Wed/Thurs Recap, Fri-Sun Preview

Justin Wilson, Cal Lutheran

I want to go over the results from the past 2 days and preview a very big weekend. The first half of the week was full of big matches and although Wed/Thurs matches didn't have the significance of Monday and Tuesday, they certainly weren't short on drama. Today, there were 2 matches which I didn't expect to be all that competitive. I'll discuss CMS-Skidmore and CLU-Amherst a little later.

First on Wednesday, Redlands lost to Amherst 8-1 as expected. Another dominant performance by Amherst, cruising in doubles and not dropping a set in the 5 singles matches they won. They continue to play Chafetz at 4, which I guess we will see for the remainder of the season. Redlands just isn't competitive with the top teams. ITA Rankings came out today (I'll have a separate post) and Redlands is sitting at 8th in Pool C. That means they have to go out and beat someone, they can't just sit back and go through the motions. Granted, they've lost to Cruz, Amherst and Emory, but I haven't seen anything from them that implies they are better than last year. They've got to make a move sooner or later and it may not be against Pomona-Pitzer the way the Hens are playing. The other 2 matches Wednesday both came down to the wire and were tied 4-4. The early match pitted Bowdoin against a Skidmore team who I expect a lot from this year. One thing for Skidmore is they were missing one of their star freshmen, Jimmy Sherpa, and without him they will struggle against a team as good as Bowdoin. I'm not sure where he is, but Skidmore isn't deep enough to be a top 20 team without him. Hats off to Bowdoin, who proved me wrong about not being able to come from behind after doubles. Skidmore jumped out to an early lead, but Bowdoin really dominated the 4 spots they won in singles. Sullivan has lived up to his preseason All-American status and he has been the rock for Bowdoin this week in singles, starting his spring season 4-0 at the #1 position. Given the new ITA rankings, Bowdoin currently sits at #7 in Pool C, but they have an opportunity to play the #6 team, Trinity (CT), this weekend. Bowdoin has done what they needed to do so far and they are in a good spot.

Unbelievable heart and resiliency by Cal Lutheran. They could have folded after Indoors and an injury to their top player, but they didn't. Since Ballou has had surgery, they've beaten Tyler and Whitman and played 5-4 against Kenyon. Along with Paul Burgin, Justin Wilson is the biggest surprise for me this season for an individual. He's playing at a very high level right now and has been rock solid for this team. This is Cal Lu's 4th match that has been tied at 4-4 this year and it's the first one they won. I am impressed that they are doing what they're doing and I think they are going to keep it up. They have more shots against ranked teams and they can sneak their way back into Pool C. If they pull some upsets and get confident, watch out for them. I have a feeling they are going to make more noise this year. What a roller coaster season for the Kingsmen, but they have to be pleased with themselves. Whitman had a decent trip. They got the big win they needed and Coach Northam praised his team for their fight, but the bottom line is they are still ranked 20th in the country. I know it's bad to get caught up in rankings, but they don't lie. They saw the prize after that Trinity match, but couldn't get the job done against a team who I consider inferior to them, and then followed it up by not showing up at 2 of the doubles spots. I think they were physically beaten up by the end of the trip and there are a lot of positives to take from the past week, but the bottom line is they still have a lot of work to do to be able to compete with the top 15 teams on a consistent basis. I see it as though they are losing matches they shouldn't be losing, but they did get their big win and may go home satisfied.

I don't have much to say about today's matches. CMS put their full lineup out which I found a bit surprising, but after the Emory match and with Amherst coming up, I guess Coach Settles decided that his guys could use the practice. Pretty routine victory for CMS, they've certainly asserted their dominance over the lower ranked teams. Cal Lu put up a good fight but was beaten by a more talented team. A good experience for the Kingsmen, and they did pretty well I thought. Amherst is just rolling and we'll see how they do this weekend.

Friday through Sunday should be nothing short of fantastic. Tomorrow, we've got 2 evenly matched contests. On the East coast, Bates takes another spring trip and they will play Mary Wash tomorrow. Bates was ranked 23rd today and Mary Wash was 25th. The Eagles played a solid match at home against W&L last weekend, so we will see how they do in this. They are probably slightly overmatched at the top of the lineup, but have more depth, so this should be a good contrast of styles. I like Mary Wash in a close one, because I trust them at home, I just don't know if they can get it done on the road. Bates is officially done from Pool C if they lose. The other match tomorrow is an absolute must win for Redlands. The pressure is squarely on them against a lower ranked Skidmore team and throw in the fact that Redlands is playing for their tournament life. With Bowdoin's win over Skidmore, Redlands desperately needs this, and it would help to win in convincing fashion. Skidmore is playing their 3rd ranked team in as many days, so they could be a little tired. This would probably be the biggest win in the history of Skidmore tennis if they could pull it off, but I expect Redlands to be too tough on their home courts. The Bulldogs win and keep their NCAA hopes alive.

Saturday Skidmore plays again at Pomona-Pitzer, and judging by the past weeks results, I don't expect it to be too competitive. PP is at a very high level right now and Skidmore may be a bit down on themselves, especially if they lose to Redlands Friday. Again, it would be a huge win for Skidmore, I just don't know if they can do it. The second match pits Bowdoin against Cal Lutheran in a match that is crucial to both teams Pool C chances. Cal Lu has been so tough at home the past month and Bowdoin will have been in California for a week, so fitness could start to become a factor. This is Cal Lu's chance to get back into the Pool C hunt, and the way they've been playing, I certainly think they can win. The Kingsmen probably need to get ahead in doubles because of their depth issues, but if they do that, it's anyone's match. The main event this weekend is obviously Amherst at CMS. The Stags are looking to rebound from last weekend's poor performance against Emory and Amherst is trying to establish themselves as the dominant team in the nation. Midd still stands at 1, but this match should have implications as to who is #1 in the country late in the season. I believe having the #1 overall seed in NCAAs is huge, because when you take the big 3 this year, whoever isn't #1 will have to win brutally tough matches on back to back days, whereas #1 will have an easier team with whoever ends up being #4. This match is tough to predict. I like CMS to step up after a tough loss to Emory, but the question is if Amherst is just too talented. CMS obviously has to play better doubles than they did, and I still don't have a status report on the whereabouts of Robbie Erani. He could potentially make a big difference and allow CMS to better compete deep in the lineup. Lane or Johnson will need to pull off a huge win, but at the moment I just can't pick against Amherst as I expect the Jeffs to pull out a tough win.

Sunday brings double duty for both Cal Lutheran and Trinity (CT), as the Bantams play both Bowdoin and Cal Lu, and the Kingsmen also play Santa Cruz. The Bowdoin-Trinity match was one of my matches to watch because it is a huge rivalry and huge for Pool C. Again, Cal Lu will have a chance to get another win on their resume and they have to keep their heads held high even if they get crushed by Cruz. The Slugs match up well against the Kingsmen, so I don't foresee too much trouble for Cruz playing at home in that match. So we've got CLU-Cruz, CLU-TrinityCT and Bowdoin-TrinityCT all taking place in Santa Cruz, California on Sunday. In Baltimore, Hopkins takes on Bates in what will be JHU's biggest test of the year to date. Hopkins will have too much depth and too much talent, but their top guys will be tested.

Tuesday Recap, Brief Wednesday Preview

Pomona-Pitzer was not playing over their heads at the Stag-Hen and Amherst is just really good. The Jeffs knocked off Trinity (TX) today without both Joey Fritz and Mark Kahan, 2 of their top 4 players. The box score isn't available at the moment but this Trinity release has scores.

