New ITA Team Rankings Released

New ITA Team Rankings were released today...

1.Gustavus Adolphus
2.UC Santa Cruz
3.Washington Univ. (MO)
4.Emory
5.Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
6.Middlebury
7.Trinity (TX)
8.Mary Washington
9.Williams
10.DePauw
11.Bowdoin
12.Kenyon
13.Amherst
14.Johns Hopkins
15.Redlands
16.Whitman
17.Carnegie Mellon
18. Univ. of Chicago
19.Kalamazoo
20.Christopher Newport
21.Tufts
22.Pacific Lutheran
23.Trinity (CT)
24.Rhodes
25.The College of New Jersey
26.Wisconsin Whitewater
27.Washington and Lee
28.Hardin Simmons
29.Univ. of the South (TN)
30.Pomona Pitzer


Several notes that I'd like to make, and I also welcome your opinions...

There are no truly significant differences between my team rankings and the ITA's list. It is tough not to give Gustavus the #1 ranking right now because they just won Indoors, but everyone, including them, knows that their homecourt is such a massive advantage. They are more realistically the 4th or 5th best team in the country in my opinion.

Santa Cruz then would move up to #1...but where is Pybas? Is he injured? Does anyone know?

Emory really hasn't proved a lot yet. It is still tough to say exactly how good they are. They will see DePauw and Amherst in a few weeks.

We will find out how good CMS is in the next 10 days.

It seems Williams was penalized, but they haven't started their season yet. They will be tested early.

I think Kenyon and Bowdoin are both stronger than DePauw, who is weak in comparison to other years. Both Kenyon and Bowdoin will be at StagHen and we could see a potential matchup for 3rd and 4th place between these two teams to decide who rounds out the top 10.

Whitman is over-ranked, there is no way they should be ahead of Carnegie and Chicago and even CNU for that matter. Their ranking is still riding on graduated seniors from last year.

Denison is the only team in my rankings not in the ITAs, they play W&L in 10 days and they played a tough 6-3 with a good Chicago team.

Whitewater will most likely be moving out of the rankings after their recent 7-2 loss to Coe.



My next rankings are set for March 13th/14th and it will include Team/Singles/Doubles.

Two New Upcoming Match Previews

#14 Redlands vs. #15 Carnegie Mellon (March 15)
#9 Mary Washington vs. #21 Washington & Lee (March 15)


I'll also try to have some post match feedback from coaches and players after CMS-UMW tomorrow. The Redlands-Mary Washington preview will be posted this Thursday.

Match Preview: #3 CMS vs #9 Mary Washington (March 5)

This match up of top 10 teams is the biggest match of the season so far with the exception of the indoors. Both teams are stacked with superstars at the top, but the match will most likely be decided at 4 through 6. I like CMS to win 2 of the doubles points, but singles can go either way. Mary Washington is perfectly capable of winning 4 or 5 singles matches, but so is CMS. The winner of this match will certainly gain a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. This is the first real D3 test for the Stags so we will see how they respond. I like CMS in this because of their homecourt advantage, but I would not at all be surprised if Mary Wash pulls this out 5-4.

Probable Starters:
1. #8 Wang/Schils (CMS) vs. #15 Loden/Murata (UMW)
2. Hough/MacColl (CMS) vs. #20 Goff/Parrish (UMW)
3. Starr/Lim (CMS) vs. James/Detweiler (UMW)

1. #7 Mikey Lim (CMS) vs. #9 John James (UMW)
2. #5 Lawrence Wang (CMS) vs. #13 Randy Loden (UMW)
3. #10 Michael Starr (CMS) vs. Evan Goff (UMW)
4. Eric MacColl (CMS) vs. Bryce Parrish (UMW)
5. Ben Hough (CMS) vs. Eddie Carver (UMW)
6. Drew Sabater (CMS) vs. Rob Emig (UMW)

Recent Scores and #1 Watts Upset

#12 DePauw d. #19 Kalamazoo 6-3, #24 TCNJ d. Skidmore 7-2

In the Wash U vs. Chicago dual match, #34 William Zhang of Chicago defeated the #1 ranked player in the country, John Watts. We will see in about 10 days how much of an effect this has on the next singles rankings

CMS-Mary Washington preview is coming later today. The match will be played at CMS on Wednesday.

Recent Scores

#1 Gustavus d. UW Eau-Claire 8-1, #1 Gustavus d. Bethel 9-0, #1 Gustavus d. Sioux Falls 9-0, #4 Washington d. Luther 8-1, #4 Washington d. #17 Chicago 6-3, Citadel d. #5 Emory 6-1, Charleston Southern d. #5 Emory 4-3, #8 Trinity d. McMurry 8-1, #8 Trinity d. Hardin-Simmons 9-0, #15 Carnegie Mellon d. Case Western 8-1, #17 Chicago d. Luther 8-1, #18 Christopher Newport d. NYU 7-2, #20 Whitman d. Pacific Lutheran 9-0, #20 Whitman d. Puget Sound 9-0, #21 Washington & Lee d. Virginia Wesleyan 9-0, #21 Washington & Lee d. Emory&Henry 9-0, #22 UW-Whitewater d. Grinnell 5-4, Coe d. #22 UW-Whitewater 7-2

Still waiting for scores to come in from some matches. Whitewater is the only ranked team that suffered an upset, Emory lost to D1 teams. Carleton College also has looked strong recently, look for them to potentially creep into the rankings along with Coe.

