Thoughts on the Next Few Days

Cameron Spearman, Redlands

I will have a separate post Wednesday evening discussing the Stag-Hen Invitational.

First, I want to go over today's result that had Vassar defeating Whittier 6-3. The Brewers are now 3-0 in California with routine wins against Salisbury, Occidental and Whittier. Tomorrow they take on #7 Kenyon. If anyone knows the Lords well, it is Vassar's head coach John Cox. The question is if his team is skilled enough to pull out a few matches against Kenyon, who is arguably the hottest team in the country at the moment. However, Kenyon's 2 signature wins both came at home. I like Kenyon to win this match 7-2 or 8-1, but I also expect some tight matches. This is a perfect tuneup for the Lords heading into a huge Friday clash with Whitman. Another interesting thing to note is with this result, it is very possible that Mary Wash will be out of the rankings when they are released next week, especially if they lose to W&L this weekend. Who would have thought Mary Wash would be out of the top 30 2 weeks ago? I think it's quite clear that Whittier benefited from an exhausted UMW team and they aren't exactly top 30 material this year. They should enjoy their national ranking while it lasts though.

Apart from the Stag-Hen (SH), there is other tennis in California this week and weekend. Emory warms up for their SH by facing Redlands on Thursday. In Emory's past California trips, they haven't stopped by Redlands to play, so these 2 aren't too familiar with each other. I think this will be a great test for the doubles of both squads, and it will also give Redlands a chance to gauge the strength of the bottom of their lineup. I do expect the Bulldogs to come out with a couple wins in this, but they have to not be intimidated, especially in doubles. I'll talk about Emory later in the week when I discuss the SH, but I think this will be a perfect warm-up for them against a team that will challenge them, but not beat them. The more important match for Redlands is on the road against Santa Cruz on Saturday. I don't consider the Emory match winnable for the Bulldogs, but the Cruz match certainly is if Redlands is playing well. This would be a fantastic win for their program, but my heart tells me Cruz will be a little too much. After Saturday, the country will have a much better indication as to the strength of this year's Redlands team. A win against Cruz would put them in fantastic position for a Pool C bid, but I expect the Slugs to pull out a close one. Cruz is too disciplined to lose a match like this and if they play great doubles, this could turn into a blowout.

A team I haven't talked about much is UT-Tyler. The Pats started very slow this year with their first conference loss since 2007 and then a 5-4 loss against Rhodes. They take on Cal Lu in their first match without Ballou, and both of these teams desperately need a win. If you remember last year, UT-Tyler didn't have the greatest regular season, but came on very strong in NCAAs. They have to regroup and focus their efforts on winning the ASC. A win over CLU would certainly help to build their confidence. Remember 2 years ago at this time, this Tyler team was ranked 13 in the country.

There are 3 other Saturday matches and the most notable thing happening is Middlebury's first D3 test when they take on Brandeis. The Judges are coming off a decent California trip and I don't think they have much of a chance in this, but as long as they keep improving and peak at UAAs, they should be happy. As I've said, so many question marks surround Midd this year, so I'll be interested to see how they start against a solid opponent. They are still 1 in the country dating back to last year and I know they are talented, but getting off to a good start and getting their young guys confidence are 2 important aspects of their season. The other 2 matches should be very close. First we have Bates taking on MIT in a match of 2 New England teams trying to prove their worth. Both programs have top 20 aspirations this year, and if Bates wants to get a whiff of a Pool C bid in 2011, this is a must-win for them. MIT played a decent fall match against Williams, so they look to start strong in D3 play this spring and follow up their Sweet 16 performance in 2010. I expect this to be a battle as MIT won a close one in 2010. Lastly, the rivalry continues between Mary Washington and Washington & Lee. Despite being in separate conferences, geography makes these 2 hated rivals. Both teams are in desperate need of a win, particularly the Eagles, who have to feel great being back in Virginia after their California catastrophe. The loser of this probably won't be ranked in the next ITA poll. In 2008, both of these teams were top 18 in the nation when they met in the NCAA round of 32. Mary Wash won 5-4 and went on to beat Trinity (TX) the next day for a spot in the Final 8. How things have changed. Both teams are barely hanging on to their rankings and the glory they once had. It will be a huge win for the winner and a huge loss for the loser, as both of these teams have little to no confidence at the moment.

2011 Team Preview #18: Brandeis

Simon Miller

Coach: Ben Lamanna, 6th Season
Location: Waltham, Massachusetts
Conference: UAA
2008 Ranking: NR
2009 Ranking: NR
2010 Ranking: 30
2011 Projected: 25

This is case number 2 where the NCAA selection process does in a team. I didn't pay much attention to Brandeis most of last year, and that's because they didn't really do anything. UAAs roll around and all of the sudden these guys are knocking off a top 20 team and giving top 10 teams just about all they can handle. Credit to the coach for getting his players ready to play, and credit to the players for realizing the importance of the conference tournament and believing that they were as good as anyone else there. They should carry a huge amount of confidence into this season and I think they will. 3 or 4 years down the road when Brandeis is top 20 in the country, I think Coach Lamanna will look back at the UAA 1st round in 2010 and realize that those 4 hours were a turning point for his program. Had they lost that match, I probably wouldn't be writing about them now and they probably wouldn't expect much from themselves this season. That's over and they have to think about the present. I'm not going to count Brandeis out of the NCAA tournament, but I'll say they are a real long shot. They will have a crack at 9 ranked teams this year, so they will certainly have their fair share of opportunities. They start with a California trip and managed to schedule CMS and CLU. These matches will be good for Brandeis because it will show them the level they need to get to eventually. The biggest match for them in California is against Pomona-Pitzer, a team closer to their level. Later in the season, I'd keep an eye on contests against Bates, MIT and Trinity (CT). Brandeis' current #1 Nick White transferred from Trinity (CT) after his second year. They host the UAA tournament this year and will surely have a crack at a top 20 team there. I expect them to start 4 seniors this year, most notably Nick White and Simon Miller, so they certainly won't be short on experience. Brandeis is currently a good team who has shown vast improvements over the past couple years. It's an uphill battle from here though as it's easy to become a good team, but very difficult to be a great team. The next few years will tell us if they have what it takes to break into the elite of D3, and that starts in 2011. They have to finish better than they did last year and continue to show improvement.