The Battle for Sixth Street!

The time has finally come for CMS and PP to renew their cross-campus rivalry, and I could not be more excited. After suffering direct losses to Williams, CMU, Midd, Emory, and Amherst (coupled with Bowdoin’s win over CMS), Pomona-Pitzer likely does not have a way into the NCAA tournament through Pool C (which is an absolute travesty, by the way). Accordingly, this match takes on even more meaning than it normally would. If P-P were to beat CMS, they might be able to sneak in through Pool C on the overall strength of their resume even with a loss to the Stags in the SCIAC tournament, as the Hens have won way more matches against ranked teams than any of their Pool C competitors in the UAA. The NESCAC is gonna go beat up on itself, and they’ll all have impressive resumes by the end of the year, but I could see P-P getting in over a team like Case or CMU if they get just one win over the Stags.

The Stags, meanwhile, are already a lock for the tournament. Despite their loss to Bowdoin, their wins over Amherst, Chicago, and Williams will carry them into the tournament, even if they were to lose to Pomona-Pitzer twice. Both of these scenarios end up deeply upsetting D3NE and D3AS, so naturally, I’ll be rooting pretty heavily for the Sagehens in this match. Let’s break it down.

#1 Doubles: Butts/Mork (CMS) vs. Maassen/Simonides (PP) – Simonides’ diminutive serve will be a handicap here for the Sagehens, but look for PP to take control of the match on the strength of the sophomore’s strong two-handed backhand return. Butts and Mork haven’t done much this season. 8-6 PP

#2 Doubles: Macey/Seifert (CMS) vs. Kim/Yazgoor (PP) – Look for the Stags to ride their massive experience advantage in this match to an easy victory. 8-4 CMS.

#3 Doubles: Hull/Yeh (CMS) vs. Chadalavada/Bello (PP) – For the sake of speculation, I’m going to guess that Bello will be back for this one. Even without Bello, I’m leaning towards P-P. Hull and Yeh have yet to give me reason to trust them in doubles this season. 9-8 PP

#1 Singles: Butts (CMS) vs. Maassen (PP) – Look for Butts to ride his serve to victory in this one. Maassen’s returns are pretty mediocre, and Butts really likes to come in behind that lefty slice on the ad side. It will be tough for Maassen to win break points against that play. Nevertheless, I’m going with Maassen 6-4, 6-2

#2 Singles: Hull (CMS) vs. Yasgoor (PP) – The CMS freshman has been really struggling to win matches lately, but he’ll be coming up against a guy who hasn’t really proven himself. In fact, I don’t think Yasgoor has won any matches against CMS players in his entire career, certainly not against a player of Hull’s caliber. Hull 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

#3 Singles: Mork (CMS) vs. Kim (PP) – Neither of these guys tend to play long matches, so look for this one to be over quick one way or the other. I’d expect Kim to come away with this one thanks to his one-hander, which he frequently hits for crafty drop shots. Kim 6-7, 7-6, 10-8

#4 Singles: Macey (CMS) vs. Bello (PP) – Again, I’m assuming the big PP senior will be playing in this match, or PP simply doesn’t stand a chance. Macey is another CMS freshman who has been struggling lately, and he doesn’t really have a history of coming up big in important moments. I’m expecting him to go down without much of a fight in this match. Bello 6-4, 6-3

#5 Singles: Yeh (CMS) vs. Malech (PP) – Here’s a match between two guys who are having terrible seasons. I can’t think of the last time either guy won. If I have to pick someone to win the match, I’m going to lean towards Malech just based on his edge in experience. Malech 6-3, 4-6, 10-8

#6 Singles: Vemuri (CMS) vs. Gearou (PP) – If there is one thing CMS has had this season, it’s stability at the #6 singles position. They really fall off after their top six, and they don’t really have anyone else who could step in and play here effectively. More of the same for PP, but I’m leaning towards Vemuri to win this match in two quick sets. 7-6, 7-6.

There you have it. 6-3 PP in the upset! This should really throw a wrench into things.