Emory is tough and CMS is also very good, but what Amherst did today is just unmatched. Kahan and Fritz played 1 and 3 yesterday and Garner didn't even bother to bring them to play a top 10 quality opponent. They just have unbelievable depth and it's a gutsy move to not bring 2 of your top guys. Either way, they came away with a comfortable 7-2 win in a danger match. I'm really looking forward to their match with CMS this weekend and I assume they would bring a full lineup to play the Stags. After seeing Emory win like they did, I was impressed, but now I remember why I thought Amherst was a level above everyone else. At the same time, Trinity can't go home happy. I ranked them 4th in the country based upon the assumption that they had the best 1 and 2 doubles team in the country. Clearly, that is far from true, particularly at 1. If you look at Trinity's 3 matches at Indoors and their 5 matches in California, their #1 team is 3-5. This team was an NCAA semifinalist in '09, and NCAA finalist last year and an ITA national champion in the fall. Why can't they do the same thing in dual matches? I think this Tigers team is better than the Trinity team that was #1 in the country for a portion of 2008. It would be a shame for them to waste this season. They've got 10 days to regroup and I think they need to get at least 1 win at their quad for confidence purposes. It's not going to be easy with Cruz, CMS and Wash U coming to town, but so far they've shown they are just another team and nowhere near elite. I expect the Tigers to end up somewhere between 12-16 in the next rankings which is just not good for a team of this caliber.

Kenyon is a great story this year, but if you want to talk about surprising, look no further than Pomona-Pitzer. The Hens will most likely come in at #9 in Thursday's rankings, 11 spots higher than I had them projected. Coach Belletto has done a fantastic job and their 2 wins today prove that they are really tough. I think they are just about a lock for Pool C at this point barring some very unforeseen circumstances. Bowdoin was clearly a better team today than they were Monday and the Hens really took it to them in doubles and never let their feet off the gas. I'll say again that I'm impressed, especially with their absolute destruction of Tyler. I know PP always thinks highly of themselves, but this year they are actually walking the walk. They have a tricky match against Skidmore Saturday and Williams in a week, but for now that single digit ranking next to their name should feel great.

Bowdoin and Whitman are interesting stories. The Polar Bears clearly played better today than they did against TU with a solid win over Whitman, but as I mentioned yesterday, Bowdoin can't get in holes in doubles because they don't have enough players to dig their way out against top 15 teams. Pena is not in his freshman year form, as he is losing matches at 3. If he's not a strong 2, this team is nothing special. Sullivan has won all of his matches, but 1 player is only going to take you so far. I like Bowdoin around #15 or 16 right now the way they are playing and that may not be high enough to get them in the tournament. They actually don't play Redlands this year but have some other big matches coming up. This has been a crazy season and Whitman has been in the middle of all of it. After their results the past 2 days, I think they may have just caught an unprepared and downtrodden Trinity team on Saturday, because I'm not too impressed with them. The same Tyler team they lost to also lost to Rhodes and Cal Lu and got destroyed by PP today. Whitman had an opening to get themselves very highly ranked, but after a trip with huge swings, I think they probably go home where they started at about 18th. The glimmer of light was there but they couldn't take advantage of it. I really like this program and that's disappointing to see, but they may very well find themselves in California for regionals again. They finish against Cal Lu tomorrow which is a match I think they can win.

Whitman-Cal Lu occurs tomorrow along with Bowdoin-Skidmore and Amherst-Redlands. I'm really looking forward to seeing Skidmore play a top team because I think they are very tough this year. This will be a good test for both teams, but more pressure is on Bowdoin due to Pool C hanging over them. That match headlines tomorrow for me. Given Redlands performance against Emory and Cruz, I don't think tomorrow's result against Amherst is in doubt. Herst can probably bring half their lineup and win comfortably, but the Verdieck Tennis Center is never an easy place to play. I like Redlands to put up a fight in doubles and possible get a match, but they probably fade after that against a more talented team. Lastly, Whitman-Cal Lu is a match of contrasting styles as we have depth against a top heavy team. Given the results over the past few days, this should be a very even match that can go either way. If Cal Lu wants to keep Pool C hopes alive, they need a win, and at the same time, Whitman wants to go home to Washington with a win as well.

A Wild Monday and Tuesday Thoughts

I want to attempt to go through a couple strings of matches that involve a lot of the teams that played today. Bear with me here because it may not make a ton of sense. I'm just trying to prove we have a lot of even teams and mayhem. Rhodes beat UT-Tyler who beat Whitman who beat Trinity (TX) who beat Cal Lutheran who beat UT-Tyler. Vassar lost to Swarthmore who lost to Whitman who lost to UT-Tyler who lost to Cal Lutheran who lost to Mary Washington who lost to Whittier who lost to Vassar.

That makes a ton of sense and it's still early in March. After your top 8-10 teams, it seems as though the next 25 or so could all beat each other on any given day. Everything is situational right now and it's hard to make sense of it.

To begin today, I want to talk about Rhodes. This is a team who thought they were good last year, but never got it all together in doubles. They finished 3rd in their conference and gave DePauw a fairly tough time in the conference semis. At the moment, I definitely expect to see them ranked on Thursday and as crazy as this sounds, potentially in the top 20. The glitch with Rhodes is they play an incredibly soft schedule. Denison and Tyler were the only 2 decent teams they play this year, so I don't see how they can possibly be rewarded with a Pool C bid, especially given that Tyler also lost to Cal Lutheran who has had a rough year. That being said, watch out for them in the SCAC tournament. I think it's a great win for Rhodes to beat a Denison team that played down to the wire with Chicago. Again, I expect Rhodes to be ranked and I can honestly see them as high as 16 or 17 because the bottom line is they haven't lost a D3 match yet and they have an indirect win against Whitman who beat Trinity (TX). Realistically, I think they get ranked around 25, but you can make the case for them being higher. At the same time, Tyler's win today was huge for Cal Lu, who now has a glimmer of Pool C hope in my opinion. They did lose to Mary Wash, but after beating Tyler and playing a very tough 5-4 against a top 8 opponent in Kenyon, I like where they're at right now for all the bad things that have happened to them. Typical Kenyon performance just getting the job done and getting a W. That has been their style this year; no flashy victories just solid tennis and it's working for them. They should go home from California thrilled with their trip. The trend I'm seeing this year is teams aren't comfortable away from home. Cal Lutheran and Mary Washington are 2 completely different teams when they are at home. CLU just played 5-4 with Kenyon without their #1, who they had in a loss to Mary Washington. Playing 5-4 with Kenyon is something CMU, Chicago and Whitman all couldn't do.

Coach Northam's account of the Whitman-Tyler match is that his squad just got outplayed by the Patriots. That tells me that Tyler is clearly talented and should be ranked even after a rough start. In their defense, their #1 Josh Chavez didn't play when they lost to conference foe McMurry, who by the way is another team to pay attention to that could be ranked. Whitman plays Bowdoin tomorrow, who got spanked in doubles by Trinity today. Bowdoin is traditionally terrible in their opening match of the spring in doubles, which is understandable. A win tomorrow could really help them bounce back after today, but a loss to Whitman would not be good. I think it's okay that Bowdoin faltered today, just as long as they are able to rebound tomorrow. At the same time, Whitman should be hungry to get a win after they didn't have the Monday they wanted. I worry about Bowdoin's middle of the lineup, because I don't think they have enough firepower to consistently get 4 singles wins against good teams. If the Polar Bears doubles isn't clicking, they are in trouble. A lot depends on how beaten up Whitman is tomorrow because I expect a really close match.

