Last night as I went through the weekend’s results, I was ready to start a tweet storm of scores and my thoughts on everything. However, before clicking send, I realized—tweet storms are usually pretty dumb. If you have a lot to say, maybe don’t go on a platform that limits you to 140 characters. So with that in mind, I present to you, in blog form, a rundown of this weekend’s results (in no particular order) of note accompanied by a few thoughts. Let’s go:
All boxscores are linked
UWEC def Carthage 6-3
The Blugolds followed the usual path to victory against Carthage, by winning against everyone except Herman Abban and Pawel Jaworski. The Redmen were missing their solid #3 Chris Conley unfortunately, but credit to UW Eau Claire on scoring a nice win over a ranked regional team nonetheless.
Millikin def Carthage 5-4
Chris Conley was back in for Carthage in this one, though he lost easily 6-2, 6-2 to Connor Sacks. Lukasz Jaworski stepped up for Carthage by getting them a rare win lower in the lineup (at #4), but that point, along with the usual three provided by his brother Pawel and Abban, would not be enough. This one came down to the wire, with Millikin’s Dane Pierantoni clinching the deciding match 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. Millikin’s coach Dustin Forman called it the best win in program history, so shoutout to the Big Blue!
Vassar def Babson 5-4
Vassar is making a name for themselves this year as a clutch team, three times now winning deciding matches with the overall score at 4-4. This time, it was freshman Allen Sokolov who played the role of hero, clinching things in a third set tiebreaker over Brandon Rosenbluth 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(3). I’ve been very impressed with the way Vassar has just found a way to win many times this spring, and this match was no exception. They’ve got a big matchup att home next weekend against RPI, where I’ll be fascinated to see if they can once again come up big when it matters.
MIT def Vassar 7-2
No surprise here, as the better team won, but shoutout to Nick Litsky for winning against Sean Ko for his 100th career victory. The senior has been a stalwart for Vassar during his four years and as his career winds down, he deserves some recognition for a very nice run with the Brewers.
Coe def Wabash 7-2
One of three good wins for Coe this past weekend. The straightforward doubles sweep was a good sign, as were the wins down at 5 and 6. Anderson was challenged by William Reifeis at the top spot, but as great #1s do, he weathered the storm for a three set win.
Coe def Rose Hulman 6-3
Good bounce back for James McManus and Josh Pudlo at 3 and 4 for the Kohawks, with both winning in straight sets after falling to Wabash earlier that day. Rose-Hulman is solid despite not having a great year so far, but this one never really felt like it was in doubt. Nothing special, but another good, solid win for Coe.
Coe def DePauw 5-4
Definitely the best win of the weekend for Coe. The box score pretty much says it all. Coe got the all important doubles lead, benefitted from a retirement at #3, and Brady Anderson did what he does with a three set win over Dan Rodefeld to clinch it at 5-3.
GAC def DePauw 8-1
Not a great weekend for the Tigers, whose stock took a step back in my eyes. I’m not quite as willing to say they have a real shot to beat Kenyon in the NCAC this year, given the 0-2 weekend. This one against GAC, however, isn’t as surprising or concerning though. All three doubles matches were close, and the singles matches had competitive scores except for one glaring exception, with Mohanad Al Houni waxing Rodefeld 6-0, 6-1. Not sure what happened there between the #1 and #4 players in the region, but it’s probably just a one-off. Last year Rodefeld got double bageled by Chicago’s Nicolas Chua, so this isn’t without precedent. Still, a bit of a headscratcher. Overall, not too concerned though, as Rodefeld is still on track for NCAAs as of now.
SNACK OF THE WEEK!
Clif bars are standard changeover fare, but let’s be honest, they’re pretty bad. The kid friendly version, though? So much better. Haven’t had one in ages, but these things rock.
TCNJ def Ithaca 7-2
Ithaca was without their #3 singles/#1 doubles player Michael Gardiner, but even in his absence the Bombers put together a good effort to keep things pretty close against TCNJ. The Lions swept doubles, but both 2 and 3 went to tiebreakers, and in singles they won at #1 in a super tiebreaker and at #6 7-6 in the third. A win is a win for TCNJ, but I’m still impressed with how competitive Ithaca kept this a most spots. Also, shoutout to senior Wes Davis for the straightforward 3&2 win over Jack August. Very solid win for him. Overall, my main takeaway from this one is that on the right day, Ithaca is good enough to beat Stevens in the Empire 8 final.
