Regional Players of the Week: NCAA Regional Edition

POTW: NCAA REGIONAL EDITION

Another excellent weekend of tennis is in the books, and the majority of brackets are close to busted. That was the most exciting Regionals weekend in a while, and we’re bringing you the best of the best from the weekend! The Guru will be publishing a round-table piece later today, where each of the bloggers answer a couple of his questions, but first I get to bring you our POTW. Today we celebrate the 87th anniversary of the first Academy Awards, the 346th anniversary of Marie Antoinette’s marriage to King Louis the sixteenth, the 50th anniversary of Janet Jackson’s birth, and the 16th anniversary of the release of Britney Spears’ timeless album “Oops!…I did it again.” I think you know which one I’ll be choosing for our theme…

A-SOUTH

Mike "" Buxbaum
Michael “Toxic” Buxbaum

Player: Michael “MVP” Buxbaum

Team: Johns Hopkins

Results: 6-0 this weekend at NCAAs between #1 doubles and #1 singles

Recap: The MVP has returned.  After a little bit of a break this year from his MVP duties, Bux performed when his team needed him most.  He swept through Gwynedd-Mercy and Mary Washington, but he made his big impact against Carnegie Mellon in the Sweet 16.  Buxbaum/Dubin crushed Levine/Arora in a tone-setting doubles win at #1 doubles.  Buxbaum then clinched the match with a 6-4, 7-6 win over Abhishek Alla (senior), coming back from two set points down in the tiebreaker.  We missed you, MVP.

What’s next: A juicy matchup vs. Bowdoin in the Elite 8

Honorary Mention: Jeremy Dubin (Hopkins), Adrien Bouchet (Emory), Aman Manji (Emory)

Favorite part of Regionals: I surprisingly enjoyed following all the smaller school matches, we had a lot of epic ones this year.  Teams like Nichols, Franciscan, Carthage, and others were able to celebrate their NCAA glory with some first round wins.  That’s a nice part about Pool A contenders making it.  However, there really still should be more Pool C teams in the tournament.  Sad to not see Pomona, Wesleyan, and Williams in after the great seasons they had.

Team that busted your bracket: No real busts, but probably Hopkins.

Quarterfinal matchup you’re most excited about: CMS/Chicago. CMS looked vulnerable in doubles but stepped up in singles.  Chicago hasn’t been the best doubles team all year (as evidenced by their 2-1 deficit vs Gustavus) so this should be a battle between strengths.

CENTRAL

Nicolas "Paolucci
Nicholas “Baby One More Time” Paolucci

Player: Nicholas Paolucci

Team: Kenyon

Results: Two huge wins against Case

Recap: Kenyon needed someone to come up big for them to take down Case Western and Paolucci (along with Geier) was just the guy to do it. He helped Kenyon avoid the doubles sweep partnering with Mike Roberts to win at #3. I expected that to happen so a little less surprising. What was surprising was his straight set win against senior Louis Stuerke. I thought this match would be close, but I also will always pick a senior over a freshman in a big match. Paolucci put that theory to rest and won relatively quickly to put the match on big Sam Geier’s racket for Kenyon to pull the upset. What a huge win for the Lords and I have already tweeted it, but I always underestimate Kenyon and this time was no different. They have long forgotten what happened at Indoors and made the Elite Eight. Very impressive.

What’s next: Emory in the Elite Eight. This is not me underestimating Kenyon, but rather me saying Emory has been phenomenal and I think that they will run through this field.

Honorary Mention: Sam Geier (Kenyon) and Jeremy Bush (Wash U)

Favorite part of Regionals: In a tourney where it looked like the Elite Eight was set, we have two teams outside of the top 15 make it. Pretty cool stuff. Tennis isn’t a sport where upsets happen all that much so I am happy to see two happening this year.

Team that busted your bracket: I think I have missed all the matches with upsets as I went chalk most of the way.

Quarterfinal matchup you’re most excited about: Chicago vs. CMS

NE

Luke "" Trinka
Luke “Scream & Shout” Trinka

Player: Luke Trinka

Team: Bowdoin

Results: 1-1 at #1 doubles and 2-0 at #3 singles.

Recap: Yes, Trinka did not go undefeated, but the senior clinched his team’s spot in the quarterfinals on Sunday with a tough 3&4 win over Tyler Barr and MIT. That is significant for multiple reasons. 1) Bowdoin was not a sure thing. It looked like we were headed to splitsville at #2 singles, and #4 was 4-3 in the 3rd set. 2) Barr hadn’t lost all year. Trinka is a proven leader and it was great to see him get his team to the quarters. The Polar Bears have bigger goals, but even if they were to fall to Hopkins, Trinka (and Savage) should feel great about their season and the shape in which they’re leaving the program.

