Happy Friday, boys and girls, and welcome to the 1st of what will be far too many weekend previews throughout the spring. Today, as we tend to do, we’re looking ahead to tomorrow, where we have three big matchups with Redlands @ Pomona Pizzeria, UWW @ GAC, and Bates @ MIT. In this article alone we have a combo of D3West and D3West Jr, D3Midwest and yours truly all with our separate match-by-match previews. The biggest match is probably the one out west, so that’s where we’ll begin.
#17 Redlands @ #12 Pomona-Pitzer, 10 a.m. PT
Here’s a Redlands/Pomona-Pitzer preview (mostly) from the new guy:
“It’s finally here! The date you all circled on your calendars as the best match in the country for the week following indoors. Crazy, I know. This Saturday, the Redlands Bulldogs travel 30 min down I-10 to face the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. These two teams generally have the pleasure of battling it out twice annually, and the last time (during SCIAC’s) Redlands managed to take a 2-1 doubles lead, only to throw it away to a Yasgoor-less P-P squad. This year there is MUCH much more on the line. Rather than a spot in the SCIAC finals against CMS, there are Pool C implications galore, especially in a year where DIII tennis is blessed with a 6th spot. But I’m definitely getting ahead of myself with any pool-c talk, so let’s jump into the match-by-match breakdown…
PP UTR Power 6: 73
Redlands UTR Power 6: 72
Doubles is definitely going to be the key for the winning team here. Neither team should get swept, and I think the Redlands teams have formed a little more chemistry given the P-P switch after SBWW.
#1D Massen/Mandic (P-P) v. Dulle/Ly (Redlands): Massen and Mandic haven’t had the great start to the season they probably would have hoped for, going 1-2 this past weekend at Indoors, and I think this is P-P’s weakest doubles team. Dulle and Ly have played together for 2+ years and I think they get the Bulldogs first point on the board. Redlands 8-5
#2D Bello/Bicks (P-P) v. Cummins/Lipscomb (Redlands): This is a swing match. Cummins and Lipscomb got the job done against Brandeis last weekend; meanwhile, Bello and Bicks faced some stiff competition at indoors, going 0-3 on the weekend as well. I think this is going to be 9-8 match either way, and for now, I’ll give the edge to the team with a former Ojai doubles champion. Redlands 9-8
#3D Yasgoor/Simonides (P-P) v. Suchodolski/Wilson (Redlands): This is a doozy of a #3 doubles match with four seniors going at it. Compared to their Bulldog counterparts, however, the Hens are more experienced doubles players here, and I think they’ll be the saving grace for PP in doubles (as they were at Indoors). Pomona-Pitzer 8-6.
#1 Yasgoor 12.89 v. Lipscomb 12.50: Wow this match is a doozy, given that neither Yasgoor or Lipscomb are very familiar with losing singles matches. Lipscomb hits the living daylight out of the ball, but we all know Yasgoor can hang with the biggest hitters. This one is going to be tight no doubt (possssible swing match), but give the edge to Yasgoor after his solid display this weekend. P-P 7-6 7-6
#2 Maassen 12.47 v. Wilson 12.32: A little senior-on-senior action going on in this one. Simply put, Maassen’s playing style is a little bit of a mismatch for the epitome of a grind that is Wilson. P-P 7-5, 6-3
#3 Bello 11.76 v. Dulle 11.73: Very similar game styles going on in this one, and definitely one of the many swing matches in the singles portion of this match. I think it’s going to come down to who wants it more in this one. Redlands 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
#4 Kim 11.79 v. Suchodolski 10.11: Suchodolski’s UTR stands out in a sea of 11’s, but remember that the senior hasn’t been at full strength since playing #3 singles his first couple years. He’s rounding into form, as is Kim, who still hasn’t found his juju this season. This senior-on-senior match may ultimately decide the match. When in doubt, lean towards the home court advantage. Pomona Pitzer 7-6, 6-7, 7-6.
#5 Marko Mandic 11.74 v. Ly 11.97: This is a really exciting match up. Both players are playing really well so far this season (Mandic 8-0, Ly 3-0), and I don’t think either of them will let up in this one. I think the bulldog senior leaves it all on the court in this one. Redlands 7-6, 4-6, 6-3
#6 Josh Gearou 12.01 v. Davis 11.29: Josh Gearou is grinding all his opponents to dust so far this season, and I don’t think that will stop here against Davis. P-P 6-3, 6-3
I think if the Bulldogs can manage to squeak out a doubles lead the match is entirely theirs for the taking. P-P has always been strong/deep at the bottom of the lineup, and given that their 5 and 6 are still undefeated this season, I think we can safely say that’s still the case. P-P’s weaker lineup spots are at the middle of the lineup, which is conveniently where the Bulldogs conceded their only points against Brandeis this past weekend. If the Bulldogs can take advantage of them there, however, they might just come up with the upset.”
#20 Gustavus Adolphus vs. #32 UW-Whitewater, Saturday 9 am Central
D3Midwest10s: Indoors is over, which means I now get to write about teams that actually matter. Luckily for me, #23 Gustavus Adolphus and #17 UW-Whitewater are two of my favorites. They conduct themselves well on the court (most of them…), work their butts, and have head coaches I thoroughly respect in Tommy Valentini and Frank Barnes.
