We have an interesting week ahead of us highlighted by the beginning of Amherst's spring season and topped off with an Emory-Kenyon match at the end of the week. Amherst begins with Cal Lutheran who is a very dangerous team. They have the potential to give Amherst a run for their money if the Jeffs aren't sharp. The following day, Amherst takes on a very intense Redlands team who is looking to solidify a place in the top 10 with an upset. This is definitely a match to keep an eye on.
Overshadowed a little bit by Amherst, Trinity (CT) will also begin their season. They were a darkhorse last year and they are hoping to make more noise this upcoming season. Their match against Bowdoin is another one to keep an eye on. These two teams and CMS will collide in the Stag-Hen Invitational at the end of the week. The field is weaker than past years but a potential final between Amherst and CMS could mean some great action.
Over the weekend, three important matches will also be taking place. CMU has two tough ones coming off their California swing. I would expect them to beat W&L but their match with Hopkins will definitely be a tight one. This will be the first real D3 test for Hopkins and JHU could be considered the #1 sleeper this year looking to crack the top 10. They will need to respond well on Sunday. The #1 ranked Emory Eagles will host Kenyon on Saturday. The Lords had two poor results in California and they are now getting an opportunity to dethrone the best team in the country. Emory should be too much in this match and if Kenyon doesn't bring their best stuff this could be a blowout.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Schedule for the Week 3/16-3/22
Monday: 1 match
Tuesday: Team Rankings, ITA Rankings, 3 matches
Wednesday: 3 matches, Salisbury at Cal Lutheran Preview
Thursday: Salisbury at Cal Lutheran, Kenyon at Emory Preview
Friday: Regional Individual Rankings and Stag-Hen Invitational Day 1, CMU at W&L Preview
Saturday: 2 matches and Stag-Hen Day 2
Sunday: 2 matches
Tuesday: Team Rankings, ITA Rankings, 3 matches
Wednesday: 3 matches, Salisbury at Cal Lutheran Preview
Thursday: Salisbury at Cal Lutheran, Kenyon at Emory Preview
Friday: Regional Individual Rankings and Stag-Hen Invitational Day 1, CMU at W&L Preview
Saturday: 2 matches and Stag-Hen Day 2
Sunday: 2 matches
Weekend Recap
To begin, we got our first look at national championship contender Middlebury. They beat up on some decent competition only barely surrendering a match. I thought that Bates could give them a tough time but this turned out not to be the case. Bates is really hurting from the loss of Shadowen and they will need to work hard to stay in the top 25. Midd is looking good but won't be tested again until their California swing.
Mary Washington recovered from it's disappointing early season results with a dominant 7-2 win against an inexperienced W&L team. W&L is not top 20 material this year and the Eagles really beat them solidly. Mary Washington is looking to get themselves back into the conversation for top 10 in the nation.
The most interesting results of the weekend were the two matches played by Redlands on Saturday. They began the day with an unbelievable match against UT-Tyler. Tyler managed to win three 3-setters after being down 2-1 in doubles to shock a very hot Redlands team. This win was huge for Tyler and will give them confidence going forward. Redlands was able to recover later in the day to defeat a very good Bowdoin team. Bowdoin had the top 10 in the country on their racket if they won this match. Redlands has an advantage by playing every match at home and their tough schedule clearly pays off in the development of their players. I'm really looking forward to their Wednesday match against Amherst.
Mary Washington recovered from it's disappointing early season results with a dominant 7-2 win against an inexperienced W&L team. W&L is not top 20 material this year and the Eagles really beat them solidly. Mary Washington is looking to get themselves back into the conversation for top 10 in the nation.
The most interesting results of the weekend were the two matches played by Redlands on Saturday. They began the day with an unbelievable match against UT-Tyler. Tyler managed to win three 3-setters after being down 2-1 in doubles to shock a very hot Redlands team. This win was huge for Tyler and will give them confidence going forward. Redlands was able to recover later in the day to defeat a very good Bowdoin team. Bowdoin had the top 10 in the country on their racket if they won this match. Redlands has an advantage by playing every match at home and their tough schedule clearly pays off in the development of their players. I'm really looking forward to their Wednesday match against Amherst.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Rankings 10-17 Discussion
Didn't put a lot of thought into this but here's what I have right now for the 10-17 range...