What’s next: Bowdoin has a quarterfinal date with Hopkins, where they will be a favorite to advance to the school’s first Final-Four.

Honorary Mention: Blake Norton (Nichols), Noah Farrell (Midd), Gil Roddy (Bowdoin), and Matt Heinrich (Stevens).

Favorite part of Regionals:

Team that busted your bracket: Besides Nichols? There were too many to count. At least I still have my final-four.

Quarterfinal matchup you’re most excited about: CMS vs Chicago. So much talent. It will be much tougher for either team to overcome a doubles deficit this time.

WEST

Joey "" Fischer
Joey “Oops!…I Did It Again” Fischer

Player: Joey Fischer

Team: UT-Tyler

Results: 4-0 at 4 singles and 3 doubles against Whitman and CMS

Recap: This one was pretty much a no-brainer. Joey Fischer, the guy who hit the fence on the fly with an overhead on match point against Gustavus, TOTALLY REDEEMED HIMSELF when his team needed him most. Against Whitman, he teamed with Pablo Gomez for an easy win at #3 before taking out Gary Ho at #4 to secure the W. Against CMS, he and Gomez again dominated at #3 doubles. He proceeded to win the first eight games against Max Macey before holding on to the second set in an epic tiebreaker.

What’s next: Though Tyler’s season ironically ended in yet another 5-4 loss, this was by far the best 5-4 loss in Tyler history, as they very nearly made it to the Elite Eight. Their one win should push them into the top 25 (top 30, at least), and will validate their application for Indoors next year. Personally, I’m hoping they get it because Indoors could use a change of scenery. (I also can’t wait to see what Fagundes, Gomes, Fischer, McIntyre, and the whole host of new internationals can do)

Honorary Mention: Daniel Budd, Arthur Fagundes

Favorite part of Regionals: An unexpected large number of exciting matches (even though the top 8 teams in the country are clearly way better than everyone else.

Team that busted your bracket: I haven’t really checked. Don’t actually know who I picked, though I imagine I’ll be doing alright if Midd goes on to win the thing.

Quarterfinal matchup you’re most excited about: Bowdoin vs. Hopkins. Two teams who haven’t been to a Final Four. Mathematically, there’s a pretty good chance one of them is gonna break through.

REGIONAL

Eric "" Roddy
Eric “(You Drive Me) Crazy” Roddy

Player: Eric Roddy, senior

Team: Sewanee

Results: Win at #1 doubles against Trinity TX, unfinished in singles

Recap: I had thought about going with Washington & Lee or MIT for this week’s POTW, but given that I had chosen them the past two weeks, I wanted to recognize a senior who has had a great career for Sewanee, and whose career is not yet over!  Roddy is a four year starter for the Tigers, always playing #4 or higher, but he took his game to a new level on the singles court this year, ending the year with 13 straight wins, including wins over Daniel Levine (CMU), Sam Mitteldorf (Chapman), Andrew You (Whittier), and Aaron Siegel (Trinity CT).  In doubles, Roddy and partner Jack Gray, a freshman, have been absolutely locked in all year, from making the finals of Small College Nationals to wins over Emory, CMU, Washington & Lee, and just this past weekend, Trinity TX.  Roddy and Gray actually went to the same high school, which makes me wonder if these guys dominated The Baylor School back in the day like they are dominating D3 tennis this year.  Of course, Gray was just a young freshman with Roddy being the big-time senior, so who knows.  

What’s next: NCAAs!  Roddy actually was most recently ranked #10 in the region in singles as well, so he was pretty close to qualifying for both.  Roddy and Gray play some incredibly tricky doubles, and they will be a fun team to follow when individuals start up.  

Honorary Mention: Alex Cauneac (MIT), although he lost 1 and 1 to Matt Heinrich, he went 2-0 at #1 doubles and beat Luke Tercek 1 and 1 in MIT’s 5-2 loss to Bowdoin.  Definitely a guy to watch next year.

Favorite part of Regionals: So many teams coming back from doubles deficits to win matches (CMS, Washington & Lee, Chicago, Wash U, Kenyon).  Incredible fight!

Team that busted your bracket: Johns Hopkins and Goucher

Quarterfinal matchup you’re most excited about: It’s a tie for me between Middlebury v. Wash U and Chicago v. CMS.  I can’t pick!

 

2 thoughts on “Regional Players of the Week: NCAA Regional Edition

  1. Jeanne

    Congratulations to all, but especially to the Kenyon LORDS!!!!

  2. Britney Spears Fan

    Anybody notice the smile on Joey’s face? It’s like he knew this was going to happen all along :p

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