That's only 1 of the 5 matches happening tomorrow and we have 2 teams on double duty. First, Denison continues their spring break and travels to Emory. The Big Red may able to hang in doubles if they play better than they did today but I expect them to win 1 match maximum against the hottest team in the country. I already discussed the Bowdoin-Whitman match briefly, but there are 2 other matches that have huge significance in this grouping of teams. We get to see Pomona-Pitzer after the Stag-Hen for the first time as they have a 2 match day taking on both UT-Tyler and Bowdoin. The Polar Bears will be looking for revenge after today and they get a crack at a Pomona-Pitzer team who is top 10 the the moment. If PP holds serve and wins both tomorrow, I think they enter Thursday's rankings in the single digits, probably a first for this program. That should be huge motivation for the Hens as they saw that Bowdoin is vulnerable and Tyler is dangerous, so they will be sure to be on their heels for that one. If PP comes together for the next 24 hours and comes out of tomorrow with 2 wins, they are top 10 in the country and pretty much home free in Pool C. Bowdoin obviously also has 2 matches. They too are competing for Pool C and it would not be good for them to lose both tomorrow. If they start spring break 0-3 with a loss to a Pool C competitor, they are in a hole because the truth is life just gets harder when they have to go home and play the NESCAC big 3 along with their huge rival Trinity (CT). The Polar Bears desperately need a win tomorrow and hopefully they got the rust off today. So we've got Emory-Denison, PomonaPitzer-Bowdoin, PomonaPitzer-Tyler and Whitman-Bowdoin.

The thing I'm most excited for tomorrow is the start of Amherst's season. They had a few matches today with split squads and a couple things stand out to me. First of all, I expected Andrew Jung to be back and he didn't play today. I think that makes them weaker, but they obviously are still very tough. The second thing is Austin Chafetz at the 4 position. I wonder if that's a move by Chris Garner in an attempt to counter Emory's top 2 players. That would be my first instinct. Either way, we will get a great feel for Herst tomorrow when they take on Trinity (TX). If I was Amherst I would have preferred that Trinity did well over the weekend so they aren't as hungry for a win. Trinity is still dangerous and they had to get some confidence after their win today against a potential top 15 team. Trinity has nothing to lose tomorrow, but I expect Amherst to be tough enough in singles to gut out a close 7-2 or 6-3 win. This would be a win that would completely turn Trinity's season around and I think they've got a shot. Amherst is a great team, but the first few matches transitioning indoors to outdoors are not easy. I'm looking forward to all tomorrow's action and hopefully we can sort all of this out tomorrow night after we have more information.

Thoughts on Other Saturday Results and Monday Preview

Besides the Stag-Hen, 4 other important matches occurred Saturday. Let me begin in the Northeast, where Bates and MIT faced off in a match of 2 solid teams who are hoping to crack the top 20 this year. I know the Bates squad thinks they've got a good team this year but MIT defended their home court and came away with a 5-4 win. This MIT squad is getting better and we could see them in the top 20 this year after last year's Sweet 16 performance. Bates desperately needed this win if they wanted to have any hope at a Pool C bid and now they will need to do some serious work and pull a few upsets in NESCAC play. Even if Bates wins at the top of the lineup they are in trouble and this showed as MIT took 3, 4 and 6 as well as 2 of the doubles matches. It's a shame to see Bates not able to come through but I just don't think they have enough players to field a team that's competitive with the best in the country. Next, we got our first look at the defending national champs as they had a convincing 8-1 against Brandeis. Brandeis hasn't been doing very well this year, but credit to Midd for beating a solid team convincingly. Midd has designed their schedule so they don't have many tough D3 matches in California and they will get a chance to develop their young team before facing a serious test. A good start for Midd, I don't think they could have asked for much more.

Working our way South we had a clash in Virginia between two programs that have been struggling. Mary Washington defeated Washington & Lee 6-3 in a match that was fairly close. UMW was able to pull out 2 3-setters as well as a 9-7 in doubles to get a desperately needed win. It's clear the Eagles are much more comfortable playing on the East coast. It's a shame to see the fall of W&L as they will most likely be out of the top 30 in the next rankings for the first time since I can remember. This team was top 15 as recently as 2008 and they just aren't doing what they need to be doing. They will probably win their conference but for as good as they used to be, this is terrible from W&L. And lastly, out West, Cruz dominated Redlands 8-1. This result really surprised me because Redlands played Emory tough on Thursday and I thought they would have a good showing here. Cruz is notoriously tough on their home courts and I'm sure they played great doubles to suck the life out of UR. Cruz also has to be pleased seeing CMS fall like they did. Redlands has to be careful with the rise of Pomona-Pitzer because the Bulldogs are far from a lock for the tournament. They are solid on paper, but they've got to string some wins together eventually and an 8-1 loss to Cruz isn't going to get it done. Well done by the Slugs and a good start to a tough next few weeks.

4 matches on the calendar taking place tomorrow, but only 1 of real significance in my opinion. The first match to mention will be Denison and Rhodes battling for what could be a spot in the top 30. Rhodes started the season by upsetting a solid UT-Tyler team and the Lynx have consistently been 3rd in their conference in recent years after Trinity (TX) and DePauw. Dension is coming off a near upset of Chicago in which the deciding match was 7-5 in the 3rd in favor of Chicago. If Denison wants to have any chance at an NCAA bid, they need this win and it will also help them to build confidence for an eventual showdown with Kenyon. Secondly, aforementioned UT-Tyler takes on Whitman in California. WC is fresh off a good SH Invite and UT-Tyler has really been struggling, falling not only to Cal Lu and Rhodes, but also to conference foe McMurry. They're hurting right now and aren't what they used to be, so I'll predict an easy win for Whitman. In the third match, Kenyon continues their spring break when they travel to Thousand Oaks to take on Cal Lutheran. With Cal Lu missing their top player, I like Kenyon to get a pretty easy win. This will be a nice cool down for Kenyon after a stressful weekend as they should win a comfortable 6-3 or 7-2. On the other hand, it will be a good test for Cal Lu to help them realize what they need to do to be competitive going forward.

The main event tomorrow will be a clash between 2 top 15 teams: Bowdoin and Trinity (TX). This will be Bowdoin's first match of the spring, and honestly I'm not too sure what to expect from them. Trinity (TX) is fresh off disappointment and I would assume they are still beaten up from a rough 2 days. 48 hours is not enough turnaround time to get a team completely healthy. This is a tough opener for Bowdoin, but as a Pool C team, they really need to be on their heels, especially after Trinity lost to both Whitman and PP. If Bowdoin loses tomorrow, and then Redlands beats PP, the Polar Bears could be in big trouble when it comes to making the tournament. I know it's tough to look that far ahead, but every match is important. I just don't trust Trinity at all right now, but a win tomorrow would at least show the country something. Likewise, Bowdoin can make a statement that they are a contender with a win tomorrow. I expect a competitive match and it's too hard to predict since I know little about this year's Bowdoin squad.

