NE Women’s State of the Region!

With most teams having completed their #SpringBreak15 matches, it’s a good time to do a State of the Region for NE, as we can review the matches that have been played, and preview some key match ups that are left to be played. The spring break period was a fun time to follow matches, as the sheer number of matches was incredible, as well as the quality of some of those matches. Most teams either traveled to SoCal or went South to Georgia/Florida/Virginia and were able to play many strong teams outside of their region. As we enter the final month of regular season play, we can also start to see some of the matches that are important to see who will qualify for the NCAA tournament via Pool A or Pool C.

WILLIAMS
ITA National Ranking: 3
ITA Regional Ranking: 1

So far: Williams just had a huge 6-3 win over #1 Emory. Their lineup is rock solid, with senior Maria Pylypiv leading the way at #1. She had a 6-0, 6-0 win over Rosen from Emory, which is a pretty incredible feat, and tells me that she is playing some pretty good tennis right now. As a matter of fact, their top 3 singles and top 2 doubles are points they can count on in most matches. So far this spring they’ve had solid wins over #14 DePauw (8-0), #10 W&L (8-1), #16 Skidmore (8-1) and #6 CMU (8-1).

Looking ahead: Williams still has a full schedule ahead of them, as they will take on nine ranked teams in the month of April: #2 Hopkins, #13 MIT, #9 Middlebury, #17 Wesleyan, #4 Amherst, #19 Tufts, #21 Babson, #8 Bowdoin, and #40 Bates. Look for Williams to claim the NESCAC regular season as well as NESCAC conference championship crown. I think #4 Amherst will give them a big challenge, as they always seem to rise to the occasion in the NESCAC conference championships, but Williams is playing some strong tennis right now. In any case, Williams is a sure thing for the NCAA tournament, likely via Pool A, and if not, then Pool C Spot #1.

AMHERST
ITA National Ranking: 4
ITA Regional Ranking: 2

So far: Amherst had a fairly successful spring break in SoCal, as they had a good win over #7 Pomona (6-3) and then had relatively straightforward 8-1 wins over #24 Vassar and #33 Chapman.

Looking ahead: Amherst will play eight ranked teams in April: #21 Babson, #28 Brandeis, #34 Trinity Ct, #8 Bowdoin, #19 Tufts, #3 Williams, #17 Wesleyan, and #9 Middlebury. Amherst is basically a lock for the NCAA tournament. The question is, will they get in via Pool A or Pool C (spot #1). Amherst always seems to play their best tennis of the entire year during the NESCAC conference tournament, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they took that title. Amherst also plays pretty good doubles, so it wouldn’t be out of the question for them to race ahead to a lead and beat the favored #3 Williams.

BOWDOIN
ITA National Ranking: 8
ITA Regional Ranking: 3

So far: Bowdoin played a brutal 2 week spring break schedule. They beat #32 Trinity Tx (7-2), #17 Wesleyan (7-2), #11 WashU (5-4), #25 Whitman (8-1), #18 Redlands (7-2), and #34 Trinity Ct (8-1). They lost to #1 Emory (3-6) and #7 Pomona (4-5). So basically they did what they had to do to maintain their place in the rankings but nothing to go ahead.

Looking ahead: Bowdoin has seven matches over ranked teams to play in April: #13 MIT, #40 Bates, #4 Amherst, #16 Skidmore, #9 Middlebury, #19 Tufts, and #3 Williams. The matchup that will be closets will likely be against Middlebury, as these two teams always fight for 3rd and 4th in the NESCAC. Bowdoin is a lock for the NCAA via Pool C, probably spot #5.

MiDDLEBURY
ITA National Ranking: 9
ITA Regional Ranking: 4

So far: Midd just had a big 6-3 win over #7 Pomona, which puts them above #8 Bowdoin for the time being (Bowdoin lost to Pomona 4-5). Middlebury also has wins over #16 Skidmore (8-1), #28 Brandeis (9-0), and #15 UChicago (6-3). They have a loss to the very formidable #5 CMS (2-7).