Trinity(TX)
Redlands
Bowdoin
CMU
Tyler
Mary Wash
Hopkins
Trinity (CT)
The interesting thing is there is no correct answer to this. You can make an argument for so many different orders. I can do my best to defend my order but obviously there are flaws. I'm pretty unsure and I'm posting this to get some feedback before actual rankings on Tuesday.
Hopkins and Trinity(CT) haven't played anyone yet. You could say it's unfair to penalize them but I don't know who they should be ahead of. We will get a look at Trinity (CT) on Tues and Hopkins next Sunday.
Mary Wash has played but not beaten anyone. They shouldn't be ahead of teams who have actually beaten someone.
Trinity(TX) has only played Indoors and they don't have another tough match until Tyler on April 4th. Should they be protected because of one win against Mary Wash? They play a weak schedule.
After that things get really tricky and like I said there is really no right order.
Trinity(TX)
Redlands
Bowdoin
CMU
Tyler
Mary Wash
Hopkins
Trinity (CT)
The interesting thing is there is no correct answer to this. You can make an argument for so many different orders. I can do my best to defend my order but obviously there are flaws. I'm pretty unsure and I'm posting this to get some feedback before actual rankings on Tuesday.
Hopkins and Trinity(CT) haven't played anyone yet. You could say it's unfair to penalize them but I don't know who they should be ahead of. We will get a look at Trinity (CT) on Tues and Hopkins next Sunday.
Mary Wash has played but not beaten anyone. They shouldn't be ahead of teams who have actually beaten someone.
Trinity(TX) has only played Indoors and they don't have another tough match until Tyler on April 4th. Should they be protected because of one win against Mary Wash? They play a weak schedule.
After that things get really tricky and like I said there is really no right order.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Weekly Recap
The week started with some poor results from UT-Tyler, blowing 3-0 against Bowdoin and then losing 2 of 3 doubles to CMU in an eventual 6-3 loss that was really never close. They redeemed themselves today against Redlands but I won't be discussing that in this recap. We then got our first look at the second ranked Bears and they looked very dominant with good wins against Pomona-Pitzer and Bowdoin. I thought Bowdoin would fair better than 8-1 but Wash U proved to be too good.
A nailbiter at Redlands on Thursday with Redlands defeating CMU in a 3rd set breaker with the match tied 4-4. This was a very hard fought match between two evenly matched teams. CMU was a little flat the day after losing to Bowdoin by a score of 7-2. The two matches that everyone was looking forward to also took place on Friday. Kenyon traveled to Santa Cruz to take on the Slugs for a second time this season. Cruz was dominant from the start sweeping doubles and dominating the bottom of the lineup for a very routine 7-2 win.
CMS looked great over the weekend with 3 wins and close fight against UPenn. They took on #1 ranked Emory at home but fell by a 5-4 score. Emory really was ahead wire to wire and the score appears closer than the actual match was. The 10-18 range in the rankings just got messy today with Tyler's win against Redlands. The next few weeks have a ton of action so hopefully we will figure out how good each team really is.
A nailbiter at Redlands on Thursday with Redlands defeating CMU in a 3rd set breaker with the match tied 4-4. This was a very hard fought match between two evenly matched teams. CMU was a little flat the day after losing to Bowdoin by a score of 7-2. The two matches that everyone was looking forward to also took place on Friday. Kenyon traveled to Santa Cruz to take on the Slugs for a second time this season. Cruz was dominant from the start sweeping doubles and dominating the bottom of the lineup for a very routine 7-2 win.
CMS looked great over the weekend with 3 wins and close fight against UPenn. They took on #1 ranked Emory at home but fell by a 5-4 score. Emory really was ahead wire to wire and the score appears closer than the actual match was. The 10-18 range in the rankings just got messy today with Tyler's win against Redlands. The next few weeks have a ton of action so hopefully we will figure out how good each team really is.
