9 Matches, 2 Writers, 1 Preview. The Emory Weekend.

I recently found D3Northeast in a small cave off the coast of Mexico, and it looks like he’s ready to return to his duties at the blog.  He recently went through a pretty tough time in which he was struggling with his confidence, but he was able to consult some self-help books and now he seems to be ready to help me out with this joint preview of the EMORY invite.  Notice how the Emory is capitalized there, because Emory is probably my favorite team ever.  That’s besides the point.  This weekend we have a pretty ridiculous set of matches that feature three of our top 10 power ranked teams (Emory, Case, Midd), as well as Kenyon.  In addition, some school that seems to be back in the top 30 conversation (Depauw) is joining us.  Oh yea, and NCW is joining us, but are they really?  Kidding.  But not really kidding.  See below for the schedule of matches:

Friday

#NR Depauw vs. #LOL North Carolina Wesleyan, 9AM ET

#10 Case Western @ #7 Emory, 1PM ET

#5 Middlebury vs. #12 Kenyon, 2 PM ET

Saturday

#10 Case Western vs. #International North Carolina Wesleyan, 10AM ET

#12 Kenyon vs. #NR Depauw, 10AM ET

#5 Middlebury @ #7 Emory, 1PM ET

#10 Case Western vs. #NR Depauw, 4PM ET

Sunday

#5 Midd vs. #LMFAO North Carolina Wesleyan, 9AM ET

#12 Kenyon @ #7 Emory, 1PM ET

Cool beans. Cooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool beans. Let’s get some joint preview action!

Match #1 – Depauw vs. NCW

D3AS: My only question for this match is: Will NCW choose to have breakfast before the match at Panera Bread, or just eat the continental breakfast at Holiday Inn and get a bigger lunch after they get smoked 7-2?  Only time will tell.

D3NE: I care less about this match than Tom Tucker’s mustache tickles (slightly, only slightly). I am interested to see how Depauw moves on from the “big” (in extremely hesitant quotations) start to their spring break trip. Otherwise, NCW can cry wee-wee-wee all the way back up 95. Depauw, 6-3

Match #2 – Case Western @ Emory

D3NE: Ahhhhh, the match where D3AS has to reach for the happy tissues. I’ll go first on what is undoubtedly the biggest intra-regional match of the weekend. While my experience with these two teams is limited, I just watched (and by watched i mean meticulously refreshed the live-stats page of the CMS website) the Eagles DESTROY Bowdoin, and an 8-1 match that was barely that close. We know their singles are good; however, Case’s tried and true method of doubles doubles doubles might prove to be too deep a hole for the Eagles to dig themselves out of. We continually say this, and yet over the years Emory does nothing but win win win no matter what. D3AS should provide us with his expert brand of snarky analysis, but I’ll leave you with this, stop sleeping on the Eagles. Emory, 5-4. Mr. Happy Tissues, you have the floor…

D3AS: I’ll only reach for the happy tissues when Emory beats Middlebury.  So on Sunday, that’s what I mean. #ShotsFired. For you 11 year old readers out there, happy tissues are when your nose is stuffy and then the tissue still is able to get out all the boogers.  I digress.  This is going to be a super-duper fun matchup for all of us to watch while we’re supposed to be working/studying/sleeping/pre-gaming for the NCAA tournament.  Like I said for Emory when they were in the Stag-Hen, they just seem to have trouble with doubles-oriented teams.  Well, Case is the most doubles-oriented team of them all.  So, this in turn becomes a huge test for the Eagles as they continue to try and find that break-through win that gets them rolling, Eagles style.  The keys to doubles are going to be at the top and bottom spots, #1 and #3.  The reason why is because I think Case has such a strong advantage at #2 that it can’t be a swing match.  If Emory can come out of doubles with at least one doubles point, that puts them in the driver’s seat.  I am a big fan of Case’s lineup as a whole and their workmanlike attitude, but we’ve only really seen them beat Kenyon this year who are on the struggle bus right now.  Coach Todd (Case) knows how to really coach his way to an opposing team’s weakness, and I’m sure the Spartans really focused on doubles because they know that’s where the Eagles are weak.  Do I think they can pull off a sweep?  You bet.  Do I think they will pull off a sweep on Emory’s home courts? No way.  I think Emory will continue their “struggles” in doubles as they take on this tough dubs team, but they’ll be able to take #3 doubles.

