NEC Weekend Quick Hit

Finally! It’s a bit delayed, but here’s a quick look at some notable matches taking place this weekend involving some of my teams. Hopefully our friend NewD3Central will jump in with his thoughts at some point, but for now it’s just me, D3RegionalNEC, to break down the action before most of it gets underway tomorrow.

Hopping in with some thoughts, its me: newD3Central! While a lot of these matches have already started, and some have already passed decision, I’ll add to the wondrous insights of D3RegionalNEC.

Friday March 2nd (3:00 PM): Oberlin def Rochester 7-2

Oberlin defeats Rochester 7-2. pic.twitter.com/3PmhYYSBCs

— Rochester Tennis (@UR_Tennis) March 3, 2018

Regional NE/C: Well I guess this is going to be a recap instead of a preview. This one ended about as I would’ve predicted, as Oberlin has the superior depth and was able to ride a doubles sweep to the 7-2 win. If Rochester had pulled out the tiebreak at #1 doubles, single might have been a different story, but no dice for the Jackets.  NewD3Central and I were actually discussing this match a bit and he correctly recalled last year’s meeting between these two as an absolute battle that was decided in a third set with a guy playing through cramping.  Though both teams have lost some players since last year, Rochester’s lineup took the bigger hit, because in addition to losing Sam Leeman to graduation, two seniors that would likely be mid lineup players are no longer on the roster. For Oberlin, the graduation of former #1 Ian Paik as well as Abraham Davis, Paul Farah and Jeremy Lichtmacher are significant too, but the results from last year compared to this year show that Oberlin has clearly maintained their level to a greater extent. Anyway, comparing the box scores, one positive for Rochester that sticks out is Masaru Fujimaki, who crushed Michael Drougas 6-2, 6-0 after barely beating him 6-4 in the third last year. The junior has been off to a very solid start to the spring, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a couple more good wins this spring and find himself in the top 25 singles rankings.

newCentral: As RegionalNEC and I were discussing in the pre-match, the story for this dual match was going to be depth. Unfortunately for Rochester, the losses from graduation et al. were too much to overcome and what could have been a very close rematch between Oberlin and Rochester became one-way traffic after a doubles sweep.

Saturday March 3rd (9:00 AM): Depauw vs Millsaps @ Rhodes
Regional NE/C: Two programs going in different directions. Millsaps is reaching new heights and was just ranked nationally in the latest ITA poll, while DePauw has really fallen. Some of the older bloggers have been even more taken aback by where DePauw is considering they were a top-5 team back in the day. While I don’t know a ton about Millsaps, my expectation is that this one won’t be very close, and Millsaps will cruise 8-1 or 9-0.

newCentral: If Depauw wasn’t in the dumps then this would be a classic trap match for Millsaps. Millsaps has a national ranking for the first time in decades and with that little number comes a little bit of added pressure, but Depauw barely defeated Earlham the other week…so I agree with RegionalNEC – 9-0 or 8-1 Millspas win.

Saturday March 3rd (9:00 AM): Rochester at Case
Regional NE/C: Not expecting a particularly close match here, especially with the quick turnaround from tonight’s match against Oberlin for the Yellowjackets. If it was a different team I’d think maybe Case rests a starter or two since they have a double header, but that’s extremely unlikely and with a full lineup, it should be pretty straightforward for the Spartans. The match to watch will be #1, where I’ll be interested to see if Fujimaki can continue his good form against the always tough Fojtasek. I can’t see this being closer than 7-2 for Case. Maybe Rochester wins at #1 singles and steals a doubles match, but that’s about it. Still, playing Case in their home environment is a good (and challenging) experience for a team.

newCentral: As expected this match was never really in doubt for the Spartans. At the time of writing this, Case is up on Rochester 8-0 with six singles heading to a super TB after saving two match points in the second set. I expected Fujimaki to upset Fojtasek, but the fifth-year was too much for the fiery junior. I’m very interested to see how Case looks against Hobart later today.

Saturday March 3rd (4:00 PM): Hobart at Case
Regional NE/C: I’m excited for the Statesmen to take on Case, as I think it’s a good step for the program to make a trip to Cleveland to face a traditionally strong national program. While Case isn’t close to where they were a few years ago, they’re a strong favorite over Hobart, especially at home. Hobart can compete in the top half of the lineup with Alan Dubrovsky, Jonathan Atwater, and Jonah Salita, but will likely be outmatched lower down in both singles and doubles, so if all their top guys are on this could end up being relatively close, but you know Coach Todd will have the Spartans ready to go and I see a “close” 7-2 or 8-1 score as being most likely. Regardless, this should be a good experience and an excellent chance for Hobart to grow.

newCentral: Case has been rocking a Kanam, Stroup, Concannon at 3,4,and 5 singles lately and the switch seems to be working. That depth will be too much for Hobart and I think that Case leaves with a 7-2 win. This is a big opportunity for an up and coming team in Hobart, and if they’re able to sneak a doubles lead then it could be a long day at the office for Todd and his 300.

Saturday March 3rd (10:00 AM): Kalamazoo at Denison
Regional NE/C: This one should be interesting. After giving Chicago some good matches in early February, we haven’t heard much from the Big Red in a while. Kzoo should be a great test and will give us a good indicator of where this team is at in terms of their grit and match-toughness. It’s one thing to play Chicago tight in a match where you have no pressure and no expectation of winning, but Kalamazoo is a supremely winnable match for Denison and one I’d almost go as far as saying they “should” win. Kzoo won 6-3 last year but a lot has changed for both teams since then, so I’m going to go ahead and say Denison takes this one 6-3.

newCentral: I think that this match is going to be the closest match of the weekend. I think that it will end 5-4 and I think that the BIG RED will avenge last season’s loss to Kalamazoo. I can see many of these singles matches going either way, and with a likely 3-3 split in singles matches it will come down to who leads after doubles. Look for Burling to outfox Riley and lead Denison to a 5-4 upset win.

Sunday March 4th (10:00 am): Hobart at Oberlin
Regional NE/C: I feel like this one could depend a lot on how Hobart does against Case. If they play the Spartans tight, maybe they start feeling too good about themselves and take the lower-ranked yet still dangerous Yeomen lightly. But on the flipside, maybe the Case match lights a fire under the Statesmen and gets them hungrier than ever and they bring that fire into Oberlin. For Oberlin, they took care of business nicely against Rochester and based off that match, I have a feeling this one could end up being a close one. Not a ton of common opponents between these teams so it’s very tough to predict, but I think it’s going to be a fun one!

newCentral: I agree that the outlook on this match is heavily dependent on how Hobart looks against Case (so look for some hot takes post Case v Hobart), but I think that this match could be much closer than the records and rankings indicate. Like RegionalNEC I love that there aren’t a ton of common opponents between these two teams. I foresee this match being a 5-4 nail biter closing the central weekend on an electric note.

Have a good weekend everyone! Lots more action going on than just these matches, and some spring break trips starting to really get going. Look for more coverage from myself and the rest of the crew soon!