What’s up D3 tennis fans! NEW here with your Northeast Spring Break halftime report. Inspired by all the tennis my teams are playing in this four week sprint we call spring break, I figured I’d do a quick recap of where we are, what NE teams have been up to, etc. To be honest, I’d give an arm and a leg to be under the sunny skies of Florida or California instead of the fluorescent lighting of my office, but alas, I shall live vicariously through these teams (what else is new?). Anyways, in this article, I’m covering all top 40 NE teams (as of the old rankings) who were on spring break. I know that lots of other NE teams have played matches this month, but I’ve gotta define some kind of limit for myself. I promise I’ll eventually expand my repertoire and cover more NE teams, but for now, this is all I can handle. So anyways, while I sit here daydreaming about summer sun, get reading about your fav NE teams below!
Disclaimer: the rankings coming out mid-way of writing this article has made the writing of this slightly complicated. Please excuse any oversights on the listed rankings, as they became a befuddled mess of current and old and I don’t currently have the mental capacity to check it all.
3 Amherst
Spring break location: Orlando, FL
Spring break record: 4-1
Results: Amherst def. 22 Kenyon 9-0, Amherst def. 10 CMU 6-3, Amherst def. 16 Wash U 7-2, Amherst def. 30 Case 8-1, 1 Emory def. Amherst 8-1
I would say that spring break went exactly as expected for the Mammoths. They won pretty routinely where the should have, and fell to Emory. Aside from the Emory match, they weren’t particularly challenged, but nor should they have been. The Mammoths’ lineup was pretty steady all break, so it seems like Coach Bagwell has it pretty much figured out for this season. Notably missing from the singles lineup, though, was senior captain, Kelsey Chen. I’m not sure if it’s an injury, as she’s been playing with Bukzin at #1 dubs, but was very surprised to see her benched. Nonetheless, Amherst showed their depth and their youth this break, with 3 freshmen slotting into the singles lineup – all of whom seem very capable of going the distance and fighting for that point. While I always expected Emory to beat Amherst over spring break, I didn’t quite expect the thumping that the Eagles doled out. I’ve gotta say, it was a pretty bold move by Jackie Bagwell to play the Eagles on the last day of her team’s spring break, and their fifth consecutive match without a break. Exhaustion must have been a factor, as Bukzin – usually a tough competitor – surrendered to Gonzalez-Rico without much of a fight, as did many of the other Mammoths in the lineup. As the Mammoths return to Massachusetts, they’ll have some good match experience and confidence under their belts. Their key matches are probably the ones against Wes and Midd at the end of April, but basically every conference match is a must win for them if they want to be set-up well for the postseason.
Bates
Spring break location: Fredericksburg, VA
Spring break record: 1-2
Results: 26 Johns Hopkins def. Bates 8-1, Bates def. 32 GAC 6-3, 38 Southwestern def. Bates 6-3
Bates dropped out of the rankings in the most recent update from the ITA, but prior to that, they were holding on to the 40th spot, so I figured I’d include them in my write-up anyways. The Bobcats were down in Virginia for the Blue-Grey Invitational over their spring break. They only played 3 matches (where they went 1-2), but we got a good look at their lineup, which didn’t seem to change much over the course of the tournament. We got to see the strength in Bates that is Hannah Sweeney and Bella Stone. But the Bobcats really shined in the middle / bottom of their lineup with juniors Suzanne Elfman and Isabelle Rovinski being absolue rocks for the team over the weekend. In a weekend / start to spring break that will likely leave the ranking committee sitting and scratching their heads, Bates’ matches probably won’t cause too much complication. They opened the tournament with a pretty sound loss to 26th ranked Hopkins before bouncing back with a spirited win over #32 GAC. However, by their third match, the Bobcats seemed tired and surrendered to 38th ranked Southwestern. The Bobcats head home to Maine with a pretty solid spring break under their belts. Looking ahead, they’ll absolutely have to beat Trinity and Conn College if they even want a look at getting into their conference tournament at the end of the season, though with Tufts seeming to struggle a little bit, maybe it’ll be easier for Bates to sneak in.
12 Bowdoin (California) – 4-0
Spring break location: California
Spring break record (so far): 4-0
Results: Bowdoin def. 34 Vassar 8-1, Bowdoin def. Principia 9-0, Bowdoin def. 21 Caltech 8-1, Bowdoin def. 18 Sewanee 7-2This is jumping the gun a little, as Bowdoin still has another week left out in California, but a halfway point evaluation is in order. Bowdoin is off to a hot start, going 4-0 in their first matches of spring break. They’re a very young team this year, but it looks as though that isn’t stopping the Polar Bears, whose lineup seems to have stabilized and their young, talented players are getting valuable match play and confidence. However, they’re now heading into the backend of their trip, where they’ll face more daunting (and top 10) opponents like Pomona-Pitzer and CMS. In their remaining matches, I expect the Polar Bears to go 2-2, and similar to Amherst, having a pretty routine and uneventful spring break trip.
