https://calbears.com/news/2019/9/23/cal-womens-tennis-fall-features-7-tournaments.aspx

Seven girls return from last season's squad of nine. However, the team photo has ten players unless
one is the new assistant coach, Raquel (Kops) Atawo. One recruit, freshman Erin Richardson, is mentioned in the article. She is ranked as the #10 top freshmen and/or newcomer by the ITA. Does anyone know which one she is or the other newcomers? I believe Erin Richardson is from England.

https://calbears.com/news/2019/9/25/three-bears-join-cal-womens-tennis.aspx

GO BEARS!

The Bears' 3 newcomers are named in this article: https://calbears.com/news/2019/9/25/three-bears-join-cal-womens-tennis.aspx

They're all good players who should make an impact this year, with playing time in singles and doubles.

All won their first matches today at the Cal Invitational. It was a tough day, with tricky weather, but Richardson and Giavara had straight-sets win, with Giavara having a challenge in the second set. Ivanov struggled against her lefty opponent and went into lulls throughout her match. But she came through when it mattered in the 2nd and 3rd sets. I believe she was down a break 2-1 in the third and then won 5 games in a row. She's solid all around. I didn't see a big weapon, but maybe her inside-out forehand (she tried to go to this a few times) was neutralized by the opponent's lefty forehand crosscourt.

It's interesting that all 3 frosh were placed in the top flight, and Stloukova was in the 2nd level.

By the way, Cal's #1 Rosenqvist had a terrible start to her match, falling behind 4-1 and then 5-2. Then she pulled herself together and dominated the rest of the way with her big game. New coach Raquel Atawo (formerly Kops-Jones) was on her bench.

My guess:
Singles, to start the season--
Rosenqvist
Bright
Richardson
Giavara
Ivanov
Stloukova

But I think outside of Rosenqvist at #1, all the other spots are up for grabs.

Fall is for trying out doubles combos, so we'll see which sticks. The good thing is that Cal had 2 solid teams last year (Rosenqvist/Mraz and Bright/Dunk) to fall back on, if these new combos don't pan out.

Cal should be decent this year, and then better the year after that.

GO BEARS!

pearbear-thank you for your comprehensive analysis of the 2019-20 team. I would concur that Rosenqvist, Bright,
& Stloukova should make the six singles lineup. I guess that the remaining three spots will be up for grabs between the three freshmen newbies and the returnees that showed potential last season [Dunk, Nelson + Mraz]

For doubles players, Dunk and Mraz appear to have spots secured plus new recruit Giavara was mentioned as working with Rosenqvist as a doubles partner...

I believe that the only Cal player that lost in singles yesterday was Alexis Nelson. Pressure is on to compete for the remaining singles openings in the lineup.

I wonder when Augustus will get this season's roster listed on the website? The only two seniors on the ten player squad are Stloukova & Nelson. GO BEARS!

I wouldn't count on Nelson getting much play this year. She came in as highly-ranked from HS (I think comparable to Manasse was--top25) and has never progressed. He game--double-handed on both sides--requires good movement, and that's not a strength.

Unless Mraz has improved, she will also get passed by the three frosh in singles. And while she did well in doubles with Rosenqvist last year, Rosenqvist just won the Cal Invite with Dunk, and is slated to play with Giavara in a national tourney this fall. So Mraz/Rosenqvist is not a sure thing either. And Mraz did not play this weekend, so who knows if she's injured.

But, it's always a good sign if entering the year, your bottom-of-the-ladder folks are getting bumped off the lineup. That means you have an infusion of talent. Let's hope the new players gel with the coaches (no transfers) and can grow together to help get Cal back as an elite program.

By the way, both Richardson and Ivanov lost to the same player (Kozyreva, from St. Mary's) this weekend. Kozyreva was the third seed and ranked around 70 nationally, so no shame to lose to her. But it means that Cal's froshies might not yet be ready to take the college tennis world by storm either. We'll see.