Two notes: If anyone is at the matches and will email me score updates, I will tweet them. I instantly get emails on my phone so the turnover time will be quick. I'm sure everyone who reads the blog would appreciate it. Secondly, I put the match calendar together a while ago and haven't looked to update it. If I missed any matches or if anyone knows of schedule changes, please email me and let me know. It's too much work to go through every team's schedule again and check everything.

Stag-Hen Analysis

Colin Egan, Emory

Vassar - A bit disappointed in their performance, but my conclusion is they just aren't that good this year. They are probably slightly weaker than last year's team who finished 28, so I just don't see them as top 30 material. They probably can beat Skidmore on a good day, but it will take a lot of work to get there. I really expect John Cox to instill a winning attitude in this program, but great things don't happen overnight.

Swarthmore - Not too much to say, but I'm happy to see them get a win on a big stage. They're still a decent team and after seeing them give Whitman a hard time and beat Vassar, they may be in the 30-40 range of teams this year. That's probably an improvement over the past 3 years which is a step in the right direction.

Trinity (TX) - I don't really know what to say. Trinity was beaten up with illness this weekend; I get that, but this morning was not good. I can understand a loss to P-P, especially given how the Hens did in their next 2 matches. Trinity is almost on Chicago's level when it comes to underachieving at the moment. In their defense, their California trip last year was a trainwreck and they ended up just fine at the end of the season, but they have to remember that there are only so many chances. They still have Amherst and Bowdoin on this trip and those are far from walks in the park. The point of doing well in the regular season is to give yourself an easy region in NCAAs (unless you're in California), or make NCAAs period. I can see Trinity losing to Bowdoin and Amherst, losing all 3 matches in their quad and then losing the conference final to DePauw on some fluke day. That means they probably miss the tournament. I picked this team 4th in the country pre-season, and the way they played the first month of the season, they're not even top 10. The talent is there, I don't doubt that, but they aren't where they need to be mentally or on the court. I still think they are extremely dangerous, potentially near the level of the top 3, if they put it all together. But me saying that and them actually doing it are 2 very different things.

Whitman - Not a good start for Whitman, but they got their big win against Trinity. To begin, the Kenyon match was closer than its 8-1 score, but Kenyon was better in tight situations, and I attribute that to the first month of the season. The Lords had another gear to go to and Whitman did not because the bottom line is warm up matches against teams in the NWC don't get you used to the level needed to beat a team like Kenyon. Whitman is obviously limited geographically and scheduling wise, but by the time they got into the groove of this tournament, look what they were able to do. This team reminds me a lot of DePauw; very hard working, plays good doubles and doesn't have a lot of flashy stars. Basically, a team like P-P who can be a thorn in Trinity's side because they have the doubles and depth to keep up with the Tigers as well as a great attitude on court. I've been on Whitman about beating a higher ranked team and they did it. They deserve this win and they'll be rewarded for it ranking wise. Depending on how results play out the next few days, Whitman will be top 15 in Thursday's rankings with top 12 also a possibility and #10 not out of the question. Even though they slipped in the match they were preparing for, they showed a ton of resiliency and for that they deserve a lot of respect. They may not be the most talented bunch but their hearts are as big as anyone.

Pomona-Pitzer - Emory won the tournament, but to me, the Hens were the top story this weekend. This is an experienced team that is well coached and I feel like Belletto's first several years as head coach have all lead to this year. He's taken what he has and made the most of it, and for that, this program deserves praise. I was on PP about not being able to get a big win, and they finally showed that they are the real deal. The most impressive thing is that they didn't go away after their Trinity win. They took more points from Emory than CMS did, and even though they lost the Kenyon match, they made a statement that they are a serious Pool C contender and a potential top 10 finisher this year. They are in great position to make the tournament now and will really have to mess up to not get a Pool C bid, especially if Trinity gets some wins later in the season. I was so impressed with this team this weekend and if they continue to get better, there's no reason they can't give CMS and Cruz a hard time. It's unfortunate they may not make it out of the California regional, but given how far this team has come, just making it should be a big accomplishment. I expect to see them top 10 in the next rankings.

Kenyon - The Lords continue to play top notch tennis and showed great mental toughness dominating Whitman in doubles and coming back from a 4-2 deficit against PP. Remember that this team lost 4 starters from a team that finished 12th last year and now they look like a solid top 10 contender. If that's not enough warrant for coaching staff of the year awards, I don't know what is. I am continually impressed by the 2011 Lords. I keep expecting them to slip and it doesn't happen. Interestingly enough, they are through the difficult part of their schedule and that means they have pretty much locked up a top seed in their NCAA regional. Given that they beat Denison, the only tough thing remaining is GLCAs where they see Case or Denison in the semis and then CMU or DePauw likely in the final. They've weathered the storm and done what they needed to do, and I can't say enough about how impressed I am that they successfully patched up the holes left by last year's graduating class. A fantastic tournament for Kenyon and I really am a believer in this team now.

CMS - I blame it on a bit of overconfidence. They absolutely crushed the #7 ranked team in the country and watched Emory struggling against a Pomona-Pitzer team that the Stags crush year after year. The Stag faithful will make the excuse that Robbie Erani didn't play (I'm assuming he's injured), but the bottom line is he wouldn't have won that match for CMS. As tough as CMS is and as much depth as they have, they were significantly weaker than Emory mentally. They didn't get outplayed or outcoached, they just didn't come through in the clutch. The good news is that's a fixable problem and it comes with experience. Playing NAIA teams is not the same as playing D3 matches, so in reality this was a great test for CMS to see where they stand and they will be ready for Amherst next weekend. It may have been good for them to get a wake up call like this, because they had been cruising so far this season. They get into the real heart of their schedule now, but they know they aren't the best team in the country. They train hard, but they need to do some re-evaluation if they want to win a national title. The talent is there and the match was closer than the 7-2 result, but they lost pretty badly in a match I know they expected to win.

Emory - The moment NCAAs ended last year, I was on the Emory bandwagon for the 2011 Eagles because I know the quarterfinals of NCAAs is not an acceptable result for this program. We haven't seen Herst yet, but Emory is the team to beat right now and has cemented themselves as #2 in the country and potentially #1. The Eagles came through where I thought they were vulnerable and I think it's great that they don't just count on their top guys to win matches. It was probably good for them to be pushed in that semi because it showed them that they need to play better doubles, and that's exactly what they did. Emory has designed their doubles lineup so their 3 team is a sort of insurance so that they don't get swept. They got a quick point in the final and took the pressure off the other 2 teams. I have absolutely no criticism of this team right now because I think they are not only talented, they have finally become focused and humble and are no longer the loud-mouth team that everyone used to hate. They will continue to be tested throughout the season and that's good for them, because I know how badly they want the national title back after a 4 year dry spell topped off by a particularly bitter defeat in 2010.

Stag-Hen Invitational Discussion

Alex Lane, CMS

After a year hiatus, the Stag-Hen Invitational is back for a 4th year. The field is always strong for this tournament and this year is no exception. 4 of the current Top 10 teams in the country will be competing along with 2 others also in the top 20. For those of you unfamiliar, CMS and Pomona-Pitzer co-host this event, as their courts are within walking distance of each other. They do a wonderful job with the event and it's a great opportunity for all participants to play in a beautiful location and play teams they normally wouldn't see. Let's take a look at this year's field.