Match Preview: #12 DePauw vs. #19 Kalamazoo (March 2)

Kalamazoo has had a mixed start to a rebuilding season and DePauw is recently recovering from a 7th place showing at the national indoors. DePauw finished last year as the 6th ranked team in the country, but they will need to step it up if they want to get back into the top 8. This match could be a turning point for both teams' season. If Kalamazoo can pull this upset, they could gain confidence and continue their winning ways. If DePauw can win convincingly, they also can gain confidence going into some more difficult matches. Kalamazoo's strength is their doubles where they could have the edge, but DePauw is more solid throughout singles. Expect a fairly east win for DePauw.

Probable Starters:
1. #12 Keith/Swanson (D) vs. Brown/Jadun (K)
2. Heck/Sandager (D) vs. Wise/Boyd (K)
3. Schouweiler/Nash (D) vs. Unger/Hubbard (K)

1. #17 Kortney Keith (D) vs. Jason Brown (K)
2. Scott Swanson (D) vs. Cyrus Jadun (K)
3. #23 Bryan Heck (D) vs. Matt Wise (K)
4. Hunter Schouweiler (D) vs. Tim Hubbard (K)
5. Scott Sauer (D) vs. Patrick Boyd (K)
6. Will Gates (D) vs. Josh Rinaldi (K)

Match Preview: #4 Washington Univ. vs. #17 Univ. of Chicago (March 1)

This UAA battle should be an interesting match, particularly in the top and middle of the lineup as well as at 2 and 3 doubles. Wash U should prove to have too much firepower, but there is no reason Chicago can't squeak out 3 points. Watts and Cutler should win with a struggle at the top for the Bears, but Chicago should be very competitive at 3, 4, 5. Saltarelli had a win over Hoeland last season and that should be the matchup at 5. Wash U will be too much at 1 doubles, but 2 and 3 doubles could go Chicago's way if they are playing well. Wash U should win this fairly comfortably, but look for some competitive matches.

Probable Starters:
1. #3 Cutler/Hoeland (WU) vs. Brinker/Saltarelli (UC)
2. Watts/Stein (WU) vs. Zhang/Bakhutashvili (UC)
3. Woods/Choradia (WU) vs. Bonner/Sithian (UC)

1. #1 John Watts (WU) vs. #34 William Zhang (UC)
2. #22 Charlie Cutler (WU) vs. #45 Lado Bakhutashvili (UC)
3. Danny Levy (WU) vs. Tim Walsh (UC)
4. Max Woods (WU) vs. Garrett Brinker (UC)
5. Chris Hoeland (WU) vs. Steve Saltarelli (UC)
6. Isaac Stein (WU) vs. Mark Bonner (UC)

Match Previews

Match previews will be posted 2-3 days before the match. Here is a list of some upcoming previews that you can expect to see

March 1 - #4 Washington vs. #17 Chicago
March 2 - #12 DePauw vs. #19 Kalamazoo
March 5 - #3 CMS vs. #9 Mary Washington
March 8 - #9 Mary Washington vs. #14 Redlands
March 11 - #10 Bowdoin vs. #15 Carnegie Mellon
March 14 - StagHen Invitational
March 14 - #21 Washington & Lee vs. #23 Denison

More to come...keep checking

As well as match previews, I will also try to stay updated on all results that happen from key matchups and post them for your convenience.

