Wow! We’ve had a couple of incredible days of tennis on both the men’s and women’s sides. These battles are what the NCAA tournament is all about. NCAAs is a different beast from the regular season; all the pressure and anticipation of the event can make for some crazy and exciting matches. Every single player in the tournament is talented and can hit a tennis ball. At a certain point it comes down to who can weather the ups and downs of a match and who can seize those big moments. We talk a lot on the blog about historic programs, to the point to which some of the other schools might feel slighted, but there is something to be said for Emory and Williams accounting for 14 of the last 15 national titles. The “winning environment” is real and it gives their players that extra bit of belief when it’s most important.
With that being said, I’m never one to miss an opportunity to point out when I was right. Even though the matches didn’t happen quite how I thought they would, I did still correctly pick all four semifinalists and who would be in the final. So my word should carry a lot of weight from here on out. Emory and Williams played earlier this season in Atlanta with Emory taking a 5-4 victory. A few things have changed since then so let’s get down to it.
#1 Doubles: Fuhr/Gordon (Emory) vs Raventos/Shin (Williams)
Last time: Williams wins 8-4, but with Fuhr/Lopez for Emory.
So one thing that you might notice is that neither Williams nor Emory has lost a doubles point at NCAAs yet. That’s pretty impressive and almost definitely going to change for both of them this match. Emory has struggled at #1 doubles all season long and the team of Fuhr/Gordon was put together just for this tournament. I doubted them in my last preview and they proved me wrong so I’m done with that. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna pick against the defending national champions doubles team that only has 3 losses all year (two of which I believe they’ve avenged). Williams 8-6.
#2 Doubles: Harding/Su (Emory) vs Atkinson/Cancio (Williams)
Last time: Emory wins 8-5.
Both of these have been hot lately, but I think this Emory team is just too good. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: they are the best #2 team in the country. I think the slow courts in Kalamazoo work to Williams’ advantage, but not enough to change the outcome. Emory 8-5.
#3 Doubles: Satterfield/Castro (Emory) vs Hart/McDonnell Nieto (Williams)
Last time: Emory wins 8-3, but with Hart/Gancayco for Williams.
This is another pairing of arguably the best #3 teams in the country. It’s interesting that Williams changed a pretty successful #3 tem in Hart/Gancayco, but it seems to have worked out for them. Hart/McDonnell Nieto only have one loss and it was their very first match together. I expect this match to be a lot closer than last time, but it really is unfair for Emory to have a two time doubles all-American at court 3. Emory 8-6.
#1 Singles: Bridget Harding (Emory) vs Juli Raventos (Williams)
Last time: Wiliams wins 6-1 6-3
We had some comments on the blog the last time these two teams played about Emory stacking with their lineup. I hope by now those claims have been put to rest as Harding has some impressive wins. That being said, this is not Emory’s strongest spot and it very well may be Williams’. Raventos has shown some tiny glimpses of vulnerability in the last few weeks against Wesleyan and MIT, but honestly she has had about as perfect a season as anyone can ask for. She has one (One!) loss all year and I just can’t see Harding being able hurt her enough in this match to pull off the upset. Williams 6-4 6-1.
#2 Singles: Michelle Satterfield (Emory) vs Mia Gancayco (Williams)
Last time: Williams wins 1-6 6-4 7-5.
This match was a battle last time that fell Williams’ way. We have a clash of styles; Satterfield can hit the crap out of the ball and Gancayco can run pretty much all of them down. The slow courts favor Gancayco, but she’s had her struggles recently. I believe she was losing matches to Wesleyan, Middlebury, and Chicago and lost to MIT. Meanwhile Satterfield hasn’t had a set closer than 6-2 in a few weeks. I think the aggressor normally wins the big matches so I’m taking the hot hand. Emory 6-2 7-6.
#3 Singles: Beatrice Rosen (Emory) vs Linda Shin (Williams)
Last time: Emory wins 6-1 7-6, but with Taylor Cosme.
In case anyone forgot, this is the exact matchup that decided the national title last year. The match was tied 4-4 and Shin pulled out a 6-3 in the third victory. Rosen is a senior and a former #1 singles player for the eagles. I want to say that she’ll rise to the occasion, but everything points to Shin being the better player under pressure. Either way this could turn into a marathon of a match as both of these girls try to outlast their opponents. Shin has shown she’s mentally stronger before and I think she’ll show it again. Williams 6-4 3-6 6-3.