CMS vs. Swarthmore
Kenyon vs. Whitman
Trinity (TX) vs. Pomona-Pitzer
Emory vs. Vassar

There are storylines involving every team competing and it's a lot of potential information to digest. Everyone has their eyes on a potential CMS-Emory final, but they both have a lot of work to do to get there. First, I'll discuss the bottom 2 seeds. Swarthmore is a program that is lost right now. It seems like a long time ago, but they qualified for Indoors as recently as 2007. After that, we haven't heard from them. The Garnet are in danger of dropping down to 4th in their conference this year with F&M and Haverford being solid programs. It's unfortunate to see the sudden downfall of a team that was once top notch, but they just aren't recruiting at a high enough level to keep up. With the academic draw of the school, one would think they should be a contender for the top 20 in the country. This isn't the case though and they are a heavy favorite to finish 8th in the tournament. With a little bit of restructuring and some good recruiting, Swarthmore could be back on the map as a national power, just like Amherst did a few years ago. For now, I see them getting crushed 3 times this weekend. Vassar may have a shot at winning 2 matches, but it's unlikely with the strength of the other 3 teams in the bottom half. I've talked about the Brewers a fair amount, and they are trying to establish themselves as a team that is ranked consistently. This is a good opportunity for them to get exposure against some teams outside of New England, but I think it's pretty clear they are 7th best team in this tournament.

The 3 through 6 teams may be a lot closer in ability than meets the eye. The other 2 matches highlight the first round and I would not be at all surprised if 1 of them ended in an upset. First, the co-host Pomona-Pitzer takes on Trinity (TX) in a match where both teams have something to prove. Trinity did not have a very good California swing last year so they are looking for some redemption and trying to prove that they are a top 5 team. Losing this match would not help that cause. As I've said, Trinity peaks late in the season, but I'm sure the Tigers feel they should finish at least 3rd in this tournament. PP is trying to finally break through and become a top 15 team so they can qualify for NCAAs. I don't think 2 SCIAC teams get Pool C bids this year, so therefore it's either the Hens or Redlands. PP is playing at home and with a lot of confidence right now, and if you look at the rest of their schedule, this is one of their best chances for an upset. PP can't come out nervous because I believe doubles is the strength of both teams. If the Tigers come out firing, they have the potential to break PP's spirit and walk away with an easy win. I expect an emotional, grinding match that results in a Trinity win. Pomona-Pitzer still doesn't have that signature win over the past couple years and because of that, I can't pick them against a team of this caliber. I think this will be the best quarterfinal.

In the 4-5 match, we have surprising Kenyon against Whitman. As far as what each team is trying to prove, see the previous paragraph. So far, I don't know if anyone not from Kenyon would have expected the Lords to be sitting at #7 in the country. They have played great tennis, and have certainly proved me wrong about their preseason ranking of 15. They are the favorite in this match and have been rock solid so far this season, but anything can happen. Similar to PP, Whitman is a team looking for a breakthrough. I often get on WC about how they falter against higher ranked teams. Although these 2 have several ranking spots between them, I think they have similar strengths and I expect a good match. A Whitman win could really throw the rankings into a tailspin since Kenyon stands at #7. Whitman has been looking for their ticket out of the California regional, and this may very well be their only opportunity to do that this season. If they win this match, they probably find themselves in the top 10 in the country and may head home with only their conference matches left to play. It's a big opportunity, but they have to really want it and rise to the occasion. These 2 played in the SH first round several years ago with Kenyon winning and beating CMS in the next round. I don't expect a repeat of that, but I do expect Kenyon to win a fairly comfortable 6-3. If they play the way they played against CMU and Chicago, winning will take care of itself.

The structure of this tournament has the semifinals on Friday afternoon directly after the quarters. As if CMS and Emory needed an advantage. Not only are they the better teams, but they will have much easier quarterfinals than their opponents. I don't foresee CMS having any problem with either Kenyon or Whitman, and I think at worst they come away with a 6-3 win. They may use their depth and rest some of their starters in the morning match. The bottom half semifinal could be a little trickier for Emory. When I say I thought Trinity had the best doubles lineup in the country, I didn't just make it up. They didn't play well at Indoors, but everyone, including Browning and his team, know that the Tigers are dangerous. The Trinity team crushed the Emory team in the fall and Trinity also has the best 2 team in the country. Emory is vulnerable in doubles as Wash U showed in Indoors and even though a Pottish/Egan combo looks great on paper, Trinity may be just as good at 3. The bottom line is the Tigers need a doubles sweep to win. Fitness will be an issue and because of that, I like Emory to win 6-3. Trinity matches up well with the Eagles and can win, but they'd need a massive effort from the bottom of their singles lineup and in doubles.

In the final round, I expect Whitman and Pomona-Pitzer for 5th, Trinity and Kenyon for 3rd and Emory and CMS for the title. In the 5th place match, this is more important for PP than it is for Whitman. PP is competing for a Pool C bid and this is not a match they can afford to lose because it would be a dagger in the heart to their tournament chances. Whitman won a hard fought match last year so PP is looking for some revenge, but it may come down to who is less deflated after losing a winnable 1st round match. I like Pomona on their home courts, but I expect a very close result. The Hens will realize that they need it more and by the 3rd match of the tournament I don't think either team will be nervous or anxious. Again, this would be a nice win for Whitman, but it is absolutely crucial for PP. The 3rd place match is a no brainer on paper. These 2 met in last year's Sweet 16 with Trinity winning 5-2. Trinity has their whole team back and Kenyon lost 4 starters. However, as I've said, Kenyon is playing at a much higher level than anyone expected so I expect them to give the Tigers a very hard time. I think Trinity will have a bit too much, but conditioning could play a role. Kenyon may not spend a ton of energy in a loss to CMS, but Trinity could have a long one with Emory. I like the Tigers to win 5-4 or 6-3, but I've underestimated Kenyon this whole season and I'm aware I may be doing it again.

The probable final and biggest match of the season to this point should be Emory and CMS. It's interesting that all 3 of the top teams in the country come into this year with a chip on their shoulder. Amherst got crushed in 2 consecutive national finals, Emory blew a 3-0 lead in last year's NCAA quarters and CMS blew 7 match points to send them to the national final. All of these teams are hungry to prove something and I think they are all very focused. These 2 have contrasting styles as Emory possesses an amazing top of the lineup and CMS has unmatched depth. I am sure that Alex Lane is a great player, but I can't pick against Pottish at the moment. I don't think CMS has anyone who can compete with Chris Goodwin at #2 and that forces CMS to win 5 of the 7 remaining matches. For the Stags to win, I think they may need a doubles sweep. Colin Egan is a clutch #3 and the Eagles have a hidden gem in Nick Szczurek who may be one of the best 4s in the country. I see Emory potentially taking the top 4 spots. If they can put a point on the board in doubles, I really like Emory's chances in this. That being said, Wash U showed that Emory is quite vulnerable in doubles, and with CMS playing on their home courts, a doubles sweep is very possible. The Stags should have the edge at the bottom of the lineup, but I'm picking Emory 5-4 in this match. I believe Browning has his guys very focused and fit after last year's disappointment, and it's just too tough to deal with the top 2 players in the country. CMS can win this match, but I'm impressed with the top two thirds of Emory's lineup and I think it's enough to get them a win on the road.

