REGIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: FEB 24TH-MARCH 2ND
You’ve been waiting all season and now you all can let out a collective sigh of relief. “Regional Players of the Week” is back. These guys have finally made the big time and yes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8OxKx6zKkQ) they’re kind of a big deal.
A-SOUTH
Player: Christian Carcione
Team: Swarthmore
Results: Won 8-0 at #3 doubles versus Stevens and clinched the match at #6 singles with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Brett Derrington.
Recap: In a match that Swarthmore absolutely had to have against a borderline top 30 team, the former Eastern player Carcione came through big time in the clutch. The senior showed that he can still get it done for his team against his competition as he breezed through a #3 doubles win over Stevens with his partner, Dan Park. Carcione then continued that momentum into singles play, where he clinched a 5-4 match with a solid straight sets win over the Stevens #6 player. This win should vault the Swarthmore team back into the Top 30 after a brief hiatus at the end of last year.
What’s next: Swarthmore takes on a reeling Skidmore team next Wednesday on their spring break trip, then head off to the grueling Stag-Hen invitational where they will need all the help they can get amongst top competition.
Honorary Mention: Michael Buxbaum (Hopkins)
CENTRAL
Player: Juan Luis Chu
Team: Gustavus Adolphus
Results: 2-0 at 2 dubs and 2-0 at 3 singles against Chicago and Whitewater
Recap: Full disclosure: This could have gone to anyone in the Gusties singles lineup 3-6 as they all went undefeated. However, Juan Luis Chu posted two big wins at three singles. The first was against Brian Sun from Chicago and then Ramen “Noodles” from Whitewater. Ramen deserves a big shout out for pulling out the win against Chicago the day before. Luis Chu, a senior, only has a loss to Wash U for the spring and will be relied upon heavily the rest of the season.
What’s next: The Gusties head west for the Stag-Hen in a couple of weeks and will be underdogs in every match.
Honorary Mention: Joey MacGibbon (Gustavus), Motasem Al-Houni (Gustavus), Jake Humphreys (UW-Whitewater)
NE
Player: CJ Leong
Team: NYU Violets
Results: Wins at #2 dubs and #3 singles vs. Skidmore
Recap: What a HUGE and totally unexpected weekend for Mr. Leong and the unranked Violets. NYU took down #16 Skidmore in a 5-4 match that very well might be the biggest win in the program’s history. CJ, a junior from Singapore, helped #2 doubles (which is made up of two Singaporeans) to an 8-5 victory, and pulled out a 3 set win at #3 singles. While his teammate and senior captain Steven Wu did dispatch regional #1 Oliver Loutsenko, Leong came up with what proved to be the 1st and 5th points for the Violets, eeking out a 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-3 match clinching win over Danny Knight.
What’s next: Look for NYU to jump into the composite rankings which come out later today. NYU is off until March 25th when they have a suddenly interesting regional matchup vs. Brandeis.
Honorary Mention: Steven Wu (NYU), Jarrert Regier (RPI), Matthew Heinrich (Stevens)
WEST
Player: Max Littlejohn
Team: UC Santa Cruz
Results: Wins at #2 singles and #2 doubles vs. Whittier
Blurb: Any time your region only has one significant match in a weekend, it makes it pretty easy to pick a player of the week. You just taking the person who won two matches on the winning team and plays highest in the lineup. That being said, Littlejohn was HUGE in the match against Whittier. He helped lead the comeback for the Team of Destiny at #2 doubles to get Cruz the lead heading into the singles then dominated Schommer in what I had pegged as the swing match to lift his team to victory.
What’s next: Cruz is headed to Walla Walla for the big quad this weekend where they will play Trinity, CMS, and Whitman. The Slugs are big underdogs in all three matches, so any victory would be considered a monumental success.
Honorary Mention: David Konstantinov (Whitter), Kyle Richter (UC Santa Cruz)