Weekend Scores
Middlebury d. NYU 9-0
UT-Tyler d. Redlands 5-4
Mary Washington d. Washington & Lee 7-2
Redlands.d Bowdoin 6-3
Emory d. Pomona-Pitzer 9-0
Middlebury d. Bates 9-0
UT-Tyler d. Redlands 5-4
Mary Washington d. Washington & Lee 7-2
Redlands.d Bowdoin 6-3
Emory d. Pomona-Pitzer 9-0
Middlebury d. Bates 9-0
Thursday, March 12, 2009
#1 Emory at #3 CMS Match Preview
1. Goodwin/Goodwin vs. Schils/Wang
2. Boren/Caplan vs. Erani/Wu
3. Kaufman/Lopp vs. Keiffer/MacColl
1. Michael Goodwin vs. Lawrence Wang
2. Chris Goodwin vs. Robbie Erani
3. Mark Boren vs. Mikey Lim
4. Colin Egan vs. Russell Brockett
5. Oliver Lopp vs. Eric MacColl
6. Chris Redmond vs. Ronald Wu
If Emory is going to lose a regular season match this year, this will be it. CMS has been on fire at home during their last three matches and you can be sure they will be gunning for Emory. They had a great doubles performance last time winning 2 of 3 and I would expect them to do it again with their home crowd behind them. The Goodwins should win at 1 to keep Emory in the match. This would put CMS in a position to win, but the problem is Emory is just too strong everywhere. CMS should take 6 and possibly 5 but I don't see them winning singles anywhere else. The match at #2 should be a good match between arguably the two best freshmen in the country. Emory should win 1 through 5 singles to win the match. I would predict another 6-3 win for Emory showing again that they can win under any circumstances.
2. Boren/Caplan vs. Erani/Wu
3. Kaufman/Lopp vs. Keiffer/MacColl
1. Michael Goodwin vs. Lawrence Wang
2. Chris Goodwin vs. Robbie Erani
3. Mark Boren vs. Mikey Lim
4. Colin Egan vs. Russell Brockett
5. Oliver Lopp vs. Eric MacColl
6. Chris Redmond vs. Ronald Wu
If Emory is going to lose a regular season match this year, this will be it. CMS has been on fire at home during their last three matches and you can be sure they will be gunning for Emory. They had a great doubles performance last time winning 2 of 3 and I would expect them to do it again with their home crowd behind them. The Goodwins should win at 1 to keep Emory in the match. This would put CMS in a position to win, but the problem is Emory is just too strong everywhere. CMS should take 6 and possibly 5 but I don't see them winning singles anywhere else. The match at #2 should be a good match between arguably the two best freshmen in the country. Emory should win 1 through 5 singles to win the match. I would predict another 6-3 win for Emory showing again that they can win under any circumstances.
#6 Kenyon at #9 UC Santa Cruz Match Preview
1. Greenberg/Vandenberg vs. Kamel/Vartabedian
2. Becker/Brody vs. Gendelman/Liberty-Point
3. Piskacek/Polster vs. Mark-Griffin/Ortiz
1. Michael Greenberg vs. Max Liberty-Point
2. Tomas Piskacek vs, jared Kamel
3. Jeremy Polster vs. Max Ortiz
4. Charlie Brody vs. Ilya Gendelman
5. Will Vandenberg vs. Colin Mark-Griffin
6. Daniel Becker vs. Marc Vartabedian
A huge early season match between two team who have seen each other before. Kenyon won a shocker in Minnesota to get the best of the Slugs but now Santa Cruz is looking for revenge on their home courts. Kenyon faltered in a match against CMS a few days ago so they are also looking to get back on track and find their way into the top 5. Given the results of the last match and the home court advantage, I have to give the edge to Santa Cruz in doubles and I think they will take a 2-1 lead with wins at 1 and 2. The top 2 singles spots I'm going to give to Kenyon and this would put them ahead 3-2. Santa Cruz should have the edge at both 5 and 6 with the results from the last match and this would mean they only need 1 of 2 in the 3 and 4 spots. However, I think Kenyon is strong here and should be able to win the top 4 spots to beat Santa Cruz and take the match 5-4.
