duke women - 2013 national champions

[mikej]

Originally Posted by marco forehand

Great to read a discussion of the women's game.
If I had to project the winner of the 2013 team competition today I would go with UCLA. Four great 2nd year players who powered them to a end of the year ranking of 2. Then they add a top five recruit (K McPhillips) plus they've picked up Georgia Tech's best recruit for this year (C Harrison ranked #6 in the class of 2012). She changed her commitment to UCLA when GT's coach went to Florida.
I am not a Bruin fan but that looks like true depth in a lineup.

Duke has a lot of talent, that's true. It's been a mystery to me why, if the coaching is so good,and they have all that talent, they often times struggle to win the doubles point.Still they end up taking 4 points in singles most times.

two good points

you've convinced me ucla has a strong case for being the favorite next year - i think i just ended last year down on them because they showed up with so much less energy than UF in the final, but they had a remarkable season otherwise that i shouldn't be quick to forget due to one poor match

and yeah, duke's women's dubs pt occasionally drives me crazy - i think there's a strong possibility they would've won the title last year if capra had served out the dubs pt when she had her chance at 8-7 on court 2 in the semis vs UF - of course that assumes the same singles results vs UF - and UCLA may have brought more energy to the final against a team they had previously taken down at indoors - so who knows - definitely something they need to improve on next year if they don't want to face the difficult task of winning 4 singles against UCLA, USC, or Stanford

[mikej]

Originally Posted by floridatennisdude

^^^I don't see Allie and Mallory in a similar situation. Allie played really well for three years and did the circuit every summer. She has to know what the grind is like.

perhaps, but i imagine it's a lot different suffering a few tough events on tour knowing you return to all your friends and teammates and more winnable matches in a few short months, rather than never again and you're all on your own now

Originally Posted by floridatennisdude

That being said, I can't imagine Allie becoming a Top 100 WTA player. I hope she graduated early or has the ability to finish up online. She was a really good college player, but nothing about her game screams with huge pro potential.

right, i agree with all of this, i just don't see the pro success out there for her - seems like she had a similar decision to steve johnson in possibly becoming one of the most accomplished college tennis players in a long time vs heading out on her own - except johnson seemed way way more dominant and has more of a pro style game with big weapons

i guess maybe she had just had enough of the college lifestyle, which is a fine choice to make, but i too hope she's getting a degree when all is said and done

[10isplayer]

mallory burdette wins a 100k challenger without losing a set. Pretty impressive summer she has had thus far.

[mikej]

Originally Posted by 10isplayer

mallory burdette wins a 100k challenger without losing a set. Pretty impressive summer she has had thus far.

earned a main draw wildcard into the us open, according to stanford's article

only one top 100 win during this run (keothavong at #75), but nice consistent results this summer for sure - we'll see how the us open draw works out

ps when i googled her to pull up her playing activity i came across her wiki article (which must have been recently updated to include this latest tourney win) and also says she graduated and turned pro from stanford??? feddie is this your work??? not true as far as we know, right???

[floridatennisdude]

Originally Posted by mikej

earned a main draw wildcard into the us open, according to stanford's article

only one top 100 win during this run (keothavong at #75), but nice consistent results this summer for sure - we'll see how the us open draw works out

ps when i googled her to pull up her playing activity i came across her wiki article (which must have been recently updated to include this latest tourney win) and also says she graduated and turned pro from stanford??? feddie is this your work??? not true as far as we know, right???

No sure when the wiki was last changed, but it refers to Burdette as a professional tennis player and then states that she will be a senior at Standord in 2012.

Frankly, I could see her going pro and having success. Obvious questions about her fitness, but she has the tools to build a pro career around.