A brief wrap-up from Day 1 of the Indoors as well as a preview of Day 2...
Wash U started the day winning in expected fashion. They defeated an overmatched inexperienced Trinity(TX) team 9-0 without surrendering a set. There was a competitive doubles match and 2 close singles matches but this was a blowout from the beginning. The national champions are looking tough heading into the semis.
CMS won a hard-fought match against the hosts from Gustavus. As expected, Gustavus jumped on the Stags early in doubles going up 2-1, but also as predicted CMS just had too much depth and really dominated the Gusties throughout the singles lineup. Good effort by Starr to come back in first set and suck the life out of Gustavus. The CMS freshmen as well as Wang will really need to step up tomorrow against the best team in the country.
This win was not only important for Kenyon, but also D3 tennis as a whole. We saw a changing of the guard today with the "new guys" from Kenyon defeating annual powerhouse UC Santa Cruz with some spectacular comebacks. Greenberg and Piskacek really stepped up for their team today both coming back from a set down and Polster was very tough at #3. The Lords have to like their chances tomorrow against Wash U if they can repeat their performance from today. They proved that last season was no fluke and they are a contender this year.
The most surprising result on the day was Emory-UMW. Emory didn't give up more than 4 games in any set against a top 10 opponent. They made the #9 team in the country look like they were unranked with incredible doubles and even more amazing singles. The Goodwins have to hold the title of best doubles team as well as best 1-2 punch right now. They will be tested tomorrow against a feisty CMS team, but Emory really seemed unbeatable today against a very good opponent.
Looking forward, I like Santa Cruz to easily beat Trinity(TX), most likely by an 8-1 or 9-0 score and I like Gustavus to avenge their loss today with a doubles sweep and a 5-4 win against Mary Washington.
Emory should beat CMS in a fairly comfortable 6-3 or 7-2. The only chance CMS really has is if they can somehow manage to get 2 of the doubles against Emory. The match to watch is really Wash U-Kenyon tomorrow. This should be another nailbiter and I think whoever gets the advantage in doubles will most likely win. All eyes will be on the Watts-Greenberg match at #1 and this could go a long way in determining the outcome of the match. I have to give a 5-4 edge to Wash U, but again this is definitely a winnable match for Kenyon. If they can take 2 doubles points and follow it up with a Greenberg-Piskacek 1-2 punch, I don't see how they can lose. Definitely going to be another great day of tennis tomorrow.
