1. Emory - This should just be an incredible team next year. You have both Goodwins on the team, and only Ehlers leaves. Boren should be untouchable at 3 and Lopp near the bottom will be excellent. You'll have to beat Emory in doubles, which is easier said than done. If anyone can beat Kenyon next year, it's this team. They have great players top to bottom and outstanding doubles and they fight hard. Couldn't ask for much more. They have to be the favorites for the national title next year.
2. Kenyon - A lot depends on how good Piskacek will be. All of his rankings point to him being the #1 player in D3. Kenyon would then have the #1 and #2 players in the country and probably the best doubles team. With 3 automatic points and Becker/Brody at 2 doubles, it will be almost impossible to beat the Lords. This is why they will be ranked so high. They should be able to get a win between 3 and 6 singles against anyone.
3. CMS - If the Stags can stay out of injury trouble, the sky is the limit for them. If Lim and Wu are healthy and Wang and Schils are in good form, they will be a great team. They bring in some good recruits who could make an impact. They should be able to beat Santa Cruz next year and make a run at national title if they can avoid injuries. The Stags' program just keeps getting better and they have a lot to look forward to next year.
4. Washington - WashU will return every member of their 2008 National Championship team, but they really don't help themselves much with recruits for next year. They bring in a couple of 3-stars. Watts and Cutler are obviously great players and WashU has a lot of depth, but I will be very surprised if they can beat Emory next year. Teams are just getting better and even though they won nationals, WashU stays about the same.
5. UC Santa Cruz - Despite the lack of recruits, UCSC always seems to come up with a great team. They don't lose anyone big, and with Kamel, Pybas and Ortiz back, the Slugs should be very tough again. Coach Hansen is great with developing his players and UCSC should be great again. Whether or not they can beat CMS is another tough question. The teams will most likely be battling it out for a spot in the Elite 8 again next year.
6. Middlebury - Midd was very young this year, but really were outstanding. They were swept in doubles several times, so they know what they need to work on. Marinkovic leaves, but they have everyone back and get an underrated 3-star in Derrick Angle. He should come into the starting lineup. Midd should be in the top 8 again and have a shot at winning NESCAC, but they aren't quite ready to win a national title with this team.
7. Williams -The Ephs lose the heart of their team, but they are bringing in good recruits and will definitely compete next year at a national stage. I don't expect them to be top 3 like this year, but they should be a fixture in the top 10. Lebedoff needs to improve and become a good #1 and Simonette was great at #3. Williams seems to always have very good depth, and this will help them in a brutal NESCAC conference.
8. Amherst - Amherst basically recruited a whole new team to go along with an already respectable group. Lerner is tough at 1 and 4-star Chafetz should be good near the top. I wouldn't be surprised if NESCAC had 4 in the top 10. Garner is an outstanding coach and recruiter and will need to get his guys ready. This team has the potential to be top 5, but I still think they are a few years away. Inexperience could hurt them.
9. Bowdoin - They only lose Gates, but Sullivan proved that he can play with the best in the country. He should step up to #1 next year. They bring in a very good recruiting class and this should have a big impact. Bowdoin fought hard this year towards the end and hopefully they can put together an entire good season next year. This team is very dangerous with their outstanding depth. They need to improve middle of the lineup.
10. Mary Washington - The Eagles had an up and down season, but look for them to be more solid next year. They have some of the best development in the country and they return their whole team. James and Loden just keep getting better, and if they can improve doubles, they have a good shot at being a top 5 team. They should dominate the AS region, with the exception of Emory, and they could find themselves back in the Elite 8.
11. Gustavus Adolphus - Gustavus' season could rest on whether they win Indoors. If they do, they should find themselves in the top 5 again. If not, they will struggle. Andy Bryan is gone and Kauss will need to step up and become their next superstar. Wilkinson is great at developing his players but he will need some real magic in his last season as head coach. The Gusties' are just overmatched by most of the top 10.
12. Trinity(CT) - Feldman did an outstanding job this year turning the Bantams into a national power. Ramsay and Dolan leave, but Trinity(CT) gets 4-star Anson McCook from Florida who should play in the 2 or 3 spot. This team was the #1 seed for the NESCAC tournament and was very dangerous this year. Look for Trinity(CT) to be back in the top 15 and potentially make a run at the top 10 next year.
13. Redlands - They run a tennis factory in Redlands, CA. Wagar is leaving, but they are replacing him with a new crop of players. The Bulldogs should have another good year next year with a solid recruiting class. They will have a tough time competing with CMS and UCSC, but they should be top 15 for sure. I'll be interested to see whether they accept a bid to Indoors because fast Indoor courts don't suit their team.
14. Carnegie Mellon - Carnegie had a good year but someone needs to teach them doubles. If they can get their doubles in order, they can be better than 14. They lose their #1, but he is replaced by an underrated Eastern section recruit. Carnegie should compete well next year and have a similar year to this year. If they can figure out their doubles, it's very hard to beat Carnegie more than 3 of 6 singles because of depth.
15. Trinity(TX) - Trinity(TX) is another team that gets killed with graduates. They lose their top 3 singles players as well as their top 2 doubles team. They have some major rebuilding to do, but a good recruiting year helps that a little bit. They won't find themselves back in the Top 5 like this year, but they should win the SCAC title next year.
16. Johns Hopkins - Hopkins loses their on-court leaders to graduation and this can't be measured in quality of recruits. They are bringing in a good 4-star who should play at the top of the lineup with Maldow and Wang. They'll be very good and should be better than they were this year. They need to work on their doubles as well.
17. Chicago - On paper, Chicago underachieved this year. They've brought in good recruits and continue to do so. I think next year could be a breakout year for them as they make themselves known as a contender on the national stage. Look for Zhang to build on his outstanding Freshman year and become a top player in the Central region.
18. DePauw - Losing Keith really hurts the Tigers. DePauw has good depth, but they will really struggle on a national level at the top of the lineup in singles and doubles. They need to do some good recruiting to find their way back to the Elite 8. They could crack the top 15 next year, but I wouldn't bet on it. They have work to do in Indiana.
19. UT-Tyler - A breakout year for the Patriots this year, but it's going to be hard for them to beat top teams without bringing in good players. They have great development and have really got the most out of their current team, but until they bring in some better Texans, it's going to be tough for them to be the best team in Texas. Expect a similar year for Tyler next year.
20. Whitman - Whitman was very young this year but competed well. They have good development in Walla Walla and the Squirrels will need this for next year. Matt Solomon is a good leader, but Whitman doesn't have the players at the bottom of the lineup to be a top 15 team. They always bring it in doubles, but this won't be enough.
21. Washington & Lee - A pretty good season for the Generals this year but they really get hurt with graduates. They lose arguably their best 4 players and it's tough to recover from that. They are bringing in decent recruits and have a lot of depth, but they won't be able to compete with the best in the AS region due to lack of experience.
22. Bates - Bates suffers from playing in the toughest conference in the country and they just can't beat those other tope NESCAC teams. However, they return Ben Stein and 4 other starters and they are bringing in a pretty good class. They will almost certainly finish 6th in NESCAC but this should be good enough to keep them in the top 25 for the whole season.
23. Carleton - A young team who is starting to recruit on the national stage. They return most of their starters and they also are bringing in some good recruits. They aren't ready to compete with Gustavus or break the top 20 yet, but they should be able to crack the top 25, which they came very close to doing this year.
24. Pomona-Pitzer - Good development out there and they are bringing in some solid players and Cameron Taylor is back to lead this team. Unfortunately, it will be difficult for them to finish better than 3rd in the conference, but they should be able to crack the top 25. They play a tough schedule which will pay off and get their players some experience.
25. Kalamazoo - Maybe the worst year in history for K-College but I have a feeling Riley will be able to shape up his guys during his second year. They don't have the players to compete with the top 20 teams in the country, but they should be able to win their conference and make it back to NCAAs. Solid doubles and depth should win for Kzoo against lesser teams.
Monday, May 19, 2008
2008 Recruiting Class Rankings
1. Emory
2. Amherst
3. Kenyon
4. Bowdoin
5. Williams
6. CMS
7. Johns Hopkins
8. Trinity(TX)
9. Chicago
10. Trinity(CT)
11. Middlebury
12. Redlands
13. Swarthmore
14. Pomona-Pitzer
15. Washington & Lee
15T. Wash U
2. Amherst
3. Kenyon
4. Bowdoin
5. Williams
6. CMS
7. Johns Hopkins
8. Trinity(TX)
9. Chicago
10. Trinity(CT)
11. Middlebury
12. Redlands
13. Swarthmore
14. Pomona-Pitzer
15. Washington & Lee
15T. Wash U
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Summer and Ideas (Please Read and Respond)
Unfortunately this post would have to come sometime. I need to know if everyone wants to keep the site going over the summer, and if so, how? We don't have a lot to talk about during the summer months as there isn't much action in recruiting or in playing. If anyone has any ideas about what we can discuss over the summer on a weekly/monthly basis or even more often than that please let me know. Also, I'm going to explore the settings and layout part of the blog to make things more exciting. Some of you suggested to turn the site into a real site instead of a blog, I would be willing to discuss this with you now. E-mail me at division3tennis@gmail.com. Also, please let me know what you want to see more of and less of on the site for next year. I'm open to as much criticism as you want to give me now. If you think I underrate or favor certain teams or players, let me know that as well. If anyone else wants to contribute articles as well, I would welcome that.
Also, what do you think the format should be for the year-end article/next year outlook? I was planning on doing recruiting class rankings 1-15 for D3. After that, we can have pre-season rankings for Fall '08, and a team by team discussion of what each team should be looking like for the Fall. If anyone has any other idea let me know. This would hopefully be done by Tuesday.
Also, what do you think the format should be for the year-end article/next year outlook? I was planning on doing recruiting class rankings 1-15 for D3. After that, we can have pre-season rankings for Fall '08, and a team by team discussion of what each team should be looking like for the Fall. If anyone has any other idea let me know. This would hopefully be done by Tuesday.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Singles & Doubles
All comments about play and results in singles and doubles go here.
Singles Champion- Mike Greenberg, Kenyon
Doubles Champion- Schils/Wang, CMS
Singles Champion- Mike Greenberg, Kenyon
Doubles Champion- Schils/Wang, CMS
Thursday, May 15, 2008
All-Tournament Team
1st Team:
#1 doubles-Cutler/Hoeland, WashU
#2 doubles-Watts/Choradia, WashU
#3 doubles-Kaufman/Lopp, Emory
#1 singles-Goodwin, Emory
#2 singles-Marinkovic, Middlebury
#3 singles-Simonette, Williams
#4 singles-Lopp. Emory
#5 singles-Hoeland, WashU
#6 singles-Stein, WashU
Coach: Follmer, WashU
Bracket Selection: jags!
2nd Team:
#1 doubles: Goodwin/Caplan, Emory
#2 doubles: Becker/Brody, Kenyon
#3 doubles: Stein/Woods, WashU
#1 singles: Wang, CMS
#2 singles: Boren, Emory
#3 singles: Starr, CMS
#4 singles: Weinberger, Williams
#5 singles: Ehlers, Emory
#6 singles: Odell, Middlebury
Coach: Browning, Emory
Bracket Selection: Lennart Lepner
#1 doubles-Cutler/Hoeland, WashU
#2 doubles-Watts/Choradia, WashU
#3 doubles-Kaufman/Lopp, Emory
#1 singles-Goodwin, Emory
#2 singles-Marinkovic, Middlebury
#3 singles-Simonette, Williams
#4 singles-Lopp. Emory
#5 singles-Hoeland, WashU
#6 singles-Stein, WashU
Coach: Follmer, WashU
Bracket Selection: jags!
2nd Team:
#1 doubles: Goodwin/Caplan, Emory
#2 doubles: Becker/Brody, Kenyon
#3 doubles: Stein/Woods, WashU
#1 singles: Wang, CMS
#2 singles: Boren, Emory
#3 singles: Starr, CMS
#4 singles: Weinberger, Williams
#5 singles: Ehlers, Emory
#6 singles: Odell, Middlebury
Coach: Browning, Emory
Bracket Selection: Lennart Lepner
D3tennis.com Year-End Team Rankings
1. Washington
2. Emory
3. CMS
4. UC Santa Cruz
5. Middlebury
6. Williams
7. Kenyon
8. Gustavus Adolphus
9. Mary Washington
10. Bowdoin
11. Trinity(TX)
12. Redlands
13. Trinity(CT)
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. TCNJ
16. DePauw
17. Washington & Lee
18. Johns Hopkins
19. Amherst
20. Whitman
21. UT-Tyler
22. Christopher Newport
23. Salisbury
24. Chicago
25. Denison
2. Emory
3. CMS
4. UC Santa Cruz
5. Middlebury
6. Williams
7. Kenyon
8. Gustavus Adolphus
9. Mary Washington
10. Bowdoin
11. Trinity(TX)
12. Redlands
13. Trinity(CT)
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. TCNJ
16. DePauw
17. Washington & Lee
18. Johns Hopkins
19. Amherst
20. Whitman
21. UT-Tyler
22. Christopher Newport
23. Salisbury
24. Chicago
25. Denison
Singles Draw
I just took a look at the singles draw. It's absolutely terrible. Watts-Kamel first round. Steve Sullivan-Miguel Yunes first round. Dan Greenberg-Randy Loden first round. And my favorite...Kortney Keith-Cameron Taylor first round.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Finals
Washington University Bears are 2008 National Champions with a 5-3 win over Emory in the finals.
Final Four Comments
All Final 4 comments go here.
Emory wins 5-1 to advance to the finals. A dominant doubles performance by the Eagles.
WashU wins 5-1
e-mail radiotennis1@gmail.com and tell the guy stats about the matches
Emory wins 5-1 to advance to the finals. A dominant doubles performance by the Eagles.
WashU wins 5-1
e-mail radiotennis1@gmail.com and tell the guy stats about the matches
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Elite 8 commentary and a quick look at the Final 4
The day starts off with a pretty good match. Emory really won this one in doubles and broke Kenyon's spirits. Despite a good effort from the Lords, just a little too much from Emory. Greenberg didn't get it done for his team today when we knew he needed too if they wanted to have a chance to win. Vandenberg had been untouchable all year and he comes up with a loss today which also really hurt Kenyon. A great effort by Becker and Brody though in singles and doubles. We expected Emory to win in the fashion that they won. They were the better team. But all in all, a great season for Kenyon and they will certainly come back next year to make another run at an NCAA title.
This was followed by the most surprising result of the day. I expected a battle here, and I even thought Mary Washington had a chance to win. Middlebury was just too good in doubles and in singles. Not sure why UMW chose to change their doubles lineup right before NCAA's, but this came back to kill them in the end. Loden had been the team leader all year and seeing him go down so easily had to suck the life out of this team. Give credit to Midd, who must have really played well. They have been under the radar all year and have a great chance at winning the whole thing. UMW really had an average season, and this disappointing performance really capped it off. Despite their win over Trinity(TX), the Eagles shouldn't be too happy with this season. They return everyone though and should be tough next season.
Williams didn't lose this one. CMS won it. The Stags were the most impressive team today and going into tomorrow, they have to be the favorite to win it. They slipped in singles, but Wang was able to lead this team to victory. He and Watts will have a great battle tomorrow. Williams also had an up and down season with some really good wins and some bad losses. They have good recruits in, but lose Simonette and Greenberg which will be huge. A great fight by the Ephs, and if Greenberg had held on to that 3-0 lead in the 3rd set, things could have turned out differently. A good run for first year head coach Donn, he really gets his guys to fight hard. The Stags are confident right now but they will have a tough one tomorrow.
I don't like to insult teams, but Gustavus being here is a joke. Their "strength" is doubles, and they get blown out in doubles by a team who's weakness is doubles. It's terrible that they can just get a couple good wins at Indoors and make it to the Elite 8. They were not a good team this year. I won't hesitate to say that Amherst would beat Gustavus on a neutral outdoor court this year, and Amherst didn't even make the tournament. That's how ridiculous this is. It's terrible that Gustavus gets here when they belong around 15 or 16 in the country and we have deserving teams losing in the regionals. Take nothing away from WashU, who took care of business appropriately and played good doubles. Another rematch with CMS playing WashU. They should be even in singles and if WashU can pull out 2 of 3 doubles, I really like their chances. Bryan is gone for Gustavus and unless AC has some secret weapon recruit up their sleeve, they won't crack the top 15 in the preseason rankings. I can go on and on about how much of a travesty it is that you have Gustavus in the Elite 8 and teams like UCSC, Redlands and Trinity(TX) not there.
I like Emory to win fairly comfortably and CMS to win a close one tomorrow. Please add comments.
This was followed by the most surprising result of the day. I expected a battle here, and I even thought Mary Washington had a chance to win. Middlebury was just too good in doubles and in singles. Not sure why UMW chose to change their doubles lineup right before NCAA's, but this came back to kill them in the end. Loden had been the team leader all year and seeing him go down so easily had to suck the life out of this team. Give credit to Midd, who must have really played well. They have been under the radar all year and have a great chance at winning the whole thing. UMW really had an average season, and this disappointing performance really capped it off. Despite their win over Trinity(TX), the Eagles shouldn't be too happy with this season. They return everyone though and should be tough next season.
Williams didn't lose this one. CMS won it. The Stags were the most impressive team today and going into tomorrow, they have to be the favorite to win it. They slipped in singles, but Wang was able to lead this team to victory. He and Watts will have a great battle tomorrow. Williams also had an up and down season with some really good wins and some bad losses. They have good recruits in, but lose Simonette and Greenberg which will be huge. A great fight by the Ephs, and if Greenberg had held on to that 3-0 lead in the 3rd set, things could have turned out differently. A good run for first year head coach Donn, he really gets his guys to fight hard. The Stags are confident right now but they will have a tough one tomorrow.
I don't like to insult teams, but Gustavus being here is a joke. Their "strength" is doubles, and they get blown out in doubles by a team who's weakness is doubles. It's terrible that they can just get a couple good wins at Indoors and make it to the Elite 8. They were not a good team this year. I won't hesitate to say that Amherst would beat Gustavus on a neutral outdoor court this year, and Amherst didn't even make the tournament. That's how ridiculous this is. It's terrible that Gustavus gets here when they belong around 15 or 16 in the country and we have deserving teams losing in the regionals. Take nothing away from WashU, who took care of business appropriately and played good doubles. Another rematch with CMS playing WashU. They should be even in singles and if WashU can pull out 2 of 3 doubles, I really like their chances. Bryan is gone for Gustavus and unless AC has some secret weapon recruit up their sleeve, they won't crack the top 15 in the preseason rankings. I can go on and on about how much of a travesty it is that you have Gustavus in the Elite 8 and teams like UCSC, Redlands and Trinity(TX) not there.
I like Emory to win fairly comfortably and CMS to win a close one tomorrow. Please add comments.
Comments about Elite 8 matches
All comments about today's matches go here. There is live scoring as well as broadcasting online by radiotennis.com
Emory defeats Kenyon in a very hard fought first match.
Midd crushes Mary Wash in an impressive performance.
CMS wins 5-2. Almost a great comeback from Williams.
WashU wins 5-0
Midd vs. Emory
CMS vs. WashU
Commentary to come a little later.
Emory defeats Kenyon in a very hard fought first match.
Midd crushes Mary Wash in an impressive performance.
CMS wins 5-2. Almost a great comeback from Williams.
WashU wins 5-0
Midd vs. Emory
CMS vs. WashU
Commentary to come a little later.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Thoughts on the quality of D3 tennis
To me, since the 2006 recruiting class came in (players who just finished sophomore year), the quality of D3 tennis has taken off. In the early part of the decade, you may see 5 or 6 top 300 juniors going to Division 3 each year. Now we have at least 25 if not more than that. If you don't have at least 2 players coming in who will impact your team it's like a bad recruiting class. D3 coaches are able to sell their schools, and for a lot of juniors, playing for a national championship is more attractive than being in the middle of your D1 conference.
Schools such as Gustavus, Kalamazoo, Trinity(TX) and UC Santa Cruz have the attitude that we will recruit juniors who weren't ranked as high and then develop them into national quality players. While this has worked, I don't think this method will continue to work with all of the talent coming into D3. You have schools like Amherst and Carnegie Mellon just barely cracking the top 15 and their teams are filled with 4 star recruits. Teams such as Emory and Bowdoin have incredible recruiting classes, and you can't compete with that if you are bringing in a couple of 2-stars and hoping to teach them good doubles. We saw a sneak preview of this with the fall of Kalamazoo this year and Gustavus seeming more vulnerable than ever. On the other hand, WashU has suddenly made themselves known on the national scene and we now have Chicago and Kenyon turning into national level programs. This was simply done by recruiting very good players. You cannot be in the top 20 anymore if your team isn't filled with D1 level players. Coaches really have work to do and they have to draw good players (transfers and recruits) to their schools if they want to compete.
However, there could be a bad side to this. D3 tennis used to be about competing hard and enjoying the sport. It's going to start becoming about winning as coaches get more competitive with better teams and compete for recruits. The motto used to be student first and athlete second, and while some schools still maintain that, I believe the emphasis on tennis is being pushed on the kids more and more and it may be bad for them. Very few current D3 players will have a career based on tennis. While the level may go up and that's great, the environment will become more like D1 with 2 a day practices and mandatory conditioning.
I'll discuss all of these issues and more when I publish an outlook for next season after the tournament is over. This will include a team by team analysis and pre-season rankings. Exciting day tomorrow and I hope everyone will have their eyes on Maine.
Schools such as Gustavus, Kalamazoo, Trinity(TX) and UC Santa Cruz have the attitude that we will recruit juniors who weren't ranked as high and then develop them into national quality players. While this has worked, I don't think this method will continue to work with all of the talent coming into D3. You have schools like Amherst and Carnegie Mellon just barely cracking the top 15 and their teams are filled with 4 star recruits. Teams such as Emory and Bowdoin have incredible recruiting classes, and you can't compete with that if you are bringing in a couple of 2-stars and hoping to teach them good doubles. We saw a sneak preview of this with the fall of Kalamazoo this year and Gustavus seeming more vulnerable than ever. On the other hand, WashU has suddenly made themselves known on the national scene and we now have Chicago and Kenyon turning into national level programs. This was simply done by recruiting very good players. You cannot be in the top 20 anymore if your team isn't filled with D1 level players. Coaches really have work to do and they have to draw good players (transfers and recruits) to their schools if they want to compete.
However, there could be a bad side to this. D3 tennis used to be about competing hard and enjoying the sport. It's going to start becoming about winning as coaches get more competitive with better teams and compete for recruits. The motto used to be student first and athlete second, and while some schools still maintain that, I believe the emphasis on tennis is being pushed on the kids more and more and it may be bad for them. Very few current D3 players will have a career based on tennis. While the level may go up and that's great, the environment will become more like D1 with 2 a day practices and mandatory conditioning.
I'll discuss all of these issues and more when I publish an outlook for next season after the tournament is over. This will include a team by team analysis and pre-season rankings. Exciting day tomorrow and I hope everyone will have their eyes on Maine.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Article on Tennisrecruiting.net
The front page article on tennisrecruiting.net was submitted by me and will be featured on the site Monday May, 12. It's a brief preview of the NCAA Final 8 plus a little bit on Singles and Doubles.
Elite 8 Preview: Washington vs. Gustavus Adolphus
Probable Starters:
1. Cutler/Hoeland vs. Bryan/Paukert
2. Watts/Bowman vs. Kauss/Burdakin
3. Stein/Woods vs. Hansen/Tomasek
1. John Watts vs. Andy Bryan
2. Charlie Cutler vs. John Kauss
3. Danny Levy vs. Mike Burdakin
4. Max Woods vs. Charlie Paukert
5. Chris Hoeland vs. Aaron Zenner
6. Isaac Stein vs. Kevin Stickney
Not a whole lot to say about this one besides WashU is the better team. Gustavus only chance in this is to really jump on the Bears in doubles, winning at least 2 of the matches and carrying the momentum in Singles. WashU is just deeper in singles. The matches at 1 and 2 will be close and probably won't be finished, but WashU really should dominate at 3 through 6 and I'd be surprised if they drop any sets. Gustavus has a pretty good shot in doubles, because this is where WashU is vulnerable. I would expect the Gusties to win at 2 doubles and they have to find a way to win at 1 or 3. My guess is that WashU will win at 1 and 3 and go up 2-1. I would then expect quick wins from Woods and 4 and Stein at 6 to make it 4-1. Levy and Hoeland might have a little more trouble, but one of them will be a straight set winner to take the match 5-1 for WashU. It's unfortunate that the first two singles won't get to finish, because Bryan and Watts will certainly be a great match. This should be the least competitive match of the day and look for WashU to move the Final 4 fairly comfortably. It's amazing how different Gustavus is when they aren't playing at home.
1. Cutler/Hoeland vs. Bryan/Paukert
2. Watts/Bowman vs. Kauss/Burdakin
3. Stein/Woods vs. Hansen/Tomasek
1. John Watts vs. Andy Bryan
2. Charlie Cutler vs. John Kauss
3. Danny Levy vs. Mike Burdakin
4. Max Woods vs. Charlie Paukert
5. Chris Hoeland vs. Aaron Zenner
6. Isaac Stein vs. Kevin Stickney
Not a whole lot to say about this one besides WashU is the better team. Gustavus only chance in this is to really jump on the Bears in doubles, winning at least 2 of the matches and carrying the momentum in Singles. WashU is just deeper in singles. The matches at 1 and 2 will be close and probably won't be finished, but WashU really should dominate at 3 through 6 and I'd be surprised if they drop any sets. Gustavus has a pretty good shot in doubles, because this is where WashU is vulnerable. I would expect the Gusties to win at 2 doubles and they have to find a way to win at 1 or 3. My guess is that WashU will win at 1 and 3 and go up 2-1. I would then expect quick wins from Woods and 4 and Stein at 6 to make it 4-1. Levy and Hoeland might have a little more trouble, but one of them will be a straight set winner to take the match 5-1 for WashU. It's unfortunate that the first two singles won't get to finish, because Bryan and Watts will certainly be a great match. This should be the least competitive match of the day and look for WashU to move the Final 4 fairly comfortably. It's amazing how different Gustavus is when they aren't playing at home.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Elite 8 Preview: CMS-Williams
Probable Starters:
1. Wang/Schils vs. Greenberg/Thacher
2. Hough/MacColl vs. Lebedoff/Simonette
3. Starr/Brockett vs. Weinberger/Devlin
1. Lawrence Wang vs. Dan Greenberg
2. Eric MacColl vs. Nick Lebedoff
3. Michael Starr vs. Gary Simonette
4. Drew Sabater vs. Jeremy Weinberger
5. Russell Brockett vs. Karol Furmaga
6. Ben Hough vs. Rick Devlin
Probably the most evenly matched quarterfinal. It is really tough to pick a winner in any of these matches. It's true that Williams did dominate CMS earlier in the year, but this is a new Stags team despite their injuries. They just have to hope that they aren't going in overconfident after their win against the defending national champions. CMS really can help themselves by grabbing the lead in doubles, because that's where Williams is most vulnerable. Both of the #1 teams have been hot recently, but I like CMS to take 1 doubles. Williams will most likely take 2 doubles and 3 doubles, you have to like CMS because both Starr and Brockett are playing well right now. Lawrence Wang should have enough firepower for Dan Greenberg at 1 singles, but I like Williams to strike back and even it up with wins at 3 and 4. Brockett is nearly undefeated on the season, so you have to like his chances at 5. This leaves CMS up 4-3 with 2 and 6 singles to go. My guess is that the Stags will be able to grab one of these matches to secure their birth in the Final 4. I'm calling CMS 5-3, with a lot of very close singles matches.
1. Wang/Schils vs. Greenberg/Thacher
2. Hough/MacColl vs. Lebedoff/Simonette
3. Starr/Brockett vs. Weinberger/Devlin
1. Lawrence Wang vs. Dan Greenberg
2. Eric MacColl vs. Nick Lebedoff
3. Michael Starr vs. Gary Simonette
4. Drew Sabater vs. Jeremy Weinberger
5. Russell Brockett vs. Karol Furmaga
6. Ben Hough vs. Rick Devlin
Probably the most evenly matched quarterfinal. It is really tough to pick a winner in any of these matches. It's true that Williams did dominate CMS earlier in the year, but this is a new Stags team despite their injuries. They just have to hope that they aren't going in overconfident after their win against the defending national champions. CMS really can help themselves by grabbing the lead in doubles, because that's where Williams is most vulnerable. Both of the #1 teams have been hot recently, but I like CMS to take 1 doubles. Williams will most likely take 2 doubles and 3 doubles, you have to like CMS because both Starr and Brockett are playing well right now. Lawrence Wang should have enough firepower for Dan Greenberg at 1 singles, but I like Williams to strike back and even it up with wins at 3 and 4. Brockett is nearly undefeated on the season, so you have to like his chances at 5. This leaves CMS up 4-3 with 2 and 6 singles to go. My guess is that the Stags will be able to grab one of these matches to secure their birth in the Final 4. I'm calling CMS 5-3, with a lot of very close singles matches.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Elite 8 Preview: Middlebury vs. Mary Washington
Probable Starters:
1. Marinkovic/Thomson vs. Loden/Murata
2. Lee/Mason vs. James/Dunn
3. Peters/Bonfiglio vs. Goff/Pollak
1. Andrew Lee vs. John James
2. Filip Marinkovic vs. Randy Loden
3. Andrew Thomson vs. Evan Goff
4. Andrew Peters vs. Eddie Carver
5. Richard Bonfiglio vs. Evan Goff
6. Peter Odell vs. Zach Detweiler
Mary Washington went down 2-1 in doubles in both of their matches during regionals. They recovered in both matches winning the top 4 singles positions to win both matches by a score of 5-4. Expect them to fall 2-1 in doubles again, but I wouldn't expect them to win top 4 singles for a 3rd time. Much like the Eagles, this Middlebury team also prides themselves on their outstanding singles play. I would say that the singles matches are fairly even all the way through, and the advantage that the Eagles have is that they had their backs against the wall twice last weekend and managed to pull through. Mary Washington's switch in doubles for NCAAs hasn't worked for them too well and I would expect that trend to continue. Expect Middlebury to grab 2 and 3 doubles from the Eagles, but I would also expect the team of Loden/Murata to keep the Eagles in it. They have been incredibly clutch and Marinkovic/Thomson haven't found their fall form. With Middlebury leading 2-1, expect battles on every court in Singles. I like Mary Washington at 2 and Middlebury at 3 to make the score 3-2 in favor of Middlebury. Both 5's had an uncharacteristic loss last weekend so that will definitely be a battle. I would give the edge to Mary Washington at 1 in a close one and then Middlebury at 6 to make the score 4-3 with 2 matches remaining. Middlebury should be able to pull out either 4 or 5 singles for a 5-3 win. Mary Wash has to potential to win and take 4 singles matches, but they will need to raise their level. They have had a great run to get here, but I would be surprised to see them make the final four. I'm calling a close 5-3 for Middlebury.
1. Marinkovic/Thomson vs. Loden/Murata
2. Lee/Mason vs. James/Dunn
3. Peters/Bonfiglio vs. Goff/Pollak
1. Andrew Lee vs. John James
2. Filip Marinkovic vs. Randy Loden
3. Andrew Thomson vs. Evan Goff
4. Andrew Peters vs. Eddie Carver
5. Richard Bonfiglio vs. Evan Goff
6. Peter Odell vs. Zach Detweiler
Mary Washington went down 2-1 in doubles in both of their matches during regionals. They recovered in both matches winning the top 4 singles positions to win both matches by a score of 5-4. Expect them to fall 2-1 in doubles again, but I wouldn't expect them to win top 4 singles for a 3rd time. Much like the Eagles, this Middlebury team also prides themselves on their outstanding singles play. I would say that the singles matches are fairly even all the way through, and the advantage that the Eagles have is that they had their backs against the wall twice last weekend and managed to pull through. Mary Washington's switch in doubles for NCAAs hasn't worked for them too well and I would expect that trend to continue. Expect Middlebury to grab 2 and 3 doubles from the Eagles, but I would also expect the team of Loden/Murata to keep the Eagles in it. They have been incredibly clutch and Marinkovic/Thomson haven't found their fall form. With Middlebury leading 2-1, expect battles on every court in Singles. I like Mary Washington at 2 and Middlebury at 3 to make the score 3-2 in favor of Middlebury. Both 5's had an uncharacteristic loss last weekend so that will definitely be a battle. I would give the edge to Mary Washington at 1 in a close one and then Middlebury at 6 to make the score 4-3 with 2 matches remaining. Middlebury should be able to pull out either 4 or 5 singles for a 5-3 win. Mary Wash has to potential to win and take 4 singles matches, but they will need to raise their level. They have had a great run to get here, but I would be surprised to see them make the final four. I'm calling a close 5-3 for Middlebury.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Elite 8 Preview: Emory vs. Kenyon
Probable Starters:
1. Goodwin/Caplan vs. Greenberg/Polster
2. Boren/Ehlers vs. Becker/Brody
3. Lopp/Kaufman vs. Vandenberg/Parker
1. Michael Goodwin vs. Mike Greenberg
2. Mark Boren vs. Greg Sussman
3. David Caplan vs. Charlie Brody
4. Oliver Lopp vs. Jeremy Polster
5. Hardy Ehlers vs. Daniel Becker
6. Colin Egan vs. Will Vandenberg
In my predictions, I picked Emory 5-0 in this match. I retract that prediction. The key for Kenyon is can they bring the intensity needed to keep up with Emory? By the scores, it is pretty clear that they fed off their home court advantage this past weekend. They need to play the same way in doubles against Emory that they did at Regionals. Emory is a different story. To me, they weren't that impressive at Regionals beating Bowdoin 5-3. They need to find their form that they had at UAAs if they want to dominate this match. Now we know what both teams have to do, so let's think about what they will do. Doubles will be huge in this match for Kenyon. Not so much for the score, but for their belief that they can win this match. I like Emory at 3 doubles and I like Kenyon at 2 doubles. 1 doubles is a big toss up so let's leave that up in the air for now. I like Emory at 2 and I think they have a slight edge at 4 and 5. 1, 3 and 6 I have to go with the Lords. But you have to remember, that besides 2 singles, pretty much every match is close to 50/50. Very tough to call with two excellent teams. It depends on which #1 gets 2 points for their team. If Greenberg can do it for Kenyon, the Lords have a chance to win. In the end, I think Emory will take #1 doubles and have a little too much for Kenyon and this will propel them to a 5-2 or 5-3 victory. This brings me back to my point about #1 doubles. If Kenyon can take 2 of 3 doubles, they will be ready to go in Singles. The team who comes out on top in Doubles should end up winning the match.
1. Goodwin/Caplan vs. Greenberg/Polster
2. Boren/Ehlers vs. Becker/Brody
3. Lopp/Kaufman vs. Vandenberg/Parker
1. Michael Goodwin vs. Mike Greenberg
2. Mark Boren vs. Greg Sussman
3. David Caplan vs. Charlie Brody
4. Oliver Lopp vs. Jeremy Polster
5. Hardy Ehlers vs. Daniel Becker
6. Colin Egan vs. Will Vandenberg
In my predictions, I picked Emory 5-0 in this match. I retract that prediction. The key for Kenyon is can they bring the intensity needed to keep up with Emory? By the scores, it is pretty clear that they fed off their home court advantage this past weekend. They need to play the same way in doubles against Emory that they did at Regionals. Emory is a different story. To me, they weren't that impressive at Regionals beating Bowdoin 5-3. They need to find their form that they had at UAAs if they want to dominate this match. Now we know what both teams have to do, so let's think about what they will do. Doubles will be huge in this match for Kenyon. Not so much for the score, but for their belief that they can win this match. I like Emory at 3 doubles and I like Kenyon at 2 doubles. 1 doubles is a big toss up so let's leave that up in the air for now. I like Emory at 2 and I think they have a slight edge at 4 and 5. 1, 3 and 6 I have to go with the Lords. But you have to remember, that besides 2 singles, pretty much every match is close to 50/50. Very tough to call with two excellent teams. It depends on which #1 gets 2 points for their team. If Greenberg can do it for Kenyon, the Lords have a chance to win. In the end, I think Emory will take #1 doubles and have a little too much for Kenyon and this will propel them to a 5-2 or 5-3 victory. This brings me back to my point about #1 doubles. If Kenyon can take 2 of 3 doubles, they will be ready to go in Singles. The team who comes out on top in Doubles should end up winning the match.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Upcoming Schedule
Thursday: Kenyon/Emory preview and predictions
Friday: UMW/Middlebury preview and predictions
Saturday: CMS/Williams preview and predictions
Sunday: Gustavus/WashU preview and predictions
Monday: 2007-2008 Recruiting Class rankings and discussion
Tuesday: Elite 8 begins
Friday: UMW/Middlebury preview and predictions
Saturday: CMS/Williams preview and predictions
Sunday: Gustavus/WashU preview and predictions
Monday: 2007-2008 Recruiting Class rankings and discussion
Tuesday: Elite 8 begins
NCAA Doubles
Another proposed bracket for NCAA doubles...
Schils/Wang vs. Lofgren/Newman
Klimchak/Mosteller vs. Mook/Glidewell
Cutler/Hoeland vs. Stein/Rupasinghe
Blythe/Vasoontara vs. Kamel/Vartabedian
Bryan/Paukert vs. Greenberg/Thacher
Loden/Murata vs. Ashlock/Phillips
Gaines/Desantis vs. Greenberg/Polster
Marinkovic/Thomson vs. Kincaid/Burtzlaff
Proposed Seeds:
1. Schils/Wang, CMS
2. Marinkovic/Thomson, Midd
3. Loden/Murata, UMW
4. Cutler/Hoeland, Wash U
Please add comments.
Schils/Wang vs. Lofgren/Newman
Klimchak/Mosteller vs. Mook/Glidewell
Cutler/Hoeland vs. Stein/Rupasinghe
Blythe/Vasoontara vs. Kamel/Vartabedian
Bryan/Paukert vs. Greenberg/Thacher
Loden/Murata vs. Ashlock/Phillips
Gaines/Desantis vs. Greenberg/Polster
Marinkovic/Thomson vs. Kincaid/Burtzlaff
Proposed Seeds:
1. Schils/Wang, CMS
2. Marinkovic/Thomson, Midd
3. Loden/Murata, UMW
4. Cutler/Hoeland, Wash U
Please add comments.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
NCAA Singles
The selections for the NCAA Singles were made. Here is a bracket that I would like to see.
Mike Greenberg vs. Cameron Taylor
John Mook vs. Spencer Feldman
Randy Loden vs. Kortney Keith
James Furr vs. Zach Lerner
Larry Wang vs. Brendan Kincaid
Charlie Cutler vs. Andrew Lee
Garrett Gates vs. Dustin Phillips
Mark Boren vs. John Kauss
Andy Bryan vs. Chris Fletcher
Dan Greenberg vs. Max Ortiz
Mike Klimchak vs. John Pelton
Michael Goodwin vs. Eric Wagar
Stephen Sullivan vs John James
Jared Kamel vs. Miguel Yunes
David Maldow vs. Oliver Gaines
John Watts vs. Filip Marinkovic
Feel free to add any comments. We'll talk Singles today and Doubles tomorrow.
Mike Greenberg vs. Cameron Taylor
John Mook vs. Spencer Feldman
Randy Loden vs. Kortney Keith
James Furr vs. Zach Lerner
Larry Wang vs. Brendan Kincaid
Charlie Cutler vs. Andrew Lee
Garrett Gates vs. Dustin Phillips
Mark Boren vs. John Kauss
Andy Bryan vs. Chris Fletcher
Dan Greenberg vs. Max Ortiz
Mike Klimchak vs. John Pelton
Michael Goodwin vs. Eric Wagar
Stephen Sullivan vs John James
Jared Kamel vs. Miguel Yunes
David Maldow vs. Oliver Gaines
John Watts vs. Filip Marinkovic
Feel free to add any comments. We'll talk Singles today and Doubles tomorrow.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Thoughts on Regionals
CMS Regional: Obviously an unbelievable win by CMS to defeat the defending national champions twice in a row. I knew Santa Cruz would be vulnerable after they played so close with Redlands. The bad news for CMS is that they got crushed by both Williams and Wash U. I think they are a new team now. All in all, I'd say a disappointing season for the Slugs. They lost at Indoors and they lost to their rivals twice. They will be back with a vengeance next year. A good season for Whitman, and a great win for the Solomons at 1 doubles. Redlands had an unbelievable season and hopefully they can push to be shipped out of California for NCAAs next year. They should be in the top 12 next year again. Good luck to CMS at Bates.
TCNJ Regional - 2 great finishes and 2 not so great finishes. To start with the bad, who should be more disappointed than Hopkins? They thought that they could make the top 8 this year, yet they barely saw the top 15 after their showing at Indoors and now they lose to a TCNJ team who they are probably better than. The CNU Captains also had high expectations. It's not the fact that they lost to Williams, but how they lost to Williams. I expected a better fight than that from CNU. TCNJ had an amazing year. A win over Mary Wash highlighted their season, and now beating Hopkins and playing close with Williams. They had great Seniors and should leave this season with their heads held high. And Williams had it's ups and downs through the season but they prevailed and are definitely a favorite for nationals.
WashU Regional - This was probably the most predictable region, especially with DePauw's key injury. The Bears are an excellent team if they play good doubles, but they are only a good team if they don't. This will be the key for them. Everyone is assuming they will handle Gustavus pretty easily. A not-so-great season for DePauw besides their conference championship. Granted they lost Webeler, but to go from #6 to #16 in the rankings and barely make the tournament is disappointing for them. They lose their #1 again and they will have to do a lot of hard work to get back to the top 10. They were just overmatched by this WashU team as shown by the score and I don't think Sandager would have made a difference here.
Gustavus Regional - Gustavus won the regional as expected, but UT-Tyler is the real story here. They ended HSU's streak of consecutive conference championships and the Patriots put themselves on the map as a national power. I'd expect to see UT-Tyler as a fixture in the top 20 for many years to come. That being said, I think they expected more out of themselves against the Gusties. I would have expected at least 2 wins out of Tyler, especially since it was played outside. A good season, but not that great of an ending for Tyler. Gustavus still remains overrated, but they just keep winning. They did their job this weekend and they did it in convincing fashion. Nobody gives them a chance against WashU, but this team is dangerous if they can dominate in doubles. Bryan is a great leader and this team will fight until the end against WashU.
Bowdoin Regional - I'll start by saying that I'll give Skidmore credit for this season. They played well and I wouldn't be surprised to see them crack the rankings next year. But the question on my mind is which Emory doubles will show up? We have Emory dominating doubles at UAA against good opponents and then losing 2 of 3 to Bowdoin. This will be huge for the Eagles if they want to win it all. Emory is solid in singles, but there are teams that can beat them. A good battle by Bowdoin, but they just couldn't get it done with all of the momentum they had. A solid performance in doubles and this put them in the driver's seat, but they were just beaten in Singles. A bad start to the season and a great ending for Bowdoin. They should be pleased with their performance and if they played Emory again tomorrow, it could be a different story. The Eagles are still the favorite to get to the finals in my opinion.
Kenyon Regional - What a bad season for Kalamazoo and what an unbelievable season for Kenyon. No one gave the Lords a chance in the beginning of the season, and here they are with a chance to win nationals. They beat a very good Carnegie team in convincing fashion. Kalamazoo had been a fixture in the top 20 for many years and they really didn't give the effort this year. This team needs to rebound immediately to meet expectations. Carnegie had a pretty good season. They had their ups and downs and they certainly had an impressive performance beating Kenyon. This team can be in the top 10 next year, they just need to work a little harder. Kenyon matches up very well with Emory and I truly believe they can pull the upset after their domination this weekend against a worthy opponent. This is the Elite 8 match I'm most looking forward to. Good luck to the Lords.
Middlebury Regional - Midd took care of business as usual. They struggled in Doubles against MIT, but recovered well in the Sweet 16. Middlebury is an annual powerhouse for a reason. No matter what their team looks like, they always find a way to win. This team can definitely make it to the finals this year. A 5-1 win over Trinity(CT) certainly was impressive to me. The Bantams really put themselves on the map this year. They came out of nowhere from the beginning of the season and crept into the top 10 for some time. They earned the top seed in the NESCAC tournament and this was no fluke. They were a good team and they should also be happy with their performance this season. A decent season for Vassar and MIT as well. I really like Midd's chances in the Elite 8.
Mary Washington Regional - By far the region with the most intriguing results. We have Mary Wash barely beating an overlooked W&L team and then beating a top 5 team in the nation after being down 4-1. This is just an incredible result. The one thing I will say about the Eagles is that they believe in themselves more than any other team. They may not have the talent that other teams have, but they think they are the best every year. Whether it's true or not, this belief that you are the best team in the country can carry you very far. A decent season for W&L with some good wins and a very disappointing end to a great season for Trinity(TX). They had outstanding doubles and were a favorite to win Nationals entering the tournament. I think that Mary Washington is slightly overmatched against Middlebury, but they were also slightly overmatched against Trinity(TX) and look what happened.
TCNJ Regional - 2 great finishes and 2 not so great finishes. To start with the bad, who should be more disappointed than Hopkins? They thought that they could make the top 8 this year, yet they barely saw the top 15 after their showing at Indoors and now they lose to a TCNJ team who they are probably better than. The CNU Captains also had high expectations. It's not the fact that they lost to Williams, but how they lost to Williams. I expected a better fight than that from CNU. TCNJ had an amazing year. A win over Mary Wash highlighted their season, and now beating Hopkins and playing close with Williams. They had great Seniors and should leave this season with their heads held high. And Williams had it's ups and downs through the season but they prevailed and are definitely a favorite for nationals.
WashU Regional - This was probably the most predictable region, especially with DePauw's key injury. The Bears are an excellent team if they play good doubles, but they are only a good team if they don't. This will be the key for them. Everyone is assuming they will handle Gustavus pretty easily. A not-so-great season for DePauw besides their conference championship. Granted they lost Webeler, but to go from #6 to #16 in the rankings and barely make the tournament is disappointing for them. They lose their #1 again and they will have to do a lot of hard work to get back to the top 10. They were just overmatched by this WashU team as shown by the score and I don't think Sandager would have made a difference here.
Gustavus Regional - Gustavus won the regional as expected, but UT-Tyler is the real story here. They ended HSU's streak of consecutive conference championships and the Patriots put themselves on the map as a national power. I'd expect to see UT-Tyler as a fixture in the top 20 for many years to come. That being said, I think they expected more out of themselves against the Gusties. I would have expected at least 2 wins out of Tyler, especially since it was played outside. A good season, but not that great of an ending for Tyler. Gustavus still remains overrated, but they just keep winning. They did their job this weekend and they did it in convincing fashion. Nobody gives them a chance against WashU, but this team is dangerous if they can dominate in doubles. Bryan is a great leader and this team will fight until the end against WashU.
Bowdoin Regional - I'll start by saying that I'll give Skidmore credit for this season. They played well and I wouldn't be surprised to see them crack the rankings next year. But the question on my mind is which Emory doubles will show up? We have Emory dominating doubles at UAA against good opponents and then losing 2 of 3 to Bowdoin. This will be huge for the Eagles if they want to win it all. Emory is solid in singles, but there are teams that can beat them. A good battle by Bowdoin, but they just couldn't get it done with all of the momentum they had. A solid performance in doubles and this put them in the driver's seat, but they were just beaten in Singles. A bad start to the season and a great ending for Bowdoin. They should be pleased with their performance and if they played Emory again tomorrow, it could be a different story. The Eagles are still the favorite to get to the finals in my opinion.
Kenyon Regional - What a bad season for Kalamazoo and what an unbelievable season for Kenyon. No one gave the Lords a chance in the beginning of the season, and here they are with a chance to win nationals. They beat a very good Carnegie team in convincing fashion. Kalamazoo had been a fixture in the top 20 for many years and they really didn't give the effort this year. This team needs to rebound immediately to meet expectations. Carnegie had a pretty good season. They had their ups and downs and they certainly had an impressive performance beating Kenyon. This team can be in the top 10 next year, they just need to work a little harder. Kenyon matches up very well with Emory and I truly believe they can pull the upset after their domination this weekend against a worthy opponent. This is the Elite 8 match I'm most looking forward to. Good luck to the Lords.
Middlebury Regional - Midd took care of business as usual. They struggled in Doubles against MIT, but recovered well in the Sweet 16. Middlebury is an annual powerhouse for a reason. No matter what their team looks like, they always find a way to win. This team can definitely make it to the finals this year. A 5-1 win over Trinity(CT) certainly was impressive to me. The Bantams really put themselves on the map this year. They came out of nowhere from the beginning of the season and crept into the top 10 for some time. They earned the top seed in the NESCAC tournament and this was no fluke. They were a good team and they should also be happy with their performance this season. A decent season for Vassar and MIT as well. I really like Midd's chances in the Elite 8.
Mary Washington Regional - By far the region with the most intriguing results. We have Mary Wash barely beating an overlooked W&L team and then beating a top 5 team in the nation after being down 4-1. This is just an incredible result. The one thing I will say about the Eagles is that they believe in themselves more than any other team. They may not have the talent that other teams have, but they think they are the best every year. Whether it's true or not, this belief that you are the best team in the country can carry you very far. A decent season for W&L with some good wins and a very disappointing end to a great season for Trinity(TX). They had outstanding doubles and were a favorite to win Nationals entering the tournament. I think that Mary Washington is slightly overmatched against Middlebury, but they were also slightly overmatched against Trinity(TX) and look what happened.
Seniors
A list of the seniors who lost this weekend. In my opinion, these are the players who were difference makers for their teams and really had outstanding careers. Some of these players may be going to individuals, but even they will tell you that there's nothing like team competition...
Jeffrey Fong, UC Santa Cruz
Eric Wagar, Redlands
Ransom Cook, Redlands
Robert Rye, Whitman
Mike Klimchak, TCNJ
Eric Ferriere, TCNJ
Roger Mosteller, TCNJ
Eddie Glidewell, CNU
John Mook, CNU
Joe Vasoontara, Hopkins
Rafael Roberti, Hopkins
Kortney Keith, DePauw
Scott Sauer, DePauw
Josh Williams, Wheaton(IL)
Miguel Yunes, Carthage
Will McDonald, UT-Tyler
Robbie Norton, Salve Regina
Garrett Gates, Bowdoin
Tim Hubbard, Kalamazoo
Matt Wise, Kalamazoo
Andrew Clearfield, Carnegie Mellon
Brett Ramsay, Trinity(CT)
Tom Dolan, Trinity(CT)
Nat Estes, W&L
Seth Feibelman, W&L
Stuart Sanford, W&L
Tim Ross, W&L
David Tran, Trinity(TX)
Ryan Desantis, Trinity(TX)
James Furr, Trinity(TX)
Oliver Gaines, Trinity(TX)
If I'm forgetting anyone, let me know. Congratulations Seniors.
Jeffrey Fong, UC Santa Cruz
Eric Wagar, Redlands
Ransom Cook, Redlands
Robert Rye, Whitman
Mike Klimchak, TCNJ
Eric Ferriere, TCNJ
Roger Mosteller, TCNJ
Eddie Glidewell, CNU
John Mook, CNU
Joe Vasoontara, Hopkins
Rafael Roberti, Hopkins
Kortney Keith, DePauw
Scott Sauer, DePauw
Josh Williams, Wheaton(IL)
Miguel Yunes, Carthage
Will McDonald, UT-Tyler
Robbie Norton, Salve Regina
Garrett Gates, Bowdoin
Tim Hubbard, Kalamazoo
Matt Wise, Kalamazoo
Andrew Clearfield, Carnegie Mellon
Brett Ramsay, Trinity(CT)
Tom Dolan, Trinity(CT)
Nat Estes, W&L
Seth Feibelman, W&L
Stuart Sanford, W&L
Tim Ross, W&L
David Tran, Trinity(TX)
Ryan Desantis, Trinity(TX)
James Furr, Trinity(TX)
Oliver Gaines, Trinity(TX)
If I'm forgetting anyone, let me know. Congratulations Seniors.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Elite Eight
I purposely waited until all the matches were finished today to start talking about Elite 8 matches...
We have...
CMS vs. Williams
Washington vs. Gustavus
Emory vs. Kenyon
Middlebury vs. Mary Washington
Tonight/Tomorrow I'll have Recaps from the weekend and maybe some interviews with coaches. In the middle of the week we'll take a look at Singles and Doubles and have some bracketology for that. And then Thursday I'll preview the top half of the draw and Friday I'll preview the bottom half of the draw. Certainly was a great weekend. Great season to all of the teams who lost this weekend in great battles and congratulations to all of those teams who moved on to Bates.
We have...
CMS vs. Williams
Washington vs. Gustavus
Emory vs. Kenyon
Middlebury vs. Mary Washington
Tonight/Tomorrow I'll have Recaps from the weekend and maybe some interviews with coaches. In the middle of the week we'll take a look at Singles and Doubles and have some bracketology for that. And then Thursday I'll preview the top half of the draw and Friday I'll preview the bottom half of the draw. Certainly was a great weekend. Great season to all of the teams who lost this weekend in great battles and congratulations to all of those teams who moved on to Bates.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Tournament Has Started!
Matches began today at 9am. We will have live stats coming in all weekend.
UMW, WashU, Gustavus, CMS will be providing live stats via their websites.
We will have frequent updates from the other 4 sites as well.
Looking forward to a great opening weekend of the tournament.
UMW, WashU, Gustavus, CMS will be providing live stats via their websites.
We will have frequent updates from the other 4 sites as well.
Looking forward to a great opening weekend of the tournament.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Regional Preview: TCNJ
Probably the strongest region in the country with the exception of the West. 4 ranked teams. CNU will win it's first round match and then they will run into Williams. The boys from CNu will definitely put up a great battle and I would expect them to grab a doubles match if not two. However, Williams is just too deep in singles. CNU will fight and give them a hard time but I'd expect a 5-2 for Williams. Hopkins and TCNJ is another great rd of 32 match, but I think Hopkins will be too steady. TCNJ has been up and down all year and I think they are a little too deep for TCNJ. Maldow, Wang and Vasoontara should win this match for Hopkins at the top 3 singles spots. Vale and Roberti are also likely to win at 5 and 6. Hopkins vs. Williams in an all-academic battle in the regional final.
Probable Starters:
1. Greenberg/Thacher vs. Vasoontara/Blythe
2. Lebedoff/Simonette vs. Maldow/Wang
3. Furmaga/Devlin vs. Roberti/Naftilan
1. Dan Greenberg vs. David Maldow
2. Nick Lebedoff vs. Joe Vasoontara
3. Gary Simonette vs. Andrew Wang
4. Jeremy Weinberger vs. Casey Blythe
5. Karol Furmaga vs. Peter Vale
6. Rick Devlin vs. Rafael Roberti
This definitely will be a very tight match, but I believe that Williams is the slightly stronger team. The 1 doubles match is a toss up and the #3 match should go in favor of Hopkins. Williams should take #2 doubles. If Hopkins wants to win, they need the #1 doubles spot, but Greenberg and Thacher have been solid this season. I like Hopkins at 1 and 6 singles, and I like Williams to take 2 through 5. This match will definitely come down to the wire, but I have to give the edge to the Ephs because of 1st doubles as well as the fact that they are just a little bit deeper. I'm going to say that Williams will win this one 5-3 or 5-4 in a very hard fought match. If Hopkins can pull an upset somewhere, they could find themselves in Maine, but they need to play very well.
Probable Starters:
1. Greenberg/Thacher vs. Vasoontara/Blythe
2. Lebedoff/Simonette vs. Maldow/Wang
3. Furmaga/Devlin vs. Roberti/Naftilan
1. Dan Greenberg vs. David Maldow
2. Nick Lebedoff vs. Joe Vasoontara
3. Gary Simonette vs. Andrew Wang
4. Jeremy Weinberger vs. Casey Blythe
5. Karol Furmaga vs. Peter Vale
6. Rick Devlin vs. Rafael Roberti
This definitely will be a very tight match, but I believe that Williams is the slightly stronger team. The 1 doubles match is a toss up and the #3 match should go in favor of Hopkins. Williams should take #2 doubles. If Hopkins wants to win, they need the #1 doubles spot, but Greenberg and Thacher have been solid this season. I like Hopkins at 1 and 6 singles, and I like Williams to take 2 through 5. This match will definitely come down to the wire, but I have to give the edge to the Ephs because of 1st doubles as well as the fact that they are just a little bit deeper. I'm going to say that Williams will win this one 5-3 or 5-4 in a very hard fought match. If Hopkins can pull an upset somewhere, they could find themselves in Maine, but they need to play very well.
Regional Preview: Mary Washington
Stevens should take care of Neumann in an opening round match and then Trinity(TX) will defeat Stevens easily. W&L will crush Messiah setting up a tough second round match with Mary Washington. W&L will definitely steal a few points, maybe 2 or 3, but I think the Eagles will be too tough on their homecourts. The 1-2 punch of James and Loden plus stronger doubles teams should give the win to the Eagles. This leaves us with a Mary Washington-Trinity(TX) regional final.
Probable Starters:
1. Gaines/Desantis vs. Loden/Murata
2. Furr/Tran vs. Goff/Parrish
3. Cocanougher/Kowal vs. James/Dunn
1. Oliver Gaines vs. John James
2. James Furr vs. Randy Loden
3. David Tran vs. Jason Dunn
4. Varun Munjal vs. Eddie Carver
5. Bobby Cocanougher vs. Evan Goff
6. Crisanto Ramirez vs. Zach Detweiler
A very intriguing match and a great home court advantage for the Eagles at the Battleground. Doubles is the key to this match. This is why Trinity(TX) has been so good all year. The Eagles can definitely pull this upset if they come out and play well. If Mary Washington can win 2 of the doubles matches, they should win this match. This is easier said than done. Cocanougher/Kowal have proved to be the best 3 doubles team in the country this year. Trinity(TX) also has the edge at 2 doubles. Furr/Tran have been very good. Mary Washington needs 1 doubles to stay in the match, I think they can win it with their home court advantage. Pretty much all of the singles match are 50/50, but I would give Trinity(TX) the edge at 6. This could give them a 3-1 lead. I would expect a 5-3 or maybe even 5-4 win for Trinity(TX), but remember that this match was really won in doubles. If UMW can take that 2-1 lead in doubles, they can win. I don't believe that Trinity(TX) will let that happen and that's why I think they will make it to Bates.
Probable Starters:
1. Gaines/Desantis vs. Loden/Murata
2. Furr/Tran vs. Goff/Parrish
3. Cocanougher/Kowal vs. James/Dunn
1. Oliver Gaines vs. John James
2. James Furr vs. Randy Loden
3. David Tran vs. Jason Dunn
4. Varun Munjal vs. Eddie Carver
5. Bobby Cocanougher vs. Evan Goff
6. Crisanto Ramirez vs. Zach Detweiler
A very intriguing match and a great home court advantage for the Eagles at the Battleground. Doubles is the key to this match. This is why Trinity(TX) has been so good all year. The Eagles can definitely pull this upset if they come out and play well. If Mary Washington can win 2 of the doubles matches, they should win this match. This is easier said than done. Cocanougher/Kowal have proved to be the best 3 doubles team in the country this year. Trinity(TX) also has the edge at 2 doubles. Furr/Tran have been very good. Mary Washington needs 1 doubles to stay in the match, I think they can win it with their home court advantage. Pretty much all of the singles match are 50/50, but I would give Trinity(TX) the edge at 6. This could give them a 3-1 lead. I would expect a 5-3 or maybe even 5-4 win for Trinity(TX), but remember that this match was really won in doubles. If UMW can take that 2-1 lead in doubles, they can win. I don't believe that Trinity(TX) will let that happen and that's why I think they will make it to Bates.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Regional Preview: Bowdoin
Salve Regina should win a close one against Baruch and then Emory will destroy whoever wins. Bowdoin should have a very easy 5-0 win against Skidmore. Bowdoin and Emory may be the two hottest teams in the country and they will play in the regional final.
Probable Starters:
1. Goodwin/Caplan vs. Gates/Caughron
2. Boren/Ehlers vs. Sullivan/Neely
3. Lopp/Kaufman vs. Anderson/White
1. Michael Goodwin vs. Garrett Gates
2. Mark Boren vs. Stephen Sullivan
3. David Caplan vs. Alex Caughron
4. Oliver Lopp vs. Jamie Neely
5. Hardy Ehlers vs. Tyler Anderson
6. Colin Egan vs. Alex White
As good as Bowdoin is, I just don't see how they can pull this match out. Emory just finished going 9-0 at their conference tournament in doubles and I don't see any change here. Emory is just a little stronger at every doubles spot. The momentum of the home crowd is the only chance Bowdoin has here. I like Emory to take a fairly easy 3-0 lead in doubles. Singles should continue with a similar trend. Expect very close matches at 1, 2 and 6, but Emory should dominate in the middle of the lineup. Bowdoin will fight hard, but their team just isn't good enough to beat the Eagles this year. I would take Emory in a 5-0 victory. If Bowdoin plays well they may be able to take a match or two, but there's no way they can get 5 of them.
Probable Starters:
1. Goodwin/Caplan vs. Gates/Caughron
2. Boren/Ehlers vs. Sullivan/Neely
3. Lopp/Kaufman vs. Anderson/White
1. Michael Goodwin vs. Garrett Gates
2. Mark Boren vs. Stephen Sullivan
3. David Caplan vs. Alex Caughron
4. Oliver Lopp vs. Jamie Neely
5. Hardy Ehlers vs. Tyler Anderson
6. Colin Egan vs. Alex White
As good as Bowdoin is, I just don't see how they can pull this match out. Emory just finished going 9-0 at their conference tournament in doubles and I don't see any change here. Emory is just a little stronger at every doubles spot. The momentum of the home crowd is the only chance Bowdoin has here. I like Emory to take a fairly easy 3-0 lead in doubles. Singles should continue with a similar trend. Expect very close matches at 1, 2 and 6, but Emory should dominate in the middle of the lineup. Bowdoin will fight hard, but their team just isn't good enough to beat the Eagles this year. I would take Emory in a 5-0 victory. If Bowdoin plays well they may be able to take a match or two, but there's no way they can get 5 of them.
Regional Preview: CMS
The most difficult region in the country by far. Just bad luck for Whitman and Redlands as they are both excellent teams who have to face the #1 and #2 teams in the country. This is exactly why the NCAA needs to spend some money to fly either CMS or Santa Cruz out of California. We have 1 vs. 2 in the Sweet 16. Santa Cruz should beat Redlands 5-1 or 5-2 and I would think CMS would defeat Whitman by a similar score. A great season for the Bulldogs and the Squirrels.
Probable Starters:
1. Kamel/Vartabedian vs. Schils/Wang
2. Pybas/Ortiz vs. Hough/MacColl
3. Liberty-Point/Gendelman vs. Starr/Wu
1. Jared Kamel vs. Larry Wang
2. Max Ortiz vs. Eric MacColl
3. Brian Pybas vs. Mikey Lim
4. Colin Mark-Griffin vs. Mike Starr
5. Jeff Fong vs. Ronald Wu
6. Silvio Chiba vs. Ben Hough
Your guess is as good as mine in this match. The only clear cut match I see here is 2 doubles should go in favor of Santa Cruz. After that, every match is pretty much 50/50. A lot depends on the health of Lim and Wu. If they aren't healthy and ready to go, the Slugs should win this comfortably. If they are ready to go, it will be another war. CMS definitely has a great advantage hosting, but the Slugs love the battle and will have their fans out. I would expect a 5-4 almost for sure coming down the the last match in a 3rd set tiebreaker. It could be anywhere in the lineup at 1 through 6. Expect another classic match, but I have to give the edge to the Slugs this time 5-4. Be ready for a thriller and look for the winner of this to go very far in the tournament.
Probable Starters:
1. Kamel/Vartabedian vs. Schils/Wang
2. Pybas/Ortiz vs. Hough/MacColl
3. Liberty-Point/Gendelman vs. Starr/Wu
1. Jared Kamel vs. Larry Wang
2. Max Ortiz vs. Eric MacColl
3. Brian Pybas vs. Mikey Lim
4. Colin Mark-Griffin vs. Mike Starr
5. Jeff Fong vs. Ronald Wu
6. Silvio Chiba vs. Ben Hough
Your guess is as good as mine in this match. The only clear cut match I see here is 2 doubles should go in favor of Santa Cruz. After that, every match is pretty much 50/50. A lot depends on the health of Lim and Wu. If they aren't healthy and ready to go, the Slugs should win this comfortably. If they are ready to go, it will be another war. CMS definitely has a great advantage hosting, but the Slugs love the battle and will have their fans out. I would expect a 5-4 almost for sure coming down the the last match in a 3rd set tiebreaker. It could be anywhere in the lineup at 1 through 6. Expect another classic match, but I have to give the edge to the Slugs this time 5-4. Be ready for a thriller and look for the winner of this to go very far in the tournament.
Regional Preview: Kenyon
Ohio Northern should take Transylvania and then will go down to Kenyon 5-0. I would think Kalamazoo will beat Wilkes 5-0 and then CMU will beat them 5-2 or 5-3. This sets up a regional final and the 3rd match this season between Kenyon and Carnegie Mellon.
Probable Starters:
1. Greenberg/Polster vs. Raghavan/Mactaggart
2. Becker/Brody vs. Muliawan/Clearfield
3. Alef/Vandenberg vs. Nemerov/Spero
1. Mike Greenberg vs. Andrew Clearfield
2. Greg Sussman vs. James Muliawan
3. Jeremy Polster vs. Alex Nemerov
4. Charlie Brody vs. Jon Spero
5. Will Vandenberg vs. Ravi Raghavan
6. Rob Alef vs. Bobby Mactaggart
This is really going to be a tight match. That's all there is to it. I'm thinking that we will have singles split. I like Kenyon to win at 1, 4 and 5. I like Carnegie to win at 2, 3 and 6. The Raghavn/Mactaggart team beat Greenberg/Polster last time, but I doubt it will happen again given their results after that match. I don't think Carnegie has shown that they have a team who can beat Greenberg/Polster consistently. That being said, Carnegie should win at 3 doubles, leaving 2 doubles as the key match. The reason I'm picking Kenyon is because Becker and Brody have been nearly perfect at 2 doubles. I don't see this streak ending in this match. I think Kenyon will take the 2-1 edge in doubles and go on to win the match 5-3 or 5-4. This will be a very close one.
Probable Starters:
1. Greenberg/Polster vs. Raghavan/Mactaggart
2. Becker/Brody vs. Muliawan/Clearfield
3. Alef/Vandenberg vs. Nemerov/Spero
1. Mike Greenberg vs. Andrew Clearfield
2. Greg Sussman vs. James Muliawan
3. Jeremy Polster vs. Alex Nemerov
4. Charlie Brody vs. Jon Spero
5. Will Vandenberg vs. Ravi Raghavan
6. Rob Alef vs. Bobby Mactaggart
This is really going to be a tight match. That's all there is to it. I'm thinking that we will have singles split. I like Kenyon to win at 1, 4 and 5. I like Carnegie to win at 2, 3 and 6. The Raghavn/Mactaggart team beat Greenberg/Polster last time, but I doubt it will happen again given their results after that match. I don't think Carnegie has shown that they have a team who can beat Greenberg/Polster consistently. That being said, Carnegie should win at 3 doubles, leaving 2 doubles as the key match. The reason I'm picking Kenyon is because Becker and Brody have been nearly perfect at 2 doubles. I don't see this streak ending in this match. I think Kenyon will take the 2-1 edge in doubles and go on to win the match 5-3 or 5-4. This will be a very close one.
NCAA Bracket Contest
This will happen by popular demand. It shouldn't a be a lot of work so I will run it.
You have two options by MIDNIGHT FRIDAY
1. E-mail me your picks (division3tennis@gmail.com)
2. Post your picks on this board if you don't care about people seeing them
Here's what I need:
We'll start at the Sweet 16 down to the winner. So give me all of your Sweet 16 teams and picks for the rest of the tournament.
1 point for every correct Sweet 16 team
2 points for every correct Elite 8 team
4 points for every correct Final Four team
6 points for every correct finalist
10 points for correct champion
I'm ignoring the 3rd-4th match, too tough to bring it into play.
For a tiebreaker: Include the scores of all matches FROM THE ELITE EIGHT THROUGH THE END. Don't need to include scores for the Sweet 16 matches. I'll count these appropriately.
This isn't just for frequent posters. If players and coaches from participating teams want to enter, just e-mail me your picks and I'll keep everything anonymous unless you win. I hope we get a lot of entries.
Winner gets bragging rights I guess unless someone has a better idea?
I'll post my picks now so everyone knows what they should look like.
You have two options by MIDNIGHT FRIDAY
1. E-mail me your picks (division3tennis@gmail.com)
2. Post your picks on this board if you don't care about people seeing them
Here's what I need:
We'll start at the Sweet 16 down to the winner. So give me all of your Sweet 16 teams and picks for the rest of the tournament.
1 point for every correct Sweet 16 team
2 points for every correct Elite 8 team
4 points for every correct Final Four team
6 points for every correct finalist
10 points for correct champion
I'm ignoring the 3rd-4th match, too tough to bring it into play.
For a tiebreaker: Include the scores of all matches FROM THE ELITE EIGHT THROUGH THE END. Don't need to include scores for the Sweet 16 matches. I'll count these appropriately.
This isn't just for frequent posters. If players and coaches from participating teams want to enter, just e-mail me your picks and I'll keep everything anonymous unless you win. I hope we get a lot of entries.
Winner gets bragging rights I guess unless someone has a better idea?
I'll post my picks now so everyone knows what they should look like.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Regional Preview: Gustavus Adolphus
UT-Tyler will take care of Whitewater 5-1 or 5-2. The Warhawks should pull out a match or two, they are decent. Carthage should win a nailbiter against Luther and then get crushed by Gustavus. This gives us a UT-Tyler vs. Gustavus regional final.
Probable Starters
1. Bryan/Paukert vs. Ashlock/Phillips
2. Kauss/Burdakin vs. Campbell/Sajovich
3. Hansen/Tomasek vs. Kreines/Repsher
1. Andy Bryan vs. Dustin Phillips
2. John Kauss vs. Robert Sajovich
3. Mike Burdakin vs. Steven Campbell
4. Charlie Paukert vs. David Ashlock
5. Aaron Zenner vs. Will McDonald
6. Ben Tomasek vs. Nick Kreines
This match depends upon whether it is played Indoors our Outdoors. If I were Tyler, I would push for an outdoor match no matter what the weather looks like outside. This is their only chance. Indoors, Gustavus wins 5-0 without much of a problem. They are just untouchable on their Indoor courts. Since the regionals are supposed to be played outdoors, this is what we should focus on. Tyler should be able to take 1 of the doubles matches. I think their best chance is probably at 2 doubles. If they can get another one of the matches, this puts them in great shape. They cannot get swept or they're done. You have to like Bryan at 1 for GA, but 2, 3 and 4 singles are definitely winnable for Tyler. If Sajovich beat Wang, he can also beat Kauss. Campbell has some good results and Paukert has been vulnerable at #4. 5 and 6 are tossups and they can really go either way just like the other matches. Besides 1st singles, I think that Tyler really can win at every other position. As much as I would love to see an upset and I know Tyler will fight really hard, I think that I have to go with the Gusties in a 5-3 win with several 3-setters. On a neutral court, the score could be much different.
Probable Starters
1. Bryan/Paukert vs. Ashlock/Phillips
2. Kauss/Burdakin vs. Campbell/Sajovich
3. Hansen/Tomasek vs. Kreines/Repsher
1. Andy Bryan vs. Dustin Phillips
2. John Kauss vs. Robert Sajovich
3. Mike Burdakin vs. Steven Campbell
4. Charlie Paukert vs. David Ashlock
5. Aaron Zenner vs. Will McDonald
6. Ben Tomasek vs. Nick Kreines
This match depends upon whether it is played Indoors our Outdoors. If I were Tyler, I would push for an outdoor match no matter what the weather looks like outside. This is their only chance. Indoors, Gustavus wins 5-0 without much of a problem. They are just untouchable on their Indoor courts. Since the regionals are supposed to be played outdoors, this is what we should focus on. Tyler should be able to take 1 of the doubles matches. I think their best chance is probably at 2 doubles. If they can get another one of the matches, this puts them in great shape. They cannot get swept or they're done. You have to like Bryan at 1 for GA, but 2, 3 and 4 singles are definitely winnable for Tyler. If Sajovich beat Wang, he can also beat Kauss. Campbell has some good results and Paukert has been vulnerable at #4. 5 and 6 are tossups and they can really go either way just like the other matches. Besides 1st singles, I think that Tyler really can win at every other position. As much as I would love to see an upset and I know Tyler will fight really hard, I think that I have to go with the Gusties in a 5-3 win with several 3-setters. On a neutral court, the score could be much different.
Regional Preview: Middlebury
MIT should take care of Salem St. and then get crushed by Middlebury. Vassar may be able to steal a match from Trinity(CT), but the Bantams will win easily. This sets up a Middlebury-Trinity(CT) regional final.
Probable Starters:
1. Marinkovic/Thomson vs. Yahng/Samarth
2. Lee/Mason vs. Dolan/Ramsay
3. Bonfiglio/Peters vs. Feldman/Patrick
1. Andrew Lee vs. Spencer Feldman
2. Filip Marinkovic vs. Brett Ramsay
3. Andrew Thomson vs. David Yahng
4. Andrew Peters vs. Tom Dolan
5. Peter Odell vs. Gautam Samarth
6. Richard Bonfiglio vs. DJ Patrick
Despite the fact that Trinity(CT) swept doubles in their regular season match, Andrew Thomson makes a huge difference. I'm concerned about Thomson/Marinkovic and their 8-2 loss to Bowdoin in the NESCAC final. If the 1s from Midd come to play they should win. I like Middlebury to win 2 of 3 doubles with their home court advantage. Singles also favors Middlebury. I like Feldman to take 1 for the Bantams making it 2-2. Middlebury should then go on to win 2 through 4 as well as 6. Trinity(CT) could take #5. I would pick Middlebury to win this 5-3 most likely although there is a potential upset here if Middlebury doesn't come out ready in doubles. If the Bantams manage to take a 3-0 or even 2-1 lead in doubles, this momentum could carry over to singles. Middlebury has to be ready to play if they want to make it to Bates.
Probable Starters:
1. Marinkovic/Thomson vs. Yahng/Samarth
2. Lee/Mason vs. Dolan/Ramsay
3. Bonfiglio/Peters vs. Feldman/Patrick
1. Andrew Lee vs. Spencer Feldman
2. Filip Marinkovic vs. Brett Ramsay
3. Andrew Thomson vs. David Yahng
4. Andrew Peters vs. Tom Dolan
5. Peter Odell vs. Gautam Samarth
6. Richard Bonfiglio vs. DJ Patrick
Despite the fact that Trinity(CT) swept doubles in their regular season match, Andrew Thomson makes a huge difference. I'm concerned about Thomson/Marinkovic and their 8-2 loss to Bowdoin in the NESCAC final. If the 1s from Midd come to play they should win. I like Middlebury to win 2 of 3 doubles with their home court advantage. Singles also favors Middlebury. I like Feldman to take 1 for the Bantams making it 2-2. Middlebury should then go on to win 2 through 4 as well as 6. Trinity(CT) could take #5. I would pick Middlebury to win this 5-3 most likely although there is a potential upset here if Middlebury doesn't come out ready in doubles. If the Bantams manage to take a 3-0 or even 2-1 lead in doubles, this momentum could carry over to singles. Middlebury has to be ready to play if they want to make it to Bates.
Regional Preview: Washington Univ.
Grinnel should take care of business in the first round and then be taken care of by WashU 5-0. DePauw should beat Wheaton 5-0 as well. Williams has a shot at Keith but I doubt it. We then have a WashU-DePauw regional final.
Probable Starters:
1. Cutler/Hoeland vs. Keith/Swanson
2. Watt/Bowman vs. Heck/Sandager
3. Stein/Woods vs. Schouweiler/Nash
1. John Watts vs. Kortney Keith
2. Charlie Cutler vs. Scott Swanson
3. Danny Levy vs. Brian Heck
4. Max Woods vs. Scott Sandager
5. Chris Hoeland vs. Scott Sauer
6. Isaac Stein vs. Evan Hunter
DePauw has a good chance to take a 2-1 lead in doubles. I wouldn't be surprised if DePauw grabbed 2 and 3 doubles to take the early lead. After that I think it is downhill for them. WashU is just stronger at 5 out of 6 singles spots. DePauw's best chance for a win is at #3 with Heck over Levy. Hoeland should take Sauer with his attacking style and Cutler is steadier than Swanson. Woods easily beat Sandager at Indoors and it will take an incredible effort by Keith to beat Watts. I would expect a 5-2 win for WashU sending them to Bates.
Probable Starters:
1. Cutler/Hoeland vs. Keith/Swanson
2. Watt/Bowman vs. Heck/Sandager
3. Stein/Woods vs. Schouweiler/Nash
1. John Watts vs. Kortney Keith
2. Charlie Cutler vs. Scott Swanson
3. Danny Levy vs. Brian Heck
4. Max Woods vs. Scott Sandager
5. Chris Hoeland vs. Scott Sauer
6. Isaac Stein vs. Evan Hunter
DePauw has a good chance to take a 2-1 lead in doubles. I wouldn't be surprised if DePauw grabbed 2 and 3 doubles to take the early lead. After that I think it is downhill for them. WashU is just stronger at 5 out of 6 singles spots. DePauw's best chance for a win is at #3 with Heck over Levy. Hoeland should take Sauer with his attacking style and Cutler is steadier than Swanson. Woods easily beat Sandager at Indoors and it will take an incredible effort by Keith to beat Watts. I would expect a 5-2 win for WashU sending them to Bates.
Monday, April 28, 2008
NCAA Previews
Tuesday: WashU region, Middlebury region, Gustavus region
Wednesday: Kenyon region, CMS region, Emory region
Thursday: Trinity(TX) region, Williams region
Another note: Where do we stand as far as live stats? I was going to e-mail all the host coaches asking them if they have the capability to provide live stats for each regional, or at least the championship match in each regional? If you know anything or can help out please e-mail me at division3tennis@gmail.com or post on the boards. I think I will e-mail coaches late tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get live stats for all of the regionals, that would be fantastic.
Wednesday: Kenyon region, CMS region, Emory region
Thursday: Trinity(TX) region, Williams region
Another note: Where do we stand as far as live stats? I was going to e-mail all the host coaches asking them if they have the capability to provide live stats for each regional, or at least the championship match in each regional? If you know anything or can help out please e-mail me at division3tennis@gmail.com or post on the boards. I think I will e-mail coaches late tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get live stats for all of the regionals, that would be fantastic.
Bracket Analysis
I don't usually like to be critical, but there are some glaring errors in this bracket. I have a good amount of questions that I would like to have answered if anyone knows.
1. Whitman to the West and Tyler to Gustavus? Whitman is higher ranked than Tyler and they beat them; so shouldn't they be rewarded with an easier region? Both teams would fly to either place. Why did Whitman get screwed with a harder region when they are higher ranked and easily could have gone to Gustavus with Tyler going out West where they should be.
2. The TCNJ region has 4 ranked teams. This shouldn't be the case when 4 other regions only have 2 ranked teams. Where is the balance? This is terrible for Newport, who deserves a much nicer region. I don't like this at all.
3. Mary Washington is the highest ranked non number one seed (not the West). Why don't they play Kenyon who is the lowest ranked one seed? They are able to go there. Once again where is the balance? Give Trinity(TX) to Carnegie because they are ranked lower. The Eagles get absolutely screwed here. W&L, who was 13th in last poll, in the 1st round? If it wasn't for Tran absent, Trinity(TX) would still be the 1 team in the country. This was very poorly done and this region is so difficult. Kenyon and Carnegie should love this. Carnegie gets the lowest #1 seed and Kenyon avoids the highest non number 1 seed. Great for both of these teams, terrible for Mary Washington.
4. How are Wheaton, Vassar and Skidmore 3 seeds when you have Christopher Newport as a 4 seed? Newport has been ranked all season and Wheaton just lost to Carthage who barely made the tournament. Once again where is the balance in regions? No offense to DePauw, but WashU has a cakewalk to Maine.
5. Why does Williams have to travel when they can host in the Northeast? This doesn't seem fair. Bowdoin can easily be grouped in a region with Midd or Williams and Emory should be the team going to TCNJ. 2 number 1 seeds are traveling long distances for no reason when they can easily be switched and you can have one number 1 seed traveling a long distance and Williams staying at home.
I have not complained all season and I don't like to be arrogant, but I prefer the bracket in Bracketology Issue #5. It is perfectly balanced whereas this bracket has strong imbalance. I think this is poorly done. Please add opinions. Nevertheless, I'll set up a schedule to have a tournament predictions and preview.
1. Whitman to the West and Tyler to Gustavus? Whitman is higher ranked than Tyler and they beat them; so shouldn't they be rewarded with an easier region? Both teams would fly to either place. Why did Whitman get screwed with a harder region when they are higher ranked and easily could have gone to Gustavus with Tyler going out West where they should be.
2. The TCNJ region has 4 ranked teams. This shouldn't be the case when 4 other regions only have 2 ranked teams. Where is the balance? This is terrible for Newport, who deserves a much nicer region. I don't like this at all.
3. Mary Washington is the highest ranked non number one seed (not the West). Why don't they play Kenyon who is the lowest ranked one seed? They are able to go there. Once again where is the balance? Give Trinity(TX) to Carnegie because they are ranked lower. The Eagles get absolutely screwed here. W&L, who was 13th in last poll, in the 1st round? If it wasn't for Tran absent, Trinity(TX) would still be the 1 team in the country. This was very poorly done and this region is so difficult. Kenyon and Carnegie should love this. Carnegie gets the lowest #1 seed and Kenyon avoids the highest non number 1 seed. Great for both of these teams, terrible for Mary Washington.
4. How are Wheaton, Vassar and Skidmore 3 seeds when you have Christopher Newport as a 4 seed? Newport has been ranked all season and Wheaton just lost to Carthage who barely made the tournament. Once again where is the balance in regions? No offense to DePauw, but WashU has a cakewalk to Maine.
5. Why does Williams have to travel when they can host in the Northeast? This doesn't seem fair. Bowdoin can easily be grouped in a region with Midd or Williams and Emory should be the team going to TCNJ. 2 number 1 seeds are traveling long distances for no reason when they can easily be switched and you can have one number 1 seed traveling a long distance and Williams staying at home.
I have not complained all season and I don't like to be arrogant, but I prefer the bracket in Bracketology Issue #5. It is perfectly balanced whereas this bracket has strong imbalance. I think this is poorly done. Please add opinions. Nevertheless, I'll set up a schedule to have a tournament predictions and preview.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Bracketology Issue #5 April 27, 2008
Region 1: UC Santa Cruz*, CMS, Redlands, UT-Tyler, Chapman
Region 2: Emory, Johns Hopkins, TCNJ*, Stevens, Wilkes
Region 3: Washington*, DePauw, Kalamazoo, Wheaton(IL), Westminster (MO)
Region 4: Gustavus*, Whitman, UW-Whitewater, Luther, Grinnell, Carthage
Region 5: Trinity(TX), Carnegie Mellon*, Washington & Lee, Ohio Northern, Transylvania
Region 6: Williams*, Trinity(CT), Skidmore, Baruch, Salem State
Region 7: Middlebury*, Bowdoin, Vassar, Salve Regina, Mount Saint Mary's
Region 8: Kenyon, Mary Washington*, Christopher Newport, Messiah, Neumann
Region 2: Emory, Johns Hopkins, TCNJ*, Stevens, Wilkes
Region 3: Washington*, DePauw, Kalamazoo, Wheaton(IL), Westminster (MO)
Region 4: Gustavus*, Whitman, UW-Whitewater, Luther, Grinnell, Carthage
Region 5: Trinity(TX), Carnegie Mellon*, Washington & Lee, Ohio Northern, Transylvania
Region 6: Williams*, Trinity(CT), Skidmore, Baruch, Salem State
Region 7: Middlebury*, Bowdoin, Vassar, Salve Regina, Mount Saint Mary's
Region 8: Kenyon, Mary Washington*, Christopher Newport, Messiah, Neumann
Interesting NCAA Situation
The NCAA Handbook says there are 26 conferences with AQs. However, 2 of those conferences listed, Commonwealth and Freedom, don't have enough teams to be eligible for an AQ if you check their websites. If these conferences don't receive bids we have...24 AQs 7 ALs and 9 Indys totaling only 40 teams. I'm not sure how the committee will handle this. These conferences are set to receive AQs according to the handbook, but there was a mistake and there aren't enough teams in these conferences. I'll be interested to see what the committee does about this. If it were up to me, I would give the At-Large pool extra spots so deserving teams make the tournament.
At-Large Situation
I am going to publish this list as my opinion of the At-large teams that should be in the tournament...
1. Trinity(TX)
2. Washington U
3. Williams
4. Middlebury
5. Redlands
6. Trinity(CT)
7. Carnegie Mellon
8. Amherst
9. Salisbury
10. Chicago
I think Carnegie earns the last spot by this reasoning...
Both Amherst and Carnegie lost to Emory. They both beat DePauw. They both lost to regional rivals. Carnegie lost to Hopkins,W&L, MW. Amherst lost to Williams, Midd twice and Trinity(CT). They both have a top 10 win. The Kenyon win for CMU and the Williams win for Amherst are equal. The win that pushes Carnegie over the edge is the win against Bowdoin. Carnegie beat Bowdoin, the NESCAC champ, 5-4 and Bowdoin beat Amherst 5-0. Carnegie gets the spot.
Bracketology on the way later.
1. Trinity(TX)
2. Washington U
3. Williams
4. Middlebury
5. Redlands
6. Trinity(CT)
7. Carnegie Mellon
8. Amherst
9. Salisbury
10. Chicago
I think Carnegie earns the last spot by this reasoning...
Both Amherst and Carnegie lost to Emory. They both beat DePauw. They both lost to regional rivals. Carnegie lost to Hopkins,W&L, MW. Amherst lost to Williams, Midd twice and Trinity(CT). They both have a top 10 win. The Kenyon win for CMU and the Williams win for Amherst are equal. The win that pushes Carnegie over the edge is the win against Bowdoin. Carnegie beat Bowdoin, the NESCAC champ, 5-4 and Bowdoin beat Amherst 5-0. Carnegie gets the spot.
Bracketology on the way later.
D3tennis.com Team Rankings April 27, 2008
1. UC Santa Cruz
2. CMS
3. Trinity(TX)
4. Emory
5. WashU
6. Gustavus Adolphus
7. Williams
8. Middlebury
9. Kenyon
10. Bowdoin
11. Mary Washington
12. Redlands
13. Trinity(CT)
14. Washington & Lee
15. DePauw
16. Johns Hopkins
17. Carnegie Mellon
18. Amherst
19. Whitman
20. TCNJ
21. Christopher Newport
22. UT-Tyler
23. Salisbury
24. Chicago
25. Denison
2. CMS
3. Trinity(TX)
4. Emory
5. WashU
6. Gustavus Adolphus
7. Williams
8. Middlebury
9. Kenyon
10. Bowdoin
11. Mary Washington
12. Redlands
13. Trinity(CT)
14. Washington & Lee
15. DePauw
16. Johns Hopkins
17. Carnegie Mellon
18. Amherst
19. Whitman
20. TCNJ
21. Christopher Newport
22. UT-Tyler
23. Salisbury
24. Chicago
25. Denison
Friday, April 25, 2008
Updates
WashU vs. Emory UAA Finals
Carnegie vs. Chicago UAA 3rd-4th
Bowdoin d. Trinity (CT)
Middlebury d. Amherst
Middlebury-Bowdoin NESCAC finals
Johns Hopkins vs Haverford Centennial Final
DePauw vs. Trinity(TX) SCAC Finals
The last few At-Large bids are on the line tomorrow. Still important matches to be played.
Carnegie vs. Chicago UAA 3rd-4th
Bowdoin d. Trinity (CT)
Middlebury d. Amherst
Middlebury-Bowdoin NESCAC finals
Johns Hopkins vs Haverford Centennial Final
DePauw vs. Trinity(TX) SCAC Finals
The last few At-Large bids are on the line tomorrow. Still important matches to be played.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Doubles Rankings by Region
West
1. Kamel/Vartabedian, UCSC
2. Gaines/Desantis, Trinity(TX)
3. Schils/Wang, CMS
4. Phillips/Ashlock, UT-Tyler
5. Solomon/Solomon, Whitman
6. Furr/Tran, Trinity(TX)
Honorable Mention: Pybas/Ortiz, UCSC
Central
1. Cutler/Hoeland, WashU
2. Bryan/Paukert, Gustavus
3. Lofgren/Newman, Denison
4. Greenberg/Polster, Kenyon
5. Saltarelli/Brinker, Chicago
6. Keith/Swanson, DePauw
Honorable Mention: Yunes/Lopez, Carthage
Atlantic South
1. Goodwin/Lopp, Emory
2. Blythe/Vasoontara, JHU
3. Glidewell/Mook, Christopher Newport
4. Loden/Murata, Mary Washington
5. Kincaid/Burtzlaff, Salisbury
6. Kinrade/Stiegel, Haverford
Honorable Mention: Moss/Pugh, Hampden-Sydney
Northeast:
1. Thomson/Marinkovic, Middlebury
2. Klimchak/Mosteller, TCNJ
3. Greenberg/Thacher, Williams
4. Stein/Rupasinghe, Bates
5. Yahng/Samarth, Trinity (CT)
6. Lebedoff/Simonette, Williams
Honorable Mention: Gates/Caughron, Bowdoin
1. Kamel/Vartabedian, UCSC
2. Gaines/Desantis, Trinity(TX)
3. Schils/Wang, CMS
4. Phillips/Ashlock, UT-Tyler
5. Solomon/Solomon, Whitman
6. Furr/Tran, Trinity(TX)
Honorable Mention: Pybas/Ortiz, UCSC
Central
1. Cutler/Hoeland, WashU
2. Bryan/Paukert, Gustavus
3. Lofgren/Newman, Denison
4. Greenberg/Polster, Kenyon
5. Saltarelli/Brinker, Chicago
6. Keith/Swanson, DePauw
Honorable Mention: Yunes/Lopez, Carthage
Atlantic South
1. Goodwin/Lopp, Emory
2. Blythe/Vasoontara, JHU
3. Glidewell/Mook, Christopher Newport
4. Loden/Murata, Mary Washington
5. Kincaid/Burtzlaff, Salisbury
6. Kinrade/Stiegel, Haverford
Honorable Mention: Moss/Pugh, Hampden-Sydney
Northeast:
1. Thomson/Marinkovic, Middlebury
2. Klimchak/Mosteller, TCNJ
3. Greenberg/Thacher, Williams
4. Stein/Rupasinghe, Bates
5. Yahng/Samarth, Trinity (CT)
6. Lebedoff/Simonette, Williams
Honorable Mention: Gates/Caughron, Bowdoin
Singles Rankings by Region
I think another national list is fairly insignificant at this point in the season so I'll try something new and give my top 12 players in each region in order. Doubles rankings by region as well as bracketology for both are coming soon.
West
1. Wang, CMS
2. Kamel, UCSC
3. Gaines, Trinity(TX)
4. Wagar, Redlands
5. Solomon, Whitman
6. Furr, Trinity (TX)
7. Yook, Chapman
8. Phillips, UT-Tyler
9. Lim, CMS
10. MacColl, CMS
11. Mark-Griffin, UCSC
12. Ortiz, UCSC
Honorable Mention: Sajovich, UT-Tyler
Central
1. Watts, WashU
2. Greenberg, Kenyon
3. Bryan, Gustavus
4. Kauss, Gustavus
5. Pelton, Hope
6. Cutler, WashU
7. Vayghan, St. Thomas
8. Daly, Baldwin-Wallace
9. Keith, DePauw
10. Yunes, Carthage
11. Russell, Carleton
12. Zhang, Chicago
Honorable Mention: Tilton, Calvin
Atlantic South
1. Goodwin, Emory
2. Maldow, Johns Hopkins
3. Loden, Mary Washington
4. Boren, Emory
5. James, Mary Washington
6. Mook, Christopher Newport
7. Fletcher, Methodist
8. Kincaid, Salisbury
9. Sutton, Greensboro
10. Moss, Hampden-Sydney
11. Ross, Washington & Lee
12. Nemerov, Carnegie Mellon
Honorable Mention: Muliawan, Carnegie Mellon
Northeast:
1. Greenberg, Williams
2. Feldman, Trinity(CT)
3. Gates, Bowdoin
4. Lerner, Amherst
5. Lee, Middlebury
6. Marinkovic, Middlebury
7. Klimchak, TCNJ
8. Sullivan, Bowdoin
9. Stein, Bates
10. Lebedoff, Williams
11. Norton, Salve Regina
12. Gurevich, NYU
Honorable Mention: Thomson, Middlebury
West
1. Wang, CMS
2. Kamel, UCSC
3. Gaines, Trinity(TX)
4. Wagar, Redlands
5. Solomon, Whitman
6. Furr, Trinity (TX)
7. Yook, Chapman
8. Phillips, UT-Tyler
9. Lim, CMS
10. MacColl, CMS
11. Mark-Griffin, UCSC
12. Ortiz, UCSC
Honorable Mention: Sajovich, UT-Tyler
Central
1. Watts, WashU
2. Greenberg, Kenyon
3. Bryan, Gustavus
4. Kauss, Gustavus
5. Pelton, Hope
6. Cutler, WashU
7. Vayghan, St. Thomas
8. Daly, Baldwin-Wallace
9. Keith, DePauw
10. Yunes, Carthage
11. Russell, Carleton
12. Zhang, Chicago
Honorable Mention: Tilton, Calvin
Atlantic South
1. Goodwin, Emory
2. Maldow, Johns Hopkins
3. Loden, Mary Washington
4. Boren, Emory
5. James, Mary Washington
6. Mook, Christopher Newport
7. Fletcher, Methodist
8. Kincaid, Salisbury
9. Sutton, Greensboro
10. Moss, Hampden-Sydney
11. Ross, Washington & Lee
12. Nemerov, Carnegie Mellon
Honorable Mention: Muliawan, Carnegie Mellon
Northeast:
1. Greenberg, Williams
2. Feldman, Trinity(CT)
3. Gates, Bowdoin
4. Lerner, Amherst
5. Lee, Middlebury
6. Marinkovic, Middlebury
7. Klimchak, TCNJ
8. Sullivan, Bowdoin
9. Stein, Bates
10. Lebedoff, Williams
11. Norton, Salve Regina
12. Gurevich, NYU
Honorable Mention: Thomson, Middlebury
On the way...
Singles and Doubles: Rankings and Bracketology
Match Previews: Bates-Bowdoin, DePauw-Trinity, Emory-Carnegie Mellon
I can't pick winners in NESCAC (too tough) so I have to do previews for the semis after the quarterfinals are completed.
Match Previews: Bates-Bowdoin, DePauw-Trinity, Emory-Carnegie Mellon
I can't pick winners in NESCAC (too tough) so I have to do previews for the semis after the quarterfinals are completed.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
For those interested...
http://www.ncaa.org/library/handbooks/tennis/2008/2008_d3_m_tennis_handbook.pdf
Has all the AQ conferences and rules for everything. If we are sure that Drew is in the Landmark conference though then this seems to be incorrect...
Has all the AQ conferences and rules for everything. If we are sure that Drew is in the Landmark conference though then this seems to be incorrect...
Monday, April 21, 2008
Bracketology Issue #4 April 21, 2008
Region 1: 1 Trinity(TX), 14 Carnegie Mellon*, 20 TCNJ, Baldwin-Wallace, Marywood
Region 2: 2 Washington*, 10 Kenyon, Kalamazoo, Wheaton(IL), Maryville(MO)
Region 3: 4 Santa Cruz*, 3 CMS, 12 Redlands, UT-Tyler, Chapman
Region 4: 5 Williams*, 16 Bowdoin, Vassar, MIT, Mount Saint Mary
Region 5: 6 Gustavus*, 19 Whitman, UW-Whitewater, Luther, Grinnell, UW Eau-Claire
Region 6: 9 Emory, 13 Washington & Lee*, 22 Christopher Newport, Drew, Transylvania
Region 7: 7 Middlebury*, 17 Amherst, Skidmore, Salve Regina, Salem State
Region 8: 8 Trinity(CT)*, 11 Mary Washington, 15 Johns Hopkins, Stevens, Baruch
Region 2: 2 Washington*, 10 Kenyon, Kalamazoo, Wheaton(IL), Maryville(MO)
Region 3: 4 Santa Cruz*, 3 CMS, 12 Redlands, UT-Tyler, Chapman
Region 4: 5 Williams*, 16 Bowdoin, Vassar, MIT, Mount Saint Mary
Region 5: 6 Gustavus*, 19 Whitman, UW-Whitewater, Luther, Grinnell, UW Eau-Claire
Region 6: 9 Emory, 13 Washington & Lee*, 22 Christopher Newport, Drew, Transylvania
Region 7: 7 Middlebury*, 17 Amherst, Skidmore, Salve Regina, Salem State
Region 8: 8 Trinity(CT)*, 11 Mary Washington, 15 Johns Hopkins, Stevens, Baruch
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Gustavus defeats Kalamazoo 5-4
The Gusties are very unimpressive on neutral courts. A win is a win, but Kalamazoo got destroyed by Emory and they lost to Denison. They just aren't that good this year. Gustavus will probably host regionals, but they are extremely prone to an upset. I would love to see the Gusties have to travel. Division 3 is just getting stronger with more teams bringing in National level recruits. Gustavus needs to start doing this if they want to remain as a fixture in the 8. In my opinion, Gustavus is barely in the top 12 this year, but it's hard to drop them after this match because they did win.
A discussion on the upcoming week and it's effect on NCAAs
We have some very crucial conference tournaments coming up. Mary Washington, CNU, Washington & Lee, UT-Tyler, Whitman and CMS all clinched berths to the tournament this weekend. A lot of the At-Large teams can breath easier after Salisbury lost.
The At-Large situation is very intriguing. 2 NESCACs, Redlands and Emory should be locks. Right now Carnegie Mellon sits at #5, they are almost a lock. Bowdoin and Amherst are sitting at #6 and #7. DePauw really has its back against the wall. Bowdoin will play Amherst in the first round of NESCAC. If Bowdoin wins, they get the #6 spot and Amherst take the #7 spot because of their direct win over DePauw, so DePauw is out. If Amherst wins, they get the #6 spot and Bowdoin and DePauw fight for the #7 spot. Bowdoin probably has the edge here as well. DePauw really needs to win their conference tournament to make NCAAs and this is quite a task because they have the #1 team in the nation to beat. All of this could become more complicated if Chicago beats WashU. A Chicago win over Carnegie Mellon probably wouldn't do enough to get them in the tournament because of Chicago's 7-2 loss to DePauw. The Maroons really need to beat WashU to make the tournament.
Santa Cruz will most likely host CMS in California. Redlands will be the 3 seed and this is by far the toughest region. With DePauw out in the Midwest, WashU could have an easy road to Bates. Trinity(CT) has stole the final #1 seed from Kenyon for the time being. It will be very hard for the Bantams to lose this, even if they lose to Midd or Williams in NESCACS. I would expect that Trinity(CT) will be sent down to the Mid-Atlantic somewhere if both Bowdoin and Amherst make it. Trinity(TX) and Emory will probably be sent to the Mid-Atlantic as well. Bracketology coming soon.
The At-Large situation is very intriguing. 2 NESCACs, Redlands and Emory should be locks. Right now Carnegie Mellon sits at #5, they are almost a lock. Bowdoin and Amherst are sitting at #6 and #7. DePauw really has its back against the wall. Bowdoin will play Amherst in the first round of NESCAC. If Bowdoin wins, they get the #6 spot and Amherst take the #7 spot because of their direct win over DePauw, so DePauw is out. If Amherst wins, they get the #6 spot and Bowdoin and DePauw fight for the #7 spot. Bowdoin probably has the edge here as well. DePauw really needs to win their conference tournament to make NCAAs and this is quite a task because they have the #1 team in the nation to beat. All of this could become more complicated if Chicago beats WashU. A Chicago win over Carnegie Mellon probably wouldn't do enough to get them in the tournament because of Chicago's 7-2 loss to DePauw. The Maroons really need to beat WashU to make the tournament.
Santa Cruz will most likely host CMS in California. Redlands will be the 3 seed and this is by far the toughest region. With DePauw out in the Midwest, WashU could have an easy road to Bates. Trinity(CT) has stole the final #1 seed from Kenyon for the time being. It will be very hard for the Bantams to lose this, even if they lose to Midd or Williams in NESCACS. I would expect that Trinity(CT) will be sent down to the Mid-Atlantic somewhere if both Bowdoin and Amherst make it. Trinity(TX) and Emory will probably be sent to the Mid-Atlantic as well. Bracketology coming soon.
D3tennis.com Team Rankings April 20, 2008
1. Trinity(TX)
2. Washington
3. CMS
4. UC Santa Cruz
5. Williams
6. Gustavus Adolphus
7. Middlebury
8. Trinity(CT)
9. Emory
10. Kenyon
11. Mary Washington
12. Redlands
13. Washington & Lee
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. Johns Hopkins
16. Bowdoin
17. Amherst
18. DePauw
19. Whitman
20. TCNJ
21. Bates
22. Christopher Newport
23. Chicago
24. Salisbury
25. UT-Tyler
2. Washington
3. CMS
4. UC Santa Cruz
5. Williams
6. Gustavus Adolphus
7. Middlebury
8. Trinity(CT)
9. Emory
10. Kenyon
11. Mary Washington
12. Redlands
13. Washington & Lee
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. Johns Hopkins
16. Bowdoin
17. Amherst
18. DePauw
19. Whitman
20. TCNJ
21. Bates
22. Christopher Newport
23. Chicago
24. Salisbury
25. UT-Tyler
NCAA Clinchings
CMS wins the SCIAC and Whitman wins the NWC.
A big match today between #12 Mary Washington vs. #22 Salisbury. Salisbury could ruin the NCAA ticket of Bowdoin, Amherst or DePauw with a win today. If Mary Washington wins, they increase their chances of hosting regionals. This is really a do or die for The Sea Gulls. If they lose, their season is over.
