of a motivator.
She also seems to be a more accomplished doubles player than most of our high-ranked recruits seem to be coming in, so maybe we'll see something of a resurgence there, too. (Or continue a resurgence that we might start to see this spring.)
(11-11-2021, 01:42 PM)oldalum Wrote:(11-11-2021, 12:38 PM)ColoradoTree Wrote: it speaks well of not only Lele but of Blokhina and what she wants out of tennis and schoolFixed it for you. :)
That's what I was implying, but apologies for not being clear! For a lot of top junior players, tennis is the end in and of itself--college is merely a detour to the pro tour, so any college situation where you might not play top 2-3 early is a non-starter. For Blokhina to come here with the current crop of freshmen where they are (and recognizing Ma is likely to stay all four years due to her family's education-first emphasis) suggests she is willing to use and leverage tennis in pursuit of other goals (like getting into Stanford and getting an outstanding education), and playing lower in the lineup (at least for a bit) is less important to her than coming to Stanford is.
Of course, just because Ma is (seemingly) entrenched ahead of her doesn't mean Blokhina doesn't think she can surpass Blake, Xu, or Yepifanova next year. And more power to her! Internal competition for position is a heck of a motivator.
She also seems to be a more accomplished doubles player than most of our high-ranked recruits seem to be coming in, so maybe we'll see something of a resurgence there, too. (Or continue a resurgence that we might start to see this spring.)
11-17-2021, 10:54 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-17-2021, 11:08 AM by ColoradoTree.)
(11-11-2021, 03:30 PM)oldalum Wrote: I see what you were getting at, I'm just not as sharp as I (think I) used to be.
BTW, any thoughts on why we've been so mediocre in doubles for so long? I don't have any . . .
I don't have any special insight as to why it's been a relative weak spot for us. If I had to guess, it might have something to do with the incentives of match scoring. Each singles match is worth a point, and the winner of 2 of 3 doubles matches gets just one point. It's fun and exciting, and I like the tension of the doubles point, but if you're a coach deciding how to use practice time, emphasizing singles play over doubles is pretty logical. But given how we did at Northwest Regionals, perhaps we might turn a corner this year.
In other news, blue chip Emma Sun of Newbury Park, CA (Westlake HS) has verbally committed to Stanford. She's been something of a late riser in the rankings, going from #139 as a freshman to #53 as a sophomore to #36 as a junior and now #14 as a senior. I suspect that's because, like Connie Ma, she's been primarily focused on being a high school student, and her international profile is pretty limited--her . But even Ma broke through as the top recruit based on the tournaments she did play--as we've seen, Ma is on another level. But Sun has five posts on her Instagram: three are of piano performances and awards she's received in classical piano competitions (she is quite good), one is at a Westlake football game, and the final one is the Stanford logo announcing her commitment.
Here's an old LA Times article about her, but it seems pretty clear she fits the bill of what a Stanford student-athlete should be: https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschoo...nd-a-stage
In terms of on-court results, she's about .500 in her matches against other blue chips, and she lost 6-1, 7-5 to Blokhina back in March. She strikes me as a player who won't come in and play high in the lineup right away, but who is ripe for a lot of improvement and development. Our recruits are usually ranked a bit higher, but she's pretty comparable to where Sara Choy and Niluka Madurawe were ranked when they came in.
Welcome, Emma!
So, next year's roster math gets more confusing, assuming Choy and Madurawe don't take a fifth year:
Seniors (2): Blake, Mossmer
Juniors (2): Houghton, Geller
Sophomores (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Freshmen (2): Blokhina, Sun
Either Sun is paying her own way for a year or someone is leaving early, whether that's to go pro or a medical retirement. Not aware of anyone with urgent designs on a pro career, and Mossmer remains affiliated with the tennis team (for now, at least).
(This post was last modified: 11-17-2021, 11:08 AM by ColoradoTree.)
(11-11-2021, 03:30 PM)oldalum Wrote: I see what you were getting at, I'm just not as sharp as I (think I) used to be.
BTW, any thoughts on why we've been so mediocre in doubles for so long? I don't have any . . .
I don't have any special insight as to why it's been a relative weak spot for us. If I had to guess, it might have something to do with the incentives of match scoring. Each singles match is worth a point, and the winner of 2 of 3 doubles matches gets just one point. It's fun and exciting, and I like the tension of the doubles point, but if you're a coach deciding how to use practice time, emphasizing singles play over doubles is pretty logical. But given how we did at Northwest Regionals, perhaps we might turn a corner this year.
In other news, blue chip Emma Sun of Newbury Park, CA (Westlake HS) has verbally committed to Stanford. She's been something of a late riser in the rankings, going from #139 as a freshman to #53 as a sophomore to #36 as a junior and now #14 as a senior. I suspect that's because, like Connie Ma, she's been primarily focused on being a high school student, and her international profile is pretty limited--her . But even Ma broke through as the top recruit based on the tournaments she did play--as we've seen, Ma is on another level. But Sun has five posts on her Instagram: three are of piano performances and awards she's received in classical piano competitions (she is quite good), one is at a Westlake football game, and the final one is the Stanford logo announcing her commitment.
Here's an old LA Times article about her, but it seems pretty clear she fits the bill of what a Stanford student-athlete should be: https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschoo...nd-a-stage
In terms of on-court results, she's about .500 in her matches against other blue chips, and she lost 6-1, 7-5 to Blokhina back in March. She strikes me as a player who won't come in and play high in the lineup right away, but who is ripe for a lot of improvement and development. Our recruits are usually ranked a bit higher, but she's pretty comparable to where Sara Choy and Niluka Madurawe were ranked when they came in.
Welcome, Emma!
So, next year's roster math gets more confusing, assuming Choy and Madurawe don't take a fifth year:
Seniors (2): Blake, Mossmer
Juniors (2): Houghton, Geller
Sophomores (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Freshmen (2): Blokhina, Sun
Either Sun is paying her own way for a year or someone is leaving early, whether that's to go pro or a medical retirement. Not aware of anyone with urgent designs on a pro career, and Mossmer remains affiliated with the tennis team (for now, at least).
11-17-2021, 09:47 PM
(11-12-2021, 08:42 AM)BobK Wrote: https://instagram.com/stories/stanfordwt...=copy_link
New commit
For those of us without an instagram account, who was it?
BC
(11-12-2021, 08:42 AM)BobK Wrote: https://instagram.com/stories/stanfordwt...=copy_link
New commit
For those of us without an instagram account, who was it?
BC
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »