Monday: 3 big matches, Middlebury at Redlands Preview
Tuesday: 4 big matches, Gustavus at Santa Cruz Preview
Wednesday: Team Rankings (I'm pushing them back a day so I can factor in Tuesday results), 3 matches, Middlebury at CMS Preview
Thursday: 5 matches, Williams at Redlands Preview
Friday: Regional Individual Rankings, 4 matches, Williams at CMS Preview
Saturday: 2 matches
Sunday: Bracketology Issue #1, 2 matches
The most important week of the Spring to date. We get our first real look at Middlebury, Williams and Gustavus. This week features 8 matches between current top 10 teams as well a host of other contests that will have huge implications on rankings and NCAA standings. Middlebury and Williams both have brutal weeks and we will see how they adjust to the California weather conditions. Any updates that can be provided during the matches on the blog would be greatly appreciated by everyone I'm sure. I'll try to be on a lot this week constantly giving updates on all the results as soon as they are available. Definitely an exciting week with very important matches running through next Sunday. I'm also really looking forward to publishing the first issue of Bracketology in a week. Check back daily for coverage of all the matches.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Weekend Recap
Not a lot of action this week, but the highlight was a clash between two top 5 teams in the finals of the 3rd annual Stag-Hen Invitational. CMS easily took care of both Amherst and Trinity (CT) solidifying their place once again as one of the best teams in the country. Amherst had a good California swing and obviously Trinity (CT) has to be disappointed with their loss to Bowdoin.
In other action, #1 Emory took care of Kenyon and DePauw. The Kenyon match was fairly close and the Lords have the Eagles all they could handle before Emory came out on top with a 5-4 win. Today, despite an 8-1 loss, DePauw played Emory very tough and there were several close matches. In other action, Carnegie Mellon bolstered their At-Large resume with a dominant win over Washington & Lee before falling to a very good Johns Hopkins team 6-3. Hopkins will most likely move into the top 12 with this win today.
I'll be posting a schedule for this week as well an a weekly preview shortly.
In other action, #1 Emory took care of Kenyon and DePauw. The Kenyon match was fairly close and the Lords have the Eagles all they could handle before Emory came out on top with a 5-4 win. Today, despite an 8-1 loss, DePauw played Emory very tough and there were several close matches. In other action, Carnegie Mellon bolstered their At-Large resume with a dominant win over Washington & Lee before falling to a very good Johns Hopkins team 6-3. Hopkins will most likely move into the top 12 with this win today.
I'll be posting a schedule for this week as well an a weekly preview shortly.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Stag-Hen Invitational
CMS vs. Trinity (CT) and Pomona-Pitzer vs. Amherst in the semis tomorrow.
All comments about Stag-Hen go here. Amherst played none of their starters today. Coach Garner has done a great job scouting his competition as well as resting his top guys for when he really needs them.
CMS defeats Trinity(CT) and Amherst easily to win their 2nd title in 3 years.
All comments about Stag-Hen go here. Amherst played none of their starters today. Coach Garner has done a great job scouting his competition as well as resting his top guys for when he really needs them.
CMS defeats Trinity(CT) and Amherst easily to win their 2nd title in 3 years.
Regional Individual Rankings
I'm going to hold off on these until next Friday for two reasons...
1. The ITA just published them Tuesday and I think they would end up being very similar.
2. A lot of teams haven't played enough matches (particularly Northeast) to effectively gauge players.
Look for Individuals next Friday.
1. The ITA just published them Tuesday and I think they would end up being very similar.
2. A lot of teams haven't played enough matches (particularly Northeast) to effectively gauge players.
Look for Individuals next Friday.
#13 Carnegie Mellon at #21 Washington & Lee Match Preview
1. Nemerov/Raghavan vs. Gaffney/Watson
2. Liu/Spero vs. McCardell/Meyers
3. Mactaggart/Ljuboja vs. Becht/Brooke
1. Alex Nemerov vs. Brent Meyers
2. James Muliawan vs. Jeremy Becht
3. Bobby Mactaggart vs. Jamie McCardell
4. Jon Spero vs. Ben Fass
5. Yiran Liu vs. Jonathan Gaffney
6. Jeremy King vs. Michael Freeman
Washington & Lee is a very deceiving team this year, but I think they need to come up big in doubles if they want to pull this upset. CMU was decent in California during doubles and W&L was terrible against Mary Wash. Given those results, I think I have to give the edge to CMU in doubles. W&L traditionally plays very good dubs, but I think this year could be an exception. I would expect CMU to get at least three singles wins near the top of the lineup to be able to close the match. The bottom should have some very tough contests, and it's very unpredictable what will happen. I have to take CMU with a 5-4 or 6-3 win, but W&L could change the complexion of the match if they jump on top in doubles.