Singles is where Emory should take control.  I bold the word “should” because Emory hasn’t done anything they should have done this year.  They’ll come to their senses eventually.  I figured if I bet on them enough times, I have to be correct at least once, right?  If Case wants this win, their top guys are going to have to really step up.  Krimbill at the top spot is a great choice for the win against Ruderman, that is if Ruderman actually plays there.  Krimbill has been incredible this year as he’s stepped into the permanent #1 position and was D3Central’s pick to be #1 in his region.  Not bad, sophomore.  I’ll take him at #1.  However, I’m taking Emory with at least two matches down at #4-6.  Case has been using a revolving door at #6 and D3Central and I would probably go with Healey.  I don’t think it’ll matter.  The one match I do like for Case at the bottom of the lineup is Fojitasek (is that right?) at #4 singles.  I pick a lot against Szczurek and that’s probably because he’s not a household name.  I just have a lot of confidence in Wagner at #5 and Adams at #6 especially against a Spartans team that may have some depth issues.  So, that makes the score 4-3 Case with Halpern/Drougas and Mosetick/Klawitter as the remaining matches.  Both should be dandies.  At #2 will be the grinder and junk baller Drougas against the fiery Halpern.  Halpern has really started to gain his form as of late and I think he’s closer to the guy that placed at Fall Nationals than the one that was struggling at Indoor Nationals.  This will be a long match especially with the way Drougas plays, but I’m taking Halpern close.  The final match will be two players of similar game styles.  The grinder in Mosetick versus the other grinder in Klawitter.  Mosetick is in major need of a big win and I think Klawitter presents a nice opportunity for him, especially on home courts.  People will underestimate the home court advantage but it’s always nice to play at home.  I think Mosetick is able to gut his way to a win over Klawitter for the 5-4 win.  As you can see, this is going to be very close.  The swing matches at #1, #3 doubles as well as #2, #3 singles are sure to be exciting and I believe very competitive.  Gotta go with my boys from Atlanta tho. LUDA!

Match #3 – Kenyon vs Midd

D3NE: FINALLY! The crowd gets what the crowd wants. Forget all that Case/Emory nonsense, it’s time for some good old fashioned NE tennis. This is sad, see how excited when one regional team has a somewhat big match? Especially considering this is not Middlebury’s biggest match of the weekend. However, to be taken seriously as a national championship contender (that’s right D3West, I used the term) the Panthers have to take down the struggling Lords. We haven’t seen much of Kenyon on the national scene for a while now, but I’ll leave the Kenyon profiling to D3Central, oh wait, you mean he’s not doing a joint preview with us? I’ve apparently been recovering from a heroin overdose in Tiajuana or something like that and we couldn’t even drag the old guy out of bed? FOR SHAME, SIR! No D3Central means that A-South will be taking over Kenyon’s side of the story, so I’m going to stick to what I do best, splooshing over NE tennis. I have been very high on Middlebury from the beginning of the school year. I actually picked them to win the NESCAC, over both the 1st and 3rd place finishers from last year. That being said, their results so far have not been awe-inspiring. While they did dispatch of two NE teams who all of a sudden can boast a top #25 ranking, Brandeis and Colby, they did so in a split-squad “Amherstian” style of dominance. This did not give the fans much of an idea about their lineup. However, D3AS recently pointed out that we’ve seen these two teams take on a similar opponent, and the Panthers looked less than stellar while doing so. In fact, Midd recently lost to Georgia-Gwinnett 7-2, while Kenyon only lost to the Grizzlies 5-4. While A-Sowth does have a pretty face, I find that tidbit of information about as useful as a poopy flavored lollipop. Tennis, like almost any sports, is all about matchups. Right now, I think that Kenyon needs a good tournament to right the ship, while Middlebury is just breaking into their season. That being said, I think Middlebury presents an interesting matchup for Kenyon. Both singles lineups are clearly strongest at the top, but I believe Midd has more depth than the Lords, even with Smolyar starting at 5 (over Frons, Fitzgibbons, and yes Allen Jackson). The issue for Kenyon will be their doubles. When the Lords fell in back to back 5-4 matches way back at Indoors, they were down 2-1 to both Case and Emory. Let me repeat that, Kenyon was down 2-1 to Emory after doubles. Disgusting. Midd’s doubles have always been solid, and should be even more so now that Hansen has firmly placed his hand into the cookie jar that is the depth of Midd’s talent. I see Middlebury taking at least 1 2-1 lead after doubles, and being too strong at the lower singles positions. Of course I have to give Mr. Heerboth some credit, as one of the blog’s most loyal followers he’s gotta be good for at least a win or two. However, if Arizona does not catch up to the Aztecs soon, Wade might just forfeit pre-match and go cry in a corner instead. Midd, 6-3.

