NCAA MEN’S REGIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: March 16th-March 22nd
After a weekend jam packed of NCAA basketball, it’s time to shift our focus back to tennis, at least for the next three days. It’s Monday, so here are your POTW from the week that was. As the #SlugLyfe twitter account so gleefully reminded me over the weekend, spring is finally here…well sort of. So (please God) to finally rid us of winter, I give you this week’s POTW with a fresh spring theme.
A-SOUTH
Player: David Lunding-Johannson
Team: Mary Washington
Results: 2-0 in Doubles, 2-0 in Singles against Bates and W&L
Recap: I wanted to nominate Lunding-Johannson last time around but he was beat out by his teammate Stratton Gilmore. This time, the man they call “LJ” went undefeated on the week by notching nice solid wins against Bates and W&L at #3 doubles and #3 singles. LJ has come a long way from what used to be a spot at the bottom of the lineup and he has been a key to Mary Washington beating some solid opponents and looking strong in their top 20 bid for another year.
What’s next: UMW plays Chris Newport and Depauw upcoming weekend.
Honorary Mention: Michael “MVP” Buxbaum
Sign it’s spring in your region: Punxatawney Phil messes up his job, it starts snowing, and people start asking me Pool C questions on twitter.
Favorite thing about spring: White jeans, both male and female. #Trending
Central
Player: Wade Heerboth
Team: Kenyon
Results: 2-0 at #1 Singles and 2-0 at #2 doubles
Recap: Wade is a blog favorite and I did my best to try and pick someone from Whitewater or GAC, but Kenyon’s weekend was much more important and Wade was the anchor for the Lords. Picking up wins against Depauw and Swarthmore continues to show that Kenyon isn’t going away and the fact that they swept both teams in singles is pretty impressive. Wade got a big tiebreaker win at #2 doubles against Depauw to avoid the sweep and then came back from a set down to win 6-0, 6-2 in against Bertolini. Talk about switching the momentum. Swarthmore was much of the same as Wade was again down a set only to take down Larkin in three. These are all great signs for Heerboth as he has gotten over the slow start where he was hampered by injuries.
What’s next: Kenyon has some time off until they play Carnegie Mellon on April 5th which could be a great match!
Honorary Mention: Jake Humphreys (Whitewater), Motasem Al-Houni (GAC)
Sign it’s spring in your region: Outdoor tennis! (maybe considering there is a chance of snow today. I hate the Central!)
Favorite thing about spring: “A tradition like any other, The Masters” – Jim Nantz
NE
Player: Ford Traff
Team: Trinity Ct
Results: 5-0 at #1 doubles, 3-2 at #4 singles.
Recap: Traff paired with Mbithi to sweep #SB15 at the #1 doubles spot. This is probably the most positive takeaway for Bantams moving forward, as doubles has been an achilles heel for Trinity (like so many other NE teams) over the past few years. At #4 singles, Traff had straight set wins over Sewanee, Denison, and Skidmore, and his two losses came in 3 sets to Pomona and Bowdoin. His 3-set loss vs. Bowdoin was 7-6 in the 3rd to Savage, who has put himself in the conversation for one of the best #4s in the country (although I think he slots in behind Dorn). Also, Savage was last week’s POTW, and we try to spread the love around here. Traff’s week is a great sign for Trinity, who will certainly need his production if they are to compete with their tough NESCAC schedule. Note: to all you Bowdoin fans, as much as I wanted to give my POTW to Wolfe, Tercek, or Roddy, doubles production counts just as much as singles.
What’s next: Trin hosts Conn a week from Tuesday, and then hosts a pivotal match vs. Tufts on April 8th
Honorary Mention: Bowdoin Singles, Michael Solimano (Amherst), Rohan Gupte (Tufts)
Sign it’s spring in your region: Less snow? (SANTA CRUZ TWITTER…DAMN YOU)
Favorite thing about spring: Sox games
WEST
Player: Connor “The Chuddley Cannon” Hudson
Team: Pomona-Pitzer
Results: 3-0 in singles against Trinity (CT), Amherst, and Skidmore and a 9-8 dubs win over Skidmore to avoid the sweep
Recap: We frequently write about His Chuddliness here on the blog. Is it because he’s from Colorado and we like their politics? Is is because he’s a 2-star who has turned himself into one of the best players in DIII? Is it because his eyes are pools of soulfulness that you can lose yourself in? Or is there some more nefarious reason? Yes, yes, no, and maybe. Hudson is DIII tennis’ newest iteration of Captain Clutch. The senior has come up huge for his team all season, and this past week was no exception. When P-P needed a quick straight-set victory to take control against Amherst, he delivered over a former 5-star in Zykov no less. More importantly, when the Hens needed to avoid another bad loss in their seventh match in six days, he won two huge tiebreakers to help his team pull out yet another 5-4 win (their 5th of the season). If that’s not POTW-worthy, I don’t know what is.
What’s next: Like I mentioned, this is another huge week for P-P. Midd, Williams, and Chicago are coming to town. It’s a Pool C party and everyone’s invited (no, not you, Bates. I’m sorry).
Sign it’s spring in your region: SoCal: can’t really tell the difference between the other “seasons.” Northwest and Norcal: Less rain. Texas: Bluebonnets (say what you want, but wildflowers are NICE)
Favorite thing about spring: The sun going down at 8.
REGIONAL
Player: Charlie Werman
Team: Chapman
Results: 3-1 at #4 singles, 3-1 at #2 doubles
Recap: Werman had a great week of tennis for the Panthers in Chapman’s first week in the national rankings. Werman went 2-0 in each match against Vassar, Cal Lutheran, and most impressively, Middlebury. In the Midd match, Werman and partner Brett Buford won 8-3 at #2 doubles over Noah Farrell and Ari Smolyar and in singles, Werman pulled out a three set win over Courtney Mountifield. Werman’s only losses were to Amherst, where him and Buford lost 8-5 at #2 doubles, and Werman lost in two tight sets to Andrew Arnaboldi. Werman is 8-3 so far this year at #4 singles, with wins over Middlebury, Cal Lu, Vassar, Brandeis, and Rochester. He does not have a single bad loss (Bowdoin, Amherst, Pomona), and his consistency has been huge for the Panthers so far this year. He’s no slouch in the doubles department either, as he and Buford are also 8-3, with the wins and losses against the exact same schools. Talk about consistency!
What’s next: The Panthers host a couple of NWC schools, George Fox and Lewis & Clark next week, and they will finish their season against SCIAC foes Cal Tech, Redlands, Whittier, and CMS.
Honorary Mention: Alex Cooper (Sewanee), Danny Polk (Stevens)
Sign it’s spring in your region: My region is the whole country so I’m just gonna say spring allergies because I got em real bad right now
Favorite thing about spring: Baseball season wooooo
talk about consistency? talk about a stack!