TCNJ def Franklin & Marshall 5-4
Another hard fought win for TCNJ here, and a big one as a loss would’ve really thrown a wrench into the Pool B discussion, as only two of TCNJ, UWW, and UCSC will qualify. The Lions are in the driver’s seat right now thanks to their win over Kalamazoo, but things could change with a tough loss. F&M took a surprising doubles lead thanks to an 11-9 tiebreak win at #1, but TCNJ won at all four singles spots where I would’ve expected them to—1, 2, 5, and 6. Mike Stanley went three sets at 6, but the other three were smooth sailing. F&M is a solid team, especially mid-lineup, so I don’t think it’s a shock that they really challenged TCNJ here.
Skidmore def Hobart 7-2
Skidmore is clearly the stronger team, but I was interested to see how the young Statesmen would do against the perennial conference champions. Not a particularly close 7-2, as Skidmore had too much firepower at the top and depth at the bottom for Hobart to make it interesting. Nice win for Alan Dubrovsky over Lucas Pickering at #3, though. Dubrovsky has had a very solid freshman campaign and figures to be a key part of Hobart’s potential success in the upcoming years.
Rochester def St. Lawrence 6-3
Not a match I anticipated to be so close, though Rochester didn’t seem to really be in too much danger of actually losing this one. What’s notable is that once again they were playing far from full strength, with Masaru Fujimaki and Andrew Nunno (their #1 and #2) both not playing. Not sure if it’s just bad luck or something else, but I don’t think Rochester has been at full strength since February. While injuries and illnesses affect every team, it seems that the Yellowjackets have been hit particularly hard this spring.
Carleton def Luther 8-1
Nice convincing win for the #14 Knights over the #16 Norse. I would probably say Luther’s ranking is a bit inflated, and this result suggests as much. Honestly though, I’m not sure who should be ahead of them instead. From about 16 to 23 or 24 the Central region is very close. The one bright spot from this match for Luther is obviously Kyle Appel, who broke into the regional rankings at #24 and recorded a nice win over Kevin Mei, 6-0, 6-4.
Oberlin def Wheaton 7-2
Although only separated by one spot in the Central rankings, Oberlin really sent a message with a comprehensive 7-2 victory, showing that what sets them apart from many teams around them in the rankings is their depth. Wheaton was without their #2 Dane Paulsen, and if he played this match certainly could’ve been a bit closer, but even with him, Oberlin still likely cruises lower in the lineup. Justin Ancona, the best player participating in this match, proved that by dropping just five total games on the day, but besides him and Matt Steiner, Wheaton just didn’t have the depth to compete. Gotta hope that Paulsen will return shortly, as a big match against Carthage awaits.
Case Western def Oberlin 6-3
Funny how against Wheaton, Oberlin couldn’t hang at the top of the lineup, but against Case they won their three points at 1 doubles and 1 and 2 singles. Tip of the hat to Ian Paik and Michael Drougas, who both won their singles matches easily, 6-2, 6-2. 3 and 4 singles were both tight, with Case winning second set tiebreakers in each to win, but Oberlin legitimately had a shot to win this match. It was still fairly far away from actually happening, but the gap between these teams is closing. Could Oberlin make a run in the NCAC tournament?
Augustana (Ill.) def UW La Crosse 5-4
Throwing this match in here because UW-La Crosse is ranked (#17) and Augustana isn’t, so good job Augies! This one came down to the wire, with Eric Pohl clinching the decider in a super tiebreaker, 6-1, 5-7, 10-8. Not a fan of the entire match being decided by a super breaker, but hey, it counts just the same.
Kalamazoo def UW Whitewater 5-4
Early in the season, I thought this one would’ve been a great battle, then as it approached I expected Kalamazoo to cruise based on both team’s results so far this spring, but the Warhawks continue to fight despite the drop off from last year. I’m speaking based mainly off what I’ve seen from their results, but they strike me a group with a lot of heart, so I’m happy to see them still staying relevant. Unfortunately they couldn’t get that fifth point, but still they have proven that any talk of them losing in the WIAC is quite a stretch, and more importantly they’ve shown that they have a real shot against Coe in a few weeks. That’s going to be a huge match, as a win likely gets them into Pool B ahead of UCSC, whose best win is against Caltech. With only two spots up for grabs this year and the three teams all having such different schedules, the Pool B debate could get interesting.
Did you know that if you copy a link, highlight some text, and then paste, the text automatically gets hyperlinked? I just figured that out! Would’ve been good to have discovered before the second to last boxscore, but still, that’s pretty sweet. Anyway, hopefully I covered your favorite NE or Central regional team. Have a great week everybody!