In recent years, these two teams have formed a bit of a rivalry. Last year, the Warhawks defeated the Gusties in a 5-4 thriller, where three singles matches went the distance. It marked the first time since 2012 that UWW beat GAC. This year, I wouldn’t say expectations are the highest for either team. Gustavus started the season off with a couple tough losses to Whitman and Pomona, though both are now ranked in the top 10 nationally! Meanwhile, Whitewater was hit with graduation and the unexpected loss of projected #1 Rithwik Raman; they also barely squeaked by unranked Wheaton 5-4. With that, the winner will get a big morale boost.
Before we head into the match-by-match analysis, please note that there will be a live stream for all six courts. You can find links to each of them at https://gustavus.edu/athletics/mt/schedule/.
#1 Doubles: Grant Thompson/Jimmy Engelhart (UWW) vs. Mohanad Alhouni/Patrick Whaling (GAC): Both of these teams are relatively new. Thompson was originally paired with Raman before Noodles’ injury, and Whaling was battling illness early on, so Mohanad was paired with Chase Johnson. However, GAC is the more proven team. Alhouni/Whaling reached the ITA semi in the fall, and Alhouni has high-level experience at 1. I think the Gustavus pair does big things from this point forward, especially with Whaling healthy. GAC 8-5.
#2 Doubles: Zack Wood/Rory Calabria (UWW) vs. Zack Ekstein/Tommy Entwistle (GAC): On paper, Ekstein and Entwistle should win this match. They now have over a year of experience at #2 and have also come up big in pressure situations. Against nationally-ranked opponents this season, the GAC combo has losses to Pomona and Whitman and a win against Pacific. It’s important to point out that Chase Johnson might be playing in place of Zack Ekstein, which was the case against Grinnell last week. Either way, whoever we see at #2 will be good. Meanwhile, Wood and Calabria are looking like a strength in UWW’s doubles lineup. It’s a little difficult to speak about them, though, given that this is the first year they have playing experience, and UWW’s strongest D3 opponent thus far has been Wheaton. Tough one here, but I’m going with experience. GAC 9-7.
#3 Doubles: Zane Navratil/Matt Zurowski (UWW) vs. David Hagberg/Michael O’Neil (GAC): Even with Haggy’s monster 130 mph serve, I worry a bit about Gustavus at #3 doubles. Maybe it’s because the other two GAC teams are so good at their respective positions. Anyway, Zane seems pretty chill, and I don’t like predicting doubles sweeps. UWW 9-8 (15).
#1 Singles: Grant Thompson (UWW, 11.38) vs. Mohanad Alhouni (GAC, 12.91): Grant has impressed me. He comes into the season probably thinking he’s going to play #2 and has done more than a formidable job at #1 so far. His most impressive result has been a superbreaker win over Wheaton’s Justin Ancona. On the other side, Mohanad is Mohanad. We all know that he’s fantastic, and we can’t underplay how big his wins against Zach Hewlin and Jake Yasgoor were. Alhouni got the better of Thompson in the fall, but the outcome of this contest will have a lot to do with who is mentally stronger. Despite how much I hate chair umpires and line judges, hopefully there is at least a roaming ump paying close attention to this one. GAC 6-4, 6-4.
#2 Singles: Zane Navratil (UWW, 11.26) vs. Zach Ekstein (GAC, 12.04): Circle this one as a match to watch on the stream. The Zs had incredible seasons last year – Zane at 5 and Zach at 3. So far, Ekstein has mirrored that success at 2 in 2017, with his lone loss coming to Pacific in a superbreaker. He notched impressive wins over Whitman’s Petar Jivkov and Pomona’s Antony Bello. Zane hasn’t proven himself yet at 2, with a loss coming to Wheaton’s Dane Paulsen last week. He could very well end up being a solid 2, but there aren’t enough results to favor Zane on paper. GAC 7-5, 7-6 (3).
#3 Singles: Jimmy Engelhart (UWW, 11.22) vs. Patrick Whaling (GAC, 11.78): I’ve mentioned in previous articles that I’m not really sure where Whaling came from. Last year, he started only a couple matches – at 6 – but stormed the fall. A rumored illness has led to a slower start to 2017, but if Whaling is healthy, he could be GAC’s strongest spot in the singles lineup. Engelhart is still adapting to a starting role, with a few losses in 2017. GAC 7-5, 6-2.
#4 Singles: Matt Zurowski (UWW, 10.39) vs. Tommy Entwistle (GAC, 11.18): Not to sound like a broken record, but Entwistle is favored on paper. He’s got a year of experience at 4/5, and Zurowski is only a freshman. Tommy has some ups and downs during matches, but if he’s playing at his best, he should win in straights. Still, I think the dual will be clinched before this one starts a third set. GAC 6-2, 5-7, 10-4.
