Indoor Nationals: Day 2

Wow, what a great day in DIII Tennis today, as the first day of Indoors did not disappoint.  D3Tennis and I will be going over a recap of all of Indoors at the end of the weekend, so we don’t need to get into the results today as much as what we expect tomorrow.  I’m definitely expecting an even better day of tennis with maybe another upset!

#2 Kenyon Lords vs. #6 Cal Lutheran Kingsmen

Today’s matches showed all of us what it means to have star power on your team.  It also showed us what it means to come into a match fully prepared with fire in your bellies.  What will make this match great tomorrow is the fact that both of these teams have an “us against the world” mentality, and that is driven off their two best players, Burgin (Kenyon) and Ballou (CLU).  These guys are leaders, and it is going to be AMAZING to see these two go up against each other.  Let’s start with doubles, where I am really expecting big things out of the #1 matchup.  Raz/Williams are coming off a “semi” disappointing loss today, while Ballou/Worley absolutely smacked Hopkins.  Both these teams play great fundamental doubles, have shot-makers, and have been playing together for at least a year.  I expect a tough battle, and I’m going Cal Lu at 1.  Something else today proved was that Cal Lu has a legit #2 team in Treacy/Nichols.  This is going to be another battle, especially with Burgin at 2 dubs.  This match here is my swing match, because if Cal Lu gets this one, things could get really interesting.  I’m going to take CLU at 2.  At #3, Kenyon overwhelms CLU a bit here, as I have a lot of faith in the Ye/Heerboth team. Kenyon takes this one 8-6.

So with a 2-1 doubles lead, CLU will search for 3 singles to clinch.  Again, Ballou/Burgin is going to be an unreal match.  I just don’t have the balls to go against Ballou here.  At #2 singles, it’s clear that Raz has the advantage against Worley, who has struggled at 2 ever since last year.  Raz is a legit #1 as we all know, and he should take this pretty easily.  #3 singles looks to be another good match – we have Heerboth who obviously had a great summer and is on a tear right now, vs. Nichols who took Hwang the distance.  I think maybe a little fatigue might set in for Nichols, especially against a backboard like Heerboth, and Kenyon takes this one to the tune of 7-6 6-2.  At 4, we have an opportunity match for the Kingsmen.  Treacy is on a roll, and Williams struggled a bit today against a weaker 4 from NCW.  Coming off a big win against Reiter, I’m leaning towards Treacy but very, very close.  Williams is a proven veteran and has his share of big wins, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls this one out.  For now, I go CLU.  At #5, we have a clear favorite for Kenyon here.  Rosensteel had a breakout freshman year at this same position, and his game is well-suited for the indoor courts.  Millet has struggled as of late, getting torched by Lim.  Rosensteel in a rout.  And we come down to #6, which as you can see I have as the match decider.  These were battles for both teams today.  D3Tennis and I are in agreement that we don’t expect Ye to be in the singles lineup tomorrow.  I’d like to see Kaye or Turlington here, but probably Kaye.  And to be honest, I think Kaye gives them their best shot.  He’ll be fresh and ready to go, and I’ve never viewed Sousa of CLU as a mentally ready player.  Kaye takes this one 6-4, 6-4 to win it for the Lords. (Note: If Ye plays, this becomes a toss-up.  I’ve seen Ye struggle in singles from time to time).

Let’s hope the match is as good as I predict!

#1 Emory Eagles vs. #5 Trinity Tigers

This part is written by D3TG in 5 minutes because YOLO.

 Obviously, Emory is Emory, so they probably end up winning this match, but this one could actually be really interesting. There was a brief moment in the GAC match when the Eagles were in danger of getting swept (as in, all the doubles were on serve 20 minutes in). Trinity has proven themselves to be a superior doubles team to GAC. If Trinity can get hot… like, for example, if their #1 doubles team reels off 8 straight games to put the pressure on… they could easily get the sweep here. Unfortunately, I think Emory has a clear advantage at #3 doubles, but the Tigers will take a 2-1 lead into singles somehow.

From there, I think Skinner will win, but Emory will dominate just about everything else. Halabi must be playing very well, but I don’t think he’s as good as Ruderman. DelaFuente is always dangerous, but come on. Curtis proved himself to be quite clutch this evening, but No… just no. This is what happens when I only have 5 minutes. Let’s go with Emory 6-3.

CONSOLATION:

#3 Hopkins vs. #7 NC Wesleyan

This really shouldn’t be a match, but who knows how Hopkins comes out considering they have nothing to gain anymore from being in this tournament.  They need to hold serve here to keep their ranking in the right place.  What will be interesting here is doubles.  NCW has the advantage at 1, and we saw that JHU 2 and 3 are shaky at best.  I expect NCW to come out here with a 2-1 lead.  Moving to singles, I have to take NCW at #1.  But from there on out, I’m going with Hop the rest of the way.  Let’s see what Hopkins does with their lineup here, particularly at #4-5, because I feel Lim as proven that he can hold his own at 4.  Either way, I see the rest of the singles going to JHU for a 6-3 win.  Sound familiar?