D3AS: A poopy flavored lollipop is useful against your enemies, D3NE.  While a matchup against a random Georgia Gwinnett team may not be that useful, it still makes a difference.  Midd is power ranked #5 in our rankings while Kenyon is at #11.  Shouldn’t a box score like that (oh, we didn’t link you? here u go. http://www.grizzlyathletics.com/sports/m-tennis/sched/ggc-m-tennis-sched.html) make a difference when we rank?  I think the gap between the 7-11 teams and Middlebury is either non-existent or very, very slight. While I don’t think Kenyon will win this one, I think this will be a lot closer than some biased pundits would like you to expect.  Kenyon has had a long time to get things right with their season.  Despite some shaky performances last week against Swarthmore and Stevens, Kenyon is a proud team that knows how to win.  They also have a few guys in their lineup that are almost matchup-proof.  All it takes is 5 matches.  The matches that Kenyon has the possibility of taking are at #2 doubles, #1,2,3, and 6 singles.  Those are the matches I’d watch if you’re expecting a Kenyon win.  You might be able to throw #1 doubles in there, but I wouldn’t bet for it.  I have a lot of faith that Heerboth will bring the rain and get two wins in this one, especially if he plays with Raz at #2.  Depending on Razumovsky’s health, he can probably also take advantage of a suspect top of the lineup from Middlebury and take down Johnston.  Geier is a clear strong spot at #3 for the Lords.  At #6, Kenyon has really been revolving a lot of people (is this a theme in the central?) but no matter who they put out there it should be a quality match.  The problem with having only 5 or 6 matches you can win, however, is that you HAVE to win those matches to take home the victory.  Middlebury is a talented team, no doubt, and I don’t think they falter at every one of those spots.  Look for some of my favorite players to come through for Kenyon, but overall I have to take Middlebury by a score of 5-4 that ends before the 4-4 match.  I like Midd’s bottom of the lineup too much and I think they’ll be too strong.

Match #4 – Case vs NCW

D3NE: This match will be far less interesting than NCW’s previous match, and that’s saying something. Case rests some of their guys, but still wins it 8-1.

D3AS: My question of the match is this: What will be the most common language the Battling Bishops curse in as they lose 9-0?

Match #5 – Kenyon vs Depauw

D3NE: DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG, classic trap match alert. The Lords will (hopefully) be coming off a tough loss to Middlebury the day before, and will almost certainly be looking ahead to their big match on Sunday at Emory. It would be so easy to forget about pesky little Depauw sandwiched in the middle. Oh wait, you mean Kenyon does have more singles depth than Colby or Whitewater? Fair enough, Kenyon cruises, 7-2.

D3AS: Not going to waste too much time on this one.  Kenyon is worlds above anyone Depauw has beaten so far and they are worlds above teams that have already beaten them.  Kenyon wins this one in staggering fashion, 8-1.

