FINAL 4 PREVIEW: AMHERST VS. TRINITY TX

West: Wow, what a match for Trinity today. They came out and got the doubles lead they apparently didn’t even need, their seniors came up huge in singles, and Skinner stayed in the groove he developed in Minnesota. They also corrected the one major criticism I had of them going into this tournament by going 2-1 in tiebreakers and winning a 9-7 proset at #3 doubles. All told, if they can play another match like they did today, I think they can beat Amherst and move into the finals to potentially avenge their only other loss of the season. It won’t be that simple, however. I’m worried that the Tigers used up all of their emotional energy to get over the hump that has been haunting the program for the last half decade and they won’t be able to repeat the performance. They’re also going up against a team that can match them in terms of experience, unlike Wash U who should be totally stacked next year. (Their lineup is junior, freshman, freshman, senior, sophomore, junior + a bunch of talent coming in). No shame in losing this one for the Bears. Despite losing the semifinal streak, Wash U should finish in the top 5 for the nth consecutive time, which is certainly nothing to be ashamed of considering all the talent they lost last year.

NE: First thing’s first, 2 NE TEAMS AND 2 WEST TEAMS IN THE SEMIS! HELLZ YEAH!!! Where is all the UAA talk now? Moving on from unresolved regular season issues, everyone has been talking about the Tigers’ big win today. This talk is totally well-deserved, but let me tell you, the focus on Trinity is totally fine with Coach Garner and his Amherst squad. Amherst looked mighty fine against a very talented Emory squad today. They easily took 2 out of 3 doubles matches, and took control with 5 out of 6 1st sets. The only guy who didn’t win his 1st set, was up big in the 2nd set when the match was called. Before the tournament started, all anyone (not including The Blog of course) talked about  was CMS and if they could finally win it all. Now there are a couple of other hot topics, can Hansen/Midd take down a “vulnerable” CMS team? Can Trinity continue their hot play and upset another giant? For whatever reason, Amherst isn’t the talk of the tournament right now, freeing the Jeffs from extra distractions and even giving them a slight chip on their New England shoulders.

#1 doubles: Deuel/Moreno (TU) vs. Fritz/Reindel (Amherst)

 

West: To put a West spin on things here, TU really played a good match at #1 doubles. After a very poor first game from Nico, they definitely outplayed the Bears (won more points despite losing one more game), but Putterman’s serve was just too good. That’s back-to-back close losses, and while it’s not necessarily reason to be super optimistic about their match with Amherst, I don’t think they’ll go down without a fight. I actually haven’t seen Fritz and Reindel play together, so I’m eager to know what that looks like. Going by results, I have to go with Amherst, but this should be close.

NE: I loved the fight from this Amherst team earlier today. They went down an early break, and were at one point down 6-3. Then they battled back to 6-6, went down 6-7, and fought off an elimination game. Even though Fritz/Reindel fell in a breaker, they shouldn’t be too frustrated with their play today. We all know this combination is solid, and they have not lost back to back DIII matches all spring. Deuel/Moreno put up a good fight against a solid team in Putterman/Bush, so I expect this one to be close.

West Prediction: 9-7 Amherst

NE Prediction: 9-8 (4) Amherst

 

#2 doubles: Mayer/Haugen (TU) vs. Revzin/Yaraghi (Amherst)

 

West: Again, These guys have been rock solid for TU this year, and they were again today. Today’s match had a very interesting cadence to it, as they went up a double break, watched Wash U come all the way back and broke for the victory. I think a victory from these two experience Tigers is a necessity for TU, and I think they’ll get it in another close one. Emory’s doubles is atrocious, so you can’t really learn anything from Amherst’s win today.

NE: Despite what the curmudgeonly Mr. West says (how have we not made more Kanye jokes this year?) I was impressed with this Amherst team today. I know Emory isn’t known for their doubles, but they are known for their energy and diminutive stature. Revzin/Yaraghi have remained Amherst’s biggest doubles question mark, so it was big for the duo to hit the ground running today. The Trin team will present a whole new challenge for the sophomore tandem, but I still think this match will stay close the whole way through.