2. Liu/Spero vs. McCardell/Meyers
3. Mactaggart/Ljuboja vs. Becht/Brooke
1. Alex Nemerov vs. Brent Meyers
2. James Muliawan vs. Jeremy Becht
3. Bobby Mactaggart vs. Jamie McCardell
4. Jon Spero vs. Ben Fass
5. Yiran Liu vs. Jonathan Gaffney
6. Jeremy King vs. Michael Freeman
Washington & Lee is a very deceiving team this year, but I think they need to come up big in doubles if they want to pull this upset. CMU was decent in California during doubles and W&L was terrible against Mary Wash. Given those results, I think I have to give the edge to CMU in doubles. W&L traditionally plays very good dubs, but I think this year could be an exception. I would expect CMU to get at least three singles wins near the top of the lineup to be able to close the match. The bottom should have some very tough contests, and it's very unpredictable what will happen. I have to take CMU with a 5-4 or 6-3 win, but W&L could change the complexion of the match if they jump on top in doubles.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
#9 Kenyon at #1 Emory Match Preview
1. Greenberg/Vandenberg vs. Goodwin/Goodwin
2. Becker/Brody vs. Boren/Caplan
3. Piskacek/Polster vs. Kaufman/Lopp
1. Mike Greenberg vs. Michael Goodwin
2. Tomas Piskacek vs. Chris Goodwin
3. Charlie Brody vs. Mark Boren
4. Jeremy Polster vs. Colin Egan
5. Will Vandenberg vs. Oliver Lopp
6. Daniel Becker vs. Chris Redmond
This match is as simple as how well Kenyon plays. If they find their form that they had in the first round of Indoors, than we can expect a close match. If they play like they did during their two California matches, than this could turn into a very quick 8-1 or 9-0. I'd be surprised if Kenyon comes out with the doubles teams I have above because they've been swept twice in a row. They need to focus on the bottom of the lineup in doubles because no combo they have can take the Goodwins. Kenyon needs to manage one doubles point. I would expect a win from Greenberg and I would also expect Chris Goodwin to win at #2. Kenyon's bottom of the lineup needs to step up for them. Egan and Lopp have been great this season. I think Kenyon has a chance at #6, but after that I like Emory to take the other 3. I'm taking Emory with a pretty routine 6-3 or 7-2 victory.
2. Becker/Brody vs. Boren/Caplan
3. Piskacek/Polster vs. Kaufman/Lopp
1. Mike Greenberg vs. Michael Goodwin
2. Tomas Piskacek vs. Chris Goodwin
3. Charlie Brody vs. Mark Boren
4. Jeremy Polster vs. Colin Egan
5. Will Vandenberg vs. Oliver Lopp
6. Daniel Becker vs. Chris Redmond
This match is as simple as how well Kenyon plays. If they find their form that they had in the first round of Indoors, than we can expect a close match. If they play like they did during their two California matches, than this could turn into a very quick 8-1 or 9-0. I'd be surprised if Kenyon comes out with the doubles teams I have above because they've been swept twice in a row. They need to focus on the bottom of the lineup in doubles because no combo they have can take the Goodwins. Kenyon needs to manage one doubles point. I would expect a win from Greenberg and I would also expect Chris Goodwin to win at #2. Kenyon's bottom of the lineup needs to step up for them. Egan and Lopp have been great this season. I think Kenyon has a chance at #6, but after that I like Emory to take the other 3. I'm taking Emory with a pretty routine 6-3 or 7-2 victory.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Two Observations
1. An unbelievable match between Bowdoin and Trinity (CT) yesterday. Check out the boxscore with the CTO D3 link on the right side of this page. There is no love lost between these two teams but it definitely was a great match and Trinity (CT) is definitely for real this year.
