(11-14-2023, 02:52 PM)Sakibomb25 Wrote: Great summary as always.
Where do you see Glozman playing next year? In terms of previous classes, where would she stack up?
Good question. I think I need to see how this year plays out for her to have a better idea of where she could fit, and I also want to see what we get out of Hui and Yu this year. Glozman is excellent, but there's no way she beats out Ma or Yepifanova at the top of next year's lineup, I don't see it as likely at all for Glozman to overtake Blokhina or Xu (who will be a senior), either. Looking at the roster math, here's who you have at that point:
Fifth Years (0): (I'm
assuming we're not inviting back Geller or Houghton--one never knows, especially if they're healthy and have taken a leap this year, but I doubt it.)
Seniors (3): Yepifanova, Ma, Xu
Juniors (2): Blokhina, Sun
Sophomores (2): Hui, Yu
Freshmen (1 for now): Glozman
I mean, some of this is just the first-world problem of deciding in what order a bunch of recruits who have been the #1 or #2 recruit in their respective classes should play. Glozman has been ranked #1 in her class, but is generally regarded as a clear #2 behind pro-bound Ngounoue; Yu was basically a wall-to-wall #1 recruit, though Hui sometimes hit #1 in the class; Blokhina finished as the #3 recruit, her peak; Ma was a wall-to-wall #1 like Yu, with Yepifanova breaking through sometimes to hit #1, too, though more frequently than Hui did; Xu was a top 5 recruit throughout high school until senior year, when she peaked at #8; and Houghton was a late bloomer, going from a peak of #20 as a HS sophomore to a top 5 recruit junior and senior years, finishing as the #3 recruit that year. Sun is the outlier, peaking at #10 but generally being one of the lowest-ranked blue chips that year. And Geller was a highly-ranked international player.
Glozman's recruiting profile is a step behind that of Ma and Yu, but she looks right in line with what we thought Yepifanova might be coming in, maybe a tick higher than what Blokhina or Hui were coming in. But the distinctions are pretty fine at this point, and there is a
ton of room for growth. Sometimes that level continues to increase, and sometimes it just... doesn't. Sometimes it's fits and starts. They're still basically kids, and you never know how they're going to adjust to college. For many, it's less tennis than they might be used to playing, and for others (like Ma and Sun), it's more.
So, all that said--I think Glozman comes in as a legit challenger for a spot in the lineup, but we're just too deep ahead of her for her to vault to the top of the lineup like Ma and Yepifanova did. This year will be pretty illuminating in terms of the internal pecking order, and then we'll be able to get a sense of where she might fit in.
But you wanna talk title windows--we're in one right now, but especially with UNC graduating a few players after this year, you have to love our chances in 2024-25. I'd just hate it if Blake left campus without a ring--she'd be the first class to do that since the program went five years in between national titles in the mid-90s. But we have to be the title favorite going into 2024-25, with that senior class plus Blokhina, Hui, Yu, and Glozman likely featuring. (I don't think we're going to see enough improvement from Sun to see her as a regular part of the lineup going forward.)
