Transferpalooza: Year 3 Women’s Superlatives
As we enter the third year of the transferpalooza era, I decided to award some transfer superlatives to the most eye-catching moves in women’s tennis. It was no easy task: there are 12 incoming transfers to 8 of the top 10 women’s programs – only #2 Oklahoma and #7 Texas A&M don’t have incoming transfers. Full list is at the end of the article.
Look out for the men’s superlatives next week!
Duke: Transfer U
In 2021, Pepperdine was the undisputed winner of the Transfer U crown after it brought in NCAA semifinalist Janice Tjen (Oregon) and 3x All-American Vicki Flores (Georgia Tech). This year, Pepperdine brings in two excellent graduate transfers with All-Americans Bunyawi Thamchaiwat (Oklahoma State, San Diego State) and Carolyn Campana (Vanderbilt, Wake Forest) – the Waves get extra points for recruiting players who will now compete for their third school!
While Texas and Pepperdine were busy trading players, Duke snuck up to capture the 2022 Transfer U crown. Duke brings in three transfers, headlined by #9 Cam Morra of UNC. Not only is Morra the highest-ranked player to transfer this year, but, of the 12 transfers to top 10 programs, she’s the only one transferring to a school in the same conference – her alma mater’s fiercest rival down the street. It’s an awkward decision, and I’m sure it will be uncomfortable for all involved as she swaps shades of blue and competes against her former teammates on several occasions next season.
Morra will be joined by two other transfers from the Ivy League: Brianna Shvets of Princeton and Iuliia Bryzgalova of Penn. The Ivy League didn’t compete in 2021, so players actually have two extra years of eligibility and, unlike other conferences, the Ivy League prevents players from using those years as graduate students. As a result, you’re starting to see a transfer pipeline develop from the Ivy League to other strong academic institutions. The state of North Carolina seems to be the preferred destination. In addition to Shvets and Bryzgalova, the UNC men have two transfers from Princeton.
Kylie Collins: The Head-Scratcher
As uncomfortable and awkward as Morra’s decision was, it wasn’t the biggest head-scratcher of the year. Kylie Collins is probably the only college athlete – not just tennis! – to ever transfer from an NCAA-winning program to a school that failed to even make the NCAA tournament in the same year.
Collins had a tremendous two-season tenure at Texas, where she was an integral part of Texas’ two NCAA team titles. The Savannah, GA native graduated high school early to join the Longhorns in January of 2021. She was 17-3 in singles during her freshman debut, playing primarily at the #5 position. She was also immediately the best doubles player on the team, amassing a 22-4 record which culminated in a run to the NCAA doubles finals. As a sophomore, she moved up to #2 in the singles lineup and went 13-7.
After such a successful two years, why would Collins transfer to LSU? LSU is an inferior academic school, home of a “toxic” women’s tennis program rife with controversy, and finished the 2022 season 5-14. The main reason, I have to assume, that Collins made the decision is because of the recent coaching change. In April, LSU co-head coaches Julia and Mike Sell – inextricably linked to the controversy and recent program struggles – announced their departure from the program. LSU hired Taylor Fogelman who had just completed his fourth year as Associate Head Coach at Texas and is credited with bringing in Texas’ recent recruiting classes, including Collins, that propelled them to two NCAA team titles.
Collins decided to follow Fogelman to LSU, and she’ll certainly have an immediate impact on the LSU program as they look to right the ship. One thing can be certain, though: Kylie Collins won’t win a third NCAA team title.
