Saturday, February 28, 2009
Live Updates from Salisbury vs. Hampden-Sydney
The Salisbury team is providing live updates from their match tomorrow against Hampden-Sydney. The updates can be found here.
Saturday Recap
Three important regional matches took place Saturday and we had 3 intriguing results. The day started with a marathon match between W&L and Salisbury. W&L was able to hold on for a 5-4 victory that came down to the last match. Salisbury looked like they were going to pull the upset for a while. We then had a dominating performance by Cal Lutheran against a tough Pomona-Pitzer team. Cal Lutheran is a sleeper this year and could knock off a good team on the right day. The day finished with another sleeper, Skidmore, dominating their Liberty League rival Vassar. This was a 9-0 victory, but the doubles were close.
We have some more interesting regional matchups happening tomorrow as well.
We have some more interesting regional matchups happening tomorrow as well.
Friday, February 27, 2009
#25 Pomona-Pitzer at Cal Lutheran Match Preview
1. Taylor/Singh vs. Wetterholm/Hunt
2. Friedman/Meyer vs. Lassila/Karsant
3. Bernard/Groth vs. Culpepper/Giuffrida
1. Tommy Meyer vs. Andrew Giuffrida
2. Cameron Taylor vs. Paul Wetterholm
3. Nick Tagliarino vs. Forrest Hunt
4. Uday Singh vs. Ryan Lassila
5. Alex Groth vs. John Karsant
6. Grant Friedman vs. Jordan Culpepper
A huge early season SCIAC match that has big time implications on the 20-30 range in the national rankings. We have two evenly matched teams all the way through the lineup. Predictions will be very difficult but I'll give it my best shot. Cal Lutheran is an overlooked team who took 2 of 3 doubles against CMS only three weeks ago. I have to give the edge in doubles to Cal Lutheran for that reason and I would expect them to win 2 of 3 on their homecourt with a sweep being possible. Pomona-Pitzer should quickly even things up in singles and I would expect them to win at the top 3 spots. After that things get interesting. The 4-5-6 matches will be very hard to predict. I would expect Pomona-Pitzer to win at least one of them resulting in a 5-4 victory for PP.
2. Friedman/Meyer vs. Lassila/Karsant
3. Bernard/Groth vs. Culpepper/Giuffrida
1. Tommy Meyer vs. Andrew Giuffrida
2. Cameron Taylor vs. Paul Wetterholm
3. Nick Tagliarino vs. Forrest Hunt
4. Uday Singh vs. Ryan Lassila
5. Alex Groth vs. John Karsant
6. Grant Friedman vs. Jordan Culpepper
A huge early season SCIAC match that has big time implications on the 20-30 range in the national rankings. We have two evenly matched teams all the way through the lineup. Predictions will be very difficult but I'll give it my best shot. Cal Lutheran is an overlooked team who took 2 of 3 doubles against CMS only three weeks ago. I have to give the edge in doubles to Cal Lutheran for that reason and I would expect them to win 2 of 3 on their homecourt with a sweep being possible. Pomona-Pitzer should quickly even things up in singles and I would expect them to win at the top 3 spots. After that things get interesting. The 4-5-6 matches will be very hard to predict. I would expect Pomona-Pitzer to win at least one of them resulting in a 5-4 victory for PP.
Salisbury at #20 Washington & Lee Match Preview
1. Burtzlaff/Thomas vs. Watson/McCardell
2. Barnas/Nottage vs. Gaffney/Meyers
3. Lupinetti/Robinson vs. Becht/Brooke
1. Scott Burtzlaff vs. Jamie McCardell
2. Evan Thomas vs. Jonathan Gaffney
3. David Lupinetti vs. Brett Meyers
4. Daniel Barnas vs. Jeremy Becht
5. Andrew Nottage vs. Ben Fass
6. Sasha Felikson vs. Michael Freeman
It's not until you take a closer look that you find out Salisbury actually has a pretty good chance here. They return 4 starters from last year's top 25 team to take on a W&L team who only returns 2 starters. Both of these teams have seen better days but they have to work with what they have this season. Both teams are known for good doubles and I would expect Washington & Lee to come out ahead 2-1. I like Salisbury's chances at 1 doubles. I think Salisbury has a good shot at both 1 and 2 singles and maybe 3 as well and they would definitely need all those spots if they want to win this match. You have to like Washington & Lee in the bottom half of the lineup at every spot. I would predict a 6-3 win for Washington & Lee on their home courts to solidify their spot in the top 25 for the time being.