A big match today between #12 Mary Washington vs. #22 Salisbury. Salisbury could ruin the NCAA ticket of Bowdoin, Amherst or DePauw with a win today. If Mary Washington wins, they increase their chances of hosting regionals. This is really a do or die for The Sea Gulls. If they lose, their season is over.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Doubles Bracketology Issue #1
Kamel/Vartabedian vs. Klimchak/Mosteller
Glidewell/Mook vs. Lofgren/Newman
Stein/Rupasinghe vs. Schils/Wang
Kincaid/Burtzlaff vs. Bryan/Paukert
Greenberg/Thacher vs. Gaines/Desantis
Blythe/Vasoontara vs. Cutler/Hoeland
Saltarelli/Brinker vs. Pybas/Ortiz
Goodwin/Lopp vs. Marinkovic/Thomson
Glidewell/Mook vs. Lofgren/Newman
Stein/Rupasinghe vs. Schils/Wang
Kincaid/Burtzlaff vs. Bryan/Paukert
Greenberg/Thacher vs. Gaines/Desantis
Blythe/Vasoontara vs. Cutler/Hoeland
Saltarelli/Brinker vs. Pybas/Ortiz
Goodwin/Lopp vs. Marinkovic/Thomson
Singles Bracketology Issue #2
John Watts vs. Cliff Yook
Eric Wagar vs. Zack Lerner
David Maldow vs. John Pelton
Garrett Gates vs. Matt Solomon
Michael Goodwin vs. Arya Vayghan
Filip Marinkovic vs. James Furr
Jared Kamel vs. Andrew Lee
Randy Loden vs. John Kauss
Chris Fletcher vs. Mike Klimchak
David Sutton vs. Lawrence Wang
Spencer Feldman vs. Mikey Lim
Brendan Kincaid vs. Andy Bryan
John James vs. Oliver Gaines
Miguel Yunes vs. Dan Greenberg
Charlie Cutler vs. Mark Boren
Ben Stein vs. Mike Greenberg
Eric Wagar vs. Zack Lerner
David Maldow vs. John Pelton
Garrett Gates vs. Matt Solomon
Michael Goodwin vs. Arya Vayghan
Filip Marinkovic vs. James Furr
Jared Kamel vs. Andrew Lee
Randy Loden vs. John Kauss
Chris Fletcher vs. Mike Klimchak
David Sutton vs. Lawrence Wang
Spencer Feldman vs. Mikey Lim
Brendan Kincaid vs. Andy Bryan
John James vs. Oliver Gaines
Miguel Yunes vs. Dan Greenberg
Charlie Cutler vs. Mark Boren
Ben Stein vs. Mike Greenberg
Thursday, April 17, 2008
ITA Team Rankings April 17, 2008
1 Trinity University (Texas)
2 Washington University in St. Louis
3 UC Santa Cruz
4 Williams College
5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges
6 Gustavus Adolphus College
7 Emory University
8 Middlebury College
9 Trinity College (Connecticut)
10 Univ. of Redlands
11 Kenyon College
12 University of Mary Washington
13 Washington & Lee University
14 College of New Jersey
15 Johns Hopkins University
16 Carnegie Mellon University
17 Bowdoin College
18 Amherst College
19 DePauw University
20 Whitman College
21 Univ. of Chicago
22 Salisbury University
23 Bates College
24 Christopher Newport University
25 The University of Texas at Tyler
26 Kalamazoo College
27 Carleton College
28 California Lutheran University
29 Univ. of Wisconsin, Whitewater
30 Hardin-Simmons University
2 Washington University in St. Louis
3 UC Santa Cruz
4 Williams College
5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges
6 Gustavus Adolphus College
7 Emory University
8 Middlebury College
9 Trinity College (Connecticut)
10 Univ. of Redlands
11 Kenyon College
12 University of Mary Washington
13 Washington & Lee University
14 College of New Jersey
15 Johns Hopkins University
16 Carnegie Mellon University
17 Bowdoin College
18 Amherst College
19 DePauw University
20 Whitman College
21 Univ. of Chicago
22 Salisbury University
23 Bates College
24 Christopher Newport University
25 The University of Texas at Tyler
26 Kalamazoo College
27 Carleton College
28 California Lutheran University
29 Univ. of Wisconsin, Whitewater
30 Hardin-Simmons University
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
D3tennis.com Team Rankings April 16, 2008
1. Trinity(TX)
2. Washington
3. CMS
4. UC Santa Cruz
5. Williams
6. Gustavus Adolphus
7. Emory
8. Middlebury
9. Trinity (CT)
10. Kenyon
11. Redlands
12. Mary Washington
13. Johns Hopkins
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. Washington & Lee
16. DePauw
17. Whitman
18. TCNJ
19. Bowdoin
20. Amherst
21. Chicago
22. Salisbury
23. Bates
24. Christopher Newport
25. UT-Tyler
2. Washington
3. CMS
4. UC Santa Cruz
5. Williams
6. Gustavus Adolphus
7. Emory
8. Middlebury
9. Trinity (CT)
10. Kenyon
11. Redlands
12. Mary Washington
13. Johns Hopkins
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. Washington & Lee
16. DePauw
17. Whitman
18. TCNJ
19. Bowdoin
20. Amherst
21. Chicago
22. Salisbury
23. Bates
24. Christopher Newport
25. UT-Tyler
D3tennis.com Singles Rankings April 16, 2008
1. Watts, Washington
2. Greenberg, Kenyon
3. Bryan, Gustavus
4. Goodwin, Emory
5. Greenberg, Williams
6. Wang, CMS
7. Kamel, UCSC
8. Gates, Bowdoin
9. Gaines, Trinity (TX)
10. Maldow, Johns Hopkins
11. Feldman, Trinity (CT)
12. Boren, Emory
13. Klimchak, TCNJ
14. Lerner, Amherst
15. Marinkovic, Middlebury
16. Wagar, Redlands
17. Solomon, Whitman
18. Kauss, Gustavus
19. Vayghan, St. Thomas
20. Furr, Trinity (TX)
21. James, Mary Washington
22. Lim, CMS
23. Pelton, Hope
24. Loden, Mary Washington
25. Lee, Middlebury
26. Ortiz, UCSC
27. Keith, DePauw
28. Zhang, Chicago
29. Yook, Chapman
30. Fletcher, Methodist
31. Cutler, Washington
32. Liebman, Redlands
33. Sullivan, Bowdoin
34. Lebedoff, Williams
35. Yunes, Carthage
36. Sutton, Greensboro
37. Phillips, UT-Tyler
38. Mark-Griffin, UCSC
39. Muliawan, Carnegie Mellon
40. Sajovich, UT-Tyler
41. Nemerov, Carnegie Mellon
42. Stein, Bates
43. Mook, Christopher Newport
44. Lebedoff, Williams
45. Moss, Hampden-Sydney
46. Kincaid, Salisbury
47. Simonette, Williams
48. Stein, Bates
49. Tilton, Calvin
50. Gurevich, NYU
2. Greenberg, Kenyon
3. Bryan, Gustavus
4. Goodwin, Emory
5. Greenberg, Williams
6. Wang, CMS
7. Kamel, UCSC
8. Gates, Bowdoin
9. Gaines, Trinity (TX)
10. Maldow, Johns Hopkins
11. Feldman, Trinity (CT)
12. Boren, Emory
13. Klimchak, TCNJ
14. Lerner, Amherst
15. Marinkovic, Middlebury
16. Wagar, Redlands
17. Solomon, Whitman
18. Kauss, Gustavus
19. Vayghan, St. Thomas
20. Furr, Trinity (TX)
21. James, Mary Washington
22. Lim, CMS
23. Pelton, Hope
24. Loden, Mary Washington
25. Lee, Middlebury
26. Ortiz, UCSC
27. Keith, DePauw
28. Zhang, Chicago
29. Yook, Chapman
30. Fletcher, Methodist
31. Cutler, Washington
32. Liebman, Redlands
33. Sullivan, Bowdoin
34. Lebedoff, Williams
35. Yunes, Carthage
36. Sutton, Greensboro
37. Phillips, UT-Tyler
38. Mark-Griffin, UCSC
39. Muliawan, Carnegie Mellon
40. Sajovich, UT-Tyler
41. Nemerov, Carnegie Mellon
42. Stein, Bates
43. Mook, Christopher Newport
44. Lebedoff, Williams
45. Moss, Hampden-Sydney
46. Kincaid, Salisbury
47. Simonette, Williams
48. Stein, Bates
49. Tilton, Calvin
50. Gurevich, NYU
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
D3tennis.com Doubles Rankings April, 15 2008
1. Kamel/Vartabedian, UCSC
2. Pybas/Ortiz , UCSC
3. Gaines/Desantis, Trinity (TX)
4. Schils/Wang, CMS
5. Bryan/Paukert, Gustavus
6. Cutler/Hoeland, WashU
7. Solomon/Solomon, Whitman
8. Blythe/Vasoontara, JHU
9. Goodwin/Lopp, Emory
10. Kincaid/Burtzlaff, Salisbury
11. Weterholm/Hunt, CLU
12. Becker/Brody, Kenyon
13. Keith/Swanson, DePauw
14. Wagar/Cook, Redlands
15. Furr/Tran, Trinity (TX)
16. Glidewell/Mook, CNU
17. Stein/Rupasinghe, Bates
18. Greenberg/Polster, Kenyon
19. Burdakin/Kauss, Gustavus
20. Klimchak/Mosteller, TCNJ
21. Yahng/Samarth, Trinity (CT)
22. Yunes/Lopez, Carthage
23. Lebdoff/Simonette, Williams
24. Greenberg/Thacher, Williams
25. Marinkovic/Peters, Middlebury
2. Pybas/Ortiz , UCSC
3. Gaines/Desantis, Trinity (TX)
4. Schils/Wang, CMS
5. Bryan/Paukert, Gustavus
6. Cutler/Hoeland, WashU
7. Solomon/Solomon, Whitman
8. Blythe/Vasoontara, JHU
9. Goodwin/Lopp, Emory
10. Kincaid/Burtzlaff, Salisbury
11. Weterholm/Hunt, CLU
12. Becker/Brody, Kenyon
13. Keith/Swanson, DePauw
14. Wagar/Cook, Redlands
15. Furr/Tran, Trinity (TX)
16. Glidewell/Mook, CNU
17. Stein/Rupasinghe, Bates
18. Greenberg/Polster, Kenyon
19. Burdakin/Kauss, Gustavus
20. Klimchak/Mosteller, TCNJ
21. Yahng/Samarth, Trinity (CT)
22. Yunes/Lopez, Carthage
23. Lebdoff/Simonette, Williams
24. Greenberg/Thacher, Williams
25. Marinkovic/Peters, Middlebury
Monday, April 14, 2008
Bracketology Issue #3 April 14, 2008
Region 1: 1 Williams*, 19 Bowdoin (ME), Vassar, Salve Regina, Mount Saint Mary
Region 2: 2 Trinity (TX), 11 Mary Washington*, 12 Johns Hopkins, Stevens, Drew
Region 3: 3 Washington*, 17 DePauw, Wheaton, Carthage, Maryville (MO)
Region 4: 4 CMS*, 5 Santa Cruz, 10 Redlands, 23 UT-Tyler, Chapman
Region 5: 6 Gustavus*, 18 Whitman, UW-Whitewater, UW-Eau Claire, Grinnell, Luther
Region 6: 7 Emory, 14 Washington & Lee*, 24 Christopher Newport, Marywood, Baruch
Region 7: 8 Middlebury*, 15 Trinity (CT), 16 TCNJ, Skidmore, Salem State
Region 8: 9 Kenyon*, 13 Carnegie Mellon, Kalamazoo, Transylvania, Baldwin-Wallace
Region 2: 2 Trinity (TX), 11 Mary Washington*, 12 Johns Hopkins, Stevens, Drew
Region 3: 3 Washington*, 17 DePauw, Wheaton, Carthage, Maryville (MO)
Region 4: 4 CMS*, 5 Santa Cruz, 10 Redlands, 23 UT-Tyler, Chapman
Region 5: 6 Gustavus*, 18 Whitman, UW-Whitewater, UW-Eau Claire, Grinnell, Luther
Region 6: 7 Emory, 14 Washington & Lee*, 24 Christopher Newport, Marywood, Baruch
Region 7: 8 Middlebury*, 15 Trinity (CT), 16 TCNJ, Skidmore, Salem State
Region 8: 9 Kenyon*, 13 Carnegie Mellon, Kalamazoo, Transylvania, Baldwin-Wallace
Schedule Update
Bracketology - Tonight/Early Tomorrow
Singles/Doubles Rankings - Tomorrow Night
New ITA Rankings - Wednesday
Singles/Doubles Bracketology - Wednesday
I'm going to come up with a plan about previewing the conference tournaments
Singles/Doubles Rankings - Tomorrow Night
New ITA Rankings - Wednesday
Singles/Doubles Bracketology - Wednesday
I'm going to come up with a plan about previewing the conference tournaments
Sunday, April 13, 2008
D3tennis.com Team Rankings April 13, 2008 (Revised)
Ok, I'm going to give this another shot and hopefully these will turn out to be more accurate.
1. Williams
2. Trinity(TX)
3. Washington
4. CMS
5. UC Santa Cruz
6. Gustavus Adolphus
7. Emory
8. Middlebury
9. Kenyon
10. Redlands
11. Mary Washington
12. Johns Hopkins
13. Carnegie Mellon
14. Washington & Lee
15. Trinity(CT)
16. TCNJ
17. DePauw
18. Whitman
19. Bowdoin
20. Amherst
21. Chicago
22. Salisbury
23. UT-Tyler
24. Christopher Newport
25. Bates
1. Williams
2. Trinity(TX)
3. Washington
4. CMS
5. UC Santa Cruz
6. Gustavus Adolphus
7. Emory
8. Middlebury
9. Kenyon
10. Redlands
11. Mary Washington
12. Johns Hopkins
13. Carnegie Mellon
14. Washington & Lee
15. Trinity(CT)
16. TCNJ
17. DePauw
18. Whitman
19. Bowdoin
20. Amherst
21. Chicago
22. Salisbury
23. UT-Tyler
24. Christopher Newport
25. Bates
D3tennis.com Team Rankings April 13, 2008
1. Williams
2. Trinity(TX)
3. Washington
4. CMS
5. UC Santa Cruz
6. Gustavus Adolphus
7. Emory
8. Middlebury
9. Redlands
10. Carnegie Mellon
11. Kenyon
12. Mary Washington
13. Trinity (CT)
14. Washington & Lee
15. Johns Hopkins
16. TCNJ
17. DePauw
18. Whitman
19. Bowdoin
20. Amherst
21. Chicago
22. Salisbury
23. UT-Tyler
24. Christopher Newport
25. Bates
2. Trinity(TX)
3. Washington
4. CMS
5. UC Santa Cruz
6. Gustavus Adolphus
7. Emory
8. Middlebury
9. Redlands
10. Carnegie Mellon
11. Kenyon
12. Mary Washington
13. Trinity (CT)
14. Washington & Lee
15. Johns Hopkins
16. TCNJ
17. DePauw
18. Whitman
19. Bowdoin
20. Amherst
21. Chicago
22. Salisbury
23. UT-Tyler
24. Christopher Newport
25. Bates
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Match Updates
#12 Mary Washington vs. #24 Christopher Newport, Mary Washington 6-3
#12 Mary Washington vs. #14 Carnegie Mellon, Mary Washington 6-3
#3 Williams vs. #11 Amherst, Williams 6-3
#16 Salisbury vs. #21 TCNJ, TCNJ 7-2
#9 Middlebury vs. #15 Trinity(CT), Middlebury 5-4
#5 Trinity (TX) vs. #23 UT-Tyler, Trinity (TX) 6-3
#14 Carnegie Mellon vs.#18 Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins 6-3
#3 Williams vs. #9 Middlebury, Williams 5-4
#12 Amherst vs. #14 Trinity(CT), Trinity(CT) 6-3
GLCA Tournament, 1st-Carnegie Mellon 2nd-Kenyon 3rd-DePauw
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #11 Redlands, UC Santa Cruz 7-2
#8 CMS vs. #11 Redlands, CMS 5-4
#9 Middlebury vs. #23 Bowdoin, Middlebury 7-2
#16 Johns Hopkins vs. #21 Salisbury, Johns Hopkins 6-3
#10 Mary Washington vs. #20 TCNJ, TCNJ 5-4
#12 Amherst vs. #23 Bowdoin, Bowdoin 5-0
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #8 CMS, CMS 5-4
#15 Washington & Lee vs. #21 Salisbury (April 14)
#2 Williams vs. #14 Trinity(CT) (April 16)
What a weekend. Nothing else to say.
#12 Mary Washington vs. #14 Carnegie Mellon, Mary Washington 6-3
#3 Williams vs. #11 Amherst, Williams 6-3
#16 Salisbury vs. #21 TCNJ, TCNJ 7-2
#9 Middlebury vs. #15 Trinity(CT), Middlebury 5-4
#5 Trinity (TX) vs. #23 UT-Tyler, Trinity (TX) 6-3
#14 Carnegie Mellon vs.#18 Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins 6-3
#3 Williams vs. #9 Middlebury, Williams 5-4
#12 Amherst vs. #14 Trinity(CT), Trinity(CT) 6-3
GLCA Tournament, 1st-Carnegie Mellon 2nd-Kenyon 3rd-DePauw
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #11 Redlands, UC Santa Cruz 7-2
#8 CMS vs. #11 Redlands, CMS 5-4
#9 Middlebury vs. #23 Bowdoin, Middlebury 7-2
#16 Johns Hopkins vs. #21 Salisbury, Johns Hopkins 6-3
#10 Mary Washington vs. #20 TCNJ, TCNJ 5-4
#12 Amherst vs. #23 Bowdoin, Bowdoin 5-0
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #8 CMS, CMS 5-4
#15 Washington & Lee vs. #21 Salisbury (April 14)
#2 Williams vs. #14 Trinity(CT) (April 16)
What a weekend. Nothing else to say.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Match Preview: #1 UC Santa Cruz vs. #11 Redlands (April 11)
Despite the fact that they are #1 in the country, I think most people underrate the Banana Slugs this year. They lost Seeberger, but they have the rest of their team back and are the favorite for nationals right now. This will be a good test for the Slugs to see how good they really are. Redlands will have a very hard time at the top in both singles and doubles. I would expect Santa Cruz to run away with 1 doubles as well as 1 and 3 singles right away. The rest of the matches will be fairly competitive, particularly in the 4, 5 and 6 singles positions. Any team in the country would have to have their best day to beat UCSC this year and I think we will find that out this weekend. I would expect the Slugs to have an 8-1 or 7-2 victory in this match against a legitimate top 12 team. Redlands will keep it competitive, but Santa Cruz is just too good.
Probable Starters:
1. #1 Kamel/Vartabedian (SC) vs. #19 Wagar/Cook (UR)
2. #3 Pybas/Ortiz (SC) vs. Reading/Hasenyager (UR)
3. Liberty-Point/Gendelman (SC) vs. Hammond/Wong (UR)
1. #4 Jared Kamel (SC) vs. #34 Matt Liebman (UR)
2. #12 Max Ortiz (SC) vs. #30 Eric Wagar (UR)
3. #11 Brian Pybas (SC) vs. Aron Ouye (UR)
4. #40 Colin Mark-Griffin (SC) vs. Mike Reading (UR)
5. Max Liberty-Point (SC) vs. Chris Trippel (UR)
6. Silvio Chiba (SC) vs. Ransom Cook (UR)
Probable Starters:
1. #1 Kamel/Vartabedian (SC) vs. #19 Wagar/Cook (UR)
2. #3 Pybas/Ortiz (SC) vs. Reading/Hasenyager (UR)
3. Liberty-Point/Gendelman (SC) vs. Hammond/Wong (UR)
1. #4 Jared Kamel (SC) vs. #34 Matt Liebman (UR)
2. #12 Max Ortiz (SC) vs. #30 Eric Wagar (UR)
3. #11 Brian Pybas (SC) vs. Aron Ouye (UR)
4. #40 Colin Mark-Griffin (SC) vs. Mike Reading (UR)
5. Max Liberty-Point (SC) vs. Chris Trippel (UR)
6. Silvio Chiba (SC) vs. Ransom Cook (UR)
NCAA Singles Preview
I did a regional breakdown and came up with an approximate bracket of what the tournament could look like. Let me know what you think and also if there are any glaring omissions.
John Watts vs. Ben Stein
Matt Solomon vs. John James
Spencer Feldman vs. Max Ortiz
John Kauss vs. David Maldow
Jared Kamel vs. Miguel Yunes
Chris Fletcher vs. Andrew Lee
Garrett Gates vs. James Furr
Randy Loden vs. Kortney Keith
Mark Boren vs. Dan Greenberg
Filip Marinkovic vs. Brian Pybas
Lawrence Wang vs. David Sutton
Dustin Phillips vs. Andy Bryan
John Pelton vs. Zack Lerner
Charlie Cutler vs. Michael Goodwin
Mike Klimchak vs. Oliver Gaines
Mike Greenberg vs. William Moss
John Watts vs. Ben Stein
Matt Solomon vs. John James
Spencer Feldman vs. Max Ortiz
John Kauss vs. David Maldow
Jared Kamel vs. Miguel Yunes
Chris Fletcher vs. Andrew Lee
Garrett Gates vs. James Furr
Randy Loden vs. Kortney Keith
Mark Boren vs. Dan Greenberg
Filip Marinkovic vs. Brian Pybas
Lawrence Wang vs. David Sutton
Dustin Phillips vs. Andy Bryan
John Pelton vs. Zack Lerner
Charlie Cutler vs. Michael Goodwin
Mike Klimchak vs. Oliver Gaines
Mike Greenberg vs. William Moss
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Bracketology (Issue #2) April 8, 2008
We made a few errors on the first article. There are 26 automatic bids and only 8 Independents. Since the At-Large situation is still very up in the air, we gave the two remaining bids to Carnegie and Trinity(CT). Obviously, it is clear that the situation is unclear and you can make arguments for almost any of the teams making it. We should know more a week from now and we will be able to more accurately assess the At-Large situation. We also have to do more research on the #7 and #8 Independent schools, because they are weaker teams and hard to follow and evaluate. Look for a couple of the lower seeded teams to change in the coming weeks which could effect a few regions. As much as everyone dislikes it, Gustavus still really doesn't have to play anyone. We highly doubt that the committee would make them travel anywhere, so they basically have a free ride to Bates. Feel free to discuss the brackets and ask any questions you may have. And once again, we should know a lot more by Issue #3.
