aggiedrjdub said:

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Mary Stoiana 11.43
Nicole Khirin posted as 11.XX
Mia Kupres 11.00
Lucciana Perez 11.02
Daria Smetannikov 10.XX
Lexington Reed 10.26
Jeannette Mireles 10.XX
Lizanne Boyer 9.XX

Not sure why we can't get specific UTRs for all of them, but based on the current UTR ratings Mia and Lucciana are interchangeable and it might come down to who Mark thinks matches up best in specific matches.

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Here are the rest. Jeanette is 10.21.

My belief is that Mark and the rest of the coaches are going with Mia at 3 for the season because that is what they have done so far. If a coach has a plan to swap players around throughout the year it needs to be done early. In the team format precedent is so important. A lot of coaches use easy matches such as the Sam Houston, where the result is guaranteed to flip players in order to argue that it's not stacking later. Georgia did this early on in their match versus Charlotte when they split Mert/Vidmanova in doubles and played Dasha with a walk-on at #1. Last year you saw Mark switch to what he always wanted to do at NCAAs when he put Mary over Carson in sweet 16 and beyond.

He might still have an opportunity to flip the two against Illinois or even Pepperdine, but unless Mia starts loosing at 3 then there in not a valid argument that it's not stacking. #4 for us is virtually a lock no matter who it is. I will say I think Lulu has the better odds to beat Lopata, who Georgia is playing at 3, than Mia based purely on playstyle, but Mia has also previously beat top 10 players. It's a nice problem to have because in reality I feel good about #3 regardless.

Chruchie said:

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My belief is that Mark and the rest of the coaches are going with Mia at 3 for the season because that is what they have done so far. If a coach has a plan to swap players around throughout the year it needs to be done early. In the team format precedent is so important. A lot of coaches use easy matches such as the Sam Houston, where the result is guaranteed to flip players in order to argue that it's not stacking later. Georgia did this early on in their match versus Charlotte when they split Mert/Vidmanova in doubles and played Dasha with a walk-on at #1. Last year you saw Mark switch to what he always wanted to do at NCAAs when he put Mary over Carson in sweet 16 and beyond.

He might still have an opportunity to flip the two against Illinois or even Pepperdine, but unless Mia starts loosing at 3 then there in not a valid argument that it's not stacking. #4 for us is virtually a lock no matter who it is. I will say I think Lulu has the better odds to beat Lopata, who Georgia is playing at 3, than Mia based purely on playstyle, but Mia has also previously beat top 10 players. It's a nice problem to have because in reality I feel good about #3 regardless.

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I don't think a coach could successfully argue a stack. They are almost exactly the same level, Lulu technically has a higher UTR and has not lost a singles dual match since mid-March of last year. She was undefeated in SEC / NCAA tourney. Put either of them at 5 or 6 and that is a stack.

That said, I agree if Mia's tearing it up, no reason to switch. I wouldn't trade our top 4 for any top 4 in the county including Georgia. I think Lopata should be playing two and Nicole could hit through her in good weather conditions.

Time will tell.

THE REVENGE TOUR CONTINUES
FIGHTIN' TEXAS AGGIES vs Fighting Illini

LAST TIME WE PLAYED ILLINOIS AT ATKINS TENNIS CENTER
Feb. 14, 2019 - Lost 4-3

LAST TIME WE PLAYED AT ATKINS
May 20, 2022 - Lost to Oklahoma, 3-4

TIME BEFORE-LAST TIME WE FINISHED INDOORS
Beat the then defending National Champions 4-1

LAST TIME WE FINISHED INDOORS
Became the National Champions, Beat UGA 4-1



ILLINOIS PROJECTED LINEUP:
M. Heuser /K. Ferrari
M. Schaefbauer /K. Treiber
A. Xu /V. Martinez

M. Schaefbauer (Preseason Big 10 Player to watch / played at South Carolina in 2023, but not against us)
M. Heuser (Lost to Daria in Oct., 6-2,6-4)*
V. Martinez (Lost to Daria in Sep., 6-1,6-2)
K. Ferrari (Lost to Jeanette in Oct., 7-5,6-3)*
A. Madatali (Lost to Lexington in Oct., 7-6(3), 7-6(3))*
K. Treiber
A. Xu (Lost to Lizanne in Oct., 6-3, 4-6, 10-8)*

*Technically we already beat Illinois at a tournament in Fort Worth on Halloween.

BTHOillinois!