2. Barnas/Nottage vs. Gaffney/Meyers
3. Lupinetti/Robinson vs. Becht/Brooke
1. Scott Burtzlaff vs. Jamie McCardell
2. Evan Thomas vs. Jonathan Gaffney
3. David Lupinetti vs. Brett Meyers
4. Daniel Barnas vs. Jeremy Becht
5. Andrew Nottage vs. Ben Fass
6. Sasha Felikson vs. Michael Freeman
It's not until you take a closer look that you find out Salisbury actually has a pretty good chance here. They return 4 starters from last year's top 25 team to take on a W&L team who only returns 2 starters. Both of these teams have seen better days but they have to work with what they have this season. Both teams are known for good doubles and I would expect Washington & Lee to come out ahead 2-1. I like Salisbury's chances at 1 doubles. I think Salisbury has a good shot at both 1 and 2 singles and maybe 3 as well and they would definitely need all those spots if they want to win this match. You have to like Washington & Lee in the bottom half of the lineup at every spot. I would predict a 6-3 win for Washington & Lee on their home courts to solidify their spot in the top 25 for the time being.
Interview with Ben Belletto, Head Coach of Pomona-Pitzer
I had a chance to talk with Coach Belletto about his team's upcoming match with Cal Lutheran as well as his program in general. He gave me some very good and comprehensive answers...
D3Tennis: How have you done against Cal Lutheran the past few years and what do you expect from them this year? Is this a big match for your team?
BB: We’ve gone back and forth with Cal Lu the past few years, though they got us last year. They’re a good program and I don’t think they always get the credit they deserve. Coach Gennette does a great job year in and year out. My team is very young. Typically we’ll have four freshmen in the starting lineup, so every match is a huge learning experience. I expect them to fight for every ball, every point. This is a big match for us, but every match is big. I don’t want to be one of those teams that plays up or down to their opponent. Our preparation and focus is the same regardless of opponent. I am very much looking forward to this weekend’s match.
D3Tennis: You split singles with Redlands in a 6-3 loss a few weeks ago. How did you feel about your team's effort and performance in that match?
BB: Against Redlands, we battled hard in singles. We were tight and nervous in doubles. It was our first match of the season, and right now we’re not as sharp as we need to be in dubs. At the same time, Redlands is a great team and they always play great doubles. In singles, even those matches we lost were competitive. We had a frosh in his first dual match of his career take the former Redlands #1 7-5 in the first; it’s a piece to build off of for sure. We will be a better team in all facets later this spring, but for what it was, we were competitive in that match.
D3Tennis: Why do you choose to play such a tough schedule? How do you feel this benefits your players?
BB: Well, first, it’s hard to say no. You have all of the best teams in the division and we have great facilities. We’ve been playing so many of these teams for so long that it becomes almost automatic. But the real reason is that we get better by playing the best. We become the best be competing with the best. I am lucky to be at a school that doesn’t measure my job security by wins and losses alone. I am driven by the processes of development and improvement. Looking at the past season, we had graduated 5 of our top 6 and were supposed to be in rebuilding mode. Cameron Taylor had played anywhere from 4-7 in our lineup in 2007. He improved because he faced great competition every day. From an admissions standpoint, Pomona is one of the toughest schools in the nation to get into. As a result, many of our guys have had less than extensive junior records. We are focused on development, and by playing such a tough schedule, we develop faster. At the end of the season, all of our guys know what it takes to be a championship team. Every year we are making this the best year in our program’s history. Every day, we have the opportunity to compete against the best.
