2015 USTA League Nationals 18 & over 5.0+ Women Preview

USTA Nationals start in just two weeks, on October 2nd, for the 18 & over 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0+ levels.  Here is a preview of the 5.0+ Women flights.

As always, the ratings used in preparing these previews are my Estimated Dynamic NTRP Ratings.  And for the purposes of comparing teams, I'm calculating the average of the top-8 players on each National's roster.

Not every section is sending a 5.0+ team to Nationals meaning there are just 14 teams in 3 flights.  I'm guessing that means there will be a wildcard that makes the semis, so a little extra incentive and a second chance for the teams that lose early.

As was the case with the 3.0 previews, there is a range averages from 4.91 at the top (twice) down to 4.64 (three times).  So at higher levels, even being a plus league, the averages don't exceed the top of the range.

Flight 1 has 5 teams from Eastern, Florida, Mid-Atlantic, Northern Cal, and Southwest and has the #1, #2, #6, #7, and #13 teams, so several good teams won't be advancing to the semis, but with the wildcard it is possible the #1 and #2 rated teams make it through.

Flight 3 with Intermountain, Midwest, Southern, and Texas is probably the next toughest with the #4, #5, #8, and #12 teams.  This flight could be competitive and if they beat up on each other may be unlikely to get the wildcard.

Flight 2 with Middle States, Missouri Valley, New England, Pacific Northwest, and Southern Cal has the #3, #9, #10, #11, and #14 teams so appears to be in the #3 team's hands and unlikely to get the wildcard.

If you'd like more details on any of the flights, I can generate a flight report for any of the them that will show the average rating for the roster and the top-8 average.

Or if you want to see details about a team including each player's rating and a summary of their record and courts played on the team through each phase of the season, a team report is a great resource for your team or any opponent as a tool to scout them.

Contact me if you are interested in any reports.

Note: As always, average ratings for a team does not win a team match.  Who plays in the match, the line-ups and how they match-up, and how a given player plays on that day are what determine who wins.  So the highest rated teams using top-8 average may or may not win, but it is interesting to look at.