Looking ahead: Middlebury plays four ranked teams in April: #3 Williams, #8 Bowdoin, #40 Bates, and #4 Amherst. As mentioned above, Bowdoin will be their biggest match in the regular season. Middlebury is also a lock for the NCAA tournament via Pool C, most likely spot #3.

MIT
ITA National Ranking: 13
ITA Regional Ranking: 5

So far: MIT had a massive and possibly season-defining 7-2 win over #15 UChicago. They are also playing great doubles right now, but need to find a bit more confidence in their singles. So far this spring they have wins over #28 Brandeis (9-0) and the aforementioned UChicago.  They have losses to #5 CMS (1-8) and #7 Pomona (2-7).

Looking ahead: MIT is in a fairly good position right now. Currently they have the 7th (out of 8) Pool C spot. They have a great opportunity match in #8 Bowdoin coming up, with a lot to gain if they win, and not a whole lot to lose if they lose. The rest of their matches are pretty straightforward – they have #3 Williams (gonna go on a limb and pick Williams on this one), and then they have #24 Vassar, a match MIT needs to pay attention to, but should take. If crazy things don’t happen with other teams around them, they should make the NCAA tournament via Pool C spot #6 or spot #7 (and WashU and UChicago should take the 6th & 8th or 7th & 8th Pool C spots).

SKIDMORE
ITA National Ranking: 16
ITA Regional Ranking: 6

So far: Skidmore has had an up and down season so far. They started the spring with the ITA Indoor Nationals, where they went 0-3 (lost to #11 WashU 1-8, lost to #10 W&L 4-5, lost to #14 DePauw 4-5). Then they were able to come back and beat Liberty League foe #24 Vassar 6-3. Then they lost by 1-8 scores to #9 Middlebury, #3 Williams, and #10 W&L in a rematch. They got a 7-2 win over #36 Oberlin and then a 0-9 loss to #2 Hopkins. Currently they are somewhat on the rise, with a big 5-4 win over a declining #23 Case Some other teams (#21 Babson, #19 Tufts, #34 Trinity) are also MAJORLY helping them out by having weak spring seasons and falling by the wayside (all three of those teams WERE ranked above Skidmore until the latest ranking list).

Looking ahead: Skidmore plays 2 ranked teams in #8 Bowdoin and #34 Trinity Ct before they play the all important Liberty League tournament. The Skidmore-Vassar finals match should be an absolute battle, with the winner going to the NCAA via Pool A. I don’t see the loser of that match getting in via Pool C (If Vassar loses, Vassar stays ranked in the mid 20s and if Skidmore loses, Skidmore goes down too low in the rankings).  At the beginning of the year I (and apparently the Liberty League coaches) thought Vassar should take this match but now it’s a complete toss up in my mind.  Skidmore has shown that they have a pretty tough lineup.

WESLEYAN
ITA National Ranking: 17
ITA Regional Ranking: 7

So far: Wesleyan took a big leap in the rankings, basically halving their rank (from 34 to 17) with the big win over #18 Redlands. They also have wins against #33 Chapman (6-3), #28 Brandeis (9-0), and #40 Bates (8-1), and a loss to #8 Bowdoin (2-7).

Looking ahead: Wesleyan looks like they have a lot of talent but they are extremely young, which means that they can be a bit vulnerable in doubles and may be a bit inconsistent in their performances. Wesleyan has 4 matches left against ranked teams: #19 Tufts, #3 Williams, #4 Amherst, and #34 Trinity Ct. In any case, this is a dangerous team, and on the right day, they can beat a team like #9 Midd or #8 Bowdoin. But not yet, I think. This year will be for experience. Nonetheless, they should make it to the NESCAC tournament as the #5 seed, beating out #19 Tufts. As for the NCAA tournament, unless they can beat either #8 Bowdoin or #9 Middlebury in the NESCAC conference tournament, they are likely out of Pool C.

