NE Weekend Report Card
Let’s face it, what started out as a promising weekend of NE tennis turned into, well actually come to think of it, it was a pretty decent weekend of NE tennis. Because the last of the Spring Breaks are wrapping up, I’ve decided to get back to the classroom and start doling out some grades. Just to mix it up a bit, every nationally ranked NE team that played a relevant match this weekend will receive a different grade. Because this is basically a sister-site to ESPN, I’ll be writing little blurbs about each team’s weekend. I’ll going into further depth for the majority of these teams in my State of the Region Address (likely due out in the 2nd week of April), so for now the blurbs will have to do (DEAL WITH IT). We’ll start with the top pupils and work our way down to the class clowns.
RPI: A+ (Win over Skidmore 5-4)
RPI got the win they needed to boost themselves back into our rankings discussion. Their “close” loss to MIT was holding less weight, and taking down the nationally ranked Thoroughbreds is exactly what the doctor Engineer ordered. Especially clutch for Matt LaBarre to come through in the clutch, taking down Sherpa 6-4 in the 3rd set at #1 singles to win the match. Also huge props to the RPI women’s team for tweeting at me and alerting me to the 4-4 match…I think I’m in love.
Amherst: A (Win over Tufts 9-0)
Well this would have been a ho-hum run of the mill sweep, but then Tufts went out and DEMOLISHED Wesleyan today, which makes Amherst’s sweep all the more impressive. They only dropped one set along the way, and none of the doubles matches were that close. It’s way way way way way too early too tell, but it looks like the NESCAC could be Amherst’s to lose.
Bowdoin: A- (Win over Brandeis 6-2)
This was a good recovery win over a young, fiery, and oh yeah, nationally ranked Brandeis team. The loss at #1 doubles hurts King/Wolstencraft’s chance at NCAA’s, but 3rd doubles finally came through with a win, and the Polar Bears looked fairly dominant in singles play. The reason that Bowdoin does not get a straight-up A, some of the Trinka MOJO seems to be missing.
Tufts: B+ (Loss to Amherst 0-9, Win over Wesleyan 8-1)
What? How can a team get blanked, go .500 on the weekend, and still end up with a grade that most kids can take home to their parents? Why, by beating the crap out of Wesleyan, that’s how! Tufts got absolutely shellacked by the Jeffs on Saturday, and then came out and won a match they HAD to win. Not only did they put themselves right back in the thick of the hunt for NESCACs, they absolutely smoked a team that D3West was touting as the best thing since sliced bread. Oh wait, that was me? Whoops…
Williams: B (Win over Redlands 5-4)
Ephs, I’m sorry to say that I may be holding you to a different standard. Perhaps that’s the price you pay for winning a national championship, but I can’t keep seeing these cardiac wins and convince myself that everything is ok in Williamstown. Sure, a 5-4 win is miles better than a loss, but this does not look like a team that’s ready to contend for another title. They have all but wrapped up a Pool-C spot, but the top of their lineup will need to take the next step if they are to compete with NESCAC elite.
Middlebury: B- (Loss to Emory 4-5, Wins over Kenyon and NC Wesleyan 7-2)
This is the big news from the weekend, Middlebury looks good, not great. This team still has the potential to be great, but they’re not there yet. That being said, who wants to be great in March? It’s all about May, just ask CMS. I loved the play from Smolyar this weekend, he seems to be firmly ensconced in both sections of the Panthers lineup. The Panthers will need to tighten up their doubles, and then they should be ready to go come NESCAC season. I do have a slight concern in Palmer Campbell. He sat out Sunday’s match after a less than stellar weekend. Midd needs him in fall form if they are to make a run at the NESCAC crown.
Rochester: C+ (Win 5-4 over TCNJ)
Benny Boy, this one’s for you. 16 in the region Rochester had a close win over 19 in the region TCNJ on Saturday. This was a solid win for the Yellow Jackets, but if they hope to improve their regional ranking, they’ll need to do more than squeak out close ones against the middling teams in the region.
Brandeis: C (Loss to Bowdoin 2-6, Postponed vs. Babson)
I can’t quite get a hold on Brandeis. This is a team with a great coach and some young talent, but I’m not sure they deserve their national ranking. They are riding the coat-tails of their win over Colby (in which the Mules were missing 3 starters). The Judges lost a not so close decision to the Polar Bears this weekend, but scored nice wins from 1 doubles and Granoff at #2 singles. I’m very excited to see what how Brandeis will fare against the likes of Tufts. Trinity Ct, and Bates in mid-April.
TCNJ: D+ (Loss 4-5 to Rochester)
Although TCNJ did beat Christopher Newport this weekend, they lost a winnable match against UR. This was a great chance for TCNJ to move up a few spots in the regional rankings, and they squandered it. The Lions will only get a few more chances like that this year (Skidmore, NYU, and Stevens).
Skidmore: D (Loss 4-5 to RPI)
Skidmore, Skidmore, Skidmore. The Thoroughbreds came into this season with such high hopes, but at this point they are scrambling to take what they can get. Another tight 4-5 loss will not help their cause, and Skidmore will likely fall out of the top 10 in the regional rankings (as well as lose their National Ranking). This team needs Loutsenko back in their singles lineup, and fast.
Wesleyan: D- (Loss 1-8 to Tufts, Win 6-2 over Conn)
Ahhh, the big disappointment of the weekend. Let me get one thing straight, I love Tufts. They’re the most responsive team on twitter, their players are engaging, and they are generally nice people. HOWEVER, I’ve made it clear from the beginning that I was driving the Wesleyan bandwagon. So when I say I’m disappointed, it’s not because Tufts won, but because I not only “drank the kool-aid” as D3AS would say, but was clearly caught trying to force the vile red drink on others as well. It is far too early to simply write off the Cardinals, but maybe this team is still further away than I thought.
Seven things to note before I leave you
1) Notice that no team actually failed. Everyone passes because it’s early in the season and I love you all.
2) It’s very late at night and I’m still tired/depressed from all the humble pie I’ve had to eat today, so please forgive the lack of humor editing.
3) Colby, Hamilton, MIT, Stevens, and Vassar all destroyed unranked regional teams this weekend.
4) Babson, Bates, NYU, and Trinity were all off this weekend.
5) Big weekday matches mainly center around GAC’s trip to the NE, which I’m guessing Central will preview early this week.
6) I’ll be posting an Amherst Spring Break Recap by Tuesday, and a similar recap for Williams later in the week.
7) Look for Players of the Week/Power-Rankings to come out over the next 48 hours!
Bonus) RPI Women’s Tennis…
Good stuff as always. Yes, it was a 5-4 match, but with the early clinch, “squeak out” is maybe a bit misleading.
We certainly appreciate getting any mention on the blog, but considering it’s 4:00am, we’re somewhere in Central New York after being stuck on the highway in a blizzard for hours, and we just took out a team for the first time since 2006, seeing a C+ for our efforts feels a bit low. Was it a huge win over a nationally ranked team like RPI over Skidmore? Not at all, but still a very good step in the right direction for an improving NE team.
That said, gotta give you all a shoutout for consistently putting out great content. The blog has really added an element to D3 tennis, and it’s a lot of fun for us all to get to read about something we’re a part of. Keep up the good work!