Salutations DIII tennis fans and welcome to my inaugural post in what is likely my final season as a full-time blog writer (I’m seriously serious this time). Over my four years of West region blogging, I’ve found that, even though the the conference is a bit of a one-trick pony, the NWC is somewhat like a fine wine in two ways: it is both an acquired taste and it gets better with age. It may even have become my favorite conference to write about, which I realize is a bit like saying Sir Mix-A-Lot is my favorite artist, which is also true. (Baby Got Back was good, but “Posse On Broadway” and “My Hooptie” were a shockingly underrated songs. That’s all I’m really trying to say). Have I successfully lost my entire audience? Good, let’s get to the preview.
Singles
Favorite – Zach Hewlin, Whitman
The defending champion finished last season on a tear after losing a couple big matches over Spring Break, notably slaughtering Ross Putterman in his last match of the season. He’s the #1 seed, and if he can pick up where he left off, he’s obviously the player to beat.
Other Contenders (by team)
Whitman – The last several ITA finals have been all-Whitman affairs, and if this year follows that same pattern, Hewlin’s likely opponent will be either the Phil Locklear, the senior Earlham transfer, or Chase Friedman. If I had to put money down, I’d go with Locklear since he didn’t lose in the first round here last year or cramp several times during the season. I trust him to be more consistent and make a deep run, but he’ll have to beat the opponent between his ears. Whitman’s two juniors are abroad, so if anyone else is gonna make a run, it will probably be Gary Ho, the guy who got two nice wins en route to the semis here last year before summarily disappearing for the rest of the season.
Pacific – The Boxers put the first real scare in Whitman’s NWC supremacy last year, but after graduating their top two, they probably don’t have a dog in the fight big enough to win the whole thing. If anyone can do it, it’s Brennan Faith, but the big server has some tough early-tournament competition to get through, and I’m not sure he’s consistent enough to win five hard matches in a row. Mulhern is their #2 guy according to seeds, but I honestly see him going out first round to Whitman’s Rapoport.
George Fox – Unlike the Boxers, the Bruins didn’t suffer much from graduation. They basically lived off their top three players last season, and they’re all back. After donating a weekend afternoon to watching a Whitman stream of these guys (I have a very fulfilling life, I swear), I can honestly say that Andrew You might be a crazy person, but he uses it to his advantage. He made a nice run to the semis here last year before pulling out due to injury, and he has a very favorable draw into the semis. The other two Bruins who could factor in are Lilley and Watanabe. Watanabe (the Bruin #1) would have to go through Ho and Friedman to make the semis, while Lilley will probably have to beat Rapoport and Hewlin. Those are both pretty tall tasks.
Lewis and Clark – I totally jumped on the Pioneers bandwagon last season when they nabbed a four star recruit, but Mr. West didn’t play a match in a LC uniform all spring. I was all set to do it again this year when they landed two more three-stars and I heard rumblings about West’s return. Instead, West isn’t playing, only one of the three-stars is playing, and their #1 player (Brewer) is out, presumably studying abroad. They may make a run at the NWC #2 spot in the spring, but they won’t factor in the singles draw. Their #1 got an early date with Hewlin and their other guys, while plenty good enough to win two or three matches, almost certainly won’t make it to the final day. It will be interesting to see how their 3-star freshman, Raed Attia, handles an early-round match with Brennan Faith.
Linfield – This tournament marks the Linfield debut of Ben Belletto. He’s got new courts, but he’s taking the helm of one of the worst teams in DIII. I have no doubt that he’ll have that program up and humming in a couple years, but we’ll just have to check in with them periodically until they get there.
Doubles
The Favorite – Hewlin/Locklear, Whitman
This is where I actually believe Whitman might not continue their string of regional titles. Hewlin is a good doubles player and Locklear has some good returns, but he was not in Whitman’s starting doubles lineup last season (and their #3 doubles was abysmal). They’re still the favorite in my book because I’m a notorious front-runner, but I’m putting them on upset alert.
Other Contenders (by team)
Whitman – oh my, I had no idea how bad this was. Without Hoeger, Whitman’s stables of doubles players are sparse. Their #2 team in the tournament is Carter/Locklear (sticking with the big server/solid returner trope), but they’ll have a tough second round match. Even if they make it through that, the #1 seeds will be waiting.
Pacific – a Boxer won’t be winning the singles title this year, but on the doubles court they could potentially do some damage. Faith and Bernstein have a relatively nice draw into the quarters, while the teams of Winiger/Wight and Muhlern/Moisson could both potentially make the quarters. All three of those teams have at least one player on them who has given Whitman fits in the past. Anything can happen in a proset.
George Fox – Despite what I just said about Pacific, it’s the Bruin team of Watanabe and Lilley that is keeping me up at night if I’m Coach Northam. They’re the #1 seeds and Watanabe is a legitimately great doubles player. He would start in the doubles lineup in just about any team ranked 10-30. Lilley’s game is a little goofy, but together they’re dangerous. They have a nice draw into the quarters. Their #2 team is You and Mishashiro. I haven’t actually seen Mishashiro play, but You is good enough to carry a team if needed. An interesting second round match with Ross and Attia from Lewis and Clark looms.
Lewis and Clark – The Pios have several legitimately solid doubles teams in Barrows/Colling, Ross/Attia, Trouerbach/DeLuca, and Barrows/Hahm. Do I think any of them could actually win the thing? Absolutely not. But any of them could pull off an upset along the way.
There you have it. More than you ever wanted to know about the NWC and some bulletin board material for the three Pacific and George Fox fans out in Readerville. I’m really looking forward to the weekend! Pacific became the first non-Whitman team to earn a national ranking last year, and it’s exciting to think that the team to pick up the West-region slack for CLU and Whittier might be coming out of the PNW.
Stay tuned later this week for a Southwest regional preview (hopefully from a collaborator who is really REALLY excited about Texas tennis).
Go Boxers!