2011 Team Preview #16: Whitman

Chris Bailey

Coach: Jeff Northam, 17th Season
Location: Walla Walla, Washington
Conference: Northwest
2008 Ranking: 20
2009 Ranking: 24
2010 Ranking: 19
2011 Projected: 18

Each year if you take a look at the rankings, there are typically 3 tiers of teams in the top 25. You have your elite teams, usually top 7-10, the second tier who can all beat each other on any given day, and then everyone else. Whitman is always one of the best in that third tier. Their problem has been when they step up to that 2nd tier, they get beaten pretty badly. Two years ago, they had matches against DePauw and Chicago and lost both. Last year, they played Redlands and didn't really show up in a 7-2 loss. A goal I'd set for Whitman this year is to try to break into that 2nd tier. As I have things right now, I consider them the #1 team in the 3rd tier and they certainly will have opportunities this year. There are 2 very significant matches on their schedule, those being against Kenyon and Bowdoin. I consider the Kenyon match the biggest of the season for Whitman, because I think Whitman could match up well against the vulnerable Lords this year. Whitman somehow has to figure out how to avoid the California region in NCAAs, because everyone, including them, knows they don't have a chance there. To me, Whitman's ticket out is to win as many matches as possible this season. Try to break the top 15 and get as high as possible prior to NCAAs. I think the better they do, the better the chance they can get sent elsewhere, and Whitman can certainly give some of the lower #1 seeds a hard time. Whitman has restrictions on their match scheduling due to location and conference requirements, so there certainly is more pressure to perform when they do get a crack at a top team. Coach Northam does a fantastic job and really maximizes the talent that he has. He has made this program into one of those teams you don't want to play and they are very consistent every year. You just know that they are going to win their conference and be in the top 25 every year and that's something that can't be said for a lot of other programs who are lower in the rankings. Whitman has experienced players in Etienne Moshevich and Chris Bailey who are both very tough if they are healthy, and they also have one of the best freshmen in the country in Andrew La Cava. He is the best recruit ever to attend Whitman and maybe he can attract more top talent to Washington. The goals for 2011 are simple: win the conference, break into that 2nd tier and avoid California in NCAAs.

2 Weekend Results

2 Top 20 D3 teams were in action yesterday, with both losing to D1 opponents.

Eastern Washington d. Whitman 7-0

Whitman has high expectations for themselves this season, but after this result it seems depth may certainly be an issue. 3 and 4 may be their strongest spots and if they can't get wins there they are in trouble. I'm sure this D1 team is quite good and I'm looking forward to reading Coach Northam's take on the match.

University of Illinois-Chicago d. Chicago 5-2

Although it didn't turn out badly, I expected Chicago to do better in this match. Stefanski didn't play in singles which I found odd, and I also expected Golovin to really be a good #2 for the Maroons this year after a great fall tournament. I'm sure Chicago isn't in top form at the moment, but they should realize they have work to do after this result.

Regional Preview: CMS

I have a vision for D3 tennis that someday all the regionals will have equally distributed strength. But until that day comes, we have #3, #4, #6 and #22 in the country in a 4-team region. I thought that it may be possible for Whitman to avoid this region because UT-Tyler may get sent here. This didn't happen and unfortunately for Whitman they have to take on the host Stags in the 1st round. If they play flawless doubles, I think it's possible they could get a match but I'm going with CMS in a fairly close 5-0. Whitman is no pushover and as I said a few weeks ago, they could give some of the lower top seeds trouble. The Stags are too tough on their home court and should advance to the regional final. The other regional semi is a rematch of the regular season and a match that one should be seeing in the Final 8, not the round of 32. Both of these teams are interesting cases. Cruz had pretty much no expectations on their shoulders entering this year and they end up winning Indoors. They are #1 in the country and have a stretch where they lost 5-4, 8-1, 8-1 to CLU, CMS and Midd. They followed it up by beating Whitman and Redlands, but after this stretch of matches, no one took them seriously anymore as a national title contender. Pybas won Ojai, but some top competition was missing. I would be surprised if Cruz doesn't come out swinging in their 1st round match, especially since they know CLU swept them in doubles during the regular season. If you remember the Indoors final, Cruz swept Wash U in doubles losing only 11 games. They have that potential to just turn it on and they will need it this weekend.

CLU is also an interesting case. They were the talk of the country from Mid-February until the end of March, but since then we haven't heard from them. Giuffrida looked like one of the best players in the country but he recently lost to the #5 from CMS. They have a 7-2 win against Amherst as well as several other great wins, but they were all over a month ago. I don't know what to make of this team right now but I also think they will be ready to play. They've lost to CMS twice on their home court but the important thing for both teams is to focus on their first round. It's quite hard to predict who's going to win this round of 32 match. If I had to guess, I'll go with CLU just because I think their chances at the top 2 singles spots. Take 1 doubles, and the top 2 singles spots as the most important lines in this match. Whoever gets 2 of those 3 will win.

CLU beat Amherst 7-2. Amherst beat CMS 6-3. Amherst also just lost to Williams at home. I think most of the country is automatically putting the Stags in the Final 8, and I think that is a poor assumption. They are my favorite to win this region, but they are going to have to come up with some great tennis to do it. They beat CLU 6-3 twice and both of them were at home. They also absolutely dominated Cruz at home winning all 6 singles in straights. I don't think CMS will lose, but if they come out and have a bad day in doubles, it can happen. Their middle of the lineup is really solid and I think those 3 through 5 guys as well as 2 and 3 doubles propel them to victory in this region. I think both CLU and Cruz would have to sweep doubles to win.

Tuesday March 23rd

UPDATE: Not sure how I missed this on the calendar but Trinity (CT) plays at Cal Lutheran tomorrow. This will be the last test for the Kingsmen before CMS. CLU matches up well with Trinity (CT), and since they are both top heavy teams I don't think CLU will struggle too much, especially since Trinity (CT) won't really be used to the outdoor conditions. I think the Bantams have a decent shot at the 3 and 4 singles spots but other than that, they're in trouble.

Just a brief Tuesday preview. We have 3 important matches set to take place, all in the West. Whitman looks to carry their momentum from the Pomona-Pitzer win into Redlands. At this moment in time, Whitman is probably ranked higher than Redlands but I think these teams are even. They both play good doubles and have deep lineups. However, I think Whitman has the advantage at the top of the lineup and I'm guessing this will push them to victory. The Bulldogs need to be ahead after doubles if they want to have a chance. Bowdoin travels to CMS for the Stags second NESCAC opponent in a row. I think CMS should win fairly comfortably, but I also thought that about the Amherst match. CMS needs to get back on track after that tough loss and this match would certainly help. At the same time, an upset would greatly enhance Bowdoin's NCAA chances so they should be hungry for a win.

The biggest match of the day is Middlebury vs Santa Cruz. Cruz doesn't want to lose 2 matches in 4 days but Midd is one of the most talented teams in the country. There should be some real heavyweight matches at the top of the lineup. What Midd can't afford is to get swept in doubles. They have been questionable in doubles early in the season in previous years. Cruz will be hungry for a win, but if they lose they could find themselves back to #3 in the country. I'm expecting a Midd win in a very tight match but if Cruz plays great doubles I think they could win. If UCSC isn't up at least 2-1 after dubs they don't have a chance.

Weekend Recap: March 19-21

Dillon Pottish, Emory

There was a ton of action and a lot of drama this weekend. We learned a lot about many teams and obviously the headliner was the #1 team in the country fell. I'll start with the Atlantic South Region matches.

