What's new...out WEST

ITA Rankings for the West so far (post NCAAs 2010):
1. Pomona-Pitzer
2. Chapman
3. Redlands
4. UT Tyler
5. Trinity

Well, there are the rankings...but my opinion - these are going to change. Some teams out west have a few matches under their belt, and I'm going to put my best foot forward and try to come up with some big teams to watch.

Pomona-Pitzer is still the #6 team in the country, and it deserves to stay there. They may have graduated their former #1 Finicane (08 NCAA Singles Champ), but they have 3 new freshmen in their lineup at #3, 5 and 6. They took down the #18 Mary Wash 9-0 last week in a convincing win, and they are, like NESCAC's Williams, one of the premier teams in the country in terms of team culture and coaching staff. They'll have a regional and national test of their lineup this week with Vassar, UC Santa Cruz, Trinity and Skidmore - all at home.

Speaking of UCSC: these girls are tough and fiery. They've gotten tougher since last year in depth, and #1 Mokhtari could beat anyone on a good day.

CMS brought in a ridiculous number of players this year. They're good; no they're really good. Cornell transfer Kristin Lim won the National ITA DIII Singles Title last fall, and only PP's Jamie Solomon and UCSC's Mokhtari have taken a set from her. In the same conference (across the street, after all) as PP, the matchup between these two teams will be closely watched. CMS is untested as of yet - only UCSC has taken a couple matches from them in dual matches, but they've yet to play a top ranked team.

Chapman returns with pretty much the same lineup that gave them the #2 spot in the West region. Lewis is a senior and is always a tough opponent. The team beat Mary Wash 5-4 and shows to be a bit behind PP's 9-0 win.

Redlands graduated a bunch of players, and they lost 7-2 already to UCSC. This may be a rebuilding year for them.

Trinity is athletic and talented as always. They come from a tough conference and have a hard time qualifying for NCAAs, but they're a team that should not be underestimated. Their first real test will be against PP on Saturday.

UT Tyler will have benchmarking matches against Chapman and Redlands on their California trip this weekend.

Top teams from the Northwest look to be Whitworth and Linfield. The two teams play each other on Saturday.

West looks to be tough this year. Pomona-Pitzer and CMS are going to host the NCAA Men's and Women's Championships, so there is a lot of hype out here this year.