Alexa Noel: The X Factor
Navarro, Stearns…Noel? Those three players, all class of 2024, could’ve been the trio we discussed as the best in college tennis these past two years. But Alexa Noel’s collegiate career, marred by Covid restrictions and injuries, has been a continued case of “what could’ve been.” The former #4 junior in the world “had no desire to attend college, but then Covid 19 changed everything.” Unfortunately for Noel, her two years in college haven’t gone to plan. In 2021, the Big Ten was restricted to a conference-only schedule which limited Noel’s competition, and she quickly proved she was a level above everyone in her conference. She was 17-0 in dual matches earning All-American, Big 10 Freshman of the Year, and Big 10 Player of the Year honors. In her first non-conference event of her collegiate career, Noel’s season came to a close at the NCAA individual tournament after an unfortunate ankle injury in the second round.
After recovering from her ankle injury and missing competition in the summer of 2021, we finally got to see how Noel stacked up against the best in college. Noel played two fall tournaments. She made the finals of the All-American event in Charleston (lost to Hamner) and the semi-finals of the ITA Fall National Championships (lost to eventual champion Cayetano). The December computer rankings validated that Noel was one of the best in college tennis: #1 Cayetano, #2 Hamner, #3 Noel.
In an odd turn of events, the University of Miami announced in January that Noel would transfer for the 2022-2023 season. The timing was odd – Noel still had a full spring season to play at Iowa. But, in another twist to her story, Noel got injured before the spring season began and hasn’t played since that November loss to Cayetano.
Noel is animated with her on-court demeanor and Medvedevian in her play style. She undoubtedly has the talent to be a mainstay at the top of the collegiate rankings, but her injuries make her impact this upcoming season a question mark. She’ll join a Miami program that’s coming off of its first top 10 finish since 2016. The Hurricanes return their entire top 6, with the exception of their #1 player Eden Richardson who, at 9-9 this past season, was actually their weakest position. If Noel comes off of her injury lay off and finds her 2021 form, she’s absolutely the X factor Miami needs to return to the top of women’s tennis.
Abbey Forbes: Most likely to win a title
The quote, “Ever tried. Ever failed.” is likely painted on the walls of the UNC women’s tennis locker room. The Tarheels have perennially achieved the #1 ranking, yet have failed to capture an NCAA team title. That could change in 2023 with the addition of Abbey Forbes from UCLA.
Abbey Forbes graduated from UCLA in three years – one of which included her freshman debut in 2020 – so she arrives back in her home state of North Carolina with two years of eligibility as the first ever grad transfer for UNC women’s tennis. The Raleigh native will spend those two years earning her MBA at UNC’s Keenan Flagler Business School. Enrolling in Business School while competing at the highest level of collegiate tennis was unprecedented prior to the transferpalooza era. The most notable name to do it was Bar Botzer who transferred from Wake Forest to Virginia last year and recently completed his first year at Virginia's Darden School of Business.
In her three seasons at UCLA, Forbes amassed a 44-5 dual match singles record where she played exclusively at the #1 and #2 positions. She was the 2021 Pac-12 Player of the Year in both singles and doubles and reached a career-high ranking that fall of #2 in the nation. Forbes’ 2022 campaign was slightly muted – despite going 11-2 at #1 singles – as UCLA’s season was limited because of Covid protocols.
If Botzer is the blueprint, I think it’s reasonable to expect the academic demands of an MBA program to conflict with being a D1 athlete. In other words, I don’t expect Forbes to necessarily have the same success as a Tarheel that she did at UCLA, especially for a player who relies so heavily on her endurance, speed, and defense to win points. Also joining Forbes as new to the UNC program is incoming freshman Reese Brantmeier. Brantmeier is the #1 recruit in the country.
Outside of losing Cam Morra, who played #1 for the Tarheels last season, UNC brings back every other singles starter and adds Forbes and Brantmeier – that’s a trade UNC will take every time. Forbes could come in and play anywhere in UNC’s lineup; her talent and experience combined with the strength of UNC’s other players makes Forbes the transfer most likely to deliver her new program a title.
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again.”
What do you think of this year’s awards? Are you a fan of the superlative format? What superlatives would you hand out? Let me know on Twitter @JTweetsTennis or Instagram @noadnoproblem.
Transfers to Top 10 Programs
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