TUFTS
ITA National Ranking: 19
ITA Regional Ranking: 8

So far: Tufts has been playing their spring matches without their #1, Aandrita Deb, status unknown. They have taken a big hit in the rankings, mostly because of their loss to #18 Redlands. They did have some good wins over #26 LaVerne (6-3) and #30 Denison (5-4) over spring break but the 5-4 loss to Redlands really hurt them, as they are now stuck under them unless they can get a huge win over a NESCAC team above them (unlikely, especially without Deb in their lineup).

Looking ahead: Tufts has seven matches against ranked teams to play in April: #40 Bates, #17 Wesleyan, #34 Trinity Ct, #4 Amherst, #27 Wellesley, #3 Williams, and #8 Bowdoin. Their most important match will be against Wesleyan – if they can get a W from that match, they have an outside chance at a Pool C berth if either #13 MIT or #15 UChicago makes a major blunder.

BABSON
ITA National Ranking: 21
ITA Regional Ranking: 9

So far: Babson had one of the most amazing fall seasons in recent memory, but has really fallen this spring.  Their main claim to fame is beating #13 MIT, but that happened last fall (ancient history in the eyes of the ITA committee), and since then all the teams around them have played tough schedules. So far this spring, Babson has only played two D2 schools (1 win and 1 loss), and their ranking has taken a big hit. More than the actual results, the most intriguing thing is that Yagmur Akgul (#1 player and WAS the #1 ranked player in the NE region) was missing from the lineups. Word on the street is that she hurt her right hand/wrist. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious and that she can come back and play the rest of the matches this spring.

Looking ahead: The bad news is that Babson’s remaining matches don’t really help them move up in the rankings. They play two teams ranked way above them (#3 Williams and #4 Amherst) – I don’t think Babson will make a dent in these matches, other than Akgul, if she is ready to play. And then they play two teams that are ranked below them (#28 Brandeis, #34 Trinity, Ct) that they should be able to beat, but doesn’t do anything to help their rankings. The Brandeis match has a possibility of being exciting/close if Akgul is not yet available to play. The good news for Babson is that they have already qualified for the NCAA via Pool A, so they don’t have to play the Pool C game.

VASSAR
ITA National Ranking: 24
ITA Regional Ranking: 10

So far: Vassar had a phenomenal spring break, as they took down #26 LaVerne (5-4), #25 Whitman (6-3), and #33 Chapman (7-2) to go up 6 spots to #24 in the current rankings. It looks like they competed well against #7 Pomona (1-8) and # 4 Amherst (1-8), two teams that have a lot more talent than the current Brewer team.

Looking ahead: Vassar has two matches against ranked teams remaining: #13 MIT and #38 SLU. Vassar’s ranking is a little far from making NCAAs via Pool C (unless they beat MIT), but they definitely have a good chance via Pool A by winning the Liberty League title. They will probably face #16 Skidmore in the finals in a rematch of an early spring match (Skidmore took that match 6-3). This should be a match for the ages as Vassar appears to be playing a bit better now. Both teams will be playing for all the marbles as the winner will get a berth to the NCAAs via Pool A and the loser will likely not qualify.

WELLESLEY
ITA National Ranking: 27
ITA Regional Ranking: 11

So far: Wellesley spent their spring break in Orlando and played unranked Colby and #29 UWW. They beat Colby but lost to UWW 3-6 in a fairly close match. They are playing without their #2 player Stojkovic, reason unknown. They also had to take #4 Hsu out for singles in the UWW match, which made for a considerably weaker lineup.