#4 Singles: Paula Castro (Emory) vs Julia Cancio (Williams)
Last time: Emory wins 6-1 6-2, but it was Rosen vs Atkinson.
Apparently Taylor Cosme has jumped ship right before NCAAs so the bottom of the Emory lineup has changed a little bit. Castro went from not being in the lineup to being slotted at court 4. I would say this is a stack except she hasn’t lost. Castro’s only loss this year was way back in the fall to teammate Satterfield. She was also winning her match against Middlebury which is encouraging for Emory. Williams has also changed their lineup but not nearly as drastically; Cancio has moved from 5 to 4. Cancio also only has one loss this year from back in the fall. This is gonna be a huge swing match and I’m gonna go with the player with a little more experience. Williams 6-3 1-6 6-4.
#5 Singles: Madison Gordon (Emory) vs Hannah Atkinson (Williams)
Last time: Williams wins 4-6 7-6 10-8, but it was Su vs Cancio.
This is probably Williams’ weakest spot against Emory’s best. Atkinson hasn’t been bad by any stretch of the imagination, but she’s had trouble against the other top teams. Meanwhile Gordon hasn’t lost a dual match since ever. On top of that she’s a senior and is on fire. Seriously, look at her results; she has more 6-0 sets this season than I’ve had in my lifetime. Emory 6-2 6-3.
#6 Singles: Katarina Su (Emory) vs Leah Bush (Williams)
Last time: Emory wins 6-2 7-6, but it was Gordon vs Bush.
This is the match I’m picking to decide it all. Bush has been pretty much lights out all season with only three losses. Su had been a rock for the eagles the last few seasons, but has found herself in and out of the lineup this year. Last time I previewed Emory Williams I think I mentioned how Su had never lost at the bottom half of the lineup. And then she lost. One match doesn’t make a trend though. This will be a battle, but I’m gonna continue to pick experience to rise up in the close matches. I believe that Su clinched last time Emory won a national championship, and I think she’ll do it again. Emory 6-2 4-6 6-4.
There you have it. I’m picking a 5-4 Emory win in the national title. Emory and Williams have shown they’re the best two teams and I can’t wait for what is sure to be an incredible match.
NONE of the singles matches reached UTR’s competitive threshold. The losing player won at most 5 games in a match.
Super different from last year, when even the same match between Rosen and Shin lasted three sets and a few hours; this year, 1 and 0. Were the matches mismatched?
In terms of style of play, not stacking. I see the stacking question has been asked
I watched Emory’s match against both Middlebury and Williams. Both matches were very exciting to watch. However, my one comment would be that there is no reason why Satterfield should not be playing number one. She is arguably the strongest player on Emory’s team and I’m still trying to understand why she was playing number two
Hi. I commented last Emory Williams match asking if any blogger or commenter got to see the match. Did anyone see the match this time? (Live or live stream). What happened?
Naturally, I wonder if any stacking took place. Should Shin have been ahead of Gancayco? Satt in front of Harding? Rosen behind Castro, Gordon, and/or Su? Mostly Su at 6 seems unfair, but mostly in the sense that it’s unfair for one team to have that much talent.
Emory’s doubles seemed stacked. Their 1 team should have been at 3 and their purported 2 and 3 teams should have moved up a spot.
I watched the match on the live stream and I’ve seen both these teams play live before. I think I agree with the sentiment that some people have that Emory’s #1 doubles team was a little weak. It seems even more obvious now that Harding/Su went three sets with Raventos/Shin in individuals.
I don’t think that either of these teams clearly stacked their singles lineups, but For Emory I do believe that Satterfield should have been playing ahead of Harding. Su at 6 seems unfair, but I don’t really think there’s much of an argument to move her up when the girls playing 4 and 5 both went undefeated this spring.
I also think that Shin should have been playing ahead of Gancayco, but I could probably go back and forth on that. Her result against Rosen was more of a mental thing than a tennis thing after their match last year. I could see after three games through my computer screen that Rosen did not think she could win that match