D3Tennis: Obviously an NCAA bid will be tough to get this year with CMS in your conference. What are your team goals for the season?
BB: An NCAA bid will always be tough. That’s the way it goes, at least for now. Our team goals are always the same: Compete for a National Championship. We are always building and developing. We are always strengthening our foundation and developing our culture; always learning. I don’t get caught up in rankings and such, and I know how all of this works. In ‘07, we beat two of the five teams in the West regional, so there is much out of our control. We just go out every day and play. We play because we love tennis and love to compete. The NCAA part of it will take care of itself. Having CMS, Redlands, Cal Lu in our conference makes me a better, more dedicated coach. I wake up every morning burning to get out on the courts. We only focus on the matches in front of us, but we also know what it takes to get to Nationals. Can we beat CMS? I know how talented they are, but I’m a very competitive person and always believe I can win. I think that we CAN beat anyone on any given day. Whether we make that happen, I cannot say. We will do everything within our power to make that a reality. We have a very young team, and as the season progresses, so will they. Let’s take it one day at a time.
D3Tennis: What do you think it will take to get your team back to the top 20 in the country?
BB: D-III has become so deep and there are so many great programs out there, many of which we’ll never get the opportunity to compete against. Like I said before, we will focus on what we can control and let the rest take care of itself. We need to focus on getting better every day, and in the end, if there’s a little number next to our name, great. If not, we’ll move on. I work very hard to put us in a position to compete with the best in the country, but who doesn’t? Our guys work their tails off both in the classroom and on the courts. In the end, rankings mean very little in terms of the overall experience. I’ve had just as much of an incredible time coaching when we were unranked as when we were ranked. I love having the opportunity to win, to be the best. Right now, with the team that we have, and the group of guys we have, we have that opportunity. Our schedule is littered with opportunities.
Thanks a lot to Coach Belletto for taking the time to do this and check back later today for a preview of the Pomona-Pitzer at Cal Lutheran match tomorrow.
D3Tennis: How have you done against Cal Lutheran the past few years and what do you expect from them this year? Is this a big match for your team?
BB: We’ve gone back and forth with Cal Lu the past few years, though they got us last year. They’re a good program and I don’t think they always get the credit they deserve. Coach Gennette does a great job year in and year out. My team is very young. Typically we’ll have four freshmen in the starting lineup, so every match is a huge learning experience. I expect them to fight for every ball, every point. This is a big match for us, but every match is big. I don’t want to be one of those teams that plays up or down to their opponent. Our preparation and focus is the same regardless of opponent. I am very much looking forward to this weekend’s match.
D3Tennis: You split singles with Redlands in a 6-3 loss a few weeks ago. How did you feel about your team's effort and performance in that match?
BB: Against Redlands, we battled hard in singles. We were tight and nervous in doubles. It was our first match of the season, and right now we’re not as sharp as we need to be in dubs. At the same time, Redlands is a great team and they always play great doubles. In singles, even those matches we lost were competitive. We had a frosh in his first dual match of his career take the former Redlands #1 7-5 in the first; it’s a piece to build off of for sure. We will be a better team in all facets later this spring, but for what it was, we were competitive in that match.
D3Tennis: Why do you choose to play such a tough schedule? How do you feel this benefits your players?
BB: Well, first, it’s hard to say no. You have all of the best teams in the division and we have great facilities. We’ve been playing so many of these teams for so long that it becomes almost automatic. But the real reason is that we get better by playing the best. We become the best be competing with the best. I am lucky to be at a school that doesn’t measure my job security by wins and losses alone. I am driven by the processes of development and improvement. Looking at the past season, we had graduated 5 of our top 6 and were supposed to be in rebuilding mode. Cameron Taylor had played anywhere from 4-7 in our lineup in 2007. He improved because he faced great competition every day. From an admissions standpoint, Pomona is one of the toughest schools in the nation to get into. As a result, many of our guys have had less than extensive junior records. We are focused on development, and by playing such a tough schedule, we develop faster. At the end of the season, all of our guys know what it takes to be a championship team. Every year we are making this the best year in our program’s history. Every day, we have the opportunity to compete against the best.