Region 1: Santa Cruz*, CMS, Redlands, Whitman, UT-Tyler
Region 2: Williams*, Trinity(CT), TCNJ, Vassar, MIT, SUNY Purchase
Region 3: Trinity(TX), W&L*, Carnegie Mellon, Stevens, Drew
Region 4: Washington*, DePauw, Carthage, Transylvania, Westminster
Region 5: Kenyon*, Johns Hopkins, Kalamazoo, Baldwin-Wallace, Messiah
Region 6: Emory, Mary Washington*, Christopher Newport, Alvernia, Baruch
Region 7: Gustavus*, UW-Whitewater, Grinnell, Wheaton, Luther
Region 8: Middlebury*, Amherst, Skidmore, Salve Regina, Southern Maine
Region 1: Santa Cruz*, CMS, Redlands, Whitman, UT-Tyler
Region 2: Williams*, Trinity(CT), TCNJ, Vassar, MIT, SUNY Purchase
Region 3: Trinity(TX), W&L*, Carnegie Mellon, Stevens, Drew
Region 4: Washington*, DePauw, Carthage, Transylvania, Westminster
Region 5: Kenyon*, Johns Hopkins, Kalamazoo, Baldwin-Wallace, Messiah
Region 6: Emory, Mary Washington*, Christopher Newport, Alvernia, Baruch
Region 7: Gustavus*, UW-Whitewater, Grinnell, Wheaton, Luther
Region 8: Middlebury*, Amherst, Skidmore, Salve Regina, Southern Maine
Sunday, April 6, 2008
D3tennis.com Team Rankings April 6,2008
1. UC Santa Cruz
2. Williams
3. Trinity (TX)
4. Washington
5. Kenyon
6. Emory
7. Gustavus Adolphus
8. CMS
9. Middlebury
10. Mary Washington
11. Redlands
12. Amherst
13. DePauw
14. Trinity (CT)
15. Washington and Lee
16. Johns Hopkins
17. Carnegie Mellon
18. Chicago
19. Whitman
20. TCNJ
21. Salisbury
22. UT-Tyler
23. Bowdoin
24. Christopher Newport
25. Kalamazoo
2. Williams
3. Trinity (TX)
4. Washington
5. Kenyon
6. Emory
7. Gustavus Adolphus
8. CMS
9. Middlebury
10. Mary Washington
11. Redlands
12. Amherst
13. DePauw
14. Trinity (CT)
15. Washington and Lee
16. Johns Hopkins
17. Carnegie Mellon
18. Chicago
19. Whitman
20. TCNJ
21. Salisbury
22. UT-Tyler
23. Bowdoin
24. Christopher Newport
25. Kalamazoo
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Match Updates
#12 Mary Washington vs. #24 Christopher Newport, Mary Washington 6-3
#12 Mary Washington vs. #14 Carnegie Mellon, Mary Washington 6-3
#3 Williams vs. #11 Amherst, Williams 6-3
#16 Salisbury vs. #21 TCNJ, TCNJ 7-2
#9 Middlebury vs. #15 Trinity(CT), Middlebury 5-4
#5 Trinity (TX) vs. #23 UT-Tyler, Trinity (TX) 6-3
#14 Carnegie Mellon vs.#18 Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins 6-3
#3 Williams vs. #9 Middlebury (April 9)
#12 Amherst vs. #14 Trinity(CT) (April 10)
GLCA Tournament (April 11-April 12)
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #11 Redlands (April 11)
#4 Washington vs. Coe (April 12)
#8 CMS vs. #11 Redlands (April 12)
#9 Middlebury vs. #23 Bowdoin (April 12)
#16 Johns Hopkins vs. #21 Salisbury (April 13)
#10 Mary Washington vs. #20 TCNJ (April 13)
#12 Amherst vs. #23 Bowdoin (April 13)
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #8 CMS(April 13)
#12 Mary Washington vs. #14 Carnegie Mellon, Mary Washington 6-3
#3 Williams vs. #11 Amherst, Williams 6-3
#16 Salisbury vs. #21 TCNJ, TCNJ 7-2
#9 Middlebury vs. #15 Trinity(CT), Middlebury 5-4
#5 Trinity (TX) vs. #23 UT-Tyler, Trinity (TX) 6-3
#14 Carnegie Mellon vs.#18 Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins 6-3
#3 Williams vs. #9 Middlebury (April 9)
#12 Amherst vs. #14 Trinity(CT) (April 10)
GLCA Tournament (April 11-April 12)
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #11 Redlands (April 11)
#4 Washington vs. Coe (April 12)
#8 CMS vs. #11 Redlands (April 12)
#9 Middlebury vs. #23 Bowdoin (April 12)
#16 Johns Hopkins vs. #21 Salisbury (April 13)
#10 Mary Washington vs. #20 TCNJ (April 13)
#12 Amherst vs. #23 Bowdoin (April 13)
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #8 CMS(April 13)
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Match Preview: #3 Williams vs. #11 Amherst (April 5)
Maybe the biggest rivalry in Division 3 sports will be on display in this matchup of top 12 teams. Amherst started slow with a bad loss to Emory but recovered with a good win against DePauw. They haven't really been tested in D3 since then. Williams looks very good with first-year coach David Donn really emphasizing hard work. Williams destroyed a very good Wash U team in singles, which was a surprise to everyone. If Williams can dominate this match against a tough Amherst team, we can call them a legitimate national title contender. In singles, I think that Williams has the edge at all of the top 3 postions, but I like 4, 5 and 6 to potentially go to Amherst. In doubles, it's really a tossup, but I'll give it to Williams because they have been more match tested this year than the Jeffs. I would expect to see a 6-3 or potentially 5-4 win for Williams.
Probable Starters:
1. Greenberg/Thacher (W) vs. #23 Lerner/Doerfler (A)
2. #21 Lebedoff/Simonette (W) vs. Wan/Schwartz (A)
3. Furmaga/Devlin (W) vs. Mintz/Avrahmi (A)
1. #10 Dan Greenberg (W) vs. #8 Zack Lerner (A)
2. #48 Nick Lebedoff (W) vs. Sean Doerfler (A)
3. #39 Gary Simonette (W) vs. #44 Mike Mintz (A)
4. Jeremy Weinberger (W) vs. Jeff Wan (A)
5. Karol Furmaga (W) vs. Moritz Koenig (A)
5. Rick Devlin (W) vs. Daniel Kim (A)
Probable Starters:
1. Greenberg/Thacher (W) vs. #23 Lerner/Doerfler (A)
2. #21 Lebedoff/Simonette (W) vs. Wan/Schwartz (A)
3. Furmaga/Devlin (W) vs. Mintz/Avrahmi (A)
1. #10 Dan Greenberg (W) vs. #8 Zack Lerner (A)
2. #48 Nick Lebedoff (W) vs. Sean Doerfler (A)
3. #39 Gary Simonette (W) vs. #44 Mike Mintz (A)
4. Jeremy Weinberger (W) vs. Jeff Wan (A)
5. Karol Furmaga (W) vs. Moritz Koenig (A)
5. Rick Devlin (W) vs. Daniel Kim (A)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Match Updates
#12 Mary Washington vs. #24 Christopher Newport, Mary Washington 6-3
#12 Mary Washington vs. #14 Carnegie Mellon (April 4)
#3 Williams vs. #11 Amherst (April 5)
#16 Salisbury vs. #21 TCNJ (April 5)
#9 Middlebury vs. #15 Trinity(CT) (April 6)
#5 Trinity (TX) vs. #23 UT-Tyler (April 6)
#14 Carnegie Mellon vs.#18 Johns Hopkins (April 6)
#3 Williams vs. #9 Middlebury (April 9)
#11 Amherst vs. #15 Trinity(CT) (April 10)
GLCA Tournament (April 10-April 12)
#1 Santa Cruz vs.#10 Redlands (April 11)
#4 Washington vs. #25 Coe (April 12)
#8 CMS vs. #10 Redlands (April 12)
#9 Middlebury vs. #22 Bowdoin (April 12)
#16 Salisbury vs. #18 Johns Hopkins (April 13)
#12 Mary Washington vs. #21 TCNJ (April 13)
#11 Amherst vs. #22 Bowdoin (April 13)
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #8 CMS(April 13)
#12 Mary Washington vs. #14 Carnegie Mellon (April 4)
#3 Williams vs. #11 Amherst (April 5)
#16 Salisbury vs. #21 TCNJ (April 5)
#9 Middlebury vs. #15 Trinity(CT) (April 6)
#5 Trinity (TX) vs. #23 UT-Tyler (April 6)
#14 Carnegie Mellon vs.#18 Johns Hopkins (April 6)
#3 Williams vs. #9 Middlebury (April 9)
#11 Amherst vs. #15 Trinity(CT) (April 10)
GLCA Tournament (April 10-April 12)
#1 Santa Cruz vs.#10 Redlands (April 11)
#4 Washington vs. #25 Coe (April 12)
#8 CMS vs. #10 Redlands (April 12)
#9 Middlebury vs. #22 Bowdoin (April 12)
#16 Salisbury vs. #18 Johns Hopkins (April 13)
#12 Mary Washington vs. #21 TCNJ (April 13)
#11 Amherst vs. #22 Bowdoin (April 13)
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #8 CMS(April 13)
Match Preview: #12 Mary Washington vs. #14 Carnegie Mellon (April 4)
Two very evenly matched teams with a lot on the line in this Atlantic South clash. Carnegie Mellon just found out that they are sitting at the #8 At-Large spot, so they need to do some work to get back into the tournament. Mary Washington just lost its first conference match in 8 years to a lesser Salisbury team. You can bet that both teams really want this one. I like Mary Washington to start out strong in doubles with the home court advantage. Look for wins at 1 and 2 doubles for the Eagles. Singles will make things interesting. James should take care of business at #1, but Loden has been very streaky of late. If he can win as well, that could give the Eagles a 4-1 lead and put them in the driver's seat. But Carnegie Mellon has the upper hand at 3, 4 and 5 singles with their outstanding depth. The Mary Wash guys in those spots really need to play at a high level to compete. I think #6 singles could decide the outcome of this match, but I would expect Mary Wash to pull out the win.
Probable Starters:
1. #18 Loden/Murata (UMW) vs. Muliawan/Mactaggart (CM)
2. Goff/Parrish (UMW) vs. Raghavan/Clearfield (CM)
3. James/Dunn (UMW) vs. Nemerov/Spero (CM)
1. #18 John James (UMW) vs. Andrew Clearfield (CM)
2. #27 Randy Loden (UMW) vs. #36 Alex Nemerov (CM)
3. Jason Dunn (UMW) vs. #28 James Muliawan (CM)
4. Eddie Carver (UMW) vs. Jon Spero (CM)
5. Evan Goff (UMW) vs. Ravi Raghavan (CM)
6. Bryce Parrish (UMW) vs. Bobby Mactaggart (CM)
Probable Starters:
1. #18 Loden/Murata (UMW) vs. Muliawan/Mactaggart (CM)
2. Goff/Parrish (UMW) vs. Raghavan/Clearfield (CM)
3. James/Dunn (UMW) vs. Nemerov/Spero (CM)
1. #18 John James (UMW) vs. Andrew Clearfield (CM)
2. #27 Randy Loden (UMW) vs. #36 Alex Nemerov (CM)
3. Jason Dunn (UMW) vs. #28 James Muliawan (CM)
4. Eddie Carver (UMW) vs. Jon Spero (CM)
5. Evan Goff (UMW) vs. Ravi Raghavan (CM)
6. Bryce Parrish (UMW) vs. Bobby Mactaggart (CM)
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
D3tennis.com Doubles Rankings April 1, 2008
1. Kamel/Vartabedian, Santa Cruz
2. Goodwin/Lopp, Emory
3. Pybas/Ortiz, Santa Cruz
4. Schils/Wang, CMS
5. Marinkovic/Thomson, Middlebury
6. Gaines/Desantis, Trinity (TX)
7. Bryan/Paukert, Gustavus
8. Cutler/Hoeland, Wash U
9. Greenberg/Polster, Kenyon
10. Solomon/Solomon, Whitman
11. Gates/Sullivan, Bowdoin
12. Weterholm/Hunt, Cal Lutheran
13. Keith/Swanson, DePauw
14. Blythe/Vasoontaara, Johns Hopkins
15. Kincaid/Burtzlaff, Salisbury
16. Furr/Tran, Trinity (TX)
17. Burdakin/Kauss, Gustavus
18. Loden/Murata, Mary Washington
19. Wagar/Cook, Redlands
20. Floyd/Larimore, Pacific Lutheran
21. Lebedoff/Simonette, Williams
22. Becker/Brody, Kenyon
23. Lerner/Doerfler, Amherst
24. Glidewell/Mook, Christopher Newport
25. Yunes/Lopez, Carthage
2. Goodwin/Lopp, Emory
3. Pybas/Ortiz, Santa Cruz
4. Schils/Wang, CMS
5. Marinkovic/Thomson, Middlebury
6. Gaines/Desantis, Trinity (TX)
7. Bryan/Paukert, Gustavus
8. Cutler/Hoeland, Wash U
9. Greenberg/Polster, Kenyon
10. Solomon/Solomon, Whitman
11. Gates/Sullivan, Bowdoin
12. Weterholm/Hunt, Cal Lutheran
13. Keith/Swanson, DePauw
14. Blythe/Vasoontaara, Johns Hopkins
15. Kincaid/Burtzlaff, Salisbury
16. Furr/Tran, Trinity (TX)
17. Burdakin/Kauss, Gustavus
18. Loden/Murata, Mary Washington
19. Wagar/Cook, Redlands
20. Floyd/Larimore, Pacific Lutheran
21. Lebedoff/Simonette, Williams
22. Becker/Brody, Kenyon
23. Lerner/Doerfler, Amherst
24. Glidewell/Mook, Christopher Newport
25. Yunes/Lopez, Carthage
Interview with Roger Follmer, Coach of Wash U
I gave Coach Follmer a set of questions and he was nice enough to provide me with responses which are given below. His team is now ranked #2 in the country by the ITA and is definitely a frontrunner for the national title this year.
I was pleased with how the guys adjusted quickly to playing outdoors on our Texas excursion to Austin & San Antonio over the weekend. We hadn't played a match since March 2nd versus conference rival, University of Chicago and that match was indoors. Each day in Texas, we seemed to get a little more grooved and comfortable extending rallies and playing on our terms.
Barely and thankfully we qualified for the Elite 8 last spring. We alsohosted the venue and it was such a great experience for our program at Washington University. We hadn't hosted a NCAA Championship on campus since WU volleyball did in 1991 and went on a streak of 6 NCAA titles in a row.
National Indoors was another new and great experience for our program (this group of players had never been). Seeing a lot of top competition early-on in the year and playing on super fast courts was a good way for the guys to learn how to be play 'uncomfortable' tennis. That is, if you don't dictate from the first opportunity off the ground (baseline) and/or attack the net, you likely were going to come up short.
The UAA Conference we play in is very tough. Emory over the years has set the standard high and all the programs (men & women) are all improving in the "process" of trying to get better. Our goals this year are pretty simple: 1) Improve our fitness level 2) Improve our practice & match focus and 3) Enjoy the Battle (like the Slugs of UCSC).
Finally, Mr. Watts is special because he plays within himself. I have had a player or two since I have been at WASH U that I thought were more gifted than John. However, both tried to do things that they saw on TV (ATP tour) and/or what they thought would be crowd pleasing tennis on those days we have fans at our matches. John simply plays solid tennis and breaks his opponents down and forces them to hit shots they have no business trying (ala ATP tennis on the Tennis Channel).
I was pleased with how the guys adjusted quickly to playing outdoors on our Texas excursion to Austin & San Antonio over the weekend. We hadn't played a match since March 2nd versus conference rival, University of Chicago and that match was indoors. Each day in Texas, we seemed to get a little more grooved and comfortable extending rallies and playing on our terms.
Barely and thankfully we qualified for the Elite 8 last spring. We alsohosted the venue and it was such a great experience for our program at Washington University. We hadn't hosted a NCAA Championship on campus since WU volleyball did in 1991 and went on a streak of 6 NCAA titles in a row.
National Indoors was another new and great experience for our program (this group of players had never been). Seeing a lot of top competition early-on in the year and playing on super fast courts was a good way for the guys to learn how to be play 'uncomfortable' tennis. That is, if you don't dictate from the first opportunity off the ground (baseline) and/or attack the net, you likely were going to come up short.
The UAA Conference we play in is very tough. Emory over the years has set the standard high and all the programs (men & women) are all improving in the "process" of trying to get better. Our goals this year are pretty simple: 1) Improve our fitness level 2) Improve our practice & match focus and 3) Enjoy the Battle (like the Slugs of UCSC).
Finally, Mr. Watts is special because he plays within himself. I have had a player or two since I have been at WASH U that I thought were more gifted than John. However, both tried to do things that they saw on TV (ATP tour) and/or what they thought would be crowd pleasing tennis on those days we have fans at our matches. John simply plays solid tennis and breaks his opponents down and forces them to hit shots they have no business trying (ala ATP tennis on the Tennis Channel).
New ITA Rankings Released
1. UC Santa Cruz
2. Washington (MO)
3.Trinity (TX)
4. Williams
5. Gustavus Adolphus
6. Emory
7. Kenyon
8. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
9. Middlebury
10. Redlands
11. Mary Washington College
12. Salisbury
13. Amherst
14. DePauw
15. Trinity (CT)
16. Washington and Lee
17. Carnegie Mellon
18. Chicago
19. Whitman
20. The College of New Jersey
21. Bowdoin
22. Johns Hopkins
23. UT-Tyler
24. Christopher Newport
25. Coe
26. Kalamazoo
27. Bates
28. Carleton
29. Hardin-Simmons
30. Wisconsin-Whitewater
2. Washington (MO)
3.Trinity (TX)
4. Williams
5. Gustavus Adolphus
6. Emory
7. Kenyon
8. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
9. Middlebury
10. Redlands
11. Mary Washington College
12. Salisbury
13. Amherst
14. DePauw
15. Trinity (CT)
16. Washington and Lee
17. Carnegie Mellon
18. Chicago
19. Whitman
20. The College of New Jersey
21. Bowdoin
22. Johns Hopkins
23. UT-Tyler
24. Christopher Newport
25. Coe
26. Kalamazoo
27. Bates
28. Carleton
29. Hardin-Simmons
30. Wisconsin-Whitewater
Monday, March 31, 2008
Bracketology (Article #1) March 31, 2008
I have collaborated with d3bracketology to form an estimate of what the NCAA brackets could look like. We also tried to throw in some twists of things we would like to potentially see. We will try to post a new issue of Bracketology at the beginning of every week after evaluating the past weekend's results. Enjoy and feel free to share your comments.
*Automatic Qualifiers - 25 teams. This is composed of all of the winners of conferences with automatic bids. We did our best to decide who may win the smaller conferences.
*Independents - 9 teams. This is composed of teams from conferences who don't have automatic bids as well as Independents.
*At-Large - 7 teams. This is composed of teams from conferences with automatic bids who don't win their conference such as the NESCAC or UAA.
*Our Independents were: Santa Cruz, TCNJ, Kalamazoo, UW-Whitewater, Vassar, Calvin, Wheaton, Skidmore, Carthage
*Our At-Larges were: Emory (UAA), Middlebury(NESCAC), Redlands(SCIAC), Amherst(NESCAC), DePauw(SCAC), Carnegie Mellon (UAA), Trinity(CT)(NESCAC)
*Teams who are just outside of the At-Large Top 7: Salisbury(Capital), Chicago(UAA), Bowdoin(NESCAC), Bates(NESCAC), Pomona-Pitzer(SCIAC), Hardin-Simmons(ASC)
*All other teams are Auto Bids
Our bracket:
Region 1: Santa Cruz*, CMS, Redlands, Whitman, UT-Tyler
Region 2: Kenyon*, Johns Hopkins, Calvin (MI), Baldwin-Wallace (OH), Transylvania (KY)
Region 3: Williams*, Trinity (CT), Skidmore, Baruch (NY), Southern Maine
Region 4: Washington, Carnegie Mellon, Kalamazoo*, Wheaton (IL), Westminster (MO)
Region 5: Trinity (TX) , W&L*, Christopher Newport, Stevens (NJ), Drew (NJ)
Region 6: Emory, Mary Washington*, TCNJ, Alvernia (PA), Messiah (PA)
Region 7: Gustavus, DePauw, Coe, UW-Whitewater, Grinnell* (IA), Carthage (WI)
Region 8: Middlebury*, Amherst, Vassar (NY), Salve Regina (RI), Ithaca (NY)
An asterisk denotes Host team. The seeds are in order in each region. The top team in each region gets a bye and plays the winner of 4 vs. 5. 2 and 3 both get byes and then play each other. In the final 8...Region 1 plays Region 8, 4 plays 5, 3 plays 6 and 2 plays 7. We specifically made the bracket so that each region is balanced difficulty wise (with the exception of the west). If you look at the current rankings of the top two seeds in each region they all add up to between 18 and 22, meaning each region is the same difficulty. We also had to take into account the 500 mile rule due to NCAA financial restrictions. A team can only go 500 miles away from home or they have to be flown. As few teams should be flown as possible. We will continue to update this bracket as results come in that could potentially change things.
*Automatic Qualifiers - 25 teams. This is composed of all of the winners of conferences with automatic bids. We did our best to decide who may win the smaller conferences.
*Independents - 9 teams. This is composed of teams from conferences who don't have automatic bids as well as Independents.
*At-Large - 7 teams. This is composed of teams from conferences with automatic bids who don't win their conference such as the NESCAC or UAA.
*Our Independents were: Santa Cruz, TCNJ, Kalamazoo, UW-Whitewater, Vassar, Calvin, Wheaton, Skidmore, Carthage
*Our At-Larges were: Emory (UAA), Middlebury(NESCAC), Redlands(SCIAC), Amherst(NESCAC), DePauw(SCAC), Carnegie Mellon (UAA), Trinity(CT)(NESCAC)
*Teams who are just outside of the At-Large Top 7: Salisbury(Capital), Chicago(UAA), Bowdoin(NESCAC), Bates(NESCAC), Pomona-Pitzer(SCIAC), Hardin-Simmons(ASC)
*All other teams are Auto Bids
Our bracket:
Region 1: Santa Cruz*, CMS, Redlands, Whitman, UT-Tyler
Region 2: Kenyon*, Johns Hopkins, Calvin (MI), Baldwin-Wallace (OH), Transylvania (KY)
Region 3: Williams*, Trinity (CT), Skidmore, Baruch (NY), Southern Maine
Region 4: Washington, Carnegie Mellon, Kalamazoo*, Wheaton (IL), Westminster (MO)
Region 5: Trinity (TX) , W&L*, Christopher Newport, Stevens (NJ), Drew (NJ)
Region 6: Emory, Mary Washington*, TCNJ, Alvernia (PA), Messiah (PA)
Region 7: Gustavus, DePauw, Coe, UW-Whitewater, Grinnell* (IA), Carthage (WI)
Region 8: Middlebury*, Amherst, Vassar (NY), Salve Regina (RI), Ithaca (NY)
An asterisk denotes Host team. The seeds are in order in each region. The top team in each region gets a bye and plays the winner of 4 vs. 5. 2 and 3 both get byes and then play each other. In the final 8...Region 1 plays Region 8, 4 plays 5, 3 plays 6 and 2 plays 7. We specifically made the bracket so that each region is balanced difficulty wise (with the exception of the west). If you look at the current rankings of the top two seeds in each region they all add up to between 18 and 22, meaning each region is the same difficulty. We also had to take into account the 500 mile rule due to NCAA financial restrictions. A team can only go 500 miles away from home or they have to be flown. As few teams should be flown as possible. We will continue to update this bracket as results come in that could potentially change things.
D3tennis.com Singles Rankings March 31, 2008
1. Watts, Washington
2. Greenberg, Kenyon
3. Bryan, Gustavus
4. Kamel, Santa Cruz
5. Maldow, Johns Hopkins
6. Feldman, Trinity (CT)
7. Goodwin, Emory
8. Lerner, Amherst
9. Gates, Bowdoin
10. Greenberg, Williams
11. Pybas, Santa Cruz
12. Ortiz, Santa Cruz
13. Gaines, Trinity (TX)
14. Solomon, Whitman
15. Wang, CMS
16. Boren, Emory
17. Vayghan, St. Thomas
18. James, Mary Washington
19. Keith, DePauw
20. Yook, Chapman
21. Kauss, Gustavus
22. Klimchak, TCNJ
23. Lee, Middlebury
24. Zhang, Chicago
25. Fletcher, Methodist
26. Lim, CMS
27. Loden, Mary Washington
28. Muliawan, Carnegie Mellon
29. Marinkovic, Middlebury
30. Wagar, Redlands
31. Furr, Trinity (TX)
32. Cutler, Washington
33. Yunes, Carthage
34. Liebman, Redlands
35. Phillips, UT-Tyler
36. Nemerov, Carnegie Mellon
37. Pelton, Hope
38. Sajovich, UT-Tyler
39. Simonette, Williams
40. Mark-Griffin, Santa Cruz
41. Starr, CMS
42. Williams, Wheaton
43. Sullivan, Bowdoin
44. Mintz. Amherst
45. Kincaid, Salisbury
46. Vandenberg, Kenyon
47. Thomson, Middlebury
48. Lebedoff, Williams
49. Gillispie, Piedmont
50. Estes, Washington & Lee
2. Greenberg, Kenyon
3. Bryan, Gustavus
4. Kamel, Santa Cruz
5. Maldow, Johns Hopkins
6. Feldman, Trinity (CT)
7. Goodwin, Emory
8. Lerner, Amherst
9. Gates, Bowdoin
10. Greenberg, Williams
11. Pybas, Santa Cruz
12. Ortiz, Santa Cruz
13. Gaines, Trinity (TX)
14. Solomon, Whitman
15. Wang, CMS
16. Boren, Emory
17. Vayghan, St. Thomas
18. James, Mary Washington
19. Keith, DePauw
20. Yook, Chapman
21. Kauss, Gustavus
22. Klimchak, TCNJ
23. Lee, Middlebury
24. Zhang, Chicago
25. Fletcher, Methodist
26. Lim, CMS
27. Loden, Mary Washington
28. Muliawan, Carnegie Mellon
29. Marinkovic, Middlebury
30. Wagar, Redlands
31. Furr, Trinity (TX)
32. Cutler, Washington
33. Yunes, Carthage
34. Liebman, Redlands
35. Phillips, UT-Tyler
36. Nemerov, Carnegie Mellon
37. Pelton, Hope
38. Sajovich, UT-Tyler
39. Simonette, Williams
40. Mark-Griffin, Santa Cruz
41. Starr, CMS
42. Williams, Wheaton
43. Sullivan, Bowdoin
44. Mintz. Amherst
45. Kincaid, Salisbury
46. Vandenberg, Kenyon
47. Thomson, Middlebury
48. Lebedoff, Williams
49. Gillispie, Piedmont
50. Estes, Washington & Lee
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Upcoming Matches
#12 Mary Washington vs. #24 Christopher Newport (April 2)
#12 Mary Washington vs. #14 Carnegie Mellon (April 4)
#3 Williams vs. #11 Amherst (April 5)
#16 Salisbury vs. #21 TCNJ (April 5)
#9 Middlebury vs. #15 Trinity(CT) (April 6)
#5 Trinity (TX) vs. #23 UT-Tyler (April 6)
#14 Carnegie Mellon vs.#18 Johns Hopkins (April 6)
#3 Williams vs. #9 Middlebury (April 9)
#11 Amherst vs. #15 Trinity(CT) (April 10)
GLCA Tournament (April 10-April 12)
#1 Santa Cruz vs.#10 Redlands (April 11)
#4 Washington vs. #25 Coe (April 12)
#8 CMS vs. #10 Redlands (April 12)
#9 Middlebury vs. #22 Bowdoin (April 12)
#16 Salisbury vs. #18 Johns Hopkins (April 13)
#12 Mary Washington vs. #21 TCNJ (April 13)
#11 Amherst vs. #22 Bowdoin (April 13)
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #8 CMS(April 13)
#12 Mary Washington vs. #14 Carnegie Mellon (April 4)
#3 Williams vs. #11 Amherst (April 5)
#16 Salisbury vs. #21 TCNJ (April 5)
#9 Middlebury vs. #15 Trinity(CT) (April 6)
#5 Trinity (TX) vs. #23 UT-Tyler (April 6)
#14 Carnegie Mellon vs.#18 Johns Hopkins (April 6)
#3 Williams vs. #9 Middlebury (April 9)
#11 Amherst vs. #15 Trinity(CT) (April 10)
GLCA Tournament (April 10-April 12)
#1 Santa Cruz vs.#10 Redlands (April 11)
#4 Washington vs. #25 Coe (April 12)
#8 CMS vs. #10 Redlands (April 12)
#9 Middlebury vs. #22 Bowdoin (April 12)
#16 Salisbury vs. #18 Johns Hopkins (April 13)
#12 Mary Washington vs. #21 TCNJ (April 13)
#11 Amherst vs. #22 Bowdoin (April 13)
#1 Santa Cruz vs. #8 CMS(April 13)
D3tennis.com Team Rankings March 29, 2008
1. UC Santa Cruz
2. Kenyon
3. Williams
4. Washington
5. Trinity (TX)
6. Emory
7. Gustavus
8. CMS
9. Middlebury
10. Redlands
11. Amherst
12. Mary Washington
13. DePauw
14 Carnegie Mellon
15. Trinity (CT)
16. Salisbury
17. Washington & Lee
18. Johns Hopkins
19. Chicago
20. Whitman
21. TCNJ
22. Bowdoin
23. UT-Tyler
24. Christopher Newport
25. Coe
2. Kenyon
3. Williams
4. Washington
5. Trinity (TX)
6. Emory
7. Gustavus
8. CMS
9. Middlebury
10. Redlands
11. Amherst
12. Mary Washington
13. DePauw
14 Carnegie Mellon
15. Trinity (CT)
16. Salisbury
17. Washington & Lee
18. Johns Hopkins
19. Chicago
20. Whitman
21. TCNJ
22. Bowdoin
23. UT-Tyler
24. Christopher Newport
25. Coe
Looking Ahead...
Things to look for in the next few days...
-Finalized Team Rankings tonight
-Updated Singles (50) and Doubles (25) Rankings by Tuesday
-ITA National Team Rankings published on Tuesday
-Upcoming matches happening in the next 14 days
-An interview with a Top 10 coach(undecided) about how their team's season has gone and what we can expect to see
-Bracketology for the NCAA tournament on either Monday or Tuesday. I have been collaborating with d3bracketology to form the bracket as of right now. It will include who hosts, the regions, the top seeds and all 41 teams placed. We put a lot of thought into this.
-Match Previews for next weekend's matches
As the season enters it's last month and conference tournaments approach, I think we can expect to see a lot more drama and suspense unfold. So keep checking the site and voicing your opinions.
-Finalized Team Rankings tonight
-Updated Singles (50) and Doubles (25) Rankings by Tuesday
-ITA National Team Rankings published on Tuesday
-Upcoming matches happening in the next 14 days
-An interview with a Top 10 coach(undecided) about how their team's season has gone and what we can expect to see
-Bracketology for the NCAA tournament on either Monday or Tuesday. I have been collaborating with d3bracketology to form the bracket as of right now. It will include who hosts, the regions, the top seeds and all 41 teams placed. We put a lot of thought into this.
-Match Previews for next weekend's matches
As the season enters it's last month and conference tournaments approach, I think we can expect to see a lot more drama and suspense unfold. So keep checking the site and voicing your opinions.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
D3tennis.com Team Rankings March 29, 2008
1. UC Santa Cruz
2. Kenyon
3. Williams
4. Washington
5. Trinity (TX)
6. Emory
7. Gustavus
8. CMS
9. Middlebury
10. Redlands
11. Amherst
12. Mary Washington
13. DePauw
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. Johns Hopkins
16. Trinity (CT)
17. Salisbury
18. Chicago
19. Whitman
20. Washington & Lee
21. TCNJ
22. Bowdoin
23. UT-Tyler
24. Christopher Newport
25. Coe
2. Kenyon
3. Williams
4. Washington
5. Trinity (TX)
6. Emory
7. Gustavus
8. CMS
9. Middlebury
10. Redlands
11. Amherst
12. Mary Washington
13. DePauw
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. Johns Hopkins
16. Trinity (CT)
17. Salisbury
18. Chicago
19. Whitman
20. Washington & Lee
21. TCNJ
22. Bowdoin
23. UT-Tyler
24. Christopher Newport
25. Coe
Scores from Today
Washington d. Trinity (TX) 5-4
Williams d. CMS 7-2
Trinity (CT) d. Bowdoin 5-1
Salisbury d. Mary Washington 5-4
Williams d. CMS 7-2
Trinity (CT) d. Bowdoin 5-1
Salisbury d. Mary Washington 5-4
Friday, March 28, 2008
Match Updates
#9 Williams vs. #11 Redlands, Williams 5-4
#5 Emory vs. #15 Amherst, Emory 8-1
#13 DePauw vs. #15 Amherst, Amherst 6-3
#12 Carnegie Mellon vs. #22 Washington & Lee, W&L 6-3
#5 Emory vs. #13 DePauw, Emory 6-3
#6 Middlebury vs. #7 CMS, CMS 6-3
#12 Chicago vs. #15 DePauw, DePauw 7-2
#1 Gustavus vs. #6 CMS, CMS 7-2
#4 Emory vs. #22 Kalamazoo, Emory 9-0
#2 UC Santa Cruz vs. #7 Middlebury, Santa Cruz 8-1
#5 Gustavus vs. #11 Redlands, Redlands 5-4
#8 Trinity (TX) vs. #10 Williams, Trinity (TX) 6-3
#8 Mary Washington vs. #15 Johns Hopkins, Mary Wash 5-4
#2 Washington vs. #9 Williams, Williams 6-3
#6 Middlebury vs. #10 Redlands, Middlebury 6-3
#5 CMS vs. #7 Trinity (TX), Trinity (TX) 6-3
#1 Trinity (TX) vs. #5 Washington (March 29)
#6 CMS vs. #7 Williams (March 29)
#18 Bowdoin vs # 23 Trinity (CT) (March 29)
#8 Mary Washington vs. #21 Salisbury (March 29)
#5 Washington vs. #6 CMS (March 30)
Another huge day with tons of upsets, drama and surprises. First, we saw Williams defeat WashU by taking 5 of 6 singles matches in very routine fashion. We thought WashU was the deepest team in the country in singles, apparently this is not the case. This was followed by a thriller in which Mary Washington and Hopkins were tied 4-4, and Eddie Carver came back from 5-2 down in the 3rd set to win in a tiebreaker. This was a valiant effort and kept the Eagles in the top 8 in the country. We then saw Trinity pretty much dominate CMS, particularly in 2nd and 3rd doubles. I think the scores in the that match were particularly lopsided. This could move Trinity to #1 in the country. Lastly, we saw Middlebury drop all 3 doubles to Redlands and then come back to win all 6 singles, 5 of those in 3 sets! Midd was also playing without Andrew Thomson who has been extremely valuable. Looking to tomorrow, we have Trinity putting its #1 ranking on the line and now it's WashU who is going for the upset. We also have CMS trying to rebound from their bad loss today againsta confident Williams team. Mary Washington will also be taking on Salisbury in other action and we will also see Bowdoin taking on Trinity (CT) in an early NESCAC match. Can't wait for tomorrow, should be more surprises and drama to mess up the rankings.
#5 Emory vs. #15 Amherst, Emory 8-1
#13 DePauw vs. #15 Amherst, Amherst 6-3
#12 Carnegie Mellon vs. #22 Washington & Lee, W&L 6-3
#5 Emory vs. #13 DePauw, Emory 6-3
#6 Middlebury vs. #7 CMS, CMS 6-3
#12 Chicago vs. #15 DePauw, DePauw 7-2
#1 Gustavus vs. #6 CMS, CMS 7-2
#4 Emory vs. #22 Kalamazoo, Emory 9-0
#2 UC Santa Cruz vs. #7 Middlebury, Santa Cruz 8-1
#5 Gustavus vs. #11 Redlands, Redlands 5-4
#8 Trinity (TX) vs. #10 Williams, Trinity (TX) 6-3
#8 Mary Washington vs. #15 Johns Hopkins, Mary Wash 5-4
#2 Washington vs. #9 Williams, Williams 6-3
#6 Middlebury vs. #10 Redlands, Middlebury 6-3
#5 CMS vs. #7 Trinity (TX), Trinity (TX) 6-3
#1 Trinity (TX) vs. #5 Washington (March 29)
#6 CMS vs. #7 Williams (March 29)
#18 Bowdoin vs # 23 Trinity (CT) (March 29)
#8 Mary Washington vs. #21 Salisbury (March 29)
#5 Washington vs. #6 CMS (March 30)
Another huge day with tons of upsets, drama and surprises. First, we saw Williams defeat WashU by taking 5 of 6 singles matches in very routine fashion. We thought WashU was the deepest team in the country in singles, apparently this is not the case. This was followed by a thriller in which Mary Washington and Hopkins were tied 4-4, and Eddie Carver came back from 5-2 down in the 3rd set to win in a tiebreaker. This was a valiant effort and kept the Eagles in the top 8 in the country. We then saw Trinity pretty much dominate CMS, particularly in 2nd and 3rd doubles. I think the scores in the that match were particularly lopsided. This could move Trinity to #1 in the country. Lastly, we saw Middlebury drop all 3 doubles to Redlands and then come back to win all 6 singles, 5 of those in 3 sets! Midd was also playing without Andrew Thomson who has been extremely valuable. Looking to tomorrow, we have Trinity putting its #1 ranking on the line and now it's WashU who is going for the upset. We also have CMS trying to rebound from their bad loss today againsta confident Williams team. Mary Washington will also be taking on Salisbury in other action and we will also see Bowdoin taking on Trinity (CT) in an early NESCAC match. Can't wait for tomorrow, should be more surprises and drama to mess up the rankings.
D3tennis.com Rankings March 28, 2008
1. Trinity (TX)
2. Kenyon
3. UC Santa Cruz
4. Emory
5. Wash U
6. CMS
7. Williams
8. Mary Washington
9. Middlebury
10. Redlands
11. Gustavus
12. Amherst
13. DePauw
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. Johns Hopkins
16. Chicago
17. Whitman
18. Bowdoin
19. Washington & Lee
20. TCNJ
21. Salisbury
22. UT-Tyler
23. Trinity (CT)
24. Christopher Newport
25. Coe
2. Kenyon
3. UC Santa Cruz
4. Emory
5. Wash U
6. CMS
7. Williams
8. Mary Washington
9. Middlebury
10. Redlands
11. Gustavus
12. Amherst
13. DePauw
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. Johns Hopkins
16. Chicago
17. Whitman
18. Bowdoin
19. Washington & Lee
20. TCNJ
21. Salisbury
22. UT-Tyler
23. Trinity (CT)
24. Christopher Newport
25. Coe
#9 Williams defeats #2 Washington
Williams bounced back from their loss against Trinity and easily defeated Washington University today in Texas. The Ephs won 5 of 6 singles matches. And the shocking thing is that they were all rountine straight set victories. This adds more pieces to the puzzle and this will certainly have an effect on the rankings in the top 10.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
D3tennis.com Team Rankings March 27, 2008
1. UC Santa Cruz
2. Washington
3. Kenyon
4. Emory
5. CMS
6. Middlebury
7. Trinity (TX)
8. Mary Washington
9. Williams
10. Redlands
11. Gustavus Adolphus
12. Amherst
13. DePauw
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. Johns Hopkins
16. Chicago
17. Whitman
18. Bowdoin
19. Washington & Lee
20. TCNJ
21. Salisbury
22. UT-Tyler
23. Trinity (CT)
24. Christopher Newport
25. Coe
2. Washington
3. Kenyon
4. Emory
5. CMS
6. Middlebury
7. Trinity (TX)
8. Mary Washington
9. Williams
10. Redlands
11. Gustavus Adolphus
12. Amherst
13. DePauw
14. Carnegie Mellon
15. Johns Hopkins
16. Chicago
17. Whitman
18. Bowdoin
19. Washington & Lee
20. TCNJ
21. Salisbury
22. UT-Tyler
23. Trinity (CT)
24. Christopher Newport
25. Coe
Redlands Upsets Gustavus
Redlands upset Gustavus today 5-4 in Redlands, CA handing the Gusties their 2nd consecutive loss. It looks like having the Indoors in St. Peter is an even bigger advantage then we thought. New rankings coming shortly.
Match Updates
#9 Williams vs. #11 Redlands, Williams 5-4
#5 Emory vs. #15 Amherst, Emory 8-1
#13 DePauw vs. #15 Amherst, Amherst 6-3
#12 Carnegie Mellon vs. #22 Washington & Lee, W&L 6-3
#5 Emory vs. #13 DePauw, Emory 6-3
#6 Middlebury vs. #7 CMS, CMS 6-3
#12 Chicago vs. #15 DePauw, DePauw 7-2
#1 Gustavus vs. #6 CMS, CMS 7-2
#4 Emory vs. #22 Kalamazoo, Emory 9-0
#2 UC Santa Cruz vs. #7 Middlebury, Santa Cruz 8-1
#5 Gustavus vs. #11 Redlands, Redlands 5-4
#8 Trinity (TX) vs. #10 Williams, Trinity (TX) 6-3
#8 Mary Washington vs. #15 Johns Hopkins (March 28)
#2 Washington vs. #9 Williams (March 28)
#6 Middlebury vs. #10 Redlands (March 28)
#5 CMS vs. #7 Trinity (TX) (March 28)
#2 Washington vs. #7 Trinity (TX) (March 29)
#5 CMS vs. #10 Williams (March 29)
#2 Washington vs. #5 CMS (March 30)
Trinity had a very good win over Williams today, showing that they are a legitimate top 8 team. The Redlands-Gustavus score is unavailable at the moment and I will post that as soon as the outcome is known. Another results to note is that Salisbury defeated previously undefeated Christoper Newport by a very convincing 7-2 score. This will definitely have an impact on the 18-24 range in the rankings. Rankings for today will be published as soon as the Redlands-Gustavus score comes in. Looking ahead to tomorrow, we have a huge Atlantic South matchup, as Hopkins tries to prove that they are a contender this year. Williams goes for the upset bid against #2 Wash U. The Bears have their first difficult D3 match since Indoors. Redlands is back on the courts against Middlebury, who had dissapointing losses against Santa Cruz and CMS. And lastly, they highlight of the day in my opinion is the CMS-Trinity match being played in Texas. The Stags look to continue their hot streak as does Trinity. I'm really looking forward to this match. It could have important implications for rankings. Going to be a great day tomorrow.
#5 Emory vs. #15 Amherst, Emory 8-1
#13 DePauw vs. #15 Amherst, Amherst 6-3
#12 Carnegie Mellon vs. #22 Washington & Lee, W&L 6-3
#5 Emory vs. #13 DePauw, Emory 6-3
#6 Middlebury vs. #7 CMS, CMS 6-3
#12 Chicago vs. #15 DePauw, DePauw 7-2
#1 Gustavus vs. #6 CMS, CMS 7-2
#4 Emory vs. #22 Kalamazoo, Emory 9-0
#2 UC Santa Cruz vs. #7 Middlebury, Santa Cruz 8-1
#5 Gustavus vs. #11 Redlands, Redlands 5-4
#8 Trinity (TX) vs. #10 Williams, Trinity (TX) 6-3
#8 Mary Washington vs. #15 Johns Hopkins (March 28)
#2 Washington vs. #9 Williams (March 28)
#6 Middlebury vs. #10 Redlands (March 28)
#5 CMS vs. #7 Trinity (TX) (March 28)
#2 Washington vs. #7 Trinity (TX) (March 29)
#5 CMS vs. #10 Williams (March 29)
#2 Washington vs. #5 CMS (March 30)
Trinity had a very good win over Williams today, showing that they are a legitimate top 8 team. The Redlands-Gustavus score is unavailable at the moment and I will post that as soon as the outcome is known. Another results to note is that Salisbury defeated previously undefeated Christoper Newport by a very convincing 7-2 score. This will definitely have an impact on the 18-24 range in the rankings. Rankings for today will be published as soon as the Redlands-Gustavus score comes in. Looking ahead to tomorrow, we have a huge Atlantic South matchup, as Hopkins tries to prove that they are a contender this year. Williams goes for the upset bid against #2 Wash U. The Bears have their first difficult D3 match since Indoors. Redlands is back on the courts against Middlebury, who had dissapointing losses against Santa Cruz and CMS. And lastly, they highlight of the day in my opinion is the CMS-Trinity match being played in Texas. The Stags look to continue their hot streak as does Trinity. I'm really looking forward to this match. It could have important implications for rankings. Going to be a great day tomorrow.
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