Now Part 2!! I decided to split this up simply because of how I wrote the first part of this article, as well as the timing of the events being so spread out.
Congrats to our champs: Joy Kim (Pomona) and Caroline Ward/Katie Kuosman (CMS)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Well…….Pomona……..kind of took over…. #babyhens
The ladies of Pomona rocked this regional. Having over half of the RO16 and the QF players on the #squad and the eventual champion in youngin’ Joy Kim! PP just saw immense depth throughout their roster and while Kim may have won the event, who knows what will happen in February during their first dual match.
Watch out for the usual suspects: Shivani, LLY, Emily Chen, Emily Kuo, Grace Hruska, Marie Fleming, Maddie Gordon
And introducing: JOY KIM, Arianna Chen, Lucy Jiang
*Note: that is over 6 players……oh fun!!
The usual CMS results
CMS reigned supreme in the doubles draw (though not without a few battles) as Caroline Ward and Katie Kuosman taking another crown. The final was 7-5 in the third against Emily Chen and Maryanne Zhao, two sophomores from Pomona. While CMS did in take home the trophy, a lot of new pairings impressed: Allen/Etche-sketch (RED), Johnson/Villaneuva (RED) and Casper/Yen (PP).
Vets struggle
So I guess a SF for Caroline Ward is hardly a struggle, but Natalie Etche-sketch had to pull off a great escape against Emily Kuo in the 2R. Kuzy, even though she made the finals, had a few BATTLES in the early round including A. Chen and LLY in the QF. We could be seeing a “changing of the guard”!!
Questionable performances..
Usual tough competitors such as Andrea Madrigal and Meagan Zamilpa were not present or put in a less than impressive performance. I am starting to wonder if La Verne is seeing a downward trend as recruits seemed to be lacking. Overall, the entire region outside of PP and Redlands had less than stellar recruits in my opinion but maybe we just need to see more because not everyone can shine at ITAs.
What is next for the West?
In Part 1, I talked about Texas getting much more competitive and the PNW looked good at the top, but where is the West? Well, it is a tough call because Pomona took a solid chunk of the results at ITAs but I think that Redlands is in a good place and there is always CMS but I am very interested to see where CalTech, Cal Lu and La Verne fair this year. I think the former two schools are building well while LV could see some struggles.
That’s all for now peeps! For the record, I was on point with my predictions up until the RO16, then things got messy…oh well. Stay between the lines for updates on ITA Nationals plus other developments as the Fall concludes!!
Deuces,
D3WW