Regional Roundup – NYU, ASouth, Brandeis, and a whole lot More

The D3 tennis fans of the world will be focusing on Claremont this weekend for the annual Stag-Hen, and the blog is going to have you covered with plenty of coverage all weekend long.  However, as the regional blogger solely responsible for not forgetting about the little guy, I am not forgetting about the little guy!  We have a few matches to recap and plenty more to preview.  This article is like 6.5 pages in Word, mostly because I have like a 1.5 page preview of Stevens vs. Brandeis.  For that and more, keep on reading!  No Stag-Hen in this article.

The Week that Was:

#14 Redlands def. #32 Christopher Newport 5-4

The Bulldogs came out and took 2 of 3 doubles matches in this one, though they won #1 doubles by a score of 9-8 (5), really showing how close CNU was to winning this one.  Singles was also extremely tight.  David Reed at #1 and Arttu Fiva at #6 won in straights for CNU, while Chase Lipscomb and Parker Wilson won in straights for UR, at #3 and #4.  Justin Cerny won 6-4 in the third for CNU at #2, and Taylor Hunt won 6-3 in the third for UR to clinch the match at #5.  Although Hunt clinched before Fiva and Cerny finished their matches, this was still an extremely close match.  CNU played Redlands closer in singles than Brandeis, Bates, and Washington & Lee, three teams ranked ahead of them.  This might have just been Redlands playing slightly down to competition, as they also split singles with Mary Washington after sweeping in dubs, but nothing should be taken away from the Captains.  As I mentioned in our POTW, Cerny is playing at a high level for the Captains right now at #2, but so is Reed at #1, who beat Joey Dulle 1 and 1 in this match.  CNU has some easier conference matches now until Johns Hopkins on 3/26, but they have to be liking the way they are playing.  Their next two big matches are against Hopkins and Mary Washington, where they are definitely underdogs in both matches.  However, they will also play Stevens and TCNJ towards the end of the season, two matches where CNU will certainly have a shot to get wins, and I would put them as slight favorites over TCNJ right now.  If CNU can continue to improve their doubles, they’ll make some noise before the season is over.

#24 Skidmore def. NYU 6-3

This match went about how I thought it would, and I was actually almost perfect with my prediction (I had NYU winning at #4 instead of #5 singles).  Sorry, nothing like a good ego boost!  Anyway, NYU managed to tough out #2 singles 9-8 to avoid the doubles sweep, but Skid won easily at #1, #3, and #4 to win the match.  The teams split super breakers at #2 and #6, and Matt DeMichiel won in straights at #5 over Ted Berkowitz.  First of all, it was nice to see captain Sidd Thangirala back in the lineup for NYU.  Setter still did not play, but seeing the big-hitting Thangirala is a nice sign, and his results were solid as well, winning at #2 doubles and falling in the super at #2 singles.  DeMichiel also had a nice win at #5, and as I said a couple Reg. Roundups ago, DeMichiel’s game is perfect for a spot like #5, where he can grind down his opponents more easily, so as long as the Violets stay healthy, this will be a good spot for them.  Overall though, this match went about as expected.  Even though NYU actually looked like the deeper team (though Nick Tong did not play for Skid), the Skiddies were able to win pretty easily at the 1-4 spots in the lineup for the 6-3 win.

#24 Skidmore def. RPI 9-0

Skid followed up the NYU win with a dominating performance against RPI.  They had a big win at #1 doubles, where Leung and Tong (Tong did play this time) took out McKinley Grimes / Sherman Uyeno 9-8.  Singles was all Skidmore, as they won every match in straights with the exception of #4 singles, where Lucas Pickering pulled it out 6-2 in the third over Alain Grullon Gonzalez.  RPI has plenty of good matches set up against similar northeast teams, but they have gone 0-3 so far in their big matches against TCNJ, Stevens, and Skidmore, losing by more each time.  RPI will try to right the ship with a Cali trip next week, where they will play Salisbury, Cerritos, Hardin-Simmons, and Washington College.  It would have been great to schedule a team like Chapman, Cal Tech, Whittier, or Cal Lu, but those teams are in high demand this time of year.

