i figure we can put everything from the girls' matches in this thread.

anyone know why nicki didn't play? if she had been playing 3 i think she would have had the savvy and patience to beat the girl anna played. in turn, i think moving anna, anna b, and tiffany down a spot would have ensured that all 3 of them would have won as well. i was still very impressed with the play of the freshmen. t cliff made short work of her girl, anna b made some great shots and has a really solid all around game, and what marissa lacks in technique she makes up for by being scrappy as hell. helga was really thrown off her game in the first because the girl she played was such a push, and helga never got on a rhythm in the second. lauren made a couple good runs but just wasn't consistent enough. sure would have been nice to have nicki and/or seva in the lineup for a little more experience.

northwestern will be tough, and i think it all comes down to dubs (just like tonight would have if we were playing with our full squad). here's to a good start to the season for our younger girls, and to our upperclass(wo)men playing up to their potential for the rest of the weekend.

Nicki is taking a medical redshirt, as per the article in the Eagle. We still have enough talent to do well but probably not enough to repeat as Big XII champs and unless Kleinecke brings in some big talent, next year looks grim with the loss of our top 2 players.

yeah, i found out about nicki about an hour after i posted this thread. there was initially some question about whether or not she would be allowed to redshirt, but apparently things worked out well.

without roberta and jess we had a very slim chance against the talent of kentucky and northwestern, and without nicki our chances pretty much went out the window (though, in no way, were the matches blowouts). our doubles teams are inexperienced and we are definitely top-light when compared to the singles lineups of other top teams in the country. however, our freshmen at 4, 5, and 6 are only going to get better, and they already seem to be pretty solid.

i also agree that winning the conference is a longshot, and i expect us to finish either 2nd or 3rd. however, i didn't expect us to win it all last year, so hopefully i'll be pleasantly surprised again.

[This message has been edited by txag731 (edited 1/31/2005 3:32p).]

The team just took another hit. Lauren's going to miss the next 4-6 weeks following knee surgery.

this is a really tough tournament. if we were full strength, with nicki and lauren, we could make it interesting. without them, it's going to to continue to be tough.