05-16-2022, 12:48 PM
So, here's the roster math:
Seniors (2): Blake, Mossmer*
Juniors (2): Geller, Houghton
Sophomores (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Freshmen (2): Blokhina, Sun
That adds up to nine, and we only get eight, so either Mossmer medically retires, or Sun is paying her own way for a year. If you recall, Xu wasn't announced on signing day with Ma and Yepifanova last year, so I assumed that was because the roster math was still then unsettled. Whether it resolved to allow Xu to be on scholarship this year, I don't know, but we remain at nine. So, perhaps Sun pays her own way a year this year and is on scholarship next year.
As for the singles lineup, here's my best guess:
1. Connie Ma (So.)
2. Alexandra Yepifanova (So.)
3. Angelica Blake (Sr.)
4. Valencia Xu (So.)
5. Alexis Blokhina (Fr.)
6. Ana Geller (Jr.)
That would leave Houghton and Sun on the bench, but you could swap either of them for Geller at 6, and I wouldn't bat an eye. I just think that if Geller is healthy and in form, she's our best option there, and I take a healthy Geller over Houghton all day long. (That said, Emma Sun is something of a wildcard given her limited tournament exposure, so I'm excited to see if she can come in and surprise us all.) And the order between Blokhina and Xu is fluid, too. But that top 3 is pretty much set in stone, and what a top three it is.
It is unquestionably a better lineup than we fielded this year. I'm hopeful we see jumps in quality from this year's freshmen, our #4 line would go from weakness to strength, and we should handle business regularly on Courts 5 and 6.
Doubles-wise, we see our top pair of Blake/Ma return. Xu/Yepifanova had looked promising but never seemed to find success together, so hopefully we find some more successful pairings. Xu/Blokhina paired at the US Open girls' tournament, so maybe there's some chemistry there already to build on, even if they haven't played much together. Just a guess, but maybe Yepifanova/Sun is the other pair? Geller was just 4-4 at the #3 line with Madurawe, and Houghton barely cracked the doubles lineup even when we were struggling, so there's an opportunity for the incoming freshmen to stake a claim in doubles. Blokhina is an accomplished doubles player, having made the Easter Bowl final in doubles, too, so perhaps it's unreasonable, but I'm hopeful we kick it up a notch in doubles next year.
We will again be a very young team, and I don't think it's exaggerating to say that next year is the first year of a three-year championship window. I'd love to see it happen next year--after how interrupted her career has been with covid, it would be sad for Blake to graduate as part of the first class since the 1990s not to win a national championship in their time here. Perhaps she'll take a fifth year?
Seniors (2): Blake, Mossmer*
Juniors (2): Geller, Houghton
Sophomores (3): Ma, Yepifanova, Xu
Freshmen (2): Blokhina, Sun
That adds up to nine, and we only get eight, so either Mossmer medically retires, or Sun is paying her own way for a year. If you recall, Xu wasn't announced on signing day with Ma and Yepifanova last year, so I assumed that was because the roster math was still then unsettled. Whether it resolved to allow Xu to be on scholarship this year, I don't know, but we remain at nine. So, perhaps Sun pays her own way a year this year and is on scholarship next year.
As for the singles lineup, here's my best guess:
1. Connie Ma (So.)
2. Alexandra Yepifanova (So.)
3. Angelica Blake (Sr.)
4. Valencia Xu (So.)
5. Alexis Blokhina (Fr.)
6. Ana Geller (Jr.)
That would leave Houghton and Sun on the bench, but you could swap either of them for Geller at 6, and I wouldn't bat an eye. I just think that if Geller is healthy and in form, she's our best option there, and I take a healthy Geller over Houghton all day long. (That said, Emma Sun is something of a wildcard given her limited tournament exposure, so I'm excited to see if she can come in and surprise us all.) And the order between Blokhina and Xu is fluid, too. But that top 3 is pretty much set in stone, and what a top three it is.
It is unquestionably a better lineup than we fielded this year. I'm hopeful we see jumps in quality from this year's freshmen, our #4 line would go from weakness to strength, and we should handle business regularly on Courts 5 and 6.
Doubles-wise, we see our top pair of Blake/Ma return. Xu/Yepifanova had looked promising but never seemed to find success together, so hopefully we find some more successful pairings. Xu/Blokhina paired at the US Open girls' tournament, so maybe there's some chemistry there already to build on, even if they haven't played much together. Just a guess, but maybe Yepifanova/Sun is the other pair? Geller was just 4-4 at the #3 line with Madurawe, and Houghton barely cracked the doubles lineup even when we were struggling, so there's an opportunity for the incoming freshmen to stake a claim in doubles. Blokhina is an accomplished doubles player, having made the Easter Bowl final in doubles, too, so perhaps it's unreasonable, but I'm hopeful we kick it up a notch in doubles next year.
We will again be a very young team, and I don't think it's exaggerating to say that next year is the first year of a three-year championship window. I'd love to see it happen next year--after how interrupted her career has been with covid, it would be sad for Blake to graduate as part of the first class since the 1990s not to win a national championship in their time here. Perhaps she'll take a fifth year?