The morning match was a lopsided affair where NC Wesleyan absolutely dominated Mary Wash. I expected a better performance from the Eagles, but a great job by the Bishops to turn things around in doubles after dropping 2 to W&L. This is just a rebuilding year for Mary Wash, I don't know if there's anything else to say. At this point I see their Redlands win as a fluke after they swept the doubles. This is the only win that is keeping them afloat right now and if they aren't careful they will lose to Salisbury this year. NC Wesleyan looked like a top 10 team for a few hours before getting beaten by Hopkins 8-1. I expected a closer match, but Hopkins won a 9-7 in doubles as well as all 3 3-setters. This was closer than the score but it was still 8-1 and I think it woke NCW up. It showed them that they aren't ready to compete with the best in the country just yet. They have a good shot to knock off a vulnerable Williams team Thursday. I think we've seen that NCW is a little up and down so far this season. A good showing by Hopkins establishing their dominance as #2 in the AS region behind Emory who had a convincing win over DePauw on Saturday. The Eagles went from dropping 2 of 3 doubles at Indoors to sweeping DePauw. A 7-2 result is about what I expected.

The other 4 matches on Saturday took place in the West. Redlands jumped out to an expected doubles lead against Bowdoin but then proceeded to falter in singles. The Bulldogs just don't have anyone who can win near the top of the lineup and their depth isn't good enough to carry them. They are pretty much out of NCAAs this year unless they pull a huge upset. This has to be the first time in a while they miss the tournament. Bowdoin got a much needed victory but they are still playing without Oscar Pena. They face a must win situation early this week when they play Trinity (CT). If they lose, they can count themselves out of the tournament this year as well. Whitman defeated Pomona-Pitzer in a very close match with 4 3-setters. The difference was Whitman winning in the middle. The Squirrels are a tough team this year. If they don't get stuck in Cali for NCAAs, I think they could definitely pose a threat to a top seed in their region. They have a lot of experience and are solid everywhere. They pushed Cruz to a 6-3 match on Sunday which is an improvement from their result 6 weeks ago.

The 2 biggest surprises of the weekend involved the 3 top teams in the West. Amherst rebounded after getting spanked by CLU and beat a CMS team who looked very tough in their first few matches. CMS may have been overconfident going into this matches but I'm very surprised they were beaten at the top 4 singles spots. A good showing by Herst to get them back on track heading into NESCAC play. CMS needs to regroup and get ready for some upcoming tests including the new #1 team in the country, Cal Lutheran. I was getting updates from the match and I was told Cruz was not sharp in doubles. CLU took advantage of this and took the 3-0 lead to basically end the match. Despite the 5-4 score, it was clinched at 5-1. Giuffrida and Ballou both have individual records of 24-0 right now and they are the best doubles team as well as the best 1-2 punch in the country at this moment. CLU is not just beating these opponents, they are winning comfortably. I love the fact that a team who was supposed to be #25 in the country is now ranked #1. Just goes to show what hard work and confidence can do for a team. Cruz had no expectations at Indoors and played loose tennis to win it. Now that they were expected to win, they folded. CLU plays CMS on April 10th and I think they are well on their way to undefeated regular season. Crazy to say it, but at the moment they are the favorite for nationals.

Weekend Thoughts Feb 12-14

A few observations and then Wash U-Chicago thoughts...

-Redlands had two matches. Reading and Hammond were both nowhere to be found. They had a lot of new guys in their lineup so I was surprised by this.

-Trinity (TX) took my advice and picked up their singles play a little bit. They lost 5-4 to the #1 JuCo school, which I feel is a very strong result for the Tigers and good to see for them going forward.

-Christopher Newport is a team to watch this year after seeing their lineup this weekend. Heyer at #4 singles is very tough and they could actually pose a threat to NC Wesleyan in the USA South.

-CMU had a good win over a ranked D2 team sweeping doubles which is promising for them going into this weekend.

-CMS was excellent at the top of the lineup against the #5 D2 school. I was very impressed by Erani and Lim. A great start to the year for those two.

-Whitman barely snuck by Pacific Lutheran. Take nothing away from PLU, but I expected a bit more from Whitman. After this match, I'm actually less impressed with Santa Cruz, because PLU was also able to take 2 of the doubles from Whitman, actually in more dominating fashion than Cruz.

I was shocked at Wash U's result with Case Western on Saturday. It was actually a pretty close 8-1. I thought the Bears may have just underestimated them and weren't ready to play, getting out some early season jitters. I was on target with the doubles results in the Wash U-Chicago match, but the singles was a shocker. This was an extremely close 5-4 which Wash U could have easily lost. I thought Woods could be the best 4 in the country but he lost, and Levy certainly is not back to his old form. If the Bears don't raise their level, they will lose to Hopkins. I can understand Putterman losing, but Chicago's 3 was also a freshman so that has to be alarming for the Bears as well. The other possibility is that I am really underestimating Chicago this year. They could be quite a bit stronger with 4 new guys in their starting lineup from last year including a new 2-3-4. My guess is they played very well and Wash U wasn't on top of their game. I'll be interested to see how the Bears respond because they barely got by on Sunday.

Season Preview #30: Whitman

General Team Discussion - Whitman had a great 2007 campaign finishing around 15 in the country but they haven't been able to find that level since. They have been hovering in the 22-28 range given their results this year it doesn't look like they will be able to break the top 20. This is one of the only teams who has played 2 big D3 matches so far with a loss to Cruz and a 5-4 against Pacific Lutheran today in a nailbiter. Looking at Whitman's lineup I think they should be better than they are, but they are struggling so far this season. They aren't traditionally a slow starter so maybe this team isn't as strong as it seems. After a semester at Boise State, I expected Matt Solomon to come back as a top 10 player in D3. I think he needs to be absolutely dominant if Whitman wants to have a chance at top 20. They play mostly in-conference matches but will get a shot at a few other top D3 teams later in the season. This is a strong program with a rich history and they will certainly be a fixture in the top 30 for the entire season, but I'm not sure how much more they can do after that. This team has a lot of experience so I certainly wouldn't want to see them in NCAAs. A lot of their success will depend upon where they are sent for NCAAs.

Where They'll Win - The top of the lineup is the clear strength in my opinion. I said I expect Solomon to improve throughout the season and be an NCAA qualifier in the West. Moshevich was a solid #1 last year so I also expect big things out of him in the #2 spot. Both of these guys have had nagging injuries so a lot depends upon their health. Tolman is probably one of the top 15 freshmen in the country and he needs to step up in the middle of the lineup. #1 doubles is a potential strong suit as well as #2, but I feel like Whitman's doubles struggles a bit with consistency.

Where They'll Lose - Their bottom guys have a lot of experience and this will certainly help, but I think they will have trouble matching up with top 20 teams in the bottom of the lineup and this is where they fall short. They played Cruz fairly tough in the bottom so that was a good sign. All of their doubles spots are really a question mark in my mind. They won #3 dubs against Cruz so that was impressive and the top 2 lost close ones. But if they get on a neutral court, this could be a different story without the energy from a large crowd.

Schedule Analysis - The majority of their schedule is filled with conference matches since the rule is that they have to play everyone twice. The only time we will really get to see them in action is when they travel to California. They play at Cruz and at Redlands and they will probably lose these two. The two matches I have my eye on this season are Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Lu. I think these two will be the best indication of how good they are. Today shows they will have a battle with PLU in the conference final so they have to be ready to play to qualify for NCAAs.

Weekend Thoughts

I'm going to share a few thoughts mostly about Cruz-Whitman but I'll also touch on the Kenyon and Chicago matches to begin.

