ITA Preview: Northwest

Ladies and Germs, welcome back to another year of snarky ITA West region Division III Men’s Tennis coverage brought to you by me. The NW ITA is this weekend, which means I’m once again forced to pretend that someone other than Zach Hewlin will be representing Whitman at the ITA Small College Nationals (if they even chose to go this year, which they probably will not). All kidding aside, the rest of the conference has been breathing down Whitman’s neck for the past couple years culminating in Lewis and Clark’s shocking upset during the regular season last year. The Fighting Squirrels limped down the stretch as a time, but Hewlin put some balm on the sting of the end of the season by making it to the semis of individual nationals. Let’s get to the analysis (UTR’s are in parentheses).

Singles Draw

The Favorite – Zach Hewlin (11.95), WC

As one might expect, the two time defending champion is the favorite here. The dude finished last season at #5 in the country after his semifinal run, and he didn’t lose a conference match last season, though he was pushed several times. He’s got a very solid serve and a fierce forehand. If someone is going to beat him, they’ll have to take break down his backhand and take advantage of his slice. We’ll see if anyone has it in them

The Contenders

Whitman – Friedman (11.93), Jivkov (11.31), Ho (11.14), Rappoport (11.51), Carter (11.15), and the Freshmen. I’ll keep this brief; I don’t think any of the returning players have it in them. Friedman and Jivkov simply don’t have the fitness to survive the weekend. Ho doesn’t have the firepower. Carter and Rapoport don’t have the mental game, though it should be noted that Rapoport pushed Hewlin to three sets last year and was very solid when playing at #6 singles during the season. To me, the freshman are most intriguing. After all, it was Hewlin who came out of the woodwork to upset Malesovas a couple years ago. The Squirrels have two PNW freshies in the main draw, Daniel Foster (11.77) and Ben Kirsch (11.64). They’ve also been known to have people come out of the qualies and make deep runs, so it will be an interesting weekend for this fresh batch of Whitties.

Pacific – Clark Wininger (11.7)

Though Pacific finished second in the conference for the second (third?) straight season last year, Wininger is really the only Boxer I see as a legitimate threat to Hewlin. He has the highest UTR on the team by a full point and a half. He also had a stellar season last year that went unnoticed by me (sorry, dude). He didn’t lose a singles match that was completed, and he notched wins over Lockear (Whitman), Murad (Colby), Lilley (GFU), Brewer (LC), and McDonald (Denison). These were all mid-level #2 players, but he also didn’t play anyone better. He’s definitely a guy to keep an eye on in this tournament and beyond.

Lewis and Clark – Gordon Barrows (10.8), Raed Attia (10.58), Michael Brewer (9.22), Jackson Powell (11.25)

Powell is a 3-star freshman who has the highest UTR on the team: an unproven quantity. Brewer is on here because he beat Malesovas a couple of years ago and missed most of last season with (I believe) a wrist injury. Attia played #1 last season for the Pios and pushed Hewlin to 3 sets once. I don’t think he has the fitness to win six singles matches in three days. Barrows is the highest seeded player for Lewis and Clark, which must mean he has been playing a lot over the summer. We’ll see if he can live up to his seed; he’ll have an early test against Whitman’s Jake Hoeger.

George Fox – Spencer Watanabe (11.41), Matt Bigi (11.33)

Watanabe made the semifinals here last year before bowing in two close sets to Locklear from Whitman. He also made the quarters of The Ojai last year by beating Taylor Hunt from Redlands and Vemuri from CMS, so he appears to be a good tournament player. He’s been a solid player for the Bruins for a couple of years now. In my eyes (and apparently the coaches’ eyes too, since he’s the #2 seed), he’s the biggest threat to Hewlin’s crown. Despite being a 2-star, Bigi has the highest UTR of any non-Whitman freshman, and his last name indicates that he’s about to do big things…

Pick – Hewlin def. Foster 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final

Doubles

The Favorite – Hewlin/Ho (Whitman)

Ostensibly, Hoeger and Carter are the favorites because they’re the #1 seeds, but I’m not going to go against the guy who has won the tournament the last two seasons with two different partners. That would be considered an insane thing to do, wouldn’t it? Ho has had some serving yips in the past, so we’ll see if the little guys’ serve holds up in the tight prosets in the later rounds.

The Contenders

Hoeger/Carter (Whitman) – Hoeger and Carter finished last season strong, moving to the #1 spot and beating Tyler and Trinity (before losing to Tyler at team nationals). Their game plan is pretty simple: serve 125 mph bombs and slap returns until they make four in a game. It’s a good game plan. It’s worked for a lot of teams. I should probably mention that Hoeger won this tournament with Hewlin as a sophomore.

Wininger/Wight (Pacific) – These two played doubles together in this tournament last year where they lost to Ho/Rapoport from Whitman and promptly never played together again. They’re back as Pacific’s top dogs and ready to exact some revenge, but they’ve got a tough first round against a Whitman team. Wight is a crafty Ausie-style doubles player. Wininger is Wininger. We’ll see if it’s a winning combination.

Barrows/Barrows (Lewis and Clark) – The Brothers Barrows (I’m assuming they’re brothers, but I don’t actually know) had a solid season last year at #1. They beat the teams they were supposed to, and upset Hewlin/Locklear once, but they weren’t spectacular. If Gordon Barrows truly made a leap over the summer, they could pose a pretty serious threat.

Watanabe/Namba (George Fox) – Watanabe teamed with Lilley to make it all the way to the finals of last years’ tournament as the supposed #1 seeds. They couldn’t cash in. Now, Watanabe is back with a freshman partner. If they’re going to make a repeat run to the finals, they’ll have to navigate a brutal draw, but if Namba has returns anywhere near as good as Watanabe’s, they’ll be a dangerous team.

Pick – Hewlin/Ho def. Hoeger/Carter 7-6, 6-3

No pressure, Hewlin, just go win your 5th and 6th ITA championships. Anything less than 8 in a career will be a disappointment.