West Prediction: 8-6 TU

NE Prediction: 8-5 TU

 

#3 doubles: Niess/Curtis (TU) vs. Dale/Solimano (Amherst)

 

West: On a day when most freshmen played with Bambi eyes, Niess seemed like the most experienced play on the court today. After losing a double break lead and three match points on his service game (thanks to three massive Hirsh returns), Niess recovered quickly to crush three winners in the next game to break back en route to the victory. They’re gonna need a lot more of that tomorrow, as Solimano and Dale are one of the strongest teams out there. My brain is telling me to go with Dale, the senior Texan, but my loins are telling me Tigers. I always go with my loins.

NE: Sorry old friend, I want absolutely nothing to do with your loins. Niess was fun to watch today, in fact the end of 3 doubles might have been the most exciting tennis shown all day. HOWEVER, as good as Chu/Hirsh have been all year, Dale/Solimano are a better team. They have the experience factor (Dale), they have the sick hands (Solimano), and they have a little bit of momentum of their own after cruising by Marshall Mathers and his partner today vs. Emory. The adrenaline ride has to end at some point, and I’m banking on at the hands of a more than capable Jeffs team.

West Prediction: 9-8 (6) TU

NE Prediction: 8-5 Amherst

 

#1 singles: Deuel (TU) vs. Fritz (Amherst)

 

West: NE hasn’t even started writing this yet, but I know he’s going with Amherst because he has a shrine to the guy hidden behind a picture of Che Guevara in his closet. I’m going to play the devil’s advocate. Deuel lost just one DIII match in straights this year, and he appears to be on a roll in terms of clutch play. Ultimately, I can’t go against the Amherst senior, but if any set goes to a tiebreaker, put all your money on Deuel. I know NE is looking ahead to Fritz/Wood, but there should be some pretty sweet backhands in this match as well. Note to Deuel: he likes to hit it down the line, on occasion.

NE: What I do on my own time is none of your business thank you very much. After the madness of Natties has passed us by, I’ll list out my All NE Man-Crush team. Now if you excuse me it’s time for my nightly ritual (pleasure myself, weep, and repeat). OK, I’m back and ready to talk about just how sexy Fritz’s backhand is. Answer, like Jean Claude Van Damme doing a split on two movie semis. Deuel is no slouch in this regard, and he will certainly push Joey. But we all know who I like in this match

West Prediction: 6-2, 6-7 (0), 6-3 Amherst

NE Prediction: 6-3, 6-4 Amherst (Clincher!)

 

#2 singles: Haugen (TU) vs. Dale (Amherst)

 

West: You just can’t say enough about Haugen’s effort today. I know Carswell didn’t play his best tennis, but when the Bear freshman mounted a charge, TU’s senior showed some serious stones to clinch it for his team. Tomorrow’s opponent won’t be quite so nervy, as he’ll be going up against a seasoned veteran in Dale. Dale’s return to the lineup has shot new life into Amherst, but he’s got some notable losses on his resume that prove he’s beatable (namely Yasgoor). At the same time, I think he’ll play well tomorrow and overwhelm Haugen in a great battle of seniors.

NE: Haugen had to be one of my players of the day. An Elite-8 win as a senior has to be a fantastic moment, but the fact of the matter is that he beat the best damn #2 in the entire country. I don’t care if Carswell was vomiting peeps, I was damn impressed with Haugen. He’ll be going up against another veteran in Dale tomorrow, who looked awfully good vs. Halpern today. I see this one as being a close match, and a match that Trinity needs to win if they are going to make it back to back upsets.

West Prediction: 6-3, 7-5 Amherst

NE Prediction: 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 DNF (Amherst leads)

 

#3 singles: Moreno (TU) vs. Solimano (Amherst)

 

West: Solimano is another guy with 0 DIII losses this season. He didn’t play in singles in Amherst’s match against CMS, but he still has a bunch of impressive wins this season. Moreno hasn’t been nearly as solid this season, but he’s a senior, so he has that going for him, which is nice. Somewhere in this singles lineup, the Tigers are gonna have to steal one, and this is probably their best chance. Moreno played big in singles today, but he’s gonna have to play even better against Solimano, and I gotta go with results again.