Match #6 – Midd @ Emory

D3NE: Ahhhh, the pièce de résistance! Obviously this is match where A-South and I are going to have vastly differing opinions. First things first, the doubles. Johnston/Lebovitz have become less of a sure thing of late, and that could spell trouble against a quality team like Ruderman/Wagner. The Emory duo did take out King/Wolstencraft at the Stag-Hen, but overall I see 1 doubles being somewhat of a giant swing match. Middlebury’s #2 team of Campbell/Jones should be able to make quick work of the Eagle #2 team, but I wish I could say the same for the #3 team. Recently, Hansen has thrown a wrench into the doubles equation by the name of Peter Heidrich. Peter is a junior with extremely limited playing time. In past years he has played in matches where Midd has split-squaded and rested players. Over the course of the past month he has found himself slotted in at #3 doubles, taking over Mountifield’s spot with Ari Smolyar. However, this team has not been extremely successful. While it’s still too early to make a final call on this team, I would give an Emory team of Halpern/whoever a significant edge. I’m taking Midd 2-1 after dubs, and I think they’ll certainly need that lead if they are going to win this match. As for the singles, I think there are going to be some absolute barn-burners. I’m setting the over under for 3-setters at an even 3. Normally I’d go Ruderman over Johno, but after looking at the weather forecast, there is a high likelihood of rain on Saturday. Moving indoors makes Midd even stronger than before. Going off of that indoors prediction, I’m taking Johnston at #1. Halpern should provide a nice counter at #2, and I don’t believe moving indoors would specifically change Campbell’s game. Either way, I like Halpern’s experience and think he wins his match in 3 sets. #3 is a very interesting matchup. Mosetick was the only Eagle to lose to Bowdoin, however he did take Jeremy Bush to a long super that morning. Jones is one of the leaders of this team, and I don’t see him losing many matches when the team match might be in question. BJ has tremendous heart and I like to him take down Rafe. That puts Midd up 4-2, which is good because this is where it could get dicey. No matter who plays #4 for the Panthers, he will be an underdog against Szureck, and I like Nicolas to come through. Assuming the Panther lineup stays the same, Smolyar will be matched up against Wagner on the 5th line. While Ari has been playing some good tennis of late, Wagner has got to be one of (if not the) best #5’s in the country. In fact, Ian hasn’t lost a match at #5 all season. If your math is good, we should be at 4-4 coming down to a decisive match at #6. Although Adams has been impressive of late, I love Jackson Frons in at #6. He should be a sneaky great #6, and will likely fly under the radar considering the strength and national acclaim in the top ½ of the lineup. The only issue I see here is that Frons might feel as though he is playing for his lineup life. Considering the Panthers’ depth, he actually might be. I think Frons gets a huge 3 set win here, and Middlebury takes a nail-biter, 5-4. I realize I’m taking all of the close matches to go Middlebury’s way, but I guess I’m just a foolish like that. Foolish like a fox.

D3AS: D3NE says we’ll have vastly different opinions on this one, but I don’t think that’s the case.  We will probably have different predictions, but the fact of the matter is that Emory is the underdog in this match.  They need big performances from all of their guys this weekend to get back into the top 8 and really make a run for a solid #1 seed that isn’t stuck with CMS in the NCAA region.  I’ve never been a fan of hyping up a team prior to they play a legitimate match, and I think that Middlebury has some red flags that really don’t warrant us to rank them in the first tier of teams.  They are probably as talented or more talented than Emory, I will agree.  They have a good coach in Hansen that should be able to develop a lot of their players.  But this will amount to what is the first big DIII match for them and they will be playing in Emory’s backyard on a Saturday at 1PM, just when all the college kids be waking up.  This isn’t your typical first big match of the year, especially when they are playing the wounded animal that is the Eagles.  You actually probably couldn’t have a worse scenario.  If these two teams happen to meet in NCAAs, you could definitely sway me in the direction of a Middlebury victory.  I just don’t think that right now Midd is ready for this type of match, no matter what competition and what training they’ve been through so far this year.  I’m not even sure how many outdoor matches they’ve played with the way the weather has been.  It’s going to be tough sledding for the Panthers and I haven’t been impressed by any of their results so far, no matter the opponent.  Emory shows weaknesses this year against teams with good doubles and a quality top of the lineup (such as Case).  I think the way the Panthers will beat opponents this year is by taking a couple doubles matches, based on matchups, and then really hit teams with their depth.  That strategy won’t work against the Eagles.  Even if Midd is able to take 2 of the bottom 3, which will be a tough go for sure, I still think they’ll need to take either 2 of doubles or 2 of the top 3 singles.  I like Emory at the top 3 spots, honestly, but won’t pick a sweep for the Eagles.  Let’s say Midd takes 1 of those matches.  That means they have to take 2 of the doubles, which is totally doable.  If this were on a neutral court and Middlebury was already battle tested, then I’d happily take the Panthers because I think they are the better team.  However, it’s not, and I’m taking Emory at #1 doubles and #3 doubles once again to make this one a 5-4 victory for the Eagles in what should be an epic battle.  Expect three-setters from at least two of the top 3 singles matches, and I wouldn’t be surprised if two of the bottom 3 go three either.  It’ll be a fun match to watch and it will bode watching for Emory’s following match the next day against Kenyon, as well.  Who knows, this might be one of those matches someone has to see, you know?

