Central Region Recap: March 9th

This has been a crazy few days in D3tennis. I can barely keep up with it all, and I apologize if I’m missing some stuff here and there (Case/Whittier match for instance). If there are things you guys are looking for or things you’d like to hear my thoughts on, please feel free to email me division3central@gmail.com and I will do my best…. Anyways…

#29 Chicago def Depauw: 7-2

Man, I was WAY off on this one… Looks like the tough start at home continued for the Tigers. I predicted a 5-4 Depauw win and I both overestimated the Tigers and underestimated the Maroons. I had my suspicions Chicago would be tough this year. Honestly, with the exception of the beating they took from Kenyon, they have been tough.

I wasn’t sure if Chicago’s doubles would be good enough against the Tigers on their home courts, but clearly they were. Depauw switched up the doubles teams at 1 and 2 with Moss back. Either a terrible coaching move or Chicago is just that much better. I don’t know what to believe. Either way, the match was basically sealed at this point. I just can’t believe how poorly Miles and Kopecky are playing right now…8-4 at 2 dubs is not a good sign. I don’t see Garlock and Moss beating too many 1 teams, not to take away anything from Sabada and Ravella. 3 dubs went exactly as I expected with a 1 break win for  Crawford and Zhang who played very well this weekend.

Singles was a jumbled mess for the Tigers and I really am wondering if those lineup switches are legit? Sabada cruised through a struggling Miles at 1, which wasn’t too shocking. Kopecky pulled out a close 3rd set breaker as I suspected would happen between him and Barghava. Here’s where it gets weird; Moss at 3 (from 5 singles before being out for 2 matches) had a decently close loss to Crawford, Garlock gets the bump to 4 and gets handled by Golovin, Bertolini comes back at 5 from what I will assume to be an injury and loses a close one to Zhang, and Kaczkowski moves from 3 to 6 and rolls through Abrams. Some odd moves there that I can only sort of understand. I know Moss and Garlock had been playing well and Bruynseels had been struggling, but Kaczkowski all the way down to 6 is a big jump. Either way, it didn’t make too much of a difference so no harm no foul.

Overall, this loss is another rubbing of salt from the wound from last weekend for the Tigers. They tried to mix their lineup up in hopes to create some magic but it may have end up costing them…who knows. Chicago sends a message that it’s still a dangerous team and if they can continue to improve they become scarier and scarier the deeper into the year we get. This is another good win to add to the Maroons decent resume.

#29 Chicago def. #30 Earlham: 6-3

This was a great opportunity for Earlham, but Chicago took another big step in the right direction showing their new-found toughness to win this 6-3. The Quakers came in as the underdog but this time with a little something to lose. Chicago could have been tired after their match with Depauw, but the fact they weren’t overly tested may have helped them here. I would not be surprised if some nerves played a role here with Earlham never really being on this stage before, a tough lesson to learn.

Doubles went exactly as I saw in terms of points, but I got 2 and 3 dubs switched. Huge win at 1 for Baratashevich and Ventura-Cruess 8-2, and another big win at 2 for Richter and Locklear. I gotta say I did not expect that one. Crawford and Zhang end Gavrilov and Maisey’s flawless run 8-5 to get the Maroons a much needed momentum boost. Earlham had to be confident at this point, this is exactly where they needed to be. Unfortunately for them, Chicago has some new-found grit and willpower and they’ve always had the singles talent.

The swing match in singles for me was at 1. Sabada taking out Baratashevich would really take the wind out of the Quakers sails as they rely heavily on the top 2. Sabada was able to win this and my guess is that set the table for everyone else. It should also be noted, he has turned into a damn good 1 and is putting together a great resume. Barghava bounced back with a big win over Locklear 2 and 3. Crawford made quick work at 3, and Golovin continued his solid singles play. Abrams gets a much needed win at 6 in a tough battle with Lawrence 5 and 5. The lone bright spot in singles for Earlham was Maisey. He was able to notch a victory over Zhang at 5, but it looks like Zhang had to retire. Hopefully nothing serious, but I would consider that a huge win Maisey if it was something minor that wasn’t affecting Zhang too much and he was avoiding serious injury with the match in hand.

Overall, this was a nice day for Chicago. It cemented them as a top 30 team and proved that they are a step up above these two teams. Something they must believe if they want to beat the likes of Wash U or Whitewater (both teams they can beat in my opinion). Earlham has to be a little disappointed they were not able to push the Maroons to at least some closer singles matches, but they did show some strength in doubles. If I’m Earlham though, I’m proud of the 6-3 effort all things considered.

Depauw def. #30 Earlham: 5-4

Well…it was fun while it lasted for the Quakers. You gotta believe these guys are out come next rankings. This is a really bad sign for Denison that’s for sure… Depauw, really really really needed this one and having the longer break between matches may have had slight impact towards the end of the match. Ultimately, not an excuse though, both teams played two matches. It will be interesting to see if the ranking committee put Depauw back in the rankings or if both these teams are on the outside looking in.

I had a lot of trouble predicting what the Tigers would do with their lineup and I obviously didn’t think the changes would be as extreme as they ended up being. With the switch of the 1 and 2 teams I’m not too surprised by those finishes. Earlham at 1 and Depauw at 2. Three doubles pulled off the big momentum swinger 8-6 for the Tigers. With the doubles being 9-7 at 1, 8-6 at 2 and 3 this match was bound to be tight. Singles didn’t disappoint.

All the singles matches went 3 sets except 2, 3, and 4 which were blowouts by Kopecky for the Tigers, Richter for the Quakers, and Bertolini for the Tigers. Kopecky is starting to come around and is playing some good tennis like he is capable of. Moss is a little out of his league at 3 it looks like, and Bertolini looks like he’s back to 100% and should be 3 from here on out. Baratashevich comes back huge to pull out the win at 1 over Miles (who is just dying for a D3 win). Maisey cements his solid play of the day with a nice win over Garlock in 3. Ultimately, Kaczkowski comes out huge for the Tigers at 6 to win if for them 5-4.

I know Earlham tweeted about cramps at the end of the match. If that’s the case that’s really tough luck as obviously this match could have gone either way. I think it’s a sign that Earlham was a bit nervous and they tightened up a little. Great fight from both teams but unfortunately neither team has too many more chances in the regular season. This doesn’t bode well for Earlham as they will have trouble against a difficult opponent in NCAA’s in an early round. Having said that, this could be a team that puts it together for one match and has an upset.

#21 Gustavus def. #28 Whitewater: 6-3

I would like to start by apologizing for picking against Gustavus in their bubble. Bad choice. I should’ve known after their huge win over Cruz and their “shoulda-woulda-coulda-won” loss to Hopkins at Indoors. These guys just know how to turn it on in their ultimate domain. Fortunately for them, most everything and everyone comes to them and they will be a favorite if they host NCAA’s again. If I can say, I really think these two teams are under ranked at the moment. Gustavus will likely move way up, but I don’t know where Whitewater moves. They have some “decent losses” with their win over Depauw looking a bit better now.

The fireworks started in doubles in this one. I had a feeling whoever could take the lead in doubles would win and I’m really surprised I predicted the Gusties to take the doubles lead but still lose. That wasn’t very smart of me. Leisner and Johnson continued their great play from indoors to win 8-5. Three doubles of McGlashen and Humphreys proved they are a legit 3 team and won 8-4. Impressive win there. One doubles looks to be the ominous foreshadowing for the Warhawks as Donkena and Smith-Dennis proved why they are one of the best doubles teams in the nation. (Note: I really love it when teams put up updates on their twitters about scores, it really makes it easier and more fun to break down matches.) From 2 breaks down Smith-Dennis and Donkena took the match 9-8. They snatched back any and all momentum the Warhawks had when it looked like this spot was headed their way.

Singles went down exactly as I saw at the top 3 spots and not so much at the bottom 3. Shklyar made a massive statement with his routine win over Smith-Dennis. I was definitely surprised at the score there. I gotta figure he’s top 5 in the Central at the moment. Donkena continued his hot-streak with a tight win over Balkin. These two always seem to have great battles. Chu continues to have McGlashen’s number, but this one was a lot tighter as McGlashen had the lead early. Chu was just too tough. Leisner must have played lights out, or I overestimated Humphreys for the Warhawks, I’m leaning towards the former in this one. Valentini made a coaching move switching MacGibbon to 5 and Entwistle to 6. This may have paid off had the 1 doubles gone the other way. Bayliss took out MacGibbon and Entwistle destroyed at 6.  I don’t know what happened there because as good as Entwistle is I find it hard to believe a guy who can beat Kenyon’s 6 (albeit Turlington is no longer in the lineup for the Lords…) to lose 0 and 1…but crazier things have happened.

Ultimately, I really should have gone with GAC in this one. These two teams are very evenly matched but the home-court advantage is massive for the Gusties. GAC continues to impress at home and they will be rewarded come next rankings I can presume. I think they are right around the 15-18 range at the moment. This is a team I really don’t want to have to face at the end of the year, especially on their home courts… The Warhawks still have some work to do and it appears they are just short of getting that statement win. They have chances coming up, but can they play “California Tennis” after being cooped up indoors for so long? A few positives for the Hawks; their 1 & 3 doubles teams looks to be pretty decent, they have a legit #1 singles, and Bayliss at 5 looks pretty tough too.

5 thoughts on “Central Region Recap: March 9th

  1. Anonymous

    just a side note.. shklyar’s last racket snapped in the 1st game of the second set against mya and he won the second set using a completely different racket..

    1. d3central

      Good stuff.. I love comments like this! Gimme the low down on this kinda stuff and I’ll try and incorporate it into my recaps. Shoot me an email or message me on twitter. Whether it be a racket switch, injury, line calls, fans, whatever. I love to speculate and everyone loves a little drama.

      1. Nicholas Ballou

        Haha, Shklyar. You frickin made my day by being able to win a match over a good player without even using your own rackets. Which in one hand is full of total lack of preparation on your part, but on the other is just oh so awesome. Congrats on doing that. Impressive and hilarious!

  2. Anonymous

    Kopecky deserves big credit for this match. Anchored very strongly at 2 doubles both off his return and serve, and played some great tennis in singles.

    1. d3central

      I gave him some props, but yeah he deserves a shoutout. Was clutch in the Earlham match. I still think him and Miles are their best doubles team.

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