NE: Moreno looked pretty good against WashU’s 2nd resident wonder-frosh, Jeremy Bush, but he’s going to have a hard time replicating that tomorrow. You all know I’ve been driving the Solimano train since pre-season, and the train does not have any scheduled stops tomorrow. If Moreno is to derail the Jeff sophomore, he’ll need to get under his skin early. We saw Sam King do something to that extent (for the full story ask Tom Suchodolski) back in the Amherst Regional, but Solimano still recovered to end the senior’s career. Here’s hoping he can pull that feat off again tomorrow.

West Prediction: 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 Amherst

NE Prediction: 6-2, 7-5 Amherst

 

#4 singles: Skinner (TU) vs. Zykov (Amherst)

 

West: This is the one singles match TU absolutely has to have. Skinner at 4 has turned into a bit of an unintentional stack for the Tigers, as he’s looked better and better with each match he plays at this position. He’ll also be going up against a freshman in Zykov, who was the only person to lose a set in singles for Herst today. Skinner’s gotta have it, and I think he gets it.

NE: Bah, we finally come to a singles spot where Trinity should have a clear edge. Zykov responded nicely after dropping the 1st set to Wagner, but the fact remains that he was the only Jeff to drop a singles-set today. Zykov won’t go down without a fight, but I think Skinner knows just how crucial this point is for his team.

West Prediction: 6-4, 6-4 TU

NE Prediction: 6-3, 6-4 TU

 

#5 singles: Mayer (TU) vs. Yaraghi (Amherst)

 

West: This is another one that TU absolutely has to have, as they really don’t appear to have an advantage on paper in many of these singles matches. Yaraghi is the former ITA New England singles champ, but he hasn’t played like it this year, and his struggle against Sczczczzczurek today provides more evidence. Haugen just barely saved Mayer from picking up his first DIII loss of the season today, but he’s still had a great season. Yaraghi is like the Yellowstone supervolcano in that he could erupt at any given moment and blow everybody up, but I’m just hoping that that doesn’t happen tomorrow, and the junior Mayer can get another point for the boys.

NE: I don’t know what kind of supervolcanos D3West has been reading about, but the Yaraghi volcano never existed. Andrew wasn’t the type of player who would erupt and spew molten lava all over the court with his firepower. He wore you down with his sweet and simple game, and simply didn’t miss. Now he’s missing, and with some regularity. However, I do agree with Kanye, Trin must get this match if they are going to advance to the finals. Mayer has been spectacular, but Yaraghi is still an extremely tough out. If the match goes as I say it will, I’m not sure this one finishes.

West Prediction: 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 Trinity

NE Prediction: 7-5, 4-3 DNF (Trinity leads)

 

#6 singles: Curtis (TU) vs. Reindel (Amherst)

 

West: Despite losses at 4 and 5 to Maassen and Wolstencroft, respectively, Reindel is probably the best #6 singles player in the country given his tuning of Zhenya in the CMS/Amherst dual match. He’s also a senior, and he’s been to the semifinals before. It’s just hard for me to talk myself into picking Curtis in this match. But MAN DID CURTIS PLAY A GREAT MATCH TODAY!!! IF HE GETS ROLLING, WHOOOO, THIS COULD BE SOMETHING… Unfortuantely, as much as I would really, really, really, like to pick Trinity to win this one for the boys, I think Amhersts championship experience will prove to be just a little too much in this match, even though TU should feel great about getting over the hump and into the final four. I’ll be rooting for you boys tomorrow… Go Tigers!

NE: Go back and re-read the first 3 and a ½ lines of what ‘Ye said above. Reindel is the best #6 in all the land, and he wouldn’t give up that spot for all of King Midas’ silver. You all may laugh at me, and call me silly names like Jeff-lover, Amherstian, or Steve, but I’m taking Reindel and Amherst to make quick work of the Tigers. Do it for Garner, do it for yourselves, hell if you’re into that sort of thing you can do it for little old D3NE!

West Prediction: 6-4, 6-1 Amherst

NE Prediction: 6-3, 6-2 Amherst

 

West Overall: 5-4 Amherst

NE Overall: 5-2 Amherst

 

 

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