05-21-2019, 08:28 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-21-2019, 09:05 AM by ColoradoTree.)
Tuesday, May 21 schedule:
Singles, Round of 32
9:00am: Gordon vs. #45 Jada Hart (UCLA)
Doubles, Round of 32
9:30am: Lampl/Yee vs. #6 Khmelnitckaia/Koch (Kansas)
5:00pm: Arbuthnott/Gordon vs. #2 Graham/Aney (UNC)
**
Beat Jada Hart and Gordon's an All-American in singles again. Simple as that.
Of course, beating Hart isn't the simple thing. In the regular-season road match at UCLA, Gordon lost 6-2, 6-3, but reversed that for the Pac-12 final, winning that match 6-4, 6-4 (which is more what I expected the first match). Hart's UTR going into the quarterfinals was 11.58, while Gordon's was 11.72, so by that measure, Gordon should be considered a very slight favorite. But Gordon is playing awfully well right now, and when she's on the top of her game, she has a gear that I don't think Hart can match. But that matchup isn't ideal from a style of play perspective, so getting on top of Hart early will be key. And Gordon doesn't always find that gear, of course.
Hart is also either playing extremely well, or she faced an opponent too exhausted or injured to put up her best fight. Because Duke's Meible Chi is good, and Hart beat her 6-1, 6-1. (Chi beat #11 Carla Touly of Florida State twice this year, crushed #21 Chiara Lommer of Michigan, and was about to beat #7 Alexa Graham of UNC in the ACC tournament--up 4-0 in the third--when the match was clinched.)
The NCAA singles tournament is a beautiful mess like that. So many surprising results. I mean, Gordon is good, don't get me wrong, but 6-2, 6-1 over the #5 player in the country good? Obviously there's a mix of Gordon playing well and finding motivation, and Jones struggling and feeling disappointed over the end to the season.
Singles, Round of 32
9:00am: Gordon vs. #45 Jada Hart (UCLA)
Doubles, Round of 32
9:30am: Lampl/Yee vs. #6 Khmelnitckaia/Koch (Kansas)
5:00pm: Arbuthnott/Gordon vs. #2 Graham/Aney (UNC)
**
Beat Jada Hart and Gordon's an All-American in singles again. Simple as that.
Of course, beating Hart isn't the simple thing. In the regular-season road match at UCLA, Gordon lost 6-2, 6-3, but reversed that for the Pac-12 final, winning that match 6-4, 6-4 (which is more what I expected the first match). Hart's UTR going into the quarterfinals was 11.58, while Gordon's was 11.72, so by that measure, Gordon should be considered a very slight favorite. But Gordon is playing awfully well right now, and when she's on the top of her game, she has a gear that I don't think Hart can match. But that matchup isn't ideal from a style of play perspective, so getting on top of Hart early will be key. And Gordon doesn't always find that gear, of course.
Hart is also either playing extremely well, or she faced an opponent too exhausted or injured to put up her best fight. Because Duke's Meible Chi is good, and Hart beat her 6-1, 6-1. (Chi beat #11 Carla Touly of Florida State twice this year, crushed #21 Chiara Lommer of Michigan, and was about to beat #7 Alexa Graham of UNC in the ACC tournament--up 4-0 in the third--when the match was clinched.)
The NCAA singles tournament is a beautiful mess like that. So many surprising results. I mean, Gordon is good, don't get me wrong, but 6-2, 6-1 over the #5 player in the country good? Obviously there's a mix of Gordon playing well and finding motivation, and Jones struggling and feeling disappointed over the end to the season.