#8 Gustavus Adolphus vs. #5 UCSC

Again, 5 minutes by D3TG. Expect sloppiness.

I know everyone is making a big deal about Cruz being exhausted from the Trinity match, and I’m sure they will be. Everyone is ready to compare this year’s Slug’s to 2011 Cal Lu. And Lord knows that makes a whole lot of sense. I just don’t think Cruz is going to lose this match. GAC lost to Trinity 7-2. Cruz lost to Trinity 5-4. Even with this match being played on GAC’s home courts, Cruz has already played a match on them, and I can’t imagine GAC having a very hostile crowd so early on a Saturday.

That being said, GAC probably does have the advantage in doubles here. I don’t know how long Cruz can count on Halabi and Goetz getting points for them at #3, but it’s probably not very long. I don’t see Donkena and Smith-Dennis losing this one. #2 could be interesting, but I’ll say Cruz wins #3 and loses 1 and 2 like today. After that, I think Koenig takes over at #1, Halabi continues his hotness at #2, Bettwy eeks out a close one at #3, and Rogers recovers for a win at #4. I see GAC winning at #5 and #6, incidentally, so hopefully they play this one in a weird order so we can have a surprise finish. More likely, I’ll be wrong about a lot of this, and it will be a tense finish anyways!!! Wahoo. Cruz 5-4. Gnight.

 

7 thoughts on “Indoor Nationals: Day 2

  1. d3tennisguy

    Can’t argue with most of that. You gotta give Rogers some credit at #4 singles. Didn’t start last year. Kept his team alive twice then got the clincher to save his team’s tournament. Winning the championship in a 3rd set breaker is something else, but Rogers was sensational.

    Maybe give Lim a little love at #5.

    I would also argue Heerboth for MVP, 6-0 on the weekend. I don’t think anyone else did that.

  2. Anonymous

    All-tournament Team

    Doubles
    1) Prostak/Kjellberg NCW
    2) Treacy/Nichols CalLu
    3) Goetz/Hallabi Cruz

    Singles
    1) Halpern Emory & Ballou CalLu
    2) Raz Kenyon
    3) Heerbooth Kenyon
    4) CJ Williams Kenyon (MVP)
    5) Rafe Mostick Emory
    6) Kevin Ye Kenyon

    1. Anonymous

      it is absurd to not say that lim from hopkins is the best 5 in the country! first of all, it is a stack to have him at 5, he should be playing 3 for them, but he is clearly the best player at 5!

  3. Anonymous

    Top Stories From Indoors
    1) Kenyon beats 3 teams they lost to last year to win title
    2) Cal Lu can beat anyone in the country
    3) Gustavus can still be trouble at home in the bubble
    4) NC Wesleyan is still legit in addition to Kjelberg
    5) Trinity played 3 incredible tight matches
    6) After losing two tough matches Cruz rebounded for a 5-4 win thanks to Rodgers
    7) Hopkins may have disappointed but still got 5th if not for Cal Lu sweep who knows?
    8) Emory may be wounded, but wounded animals are dangerous

    1. d3tennisguy

      I would like this on facebook ^

  4. D3AtlanticSouth

    I’ll leave my predictions here in the comments, as we now know Emory vs Trinity in the other semi. This is a really easy match to pick for me, as I think Trinity will be due for a letdown after a very emotional win tonight. The only way Trinity wins this match is if they can capture 1 and 2 doubles, as well as 1,5,6 singles. Emory is rolling at the 2-4 singles spots with Ruderman, Wagner, and Kahler, and those are the positions Trinity literally just lost today. Winning 3 singles against Emory right now on little sleep and a bit of fatigue is just not something that I expect Trinity to do, and they’ll be looking forward to the 3rd place match. Emory takes this one handily, 6-3, with wins from Skinner at 1 and at 1 and 2 doubles.

    Gusatvus vs. Cruz – I’m very, very intrigued by this match. This exact situation happened two years ago, when Cal Lu lost to CMU in an absolute heartbreaker at about 1 AM the day before, and went out against Mary Wash at 8 AM the next day. They lost again, to put a huge dent in their season. Will this happen again? If it were anyone BUT UC Santa Cruz, I would say yes. But this team is always way too prepared to let sh*t like this happen to them. Cruz’s bread and butter this year is singles, and they have the ability to take every single spot right now. Halabi, Bettwy, and Rodgers are looking like guarantees to me over GAC. Koenig is stronger than Smith-Dennis right now, and I expect him to win that. Overall, I expect a surprisingly routine 6-3 win for the Slugs.

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