2. Becker/Brody vs. Gendelman/Liberty-Point
3. Piskacek/Polster vs. Mark-Griffin/Ortiz
1. Michael Greenberg vs. Max Liberty-Point
2. Tomas Piskacek vs, jared Kamel
3. Jeremy Polster vs. Max Ortiz
4. Charlie Brody vs. Ilya Gendelman
5. Will Vandenberg vs. Colin Mark-Griffin
6. Daniel Becker vs. Marc Vartabedian
A huge early season match between two team who have seen each other before. Kenyon won a shocker in Minnesota to get the best of the Slugs but now Santa Cruz is looking for revenge on their home courts. Kenyon faltered in a match against CMS a few days ago so they are also looking to get back on track and find their way into the top 5. Given the results of the last match and the home court advantage, I have to give the edge to Santa Cruz in doubles and I think they will take a 2-1 lead with wins at 1 and 2. The top 2 singles spots I'm going to give to Kenyon and this would put them ahead 3-2. Santa Cruz should have the edge at both 5 and 6 with the results from the last match and this would mean they only need 1 of 2 in the 3 and 4 spots. However, I think Kenyon is strong here and should be able to win the top 4 spots to beat Santa Cruz and take the match 5-4.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
#14 Carnegie Mellon at #12 Redlands Match Preview
1. Nemerov/Raghavan vs. Reading/Spearman
2. Liu/Spero vs. Hammond/Wong
3. Ljuboja/Mactaggart vs. Fashouer/Trippel
1. James Muliawan vs Mike Reading
2. Alex Nemerov vs. Cameron Spearman
3. Bobby Mactaggart vs. Matt Liebman
4. Jon Spero vs. Aron Ouye
5. Yiran Liu vs. Chris Trippel
6. Jeremy King vs. Keven Wong
Typically Carnegie Mellon has been weak in doubles, however given the results of the last few days, you have to like CMU to come out on top in doubles. Redlands just lost 2 of 3 doubles to a struggling Mary Washington team and CMU won 2 of 3 against Tyler who had swept Bowdoin the day before. The singles are pretty evenly matched, so I think doubles will play a big role in the final outcome of the match. I like CMU at 1, 4, and 6 to take the match, but every singles match is pretty unpredictable. Redlands has been up and down this season, and both of these teams have the potential to blow out the other one on the right day. This could be a big match for NCAA implications, but I'm taking CMU with a 5-4 win.
2. Liu/Spero vs. Hammond/Wong
3. Ljuboja/Mactaggart vs. Fashouer/Trippel
1. James Muliawan vs Mike Reading
2. Alex Nemerov vs. Cameron Spearman
3. Bobby Mactaggart vs. Matt Liebman
4. Jon Spero vs. Aron Ouye
5. Yiran Liu vs. Chris Trippel
6. Jeremy King vs. Keven Wong
Typically Carnegie Mellon has been weak in doubles, however given the results of the last few days, you have to like CMU to come out on top in doubles. Redlands just lost 2 of 3 doubles to a struggling Mary Washington team and CMU won 2 of 3 against Tyler who had swept Bowdoin the day before. The singles are pretty evenly matched, so I think doubles will play a big role in the final outcome of the match. I like CMU at 1, 4, and 6 to take the match, but every singles match is pretty unpredictable. Redlands has been up and down this season, and both of these teams have the potential to blow out the other one on the right day. This could be a big match for NCAA implications, but I'm taking CMU with a 5-4 win.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
#2 Wash U vs. #11 Bowdoin Match Preview
1. Cutler/Hoeland vs. Sullivan/White
2. Stein/Woods vs. Cranin/Neely
3. Choradia/Watts vs. Anderson/Caughron
1. John Watts vs. Steve Sullivan
2. Charlie Cutler vs. Oscar Pena
3. Max Woods vs. Alex White
4. Isaac Stein vs. Tyler Anderson
5. Danny Levy vs. Alex Caughron
6. Chris Hoeland vs. Josh Cranin
Given Bowdoin's results against Tyler the other day, you would have to pick Wash U to sweep doubles. The singles should be pretty evenly matched, but I have to give the edge to Wash U. They should take 1 and 2 singles to clinch the match. I would expect a split at the bottom four spots resulting in a 7-2 win for Wash U. If Bowdoin wants to stay in this match, they need to compete in doubles and they can't afford to even go down 2-1 against this good of a team. I'm not sure if Bowdoin has two doubles wins in them, but they will definitely need to bring their A game to even compete with the Bears.
2. Stein/Woods vs. Cranin/Neely
3. Choradia/Watts vs. Anderson/Caughron
1. John Watts vs. Steve Sullivan
2. Charlie Cutler vs. Oscar Pena
3. Max Woods vs. Alex White
4. Isaac Stein vs. Tyler Anderson
5. Danny Levy vs. Alex Caughron
6. Chris Hoeland vs. Josh Cranin
Given Bowdoin's results against Tyler the other day, you would have to pick Wash U to sweep doubles. The singles should be pretty evenly matched, but I have to give the edge to Wash U. They should take 1 and 2 singles to clinch the match. I would expect a split at the bottom four spots resulting in a 7-2 win for Wash U. If Bowdoin wants to stay in this match, they need to compete in doubles and they can't afford to even go down 2-1 against this good of a team. I'm not sure if Bowdoin has two doubles wins in them, but they will definitely need to bring their A game to even compete with the Bears.
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