#5 Singles: Rory Calabria (UWW, 10.68) vs. Chase Johnson (GAC, 11.57): Neither of these guys has that much playing experience at this point, and since I’ve already predicted four GAC singles wins, it’s probably appropriate to give this one to Rory. UWW 5-7, 7-5, 11-9.
#6 Singles: Zach Wood (UWW, 10.54) vs. Gabe Steinwand/Yassine Derbani (GAC, 10.99/11.27): The 6 spot for GAC seems to be a bit of a revolving door like last year. At think point, I think it’s most likely we see Steinwand or Derbani. On the other hand, Wood seems locked in at 6 for UWW. Despite a tight superbreak win to start off the D3 season against Wooster, Wood has rolled past his other opponents. I guess I’ll go with the mainstay. UWW 6-4, 3-6, 10-6.
There you have it. Gustavus “upsets” Whitewater 6-3. I actually think the outcome will be slightly different, but I don’t want any coaches to be mad at me…Needless to say, I’m getting up early to watch online.
#19 Bates @ #16 MIT, Saturday 4 p.m. EST
Somehow I have 3rd billing in an article with two newbie writers, but here goes. Bates travels down to Cambridge this weekend in the first match between two top-30 NE teams this spring. The match means more to Bates than it does to MIT in terms of NCAA selection process, but after Bates’ 6-3 loss to PP on their spring break, the Bobcats are in need of a rebound win. MIT, on the other hand, has looked very impressive to start 2017. They took down Bentley, Navy, and Boston University in February, and Tyler Barr earned my POTW honors last week. Bates has beaten MIT in four of the past five years, but this is likely the first time that MIT will be favored going into the match. In fact, MIT has a couple of writers talking about this Engineer squad having a top-10 team. I’m not quite there yet, but this team certainly has that potential. To continue the way of this long-winded preview, here is a little match by match breakdown.
#1 doubles: Rosen/Ellis (Bates) vs Cauneac/Lilley (MIT). Bates has historically been better in this department than MIT, and Rosen/Ellis won both their matches against PP and CMS. Edge to Bates here, 8-5
#2 doubles: Ordway/Schwartz (Bates) vs Barr/Go (MIT). A spot where both teams have been strong this year, and a spot I think Bates needs to win if they are going to pull off the upset. Bates 8-6
#3 doubles: Quijano & Glover/Leiner (Bates) vs Ko/Cheng (MIT). Bates has used two different #3 teams so far, but whichever team Coach Gastonguay uses on Saturday will be an underdog against a strong #3 team from MIT. MIT 8-5
#1 singles: Rosen (Bates, 12.83) vs Cauneac/Barr (MIT, 12.51/MIT, 12.75). Rosen went down to Yasgoor and Hull out in California, but I’m not worried about the junior. Cauneac and Barr have been switching off at #1 and #2 for MIT, so I’m not sure who will be at the top spot. Rosen beat Cauneac last year, but I think putting Cauneac at 1 is a safer play for MIT, because he can beat Rosen, and Barr matches up well with Ellis. Bates, 7-5, 6-4.
#2 singles: Ellis (Bates, 11.86) vs Barr/Cauneac (MIT, 12.75/MIT, 12.51). If Barr plays #2, I think this match leans heavily in MIT’s favor. If not, look for a back and forth match as Ellis is a never-say-die type. MIT, 6-3, 6-2.
#3 singles: Ordway (Bates, 11.42) vs Ko (MIT, 12.26). Ordway played at #3 against PP and CMS and lost both matches in straight sets. Results dictate that Cheng might be the guy at #3 for MIT as the season goes on, but it’s been more of Ko recently. Ko out-grinds Ordway, MIT 6-4, 6-1.
#4 singles: Quijano (Bates, 11.46) vs Cheng (MIT, 12.46). Big matchup here. “Q” has been playing as well as anybody for Bates, but the same could be said for Cheng, who has been one of the impact freshmen in the region so far this spring. I’ll take the freshman in 3 back and forth sets. MIT 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
#5 singles: Schwartz (Bates, 10.46) vs Go (MIT, 12.36). Huge UTR edge to MIT here, but Schwartz only has a 38% reliability (or progress or whatever the name for it is these days). Like Cheng, Go has been excellent to start off the year, and while Schwartz might be able to give him a tougher time of things, it’s not a guarantee he plays in the lineup. Either way, I like MIT here, 7-5, 6-2.
#6 singles: Feldman (Bates, 11.14) vs Gea (MIT, 11.51). Some senior on senior action at the anchor spot. Feldman took a set off Gearou, but ultimately fell in the 3rd. Gea has probably been the weakest spot so far this year for MIT, but he is the lone senior in the singles lineup. If it’s not Gea, it will likely be Lilley, MIT’s other starting senior, so no experience edge for Feldman. I’ll take MIT in a tight two-setter, 7-5, 7-5.
My math gives me MIT in a 6-3 win where their middle of the lineup is just too strong for Bates. It will be interesting to see just how different a team Bates is indoors, as I suspect they may be slightly stronger than who we saw in California, but MIT’s singles lineup appears potent and ready to strike. As cliched as it sounds, we will know much more about both of these teams after the match on Saturday afternoon.