Looking ahead: Wellesley plays #28 Brandeis, #40 Bates, and #19 Tufts for the remainder of the spring season, as well as the Seven Sisters Tournament. Wellesley won’t be in contention for a Pool C spot in the NCAA tournament, but I’m sure that they would love to stay in the top 30, so let’s hope that Stojkovic and Hsu can come back and play those matches. I think Tufts is a bit too tough up and down the lineup but the matches against Brandeis and Bates should be very close battles. As for the Seven Sisters Tournament, #24 Vassar will probably take that title this year, as they are having a great year so far and looking stronger than the start of the spring.

BRANDEIS
ITA National Ranking: 28
ITA Regional Ranking: 12

So far: The Judges are having a tough spring so far. They are 2-7 at this point, with their wins coming against #33 Chapman (7-2) and #40 Bates (5-4). They have lost to #18 Redlands (4-5), #26 LaVerne (2-7), #13 MIT (0-9), #10 Middlebury (0-9), #17 Wesleyan (0-9), and #19 Tufts (2-7). In my season preview I talked about Brandeis’ season last year, in which they had a number of 5-4 losses to good teams and how this year their mentality should be to play a little tougher and make them into 5-4 wins. Well, I think we need to adjust that a little bit because Brandeis is struggling to get anything going so far this season, but hopefully this will change soon!

Looking ahead: Even though Brandeis will be out of Pool A or Pool C contention, they have a couple of matches this season that can be great opportunities for them to get some momentum going. One is against #21 Babo. If Akgul is still out of the lineup when they play (3/31), Brandeis has an excellent chance to take the match. Another opportunity match is against #27 Wellesley. With Wellesley’s lineup also questionable, Brandeis can go for the upset win. The other ranked teams they will play this spring will be against #4 Amherst and #34 Trinity Ct, as well as almost anyone they play in the UAA conference championships.

TRINITY
ITA National Ranking: 34
ITA Regional Ranking: 13

So far: Trinity is free falling. They lost 4 (#30 Denison, #33 Chapman, #5 CMS, #8 Bowdoin) of their five matches over spring break with their lone win a 5-4 battle against unranked CLU. What’s more, they have been struggling in doubles, as they have lost 14 of the 15 doubles matches in their 5 matches.  Hopefully their Cali matches have inspired them to work on their doubles skills back in Hartford.

Looking ahead: Matches against ranked teams they will play in April are: #21 Babson, #4 Amherst, #28 Brandeis, #19 Tufts, #17 Wesleyan, and #16 Skidmore. Other than Ferjanic (#1), the other players are having a hard time winning points for this team. This is definitely a building year for Trinity. I’m not sure they will be able to win any of these matches, but they will have to find a way to learn something from each match and move on to the next positively.

ST. LAWRENCE
ITA National Ranking: 38
ITA Regional Ranking: 14

So far: SLU has played #22 Hope (1-8) and #16 Skidmore (2-7) as far as ranked teams go. Apart from almost ALL the teams listed above (the exceptions being #17 Wesleyan and #21 Babson), SLU is pretty new to the national rankings scene, so everything they do this year is good experience for the future. They seem like they are getting better fast, and are still looking for that ‘first win over a team ranked above them’. I’m sure Coach Greg will soon master the art of scheduling and find some teams to play that can help them reach new heights.

Looking ahead: SLU will play one nationally ranked team in #24 Vassar before they play in the Liberty League conference championships. Vassar should take that match but they can’t take SLU lightly.

BATES
ITA National Ranking: 40
ITA Regional Ranking: 15

So far: Bates had their spring break trip WAY BACK in February in which they played 2 ranked teams and lost both matches: #18 Redlands (2-7) and #5 CMS (1-8). Since then they have played two more ranked teams and lost both: #17 Wesleyan (1-8) and #28 Brandeis in a nail biter 4-5.

Looking ahead: Bates will play 5 ranked teams in the month of April: #27 Wellesley, #19 Tufts, #8 Bowdoin, #9 Middlebury, and #3 Williams. I think the Wellesley match is a great opportunity match for Bates to make it back into the Top 30.

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