D3Tennis: Obviously an NCAA bid will be tough to get this year with CMS in your conference. What are your team goals for the season?
BB: An NCAA bid will always be tough. That’s the way it goes, at least for now. Our team goals are always the same: Compete for a National Championship. We are always building and developing. We are always strengthening our foundation and developing our culture; always learning. I don’t get caught up in rankings and such, and I know how all of this works. In ‘07, we beat two of the five teams in the West regional, so there is much out of our control. We just go out every day and play. We play because we love tennis and love to compete. The NCAA part of it will take care of itself. Having CMS, Redlands, Cal Lu in our conference makes me a better, more dedicated coach. I wake up every morning burning to get out on the courts. We only focus on the matches in front of us, but we also know what it takes to get to Nationals. Can we beat CMS? I know how talented they are, but I’m a very competitive person and always believe I can win. I think that we CAN beat anyone on any given day. Whether we make that happen, I cannot say. We will do everything within our power to make that a reality. We have a very young team, and as the season progresses, so will they. Let’s take it one day at a time.
D3Tennis: What do you think it will take to get your team back to the top 20 in the country?
BB: D-III has become so deep and there are so many great programs out there, many of which we’ll never get the opportunity to compete against. Like I said before, we will focus on what we can control and let the rest take care of itself. We need to focus on getting better every day, and in the end, if there’s a little number next to our name, great. If not, we’ll move on. I work very hard to put us in a position to compete with the best in the country, but who doesn’t? Our guys work their tails off both in the classroom and on the courts. In the end, rankings mean very little in terms of the overall experience. I’ve had just as much of an incredible time coaching when we were unranked as when we were ranked. I love having the opportunity to win, to be the best. Right now, with the team that we have, and the group of guys we have, we have that opportunity. Our schedule is littered with opportunities.
Thanks a lot to Coach Belletto for taking the time to do this and check back later today for a preview of the Pomona-Pitzer at Cal Lutheran match tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Explanation of How Rankings Work
Many of you seem to be confused about how I do my rankings. I'll try to make this as simple as possible...
It's very early in the season, we really don't have a lot of results to use right now. Therefore, I have to put heavy consideration on the results I do have. Let me use the example of Amherst, Kenyon and UC Santa Cruz for argument's sake.
Amherst beat Kenyon in the Fall. Players were missing, people were sick, it was 5 months ago. The only thing that I care about when it comes to rankings is "Amherst beat Kenyon." If Kenyon wants to discount that match, they shouldn't have agreed to play it. There are no excuses, only results. I can't move Kenyon ahead of Amherst just because I feel like they are a better team. It doesn't work like that.
Someone just made a comment that Santa Cruz shouldn't be #9 in the rankings, they should be top 5. If that's the case, why don't you tell me who they should be ahead of? They can't be ahead of Kenyon. They can't be ahead of Gustavus. They certainly can't be ahead of Amherst because Amherst beat Kenyon who beat Santa Cruz. Maybe they should be ahead of CMS? Wait, CMS beat Gustavus and Gustavus beat Santa Cruz so that doesn't make sense either. My point is stop making ludicrous arguments based on bias or hunches and take a minute to just look at results. In a month, when people all start beating each other, then you can start making arguments for your teams to move. Right now, the top 9 are very clear cut.
It's very early in the season, we really don't have a lot of results to use right now. Therefore, I have to put heavy consideration on the results I do have. Let me use the example of Amherst, Kenyon and UC Santa Cruz for argument's sake.