Match #7 – Case vs Depauw

D3NE: Two matches on the same day for both teams. Which Coach do you think has his players in better shape? Case, 8-1.

D3AS: Another 8-1 for Case.

Match #8 – Midd vs NCW

D3NE: Midd Midd Midd Midd Midddddddly Midd Midd Midd, Midd Midd Midd Midd Midddddly Midd Midd Midd, Mid Mid Mid Middd Middly Midd, ooo hoo hoo, hoo hoo, oooooooo. Over/under 3.5 normal singles starters? Does it even matter? Midd, 9-0.

D3AS: My question of the match for this match is “Will NCW get smoked 9-0 fast enough to catch the early Elite 8 games on Sunday?  And do they happen to like the sport of basketball?”

Match #9 – Kenyon @ Emory

D3NE: Hmmmm, again I’m bit out of my element here. These two teams put on a show at Indoors, with Kenyon battling back from a doubles deficit to almost upset the Eagles. Emory seems to have markedly improved over the course of the last month, while we really don’t know what the hell Kenyon’s been up to over that period of time. I can easily see Kenyon taking a doubles lead, but I think they’ll have to sweep if they want to feel totally confident going into singles. I’m taking Emory with its second 5-4 win over Kenyon in as many months.

D3AS: The big key to this match is fatigue, fatigue, fatigue.  Can Emory handle the three match slate against three top 11 teams and survive?  To me, this may be the most dangerous match for Emory because they will be taking on a team that wants revenge since the last time they played at Indoor Nationals.  Kenyon is a team that doesn’t really forget their losses and they sure as hell won’t forget the Emory loss.  In the Indoors match, Emory somehow took 2 of 3 doubles from Kenyon, and then Kenyon somehow took the top 3 singles against Emory.  It is very rare to see a team take the top 3 singles against another top 10 team (which I don’t know why I keep picking it, to be honest).  I don’t think that’ll happen again.  The Kenyon top trio of Raz, Heerboth, and Geier is definitely better than the Emory trio of Ruderman, Halpern, and Mosetick, but do I think they can get all 3 again?  No.  I’m going to go with Kenyon at the top 2 spots, assuming Raz is totally healthy and both Raz and Heerboth aren’t tired as hell from the weekend.  They should be in better shape than the Emory trio anyways since Emory has a tough slate this weekend.  That means Mosetick comes through in a breakout weekend performance.  After these three matches, I think the problem with this Emory/Kenyon matchup is that it is totally reasonable for Emory to take those bottom 3 singles matches again.  I said this back when they played at Indoors, but the potential weakness for the Eagles is at #4.  But still, Emory is better there.  Emory at all 3 bottom spots to make this score 4-2.  That means Emory only needs to take ONE doubles match to win this one.  I think they take 2, but this time it’s at #1 and #3 instead of #2 and #3.  Even if it’s just #3, that’s good enough.  I take Emory for their third win of the weekend, 6-3.

Phew, that was tiring.  Big ups to D3Northeast for dealing with my drunk ass and messing around in the google document.  This is going to be one hell of a weekend for DIII Tennis, and I’m really looking forward to seeing our supposed #5 team in the nation.  I’m also waiting for the time I can say “Ah ha! I told you Emory would be back!” At this point, I might as well say it for the rest of the year and if they don’t I’ll just get fired come season end.  As always, we’ll have the best twitter updates for you on our feeds, and we’ll try and get you some updated previews or recaps as the weekend goes on.  Oh, and we apologize if any of this preview is incoherent.  It’s most likely my fault.  It’s been a fun year so far and I really hope that I can catch a match or two one of these next few weeks….