We've seen Chicago a good bit this season and this result was fairly in line with their first few matches. I found one thing a bit odd about this match. Granted, I don't know UIC's team at all since it is comprised of mostly foreigners, but Chicago won the spots in singles where they are supposed to be weak, and lost where they are supposed to be strong. The question was how much Alexander and Pawa would add to the team and they certainly made great strides with a win this weekend. However those two did drop the deciding doubles point. I'm assuming UIC is the quality of a team ranked about 10-12 in D3 judging by the scores of the match. Chicago's 5 and 6 need to win, or at least pick up their play if they want to have any shot at Wash U.

Kenyon played a tough Toledo team who's actually in a rebuilding year shown by their 7-0 loss to Xavier. I may be mistaken, but I believe Toledo typically flirts with the top 75 in D1. Kenyon hung around in doubles, but the Greenberg/Vandenberg combo lost another tiebreak (the first was to Amherst), and Kenyon surrendered the all important doubles point. My favorite Kenyon doubles team won their match comfortably. Kenyon's singles after their top 2 just aren't strong enough for them to be down 2-1 in doubles. If they aren't up in doubles in the semis of Indoors against Cruz or CMU, they are going to have a tough time winning. They switched up their singles lineup a bit from the fall. Greenberg lost a close one to what I assume was a very strong player and Piskacek came down from 5-0 in the 3rd to win. Vandenberg surprised me with a win at 3, and Polster should be one of the best in the country at 5. Overall, a pretty good performance from Kenyon, but they need to improve if they want a taste of the Final 4.

Saturday afternoon I said to myself that the Cruz-Whitman match had upset written all over it. Everything was perfect. An outdoor team coming indoors, having to deal with a hungry team who's under-appreciated playing in front of a big crowd. I even thought Whitman matched up well against the Slugs with Solomon being able to compete at the top. I also told myself I just didn't think Whitman could do it. I expected a 5-4 or 6-3. I stubbornly ignored the two team's box scores from the Lewis-Clark matches and said that Whitman would just play better. I think Whitman should be slightly disappointed with the result, but more importantly I think Cruz sent a message to the rest of the country. I read Coach Northam's blog praising his team, but I'm not praising my team when my star doubles combo blows a 7-5 lead to give Cruz the lead and more importantly turn the momentum of the match. If you are playing a better team than you, you have to take every chance you get and Whitman didn't do that. They got very unlucky with a Moshevich injury, I think they needed him to have a chance. As is they they pretty much got steamrolled in singles, winning only 2 sets. In those first 4 matches, I think they need 2 first sets to give themselves belief and they got 0. The Slugs were simply too good and frankly I'm impressed with their singles performance. If I'm the rest of the country, this is not the match I want to see from Cruz because they announced they are for real this year. Granted, Carnegie Mellon 1st rd of Indoors will just be a completely different level of talent than Whitman, but I am buying stock in Santa Cruz after this weekend.

Guest Article: Santa Cruz @ Whitman Match Preview

This is the first match of the year between two nationally ranked NCAA III teams. Defending NCAA III Champions UC Santa Cruz enter the weekend ranked #1 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and #10 on the d3tennis rankings. Host Whitman currently sits at #26 in the ITA rankings and #25 on the d3tennis rankings.

Any discussion of UC Santa Cruz starts with doubles. Last year at the NCAA National tournament the Slugs dominated the tournament by sweeping the doubles in every match. With the 9 point format a sweep in doubles almost always guarantees victory. Even though the Slugs graduated the majority of their 2009 NCAA Championship team they return doubles stand out Marc Vartabedian and talented lefty Brian Pybas rejoins the team. If they play together they could be one of the top doubles combinations in the nation. However in Santa Cruz’s opening matches against UC Davis and Santa Clara, Vartabedian didn't play and Pybas played #1 doubles with Capaul. The Slugs showed they are playing good doubles early in the season almost taking the doubles point from UC Davis. With Vartabedian in the line-up the Slugs doubles improves considerably. In singles Santa Cruz has experience and proven competitors in Pybas, Vartabedian and Chiba. Pybas is talented enough to hang with anyone in DIII. Vartabedian has been a proven winner on each of the past three Santa Cruz teams. And Chiba is a tough grinder who has experience playing key matches. Santa Cruz picked up two three-star freshmen in Koenig and Halabi both of whom lost in three sets against UC Davis. Also playing during their opening weekend were Aaron Morrill and Sam Rogers. Obviously Coach Hansen is a master at player development and it will be interesting to see how his young players progress.

Whitman enters the year hoping to climb back into the top 20 after a rough 2009 campaign. Last year the Fighting Squirrels were 24-5 with a pair of 7-2 losses to Chicago and Depauw, a 9-0 loss to Santa Cruz at the National Tournament and two DI losses (Idaho and Montana). Outside of conference play their best win was a 6-3 victory over Carleton. However 2010 looks to be a better year for Whitman. They return the nucleus of their team and immediately get help at the #1 spot with the return of senior Matt Solomon. Solomon played his junior year at Boise State University and helped the Broncos reach the round of 16 at the NCAA’s. Another nice addition for Whitman is three-star freshman Jeffrey Tolman. In the ITA Northwest Regional tournament Tolman proved a force reaching the finals before falling to Solomon in three sets. Having Solomon and Tolman playing at the top two pushes last year's #1 player Moshevich down a few spots in the line-up. Last year Moshevich proved a dangerous player having a match point on Will Zhang of Chicago before losing in three sets. A lot of Whitman's success depends on the health of Moshevich. If he is healthy Whitman has a good 1, 2, 3 punch. Rounding out the top 4 for Whitman should be junior Chris Bailey. Bailey has been a consistent player for Whitman and should have a better year playing #3 or #4.

Whitman has a pretty deep roster and any number of players could play in the five and six slots. Last year Adriel Borshanksy had good success at #6 winning against Depauw, Chicago and Carleton. They also return their #4 Nadeem Kassam, #5 Jake Cappel and #6 Quin Miller from last year's NCAA team.

The Whitman vs Santa Cruz match has some interesting subplots. As freshman, Pybas and Solomon played indoors at University of Puget Sound with Pybas winning 6-1, 6-4. How will Pybas respond to being out of competition for a year and how will Solomon play after a semester of DI tennis? Two years ago at Whitman, Chiba defeated Bailey 4-6, 6-4, 10-3. They could be headed for a rematch over the weekend. Also the Santa Cruz matches in Walla Walla (this will be their fifth time at Whitman in the past 10 years) are typically loud, rowdy affairs in front of large crowds. With seven seniors on their roster Whitman should have another large crowd pulling for them. Additionally Santa Cruz faces a pretty demanding schedule while in Walla Walla: Friday evening they play Lewis Clark State College (#20 NAIA), Saturday morning they take on DI University Idaho and later that night they play Whitman. How will the outdoor team fare indoors? And how will playing indoors prepare Santa Cruz for the upcoming National Indoors?

Live scoring for the match can be found at whitmantennis.blogspot.com. The match is set for Saturday at 9PM ET/6PM PT

Whitman Tennis Blog

Coach Northam of Whitman provides live updates of matches through Twitter on whitmantennis.blogspot.com

Also a lot of in-depth stuff about their team for those interested.

Chicago beats Whitman 7-2

Santa Cruz beats Middlebury 5-4

Gustavus defeats Pomona-Pitzer 8-1