#12 Johns Hopkins def. #31 Washington & Lee 6-3

I was really looking forward to this match mostly to see if Michael Holt could push Buxbaum, but we didn’t even get to see that!  After sweeping doubles, Hopkins pulled their top two guys, Buxbaum and Jeremy Dubin.  The Generals actually won at both of those spots, but Hopkins had enough depth to split the singles, winning at #3, #4, and #6.  It really is unfortunate for Holt, as this was a great chance for him to move up in the ASouth rankings, but he will have more opportunities, as he should play Mosetick (Emory), Alla (CMU), Sebastian Sikh (NCW), Avery Schober (Sewanee), and David Lunding-Johansson (Mary Wash) before the season is done.  The Generals will actually play Mary Wash in just a couple days!  Preview of that will be below.

NYU def. Vassar 6-3

I had the score right again in this one, and I was almost perfect with the matches.  Neither team is known for playing very good doubles, but NYU came out and just dominated, winning 8-2, 8-4, and 8-3.  Vassar got wins from their very solid #1 and #2 guys, Nick Litsky and Dan Cooper, and Juan Felipe Laso dominated at #4, but NYU won easily everywhere else.  Except for a three set match between Cooper and Thangirala, every single match was extremely one-sided one way or the other.  DeMichiel and Parsch continued their good tennis at the bottom of NYU’s lineup, and Sam Khoshbin got on the winning side of things as well with an easy win at #3.  Ultimately, Vassar can play good singles, but they just are not good enough at doubles to compete right now.  The Brewers have played three big matches so far this spring, Skidmore, NYU, and Rochester.  They have won zero doubles matches in those three matches, but they split the singles with both Skidmore and NYU.  They have some good spring break opportunities against Whittier, Chapman, and Trinity CT (among other matches), but if they want to win any of those matches, especially Chapman/Trinity, they really need to improve their doubles.  Although their singles can be solid, they aren’t going to take 5 singles matches against Chapman or Trinity.  Maybe Whittier.

Anyways, for NYU, they aren’t known for their doubles either, so it was good to see them come out and dominate right from the beginning.  They play Brandeis this Sunday, where they absolutely will need a doubles lead if they hope to win that match.  That match is also their senior day, and it’s really strange to see senior day so early in the year, but they do in fact have 7 road matches after Brandeis leading into UAAs.  All in all, good win for the Violets, but big matches coming up against Brandeis and TCNJ.

#36 Coe def. Rochester 5-4:

Rapid reaction for this one as this match finished just this afternoon.  The Kohwaks got a big doubles sweep over UR, and won easy matches at #2 and #4 for the 5-4 win.  #2 and #4 were actually the first singles matches done, which meant that Coe clinched this match in the blink of an eye.  UR came back and ultimately won three matches in super breakers, so it’s a little tough to predict what the score would have been had they played all these matches out.  Either way, this was a huge win for Coe to preserve that national ranking.  This match and the 5-4 win against Ogelthorpe were the two toughest on Coe’s spring break schedule, but they came through unscathed.  This was another disappointing result for Rochester, but they will have a chance to turn around their whole season on 3/19 against Brandeis in a UAA showdown.

The Week to Come:

Not a whole lot happening Friday, but some great Regional matches are on tap for the weekend.  Brandeis takes a little mid-Atlantic trip to take on Stevens and NYU, MIT tries to rebound against Colby, Sewanee and Vassar head out west, and W&L tries to upset Mary Wash.  That’s the quick summary, here are the previews!

Saturday 3/12

#27 Brandeis @ #25 Stevens:

This looks to be the best match-up of the weekend, outside of that thing they call the Stag Hen and higher ranked teams like Wesleyan playing out in Cali.  At least in Regional world, this is the best match-up.  Regional world is a great place to live.  Not the most talent, but lots of hard work.  Can’t beat the weather, either.  The Judges and Ducks played last year for the first time in recent memory, and Stevens won 5-3, with the match actually taking place up at Middlebury.  Deis took a 2-1 doubles lead, but Heinrich took out Granoff, Danny Polk took out Danny Lubarsky in #BattleOfTheDannys, and Charles Drake beat Alec Siegel in three sets.  Now, Polk is playing #2 for Stevens, Danny L. is out of the Judges singles lineup, and both teams look to be playing some good tennis coming into this match.  Since this match is just so good, I’m going to go match by match for this one.  Don’t say I never did anything for you.

#1 doubles: Heinrich/Foran vs. Arguello/Cherkin

Both of these teams have had excellent results the past couple of years, and this should be quite the match.  It’s a lame reason, but I have to lean home court advantage and favor the Ducks in this one.  