Regional POW: March 18-25

Atlantic South

Warren Elgort (Johns Hopkins)

Hopkins lost twice last week, but that didn’t stop Elgort from picking up a few big wins. In doubles, he teamed with Jacob Barnaby to post an 8-5 victory over Emory’s #1 team of Goodwin/Humphreys. He followed that up with a straight sets win over Ian Wagner at #5 singles. Against Swarthmore, Elgort won again at #1 doubles, this time in a tiebreaker, and he cruised through his singles match to lead the Blue Jays to victory over their nationally-ranked conference rival. On Sunday, Elgort won easily at #4 singles for the Blue Jays in a 7-2 loss to #29 Bates.

Honorable Mention: Hayden White (Washington & Lee)

Central

Deepak Sabada (Chicago)

The Central heavyweights were out of action this week, but Chicago, Kalamazoo, and Carleton were all on Spring Break. Though they did not get the big win they needed against NCW, Chicago played well in South Carolina, and Sabada’s play was a particularly bright spot. Against the Battling Bishops, Sabada won in both singles and doubles, picking up the Maroons’ only singles win against 5th ranked NCW. Playing #2 doubles and #6 singles, Sabada picked up comfortable singles and doubles victories against Tufts and Carleton for the Maroons. He also won in a third-set tiebreaker to lift Chicago to a 4-3 victory over DI Citadel.

Northeast

Felix Sun (Williams) and Alex Kahan (Amherst)

There were too many excellent performances in the Northeast this week to narrow it down to just one. McCook and Bettles both had great weeks for their respective teams, but the tiebreaker had to go to the NESCAC heavyweights. Kahan was Mr. Clutch for Amherst over Spring break. Against #14 Bowdoin, he teamed with Jon Cypers to win in a tiebreaker, tilting the match in the Jeffs’ favor. He also won at #1 singles, beating Sam King 6-2 7-6. Against #9 Cal Lu, he teamed with Chris Dale to win at #2 doubles, and swung the momentum back in Amherst’s favor when Cal Lu was fighting back by beating Justin Wilson 6-3 7-6. Finally, he provided the clinching 5th team point against CMS by coming back from a break down in the third set to beat Alex Lane 6-1 4-6 6-4 at #1 singles. The box score from the Pomona match is still unavailable, but I think he won in singles and doubles there as well.

Sun was absolutely dominant in both singles and doubles for Williams over the weekend. He teamed with Matt Micheli to post 8-3 and 8-2 victories at #2 doubles against CMS and Redlands, respectively. He also rolled past the 19th ranked player in the nation, Warren Wood, and bageled Redlands’ Nick Cummins at #2 singles. After playing #1 singles for Williams last year, the Purple Cows will probably be relying on him for consistent victories at #2 this year.

Honorable Mention: Anson McCook (Trinity), Matt Bettles (Bates)

West

Nick Ballou (Cal Lutheran)

Ballou had a stellar week for the Kingsmen, winning all of his matches in both singles and doubles easily. Against #19 Trinity (CT), he and doubles partner Ray Worley rolled past the Trinity duo of McCook/Mandel. He kept up his good play in singles, beating the 47th ranked McCook 6-1 6-1. Against #1 Amherst, he continued his winning ways by beating Amherst’s #1 doubles team 8-1 and former Amherst #1 Luis Rattenhuber 6-2 6-1. If Ballou keeps playing like this, Cal Lu could be a serious threat to win the California regional.

Honorable Mention: Alex Lane (CMS), James Rivers (Whitman)