11 Skidmore
Spring break location: Fredericksburg, VA
Spring break record: 1-2
Results: 19 UMW def. Skidmore 5-4, Skidmore def. 26 Johns Hopkins 5-4, 25 W&L def. Skidmore 5-4
Skidmore’s spring break took them down to Virginia for the Blue-Grey Invitational – a tournament that provided us bloggers with much to talk about. As you can even see from their results, Skidmore themselves is leaving us scratching our heads. All their matches were close and could’ve gone either way, which really highlights how tight and competitive teams in the 15 through 30 range truly are. There is always upset potential, which is SO EXCITING, and super complicated from a rankings perspective (but then again, rankings are not my problem). The Skidmore lineup seems to be pretty set, but perhaps they’ll make some tweaks coming out of this weekend. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the T-breds drop a few spots in the next rankings, but this team has got some firepower for sure. They have a #1 singles player in Risa Fukushige who can hang with the best of D3, and quite a few other players who look poised for great success this season. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Skidmore finishes their regular season – they’ve got some big matches coming up in April (versus big names like Brandeis, Vassar, Amherst and Midd), and they’ve been pretty dominant in the Liberty League the past few years. I’m thinking the T-breds will bounce back from the Blue-Grey with more strength and might make some surprising challenges.
15 Swarthmore
Spring break location: Orlando, FL
Spring break record: 2-1
Results: 10 CMU def. Swarthmore 7-2, Swarthmore def. 16 Wash U 5-4, Swarthmore def. Millsaps 5-4
So I just realized that Swarthmore is *technically* an ASouth team, but since they’re in PA, I kinda just assumed they were a NE team, so for now, I’m claiming them as my own (sorry, ASW). Swarthmore bringing the DRAMA! When I first started writing this article, Swat was unranked and off my radar (yes, I will get better, but still trying to just keep up with the abundance of NE teams in the top 40!!!). Well that all changed on March 9 when the Garnet took two matches from the 10th ranked (at the time) CMU in a match that was supposed to be a routine win for the Tartans. However, on March 10, Swarthmore up and surprised us all by beating the (at the time) 12th ranked Wash U and jumped onto the radars of all us bloggers. The haters will say that The Garnet got lucky with Ashley Lessen not in the lineup for Wash U, but hey, a win is a win, right? The keys for Swat this season clearly is the doubles lead – and their #3 dubs team seem to be absolute rocks so far this season. Their spring break trip down to Florida was short and sweet, but absolutely noteworthy. That win shot the Garnet up to 15 in the rankings (a little high? I think so, but that’s another article) and garnered quite a bit of buzz. Though was Swat’s buzz killed when they barely eeked out the 5-4 win over unranked Millsaps just three days later? I’ll be watching this team closely over their next three matches (vs. Hopkins, Case and Kenyon) to try to figure out whether they can carry that strength and fire throughout the season and establish Swarthmore on the national scene for the first time in quite a few years.
34 Vassar
Spring break location: California
Spring break record: 3-2
Results: 12 Bowdoin def. Vassar 8-1, Vassar def. Hardin-Simmons 8-1, 21 Caltech def. Vassar 7-2, Vassar def. Whittier 9-0, Vassar def. 37 Chapman 5-4
Although we’ve had some very interesting (and surprising) match results so far this spring break, Vassar didn’t contribute to the drama. They won and lost where expected, and aside from a 5-4 thriller against Chapman to close out their spring break, Vassar didn’t get our heart rates up too high. Their lineup seems to have stabilized, and with sophomore powerhouse, Frances Cornwall sitting at the top, Vassar has the makings of a threatening team. I’m interested to see how they do in the rest of their season, though I don’t expect them to be too challenged with their slate of Liberty League matches. At this point, Skidmore and Vassar have separated themselves from the rest of the league, so I’m really excited for their showdown.
7 Wesleyan
Spring break location: Orlando, FL
Spring break record: 4-1
Results: Wes def. 22 Kenyon 6-3, Wes def. 16 Wash U 9-0, Wes def. 30 Case 9-0, Wes def. 10 CMU 6-3, 1 Emory def. Wes 7-2
Wes had a very similar spring break trip as Amherst – they played the exact same teams and came out with the exact same spring break record (4-1). They even had similar match scores to Amherst. So, similar to what I said about the Mammoths above, I’m feeling lukewarm about this Wes team – that’s not to say they won’t heat up as the season goes on, but this was a pretty routine and expected performance over spring break. They maintained the status quo and set themselves up for the rest of the season. Just off the bat, dubs looks to be a strong point for the Cards this season. They look to have already figured out solid pairings, all of whom performed very well down in Florida, particularly the #2 pairing of Yeung and Kiseleva, who pulled out the big win over Emory. Their singles lineup also looks to be pretty much solidified. I was very impressed with the fight the Cards showed against Emory, too. After Amherst was steamrolled, I was kinda left with the impression that Emory was just a step above this year. That was quickly erased when I saw the battles with Wes. Even though the score was 7-2, there were three 3-setters that all went for Emory, but very easily could’ve gone the other way and made this a very different match. PLUS all three dubs matches played very close, so we really could’ve had a barn burner on our hands. I’m thinking this year is the year Wes makes their biggest challenge on the national level – and without Eudice, at that!!
And that’s it for the halftime show, folks! Stay tuned for the second half of spring break and be on the lookout for some bomb content from myself and the other women’s writers in the coming days / weeks! And be sure to follow us all on Twitter for some live score updates and general commentary.