GO BEARS!

Thanks to posters who responded; the team should be fun to watch this year.

pearbear said:

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I wouldn't count on Nelson getting much play this year. She came in as highly-ranked from HS (I think comparable to Manasse was--top25) and has never progressed. He game--double-handed on both sides--requires good movement, and that's not a strength.

Unless Mraz has improved, she will also get passed by the three frosh in singles. And while she did well in doubles with Rosenqvist last year, Rosenqvist just won the Cal Invite with Dunk, and is slated to play with Giavara in a national tourney this fall. So Mraz/Rosenqvist is not a sure thing either. And Mraz did not play this weekend, so who knows if she's injured.

But, it's always a good sign if entering the year, your bottom-of-the-ladder folks are getting bumped off the lineup. That means you have an infusion of talent. Let's hope the new players gel with the coaches (no transfers) and can grow together to help get Cal back as an elite program.

By the way, both Richardson and Ivanov lost to the same player (Kozyreva, from St. Mary's) this weekend. Kozyreva was the third seed and ranked around 70 nationally, so no shame to lose to her. But it means that Cal's froshies might not yet be ready to take the college tennis world by storm either. We'll see.

GO BEARS!

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Pearbear, thanks for the info. I kind of lost track of women's tennis. Should be a fun year.

To follow up on my previous post... now that the Fall season has ended.

Cal's freshies had a great Fall. Valentina Ivanov (20th) and Haley Giavara (21st) cracked the top-25 of the national rankings for singles. Ivanov plays with consistency and depth, while Giavara hits a huge ball, so they will give Coach Augustus some flexibility in terms of her lineup and match ups. Giavara also paired with Anna Bright and made it all the way to the semis of the Fall Nationals, which earned them the current #13 national ranking.
The third frosh, Erin Richardson, played some early but then did not compete in the second half of Fall. Not sure why. But she was ranked as the #10 Frosh/Newcomer before the season, so she should be able to contribute if available.

It's good that the frosh showed so well, because Cal's returning #1 Julia Rosenqvist had a slow start. She was upset early in the Regionals, and her ranking is now #45. Fellow junior Anna Bright, always a tough competitor and a smart player, did well in doubles but did not have breakthrough singles results.

I saw one match of Katerina Stloukalova and the senior looked good. She seems to move better, which really helps her aggressive game.

Alexis Nelson also looked better in the Fall, hitting with more confidence.

So if season started today, singles lineup would prob be:
Rosenqvist
Giavara
Ivanov
Bright
Stloukalova
Richardson

I think Augustus has shown she'll play frosh up the ladder, so I can see Giavara and Ivanov above Bright. And Giavara's big game might be more suited for #2--she's already beaten several top-15 players. Stloukalova should do very well at #5. If Richardson is not available, Nelson would play 6. Or maybe Hana Mraz (she's on the roster but I don't think played in the Fall).

Doubles are up in the air. Clearly Bright/Giavara is an option, but beyond that, who knows? Rosenqvist and Mraz again? Rosenqvist and Ivanov? Jasie Dunk is good in doubles, so plug her in somewhere? Stloukalova did well with Hauger last year, so maybe match her with Ivanov?

If everyone is healthy, Cal will have really good depth this year in singles, which will allow them to be more competitive against the top teams. I don't see them as top 5--there are some really stacked teams out there (North Carolina, Stanford, Georgia, Pepperdine, Duke, UCLA...)--but they should make it into round of 16, and further if they get a good draw. But it will be fun to watch this team develop.

I do think after a few down years, Cal women's tennis is on an upswing. This frosh class is great, and they've just signed two more good players for next year, both with results comparable to everyone on Cal's current roster. I see Cal returning to their top 10 status for the next few years. To step up to national championship contender status, though, the Bears will need to 1) sign or develop a top 10 singles player or two to go with all that depth, 2) consistently dominate in doubles (hoping Raquel Atawo will pay dividends here).

GO BEARS!