Rankings, Wednesday Feb 27th, Team/Singles/Doubles

National Team Rankings
1. Gustavus Adolphus - A very impressive showing at the national indoors. Their doubles looks almost untouchable at the moment.
2. UC Santa Cruz - Granted they were missing Pybas, but still a good performance at the indoors, beating a tough Wash U team.
3. CMS - They decided to avoid the indoors, and they will have several big tests in the upcoming weeks. Starr is back again which good news for the Stags.
4. Wash U - A great win over Emory, but I'm sure it was a dissapointment to not win the Indoors. They won't really be tested for a while.
5. Emory - Their first loss to Wash U in a long time, but they were missing Lopp. They need to improve in doubles to win against top 5 teams.
6. Middlebury - They haven't started their season.
7. Williams - They haven't started their season.
8. Trinity (TX) - A solid 5th place showing at Indoors. They have some great doubles teams but need to step it up in singles against good teams.
9. Mary Washington - A good 1-2 punch and a good win over DePauw at Indoors. They are a very dangerous team if the bottom of their singles lineup is playing well.
10 Bowdoin - Haven't started their season yet.
11. Kenyon - Maybe the most impressive results of any team in the country so far. They will be tested in Cali. An 8-1 win over a very deep Carnegie team is remarkable.
12. DePauw - A dissapointing 7th place with their #4 seed. They need to step it up in singles and doubles to win the conference and get back in the top 8 in the country.
13. Johns Hopkins - An 8th place finish for an overmatched team. They are not deep enough to compete with the best in the country.
14. Redlands - A good win over Washington & Lee. They will be tested in the upcoming weeks. Very good doubles.
15. Carnegie Mellon - A good team who just needs to get it together. They can compete with the best, but they haven't shown it yet.
16. Amherst - Haven't started their season yet.
17. Chicago - A solid showing against Kenyon, but they don't have the players to compete with a top 10 team.
18. Christopher Newport - A very underrated team. They are deep and have solid players at the top, they could be dangerous for some Mid-Atlantic teams.
19. Kalamazoo - Maybe Coach Riley can recruit some superstars, but for right now they just aren't what they used to be.
20. Whitman - Took a big hit this year with loss of seniors. They are very good, but not when they leave the Pacific Northwest.
21. Washington & Lee - A dissapointing start to the season for the Generals. They need to rebound quickly if they want to contend, especially in doubles.
22. UW-Whitewater - A very good team that is underrated. They could make some noise and people may notice them if they give Gustavus a hard time.
23. Denison - A good Midwest team, but this year they are overmatched against their rivals Kenyon.
24. TCNJ - Haven't been tested yet, but they are not bad.
25. Trinity (CT) - Haven't started their season yet

National Singles Rankings
1. Watts, Wash U
2. Bryan, Gustavus
3. Greenberg, Kenyon
4. Kamel, UCSC
5. Wang, CMS
6. Greenberg, Williams
7. Lim, CMS
8. Maldow, Hopkins
9. James, UMW
10. Starr, CMS
11. Pybas, UCSC
12. Lerner, Amherst
13. Loden, UMW
14. Pelton, Hope
15. Kauss, Gustavus
16. Olson, Middlebury
17. Keith, DePauw
18. Boren, Emory
19. Gaines, Trinity (TX)
20. Ortiz, UCSC
21. Furr, Trinity (TX)
22. Cutler, Wash U
23. Heck, DePauw
24. Goodwin, Emory
25. Gates, Bowdoin
26. Feldman, Trinity (CT)
27. Klimchak, TCNJ
28. Bielawski, Wabash
29. Fletcher, Methodist
30. Mark-Griffin, UCSC
31. Nemerov, CMU
32. Marinkovic, Middlebury
33. Yook, Chapman
34. Zhang, Chicago
35. Wagar, Redlands
36. Polster, Kenyon
37. Borg, UW-Whitewater
38. Phillips, UT-Tyler
39. Lopp, Emory
40. Burdakin, Gustavus
41. Vayghan, St. Thomas
42. Stein, Bates
43. Sutton, Greensboro
44. Ross, Washington & Lee
45. Bakhutashvili, Chicago
46. Muliawan, CMU
47. Dunn, Mississippi
48. Liebman, Redlands
49. Tilton, Calvin
50. Solomon, Whitman


National Doubles
1. Marinkovic/Thomson, Middlebury
2. Kamel/Vartabedian, UCSC
3. Cutler/Hoeland, Wash U
4. Bryan/Paukert, Gustavus
5. Goodwin/Lopp, Emory
6. Cocanougher/Kowal, Trinity (TX)
7. Greenberg/Polster, Kenyon
8. Wang/Schils, CMS
9. Burdakin/Kauss, Gustavus
10. Pybas/Ortiz. UCSC
11. Buxbaum/Kinrade, Haverford
12. Keith/Swanson, DePauw
13. Lebedoff/Simonette, Williams
14. Gaines/Desantis, Trinity (TX)
15. Loden/Murata, UMW
16. Glidewell/Mook, CNU
17. Stein/Rupasinghe, Bates
18. Wagar/Cook, Redlands
19. Gates/Sullivan/ Bowdoin
20. Goff/Parrish, UMW
21. Borg/Lowe, UW-Whitewater
22. Furr/Tran, Trinity (TX)
23. Hansen/Tomasek, Gustavus
24. Ehlers/Caplan, Emory
25. Olian/Taylor, Pomona


Next Anticipated Ranking Date: March 14

WELCOME BACK!!

I apologize for this absence over the fall. I was very busy with job and traveling and I decided it was not worth it to try to keep up the previews. I'm sorry to those of you who did not get previews done.

Now that the season is in full swing, I will put the site back up and keep blogging several times per week. I'll start with some rankings for T/S/D as well as some upcoming match previews. There are a lot of big matchups that are coming up, so keep checking the site often. Also, I will try to do a big article on each school's recruiting class in the upcoming weeks.

Once again sorry for the absence and let's try to get some interaction on the message boards.