Hey tennis world! So with all my regional teams sadly gone from the tournament, I was at a loss of what to write about. I asked ASouth and he just told me to write about whatever I wanted. Thanks for the guidance, ASouth! I thought about writing an article about circuit workouts but decided to stick with the theme of the website. There are some storylines that I wanted to highlight with these terrific quarterfinal matchups, so let’s get right into it. I’m going to go team-by-team and give my #1 storyline for each squad. Also I was in a numbers type of mood because I’m a huge nerd, so I looked up the Universal Tennis Rating for every player in each team’s starting singles lineup and averaged them, and I’ll give those numbers as well. So let’s go in order, from lowest to highest UTR!
Trinity (TX) – 11.50:
Can Trinity reclaim their indoors glory?
Honestly, after an indoors title and several other quality wins, I was surprised to see that Trin had the lowest average UTR of all these teams. Regardless, the Tigers are a dangerous team because they are relatively strong just about everywhere in the lineup! I would not call any spot a huge strength compared to these seven other teams, but Trinity can compete anywhere. At indoors, their depth was particularly impressive, going 5-1 at #5 and #6 in three matches against Gustavus, Hopkins, and Emory. Lately, Adam Krull at #1 has turned it on, winning against Whitman, Wash U, Pomona, and most recently Mary Washington. We know that the Tigers play solid doubles, but so do those pesky Midd kids, so it’s going to come down to the singles. In regards to the storyline, I’m not trying to imply that Trinity has had a bad season since indoors. It’s just that at indoors, Trinity looked like a legit national championship contender, but since that point, they have lost to Carnegie Mellon, Wash U, and Pomona, and have had close matches with Cal Lu, UT-Tyler, and Mary Wash. The Tigers will have to take it to another level, but they are certainly capable!
Johns Hopkins – 11.85:
Can Hopkins fire it up one more time?
It has been an interesting year for the Blue Jays, a team that has all the talent but certainly underachieved at points this year. Hopkins had some nice moments with wins over Bates and Mary Washington, but nearly lost to Christopher Newport, lost 7-2 to Carnegie Mellon, and 8-1 to NC Wesleyan. Oh boy. NCAAs seemed to fire up the senior-heavy team, however, because Hopkins marched into Kenyon and scored a hard-fought 5-1 upset, taking a couple doubles matches and three straight set wins at #1, #3, and #4. CMS is a whole different animal from Kenyon, but if Hopkins can bring the fire like they did against Kenyon, they have the talent to compete.
Wash U – 11.98:
Can Wash U win some matches at the top of the lineup against Emory?
Wash U has played Emory twice this season, with both matches being somewhat similar. The first time around, at indoors, Wash U was swept in doubles and won at #4-6 singles, falling at #1-3, with every match except #5 being three sets. Battle! In the UAA finals, Wash U took two doubles matches, but again lost at #1-3, plus at #5. #1-3 were again all three set matches, with Emory winning them all. Battle #2! The thing that sticks out is absolutely those #1-3 singles positions. Wash U does not mathematically have to win one of those spots (obviously), and I do love their depth, especially with Jeremy Bush back at #3, who did not play in the UAA finals. However, the crazy thing is that all six of those #1-3 matches were three sets, with Emory taking every single one. From a pure mental standpoint, it would be huge for Wash U to grind out one or two of those matches, and it would really help set the tone for the #4-6 matchups, which will all be battles as well. If Wash U does not win a match at #1-3 singles, they won’t win the match. You heard it here first, folks.
Emory – 12.08:
Can the Eagles continue their clutch play?
It is only fitting that the average UTR between Wash U and Emory is pretty much identical. Anyway, pretty much all season long, but especially lately, Emory has been one incredibly clutch team. They have won four 5-4 matches against ranked teams this year, with three of those being UAA matchups (The Carnegie matchup was at indoors). That’s not exactly up to Pomona’s level, but it ain’t bad. At UAAs, Emory went down 2-1 to both Chicago and Wash U after doubles, but did not sweat, taking four singles matches for the win. The best part of it is Emory’s record in third sets, which was 5-2 in those two matches. If Emory can get out to a nice doubles lead against Wash U, great, but if not, I don’t think the Eagles will be all that nervous.
Chicago – 12.147:
Will Chicago’s doubles put them in position to pull an upset?
The Maroons play real good doubles. I’m serious, they actually do. At UAAs, the Maroons went 7-2 in doubles against Case, Emory, and CMU. That’s no joke. However, because of Amherst’s talent, and Chicago’s youth, I think it is important for Chicago to get off to a quick start. Every singles match should be close, and Chicago is a much more mature team than they were earlier this year, but Amherst simply has been there before, winning the whole darn thing just a year ago. One doubles team to watch for Chicago is their #2 team, Luke Tsai and Max Hawkins. The duo went undefeated at UAAs but are 0-2 in NCAAs, losing to both Coe and Gustavus. Hawkins has some filthy hands, and I absolutely adore his doubles game. Look for him and Tsai to turn it around for this match.
Middlebury – 12.148 (so close to Chicago!):
Will Middlebury get their revenge on Trinity and Amherst?
Because the final score was 5-2, some people forget just how close that NCAA semi was between Midd and CMS. It was a war!! CMS took two tight doubles matches, and #2-6 singles all went three sets, with Alex Johnston of Midd winning in straights at #1. Coach Hansen and company have done a terrific job this year of replacing Johnston and Brantner Jones with three great freshmen in Noah Farrell, Will de Quant, and Kyle Schlanger, and the Panthers are still playing at a very high level after winning NESCACs. Midd fell 5-4 to Trinity in the third place match last year after the war with CMS, so I know they are ready for some revenge. Both teams play some good doubles, and that will likely set the tone for the rest of the match. If Midd pulls through, they potentially will play Amherst, a team that beat them 9-0 just a few weeks ago. It’s revenge time for the Panthers!
Amherst – 12.23:
Can Amherst avoid a Williams repeat?
Up until the NESCAC tournament, Amherst had been having a very solid season, losing no d3 matches except for an early match against Pomona, and winning 9-0 over Midd and 8-1 over Bowdoin, Bates, and Wesleyan. That, my d3tennis friends, is quite the NESCAC regular season. However, Williams absolutely brought it in the NESCAC semis in a match they desperately needed to give themselves any chance at NCAAs. Similarly, Coach Tee’s Chicago squad is an incredibly talented group of guys and they are gaining confidence after every big match they win. I expect every singles match to be a battle, and Amherst is going to have to come out and play some good doubles, which they are certainly capable of. There is a reason why this match is leading the poll on our site for the quarter people are most excited for. It’s because it is an absolutely unbelievable matchup!
CMS – 12.66:
Will the Stags live up to their potential and bring home the title?
The Stags have been so good for so long, but this is a huge year for them. Warren Wood (#1), Nik Marino (#3), and Joe Dorn (#4) are all graduating, and while CMS does have more depth than most of the great lakes, every team is getting better and I think the gap between CMS and the field will start to close. CMS has won every d3 match this year by a score of 7-2 or greater, with the exception of their second match against Pomona, which was 6-3. This is a big tournament for the Stags after two straight second place results against Williams and Amherst. Now they just have to get it done!
That’s all I got! Look for more articles from the whole team this week as we delve more into the specific matchups. Should be a lot of fun!
“Circuit workouts” hahaha
That one was for you Bro
I love that you have included average UTR’s for each team. When you do the match-by-match previews and recaps, it would be great if you could include the UTR’s for each player.