Amherst beat Kenyon in the Fall. Players were missing, people were sick, it was 5 months ago. The only thing that I care about when it comes to rankings is "Amherst beat Kenyon." If Kenyon wants to discount that match, they shouldn't have agreed to play it. There are no excuses, only results. I can't move Kenyon ahead of Amherst just because I feel like they are a better team. It doesn't work like that.
Someone just made a comment that Santa Cruz shouldn't be #9 in the rankings, they should be top 5. If that's the case, why don't you tell me who they should be ahead of? They can't be ahead of Kenyon. They can't be ahead of Gustavus. They certainly can't be ahead of Amherst because Amherst beat Kenyon who beat Santa Cruz. Maybe they should be ahead of CMS? Wait, CMS beat Gustavus and Gustavus beat Santa Cruz so that doesn't make sense either. My point is stop making ludicrous arguments based on bias or hunches and take a minute to just look at results. In a month, when people all start beating each other, then you can start making arguments for your teams to move. Right now, the top 9 are very clear cut.
UC Santa Cruz blanks Redlands
UC Santa Cruz made a statement today that they are back after a disappointing weekend, defeating Redlands 9-0 without Jared Kamel playing. A link to the score can be found here...
http://collegetennisonline.com/Tennis/ScoreSheetResults.aspx?scseId=169088&tmId=2449
http://collegetennisonline.com/Tennis/ScoreSheetResults.aspx?scseId=169088&tmId=2449
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
#13 Redlands at #9 UC Santa Cruz Match Preview
Projected Lineups
1. Gendelman/Liberty-Point vs. Reading/Spearman
2. Kamel/Vartabedian vs Wong/Trippel
3. Mark-Griffin/Ortiz vs. Ouye/Fashouer
1. Max Liberty-Point vs. Michael Reading
2. Jared Kamel vs. Cameron Spearman
3. Ilya Gendelman vs. Aron Ouye
4. Max Ortiz vs. Matt Liebman
5. Colin Mark-Griffin vs. Chris Trippel
6. Marc Vartabedian vs. Keven Wong
I think the poll results so far are pretty accurate showing that Redlands most likely won't win more than 3 matches. This will be their first true test of the season. Redlands always plays good doubles but I don't know where they are going to win here. #3 doubles is the best chance for Redlands and they will need this to stay in the match. I think Redlands has a good chance at 3 and 4 singles, but after that I definitely like Santa Cruz in all the other matches. I think Santa Cruz should get back on track after a disappointing Indoors with a 6-3 or 7-2 win against Redlands at home.
1. Gendelman/Liberty-Point vs. Reading/Spearman
2. Kamel/Vartabedian vs Wong/Trippel
3. Mark-Griffin/Ortiz vs. Ouye/Fashouer
1. Max Liberty-Point vs. Michael Reading
2. Jared Kamel vs. Cameron Spearman
3. Ilya Gendelman vs. Aron Ouye
4. Max Ortiz vs. Matt Liebman
5. Colin Mark-Griffin vs. Chris Trippel
6. Marc Vartabedian vs. Keven Wong
I think the poll results so far are pretty accurate showing that Redlands most likely won't win more than 3 matches. This will be their first true test of the season. Redlands always plays good doubles but I don't know where they are going to win here. #3 doubles is the best chance for Redlands and they will need this to stay in the match. I think Redlands has a good chance at 3 and 4 singles, but after that I definitely like Santa Cruz in all the other matches. I think Santa Cruz should get back on track after a disappointing Indoors with a 6-3 or 7-2 win against Redlands at home.