2. I'm very surprised by the current poll results. I guess I expected Santa Cruz to win but not by this margin. I think Kenyon and Gustavus are both very good teams and they both have beaten the Slugs this season.
2. I'm very surprised by the current poll results. I guess I expected Santa Cruz to win but not by this margin. I think Kenyon and Gustavus are both very good teams and they both have beaten the Slugs this season.
Salisbury at #20 Cal Lutheran Match Preview
1. Burtzlaff/Thomas vs. Wetterholm/Hunt
2. Barnas/Nottage vs. Karsant/Lassila
3. Lupinetti/Robinson vs. Culpepper/Giuffrida
1. Scott Burtzlaff vs. Andrew Giuffrida
2. Evan Thomas vs. Paul Wetterholm
3. David Lupinetti vs. Forrest Hunt
4. Daniel Barnas vs. Ryan Lassila
5. Andrew Nottage vs. John Karsant
6. Sasha Felikson vs. Jordan Culpepper
The winner of this match is taking a good first step towards stealing an At-Large bid for the NCAA Tournament. The loser can probably count themselves out. This is a good chance for Salisbury to knock off a ranked team and potentially move into the top 25. They have had some very tough losses so far this year but this would a great win for them. Cal Lutheran is coming off a hard fought match against Amherst. They are looking to rebound by beating a good team and securing their place in the top 25. I think the Cal Lu's doubles are very good and they should win 2 of the 3 doubles matches. I like Salisbury at the bottom of the lineup, but Cal Lu near the top. I think the match could come down to 3 and 4 singles and I like Cal Lu in a 5-4 win. A reminder that live stats can be found on SUseagulls.com.
2. Barnas/Nottage vs. Karsant/Lassila
3. Lupinetti/Robinson vs. Culpepper/Giuffrida
1. Scott Burtzlaff vs. Andrew Giuffrida
2. Evan Thomas vs. Paul Wetterholm
3. David Lupinetti vs. Forrest Hunt
4. Daniel Barnas vs. Ryan Lassila
5. Andrew Nottage vs. John Karsant
6. Sasha Felikson vs. Jordan Culpepper
The winner of this match is taking a good first step towards stealing an At-Large bid for the NCAA Tournament. The loser can probably count themselves out. This is a good chance for Salisbury to knock off a ranked team and potentially move into the top 25. They have had some very tough losses so far this year but this would a great win for them. Cal Lutheran is coming off a hard fought match against Amherst. They are looking to rebound by beating a good team and securing their place in the top 25. I think the Cal Lu's doubles are very good and they should win 2 of the 3 doubles matches. I like Salisbury at the bottom of the lineup, but Cal Lu near the top. I think the match could come down to 3 and 4 singles and I like Cal Lu in a 5-4 win. A reminder that live stats can be found on SUseagulls.com.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
ITA Rankings March 17, 2009
Can be found here...
http://www.itatennis.com/AwardsAndRankings/Rankings/0809D3Men.htm
Team rankings are almost identical.
http://www.itatennis.com/AwardsAndRankings/Rankings/0809D3Men.htm
Team rankings are almost identical.
D3Tennis.com Team Rankings March 17, 2009
1. Emory
2. Wash U
3. CMS
4. Middlebury
5. Amherst
6. Williams
7. Gustavus
8. UC Santa Cruz
9. Kenyon
10. Redlands
11. Bowdoin
12. Trinity (TX)
13. Carnegie Mellon
14. UT-Tyler
15. Mary Washington
16. Johns Hopkins
16T. Trinity (CT)
18. DePauw
19. Denison
20. Cal Lutheran
21. Washington & Lee
22. Chicago
23. Whitman
24. Skidmore
25. Kalamazoo
2. Wash U
3. CMS
4. Middlebury
5. Amherst
6. Williams
7. Gustavus
8. UC Santa Cruz
9. Kenyon
10. Redlands
11. Bowdoin
12. Trinity (TX)
13. Carnegie Mellon
14. UT-Tyler
15. Mary Washington
16. Johns Hopkins
16T. Trinity (CT)
18. DePauw
19. Denison
20. Cal Lutheran
21. Washington & Lee
22. Chicago
23. Whitman
24. Skidmore
25. Kalamazoo
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