[ColoradoTree]

Good point about next year's pro tour. And it will be good to have her in the lineup another year especially if seniors at other top schools are thinking the same thing. 

Looks like Stanford got the top 2021 recruit according to Tennis Recruiting. https://www.tennisrecruiting.net/player.asp?id=832289

Alexandra Yepifanova is a nice get, though there's a long time until signing day for her to reevaluate or decide to turn pro (the top few players in each class are always a danger to go pro). She has been intent on college tennis for awhile, though, so I bet this sticks, even though it's about as early a verbal commitment as we've seen in a while. She was a finalist at the U.S. Open girls' tournament last year, she's been ranked inside the top 20 in the ITF juniors rankings, she's tall (she was 5'11" like three years ago, so that might have changed), and she's mostly been playing an international schedule at ITF tournaments. I don't totally know her backstory, but she's Russian-born, lived in Massachusetts for awhile, and has been at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida (she is a naturalized American and plays internationally as an American, fyi). This article explains why she's exactly our kind of recruit: https://www.usta.com/en/home/stay-curren...-tenn.html

Here's what next year's roster looks like, for now at least:

5th years (TBD): Arbuthnott, Higuchi
Seniors: Gordon, Shin
Juniors: Choy, Madurawe
Sophomores: Blake, Mossmer
Freshmen: India Houghton, Ana Geller

Committed HS seniors: Yepifanova, other spot TBD

---

If I'm Emma Higuchi, I think I call it a career (or grad transfer to have tennis pay for a grad program somewhere). If Arbuthnott comes back, the odds that Higuchi stays in the lineup are very slim with Houghton and Geller coming in. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see Shin fall out of the lineup, with Choy, Madurawe, and Houghton all climbing above her. 

If Arbuthnott comes back, I think we're looking at a singles lineup as follows: (1) Gordon; (2) Blake; (3) Arbuthnott; (4) Choy; (5) Houghton; and (6) Shin. That said, if Madurawe or Geller vaulted Shin, I wouldn't be shocked. Blake over Arbuthnott might be a reach, but Blake was so good at #3 this year as a freshman, and I think she's only going to get better. Of course, those leaps in form come from matches and tournaments and training. If you're stuck at home and can't practice or play tournaments, how much can you really improve?

[ColoradoTree]

Good point about next year's pro tour. And it will be good to have her in the lineup another year especially if seniors at other top schools are thinking the same thing. 

Looks like Stanford got the top 2021 recruit according to Tennis Recruiting. https://www.tennisrecruiting.net/player.asp?id=832289

Alexandra Yepifanova is a nice get, though there's a long time until signing day for her to reevaluate or decide to turn pro (the top few players in each class are always a danger to go pro). She has been intent on college tennis for awhile, though, so I bet this sticks, even though it's about as early a verbal commitment as we've seen in a while. She was a finalist at the U.S. Open girls' tournament last year, she's been ranked inside the top 20 in the ITF juniors rankings, she's tall (she was 5'11" like three years ago, so that might have changed), and she's mostly been playing an international schedule at ITF tournaments. I don't totally know her backstory, but she's Russian-born, lived in Massachusetts for awhile, and has been at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida (she is a naturalized American and plays internationally as an American, fyi). This article explains why she's exactly our kind of recruit: https://www.usta.com/en/home/stay-curren...-tenn.html

Here's what next year's roster looks like, for now at least:

5th years (TBD): Arbuthnott, Higuchi
Seniors: Gordon, Shin
Juniors: Choy, Madurawe
Sophomores: Blake, Mossmer
Freshmen: India Houghton, Ana Geller

Committed HS seniors: Yepifanova, other spot TBD

---

If I'm Emma Higuchi, I think I call it a career (or grad transfer to have tennis pay for a grad program somewhere). If Arbuthnott comes back, the odds that Higuchi stays in the lineup are very slim with Houghton and Geller coming in. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see Shin fall out of the lineup, with Choy, Madurawe, and Houghton all climbing above her. 

If Arbuthnott comes back, I think we're looking at a singles lineup as follows: (1) Gordon; (2) Blake; (3) Arbuthnott; (4) Choy; (5) Houghton; and (6) Shin. That said, if Madurawe or Geller vaulted Shin, I wouldn't be shocked. Blake over Arbuthnott might be a reach, but Blake was so good at #3 this year as a freshman, and I think she's only going to get better. Of course, those leaps in form come from matches and tournaments and training. If you're stuck at home and can't practice or play tournaments, how much can you really improve?