D3tennis.com Team Rankings February 24, 2009
1. Emory
2. Wash U
3. CMS
4. Middlebury
5. Amherst
6. Kenyon
7. Williams
8. Gustavus
9. UC Santa Cruz
10. Bowdoin
11. Trinity (TX)
12. Mary Washington
13. Redlands
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Carnegie Mellon
16. Trinity (CT)
17. DePauw
18. UT-Tyler
19. Bates
20. Washington & Lee
21. Denison
22. Chicago
23. Whitman
24. Kalamazoo
25. Pomona-Pitzer
2. Wash U
3. CMS
4. Middlebury
5. Amherst
6. Kenyon
7. Williams
8. Gustavus
9. UC Santa Cruz
10. Bowdoin
11. Trinity (TX)
12. Mary Washington
13. Redlands
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Carnegie Mellon
16. Trinity (CT)
17. DePauw
18. UT-Tyler
19. Bates
20. Washington & Lee
21. Denison
22. Chicago
23. Whitman
24. Kalamazoo
25. Pomona-Pitzer
Monday, February 23, 2009
Overall National Indoors Recap
We learned a lot of things this past weekend that cleared up a lot of suspense. Most importantly, we learned that Emory is the new #1 in the country with Wash U coming in as a close second. CMS solidified their position as the 3rd best team in the country with tough victories over Gustavus and Kenyon. I'm going to look at each team now and a few things we learned about them this past weekend.
Wash U - We learned that Wash U most likely will not fall prey to lesser teams than them. They showed that they can play great doubles against Kenyon, but they have some work to do if they want to beat Emory. They are no doubt the 2nd best team in the country right now and I think they could potentially take down Emory but the circumstances have to be perfect. Watts made a statement this weekend that he is the best player in the country.
Trinity(TX) - Trinity was beaten 9-0 in their first two matches by two very good teams. With their dominant win over Mary Wash, they showed that they did belong at this tournament and most of us were underestimating them. They have a very young team but they won't quit. They won't be tested again until early April against Tyler, but they earned themselves a top 12 ranking until someone else proves they are more deserving. Max Frey could be a future star in D3.
Santa Cruz - They have to be disappointed with their 6th place finish. They really didn't lose anyone from last year's team who finished 4th in the nation and Hansen usually has his guys ready to play. They immediately went down 5-0 to Gustavus and blew big leads on more than one occasion against Kenyon. They will have to do some work if they want to get back in the top 5, but the good news is they get another shot at Kenyon in just a few weeks and on their home courts.
Kenyon- Have to love the effort from these guys in the first round but things went downhill after that. With 2 of the top 5 players in the country, this team has high expectations for themselves. Arguably the best #2 doubles team in the country last year just didn't show up this weekend. If Kenyon can figure out doubles they are tough, but they really need to get better to compete with Wash U and Emory. A 5 or 6 ranking is appropriate for them at this moment in time.
Gustavus - Although they didn't win Indoors, I think Gustavus proved that they are still a very good team. I'd say Kauss is top 5 in the country and GAC doubles is still excellent. They went 8-1 on the weekend in doubles, but they need to improve the bottom of singles to break into the top 5. I'm thinking that this team will hover in the 7-10 range in the rankings for most of the season. Overall, I think Gustavus has to be pleased with their performance this weekend.
CMS - The bigger story than CMS getting 3rd this weekend is losing Starr for the season and possibly the rest of his college tennis career. CMS is very deep, but he is not an easily replaced player. A bright note is that Erani showed that he is one of the best freshmen in the country and he's ready to move up and win at #2 singles. With Lim playing, they may have had a shot at beating Emory. Some tough upcoming weeks will show us what the Stags are really made of.
Mary Washington - What a horrible weekend for the Eagles. They went 0-9 in doubles and James and Loden just didn't step up this weekend. I have no doubt that this team will turn things around, but I'm shocked with their lack of effort especially in the 7th/8th match. They should be beating Trinity(TX), they have almost their whole team back from last year. They have to use their upcoming California matches to re-establish themselves as a top 10 team. They certainly didn't show that this weekend.
Emory - Emory proved this weekend that they are clearly the best team in the country. They have very good doubles followed by excellent singles. I would like to see this team play the Slugs from 2 years ago. I think it will take a lot to derail this team from a national title and an undefeated D3 season. Chris Goodwin is one of the best players in the country and he and Michael are an unbeatable combo at 1. Just a great performance from Emory and they showed everyone what they are capable of.
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