Alright gentlemen (and ladies?), here is the first big preview weekend of the year for my region. While I am not totally sure these matches will actually be played because the Midwest continues to get hammered with snow, I will do short previews for each of the matches that should occur. These won’t be line by line match ups as we have yet to see any lineups yet since no one has played and I already did that prediction in each team’s preview. Either way, I will give my prediction for each and we will see how it goes. Pray for good weather as I am ready to start seeing some solid tennis to be played. Needless to say, we all wish we could have the California weather!
Wash U @ Gustavus
Again, as I previously mentioned, we will see if this match actually happens. Wash U makes the trek up north to take on both Gustavus and Whitewater. I don’t really expect this to be terribly close as Wash U has reloaded with freshmen. While it is always tough to play in the bubble with the Gusties sure to have a big crowd, they just don’t have the talent to beat the Bears. Gustavus plays Carthage the night before this match so they will at least have a match under their belt with an easy win. That may play into their advantage as this will be Wash U’s first match of the season. I see the only potential wins for Gustavus would be to get one (two if they are lucky) of the doubles points and then 1 singles should be a close match between Smith-Dennis and Bush or Putterman. I am going to go with the Bears winning this match 8-1, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were to be 7-2
Chicago @ Kenyon
Chicago was supposed to play Kalamazoo last weekend, but this was canceled because of the weather. I really was hoping to see their lineup because Chicago’s potential for this season really depends on if Bhargava is in the lineup. If he is, he should play 3 singles, but since he was gone this fall, it is hard to say at this point. With Bhargava in the lineup, I think this could be the first time we see Kenyon as a weaker team than we expect from years past. I can only speculate on the lineup, but from what I have heard, Geier will be at 1 and Raz will play, but is not healthy. I think this has possible upset potential if Chicago were to steal two of the doubles points. If Kenyon pulls their patented (pending of course) doubles stack, they will probably be up 2-1 after doubles. It will be interesting to see who plays one doubles for Kenyon. They usually put a guy or two that don’t even play in the lineup in an effort to strengthen 2 and 3 dubs. They just happen to be talented enough to pull off a win here and there to make it ok. The only time I can say this has been a legitimate move was Case Western because Healey and Howe were dirty (thank you Christina Aguilera). I don’t think I am quite ready to write off Kenyon just yet and think they will prevail because the depth they have is just better. I will say Kenyon wins 6-3, but could easily see this going 5-4 in either direction.
Wash U @ Whitewater
Same story, different team for this one. Whitewater and Gustavus are on the same page in terms of talent and depth so I don’t have too much more to add to this one. Wash U is just stronger at every position. The All-Americans (you get AA if you win your ITA region in the fall) of Humpheys, Shklar/Balkin give them a shot to steal a point, but that is all they have. 8-1 Wash U
Chicago @ Denison
Denison isn’t ranked, but I figured I would at least add this match to the docket considering they usually are somewhere in the conversation. I think Chicago absolutely destroys Denison in this match. They just match up so well against them so I can’t see much of a competitive tilt here. I could be wrong and vastly overestimating Chicago’s potential, but I have no doubt that Denison isn’t much to write home about. I am going to say Chicago takes this one 7-2 and I am not sure where Denison gets the 2 points from, but I will give them one of the doubles slots and let’s go with 5 singles (Rajupet?).
Again, these previews are short because we have no idea of what the lineups will be as of yet. Once I have a better idea, I can speculate a bit more on who matches up with who and what that could mean for the team score. I look forward to the recap and I can do that then. One thing to note from last weekend’s matches between region teams would be the Jack Michael from Carroll win over Alex Harbert from Elmhurst. While the team’s they are on aren’t contending for much, both of these two guys potentially could be top 8 in the region and qualify for nationals. Harbert was as high as 9 last season I believe so this is a good win for Michael. He is a player to watch. Good luck to all this weekend and as always, feel free to comment with your own predictions!
Two words. Go LORDS!!!!!!
I understand calling Kenyon out for the doubles stack, and on paper, and in theory it might be one. However, if you look at the results the last 2 years, I would beg to differ.
2012, Griffin/Rosensteel went 7-2 at 1 doubles with wins over charles/rizzolo (national semifinalists), erani/lane (ojai champs) and goodwin/humphreys (in the ncaa finals!)
2013 Rosensteel/Burgin went went 8-1 at 1 doubles with wins over holt/shamshiri (national semifinalists), putterman/putterman, and healey/howe
While on paper it might seem as if the teams they’ve put at 1 doubles should be weaker than other potential combinations, you can’t argue with the results…
Rosensteel, Burgin, and Griffin all played in the singles line-up. Rosensteel and whoever he plays with ends up ranked in the top 20 Nationally. Where do you get your information?
He’s defending Kenyon, maybe you should read his post again.
I see references to a “stack” and pulling off wins “here and there.” That is not much of a defense.
“However, if you look at the past 2 years, I beg to differ.” I was defending the commenter.
Ah I knew I could finally stir up some conversation! I will rescind my comment about 2013. Rosensteel and Burgin were great. I think the biggest issue with Kenyon is they move their doubles teams around so much that it is hard to get a gauge as to who should be where. As I mentioned above, they are talented enough to put anyone at 1 doubles who can win, but I don’t necessarily believe it is their best doubles team. Griffin would be the prime example. The kid was good and yes they pulled off some wins, but don’t take the win loss record as any importance. They got the majority of the wins against lesser teams so that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Griffin (if anyone remembers) was an intimidating player as he hit the crap out of the ball particularly with his serve. With that, they were capable of beating anyone. Doubles is set up for that as well. On any given day, all it takes is a team that can hold serve and win in a tiebreaker. I will be the first to admit that the couple upsets they had were surprising to say the least late in the year, but again, I do not believe they were the best doubles team that should be at the one spot. This isn’t new knowledge. It is something coaches do a lot to strengthen the other doubles spots. Throw a mid level guy with a top guy out there and they can win, but will never be the favorites. If you look at the final rankings for 2011-12 when it came to NCAA selections, the top Kenyon doubles team was Raz/Williams and they were 11th in the region. The top 4 qualify for nationals. Those two played at the one spot most of the year until near the end when Griffin/Rosensteel were put together moving Raz/Williams to the 2 slot. Griffin/Rosensteel were never even in consideration for rankings until after nationals in which they finished 11th in the region largely due to their upsets in the team championships. Like I said, I stand by my comment in regards to 2012.
Apparently I have two matches backwards. Chicago plays @ Denison on Saturday and then @ Kenyon on Sunday. Could be to their advantage to play a solid team first before heading into Kenyon. But that would only be the case if it’s not a long tough match.