What’s up, boys and girls, and welcome to another hefty NE Midweek Update. Conference play has begun in the NE, which means DIII tennis fans are lucky enough to have a slate of NE matches with national importance every week. My midweek update last week was met with such an enthusiastic response that I’ve decided to double dip, and will probably consider making this a weekly staple. This week’s update will be split up into two sections, so there is only a minor #WallOfText in each post. This first post will look back at the important results from last weekend, while the second post (coming tomorrow afternoon) will look ahead to the mid-week NE matches. It’s pretty late, so I apologize in advance for the egregious grammar mistakes, poor jokes, and extreme regional biases. Check back Wednesday around lunch time for Part II, and check out The Blog’s first crack at 2015 Bracketology. All results are listed with the team’s Power Ranking at the time the match was played.
RESULTS FROM THE WEEKEND
#9 Bowdoin def #31 Brandeis 9-0
#4 Wash U def #14 Williams 6-3
5 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE WEEKEND
1) Amherst is still very much a title contender: As noted in our new Power Rankings, Amherst was the big winner of last week. The Jeffs took down a capable Tufts team with ease, and then DESTROYED a top-5 Wash U team the next day. I had to use capital letters, so you all would understand just how much of a spanking this was. Check out the link to the box score above in the results section. Wash U’ s only points came in a breaker at 3 dubs and a super at #6 singles. Amherst won all other singles spots in straight sets. Considering the myriad of 5-4 matches we saw over #SB15, this was really a drubbing. Considering Wash U’s only losses this year have come to CMS and Emory, this win goes a long way for the Jeffs. There were more than a few Amherst doubters after their 6-3 loss at Pomona earlier this season, but Coach Doebler and his squad have responded quite well. The Jeffs will go to MIT on Thursday (check back for the Midweek Update Part Deux tomorrow morning), host Trinity Ct on Friday, and then play what is shaping up to be a dandy in Bowdoin on Sunday. There are only a select few teams who, on the right day, would have a shot at CMS, and I think most of the writers would agree that Amherst is right near the top of that list.
2) Even though we still have no idea what’s going on with the Williams lineup, the Ephs are in the thick of the Pool-C hunt: What has happened to Schidlovsky? Is the freshmen switch for good? Who throws a shoe? Honestly. Eph fans are seeing more lineups than Aaron Hernandez’s key witness (too soon?) but the good news is that I think we’re getting closer. Although there was no Big Al in this past weekend’s tilts with Wash U and Skidmore, Williams looks closer to having its lineup locked down. Raventos, Shastri, and Harron are all top 3 guys (maybe with Schidlovksy thrown in the mix?) and at the bottom of the lineup we have some combination of Grodecki, Weiss, and Raghavan. Even if Schidlovsky doesn’t feature quite as highly in the singles lineup as the Ephs originally though, he is still a doubles beast. Williams has been playing some of the best doubles in the country, and it might get even better when the Ephs get back to full strength. Right now the Ephs are locked in a battle for one of the final Pool-C spots, and I expect them to hover around that 5th Pool-C spot for the majority of the season. More on the Ephs below.
3) Bowdoin is playing some dank tennis: Avid readers know how highly I think of this year’s Bowdoin team. They’re freshmen have been absolutely amazing. Wolfe, Tercek, and Roddy have gone a combined 24-2 at #3, #5, and #6 singles so far this season. Just for kicks, if we throw in Savage’s undefeated season at #4, the Polar Bears have gone 34-2 at #’s 3-6. THAT’S PRETTY RIGODDAMNDICULOUS! The Polar Bears are now 8-1, with their only loss coming 5-4 to Pomona. Everybody and their hot Aunt Maureen has lost 5-4 to Pomona, and Bowdoin has vaulted their way into the top 10 of both the ITA Rankings and our Power Rankings. Two weekends ago, Bowdoin absolutely trashed a very talented and much hyped (by me) Wesleyan team, 8-1. This weekend, the Polar Bears took on a Brandeis team hot off an upset of Tufts, and decided that 8-1 wasn’t good enough. Bowdoin took down Brandeis 9-0 on Saturday, and I’m not sure it was that close. Bowdoin won all 6 singles matches in straight sets, and dropped a total of 24 games between the 6 matches. The Polar Bears doubles will be tested this week when they travel to both Bates and Amherst, and these matches should provide yet another barometer of just how good Bowdoin is right now.
4) Oddity of the Week: Williams and Skidmore love playing nail-biters: The Ephs and Thoroughbreds played to their third 5-4 decision in as many tries. Last year, Skidmore upset the defending national champions 5-4 with the now graduated Gabe Steerman taking down Brian Astrachan 7-6 in the 3rd set to win the match 5-4. At NCAAs, the Ephs got their chance at revenge. The last match on was again the decider, but this time Jose Raventos took down Kai Yuen Leung in 3 sets at #6. Leung was up a set and 5-3, and served to send Skidmore to the Sweet 16. In a twist of fate, both Raventos and Leung now play atop their respective lineups (I guess if that loss doesn’t motivate you nothing will). Skidmore graduated 4 of 6 singles starters, while Williams only graduated one, therefore it stands to reason that Williams would be a heavy favorite in this year’s match. However, the Thoroughbreds had other ideas, and for the third time in less than a calendar year the dual match came down to the final spot. This time #5 provided the drama, where Epstein and the Thoroughbreds came back from a set and 4-0 down to win the 2nd set and force a deciding 3rd set. The Eph freshman came up big, and Raghavan won the final two games to clinch the team match 6-4 in the third set. It is certainly possible that these two teams play again at NCAAs, though Williams probably still has some work to do, and we can only hope for a 4th 5-4 match.
5) Every week brings another slate of crucial NE matches: At this point in the season, there is nothing more exciting than NE tennis. Every match means so much for NESCAC and Liberty League positioning, there are still 5 or 6 NE teams who believe they can earn a Pool-C spot, and there matchups between them every weekend! Tomorrow, Williams and Midd will jockey for NESCAC and Pool-C positioning, Thursday we have a rivalry match with Bowdoin and Bates, Saturday we get talent vs experience with Wesleyan traveling to Williamstown, and Sunday we have Emory @ Midd, Bowdoin @ Amherst, and Stevens @ Skidmore. Every single one of those matches might come down to the wire, and that’s just a typical April weekend in the NE. Indoors pits all eyes on Minnesota, Spring Break and the Stag Hen shift our watchful gaze out west, but now it’s April and with all due respect to the @Sagehentennis dubbed “Regular Season National Championship” (please excuse me while I go vomit) the most interesting tennis in the country happens in the NE.
This concludes the NE Midweek Update Part 1. The NE Midweek Update Part 2 will come out tomorrow around lunch time, and will include match previews for all of the big NE matches coming up this weekend.