The day started with two consolation matches and both results were as we expected. Gustavus was dominant in doubles and took care of Mary Washington 6-3. The singles were close but Gustavus proved to be too much in the end. The Eagles need to fix some weaknesses if they want to make a national title run this year. Santa Cruz was dominant against Trinity(TX), setting up a rematch of last year's final between Gustavus and Santa Cruz tonight for 5th place.
The semifinals were contested at 2 pm and Wash U was great early sweeping doubles against a hungry Kenyon team. The Bears piled on the pressure early and never let up, resulting in an 8-1 victory and a trip to the finals tomorrow. A good win for the Lords yesterday, but something was missing for them today. Meanwhile, CMS shocked Emory in doubles going up 2-1 putting themselves in a position to win. Emory came out firing in singles with their 1-2 punch to go up 3-2. CMS returned at #3 with a victory by freshman Robbie Erani to tie the score at 3-3. 4, 5 and 6 then came on and people were definitely thinking about a potential upset. Emory is supposed to be beatable at these spots, but they dominated to take the match 6-3. CMS really did just about the best they could and gave Emory all they could handle.
Tomorrow the 2 best teams in the country will play for the Indoor title at 9am. This will be another battle and I'd definitely keep an eye on doubles in this one. Kenyon will play CMS simultaneously for 3rd and 4th in a match that has big implications on the top 5 national rankings.
