[ColoradoTree]

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.

[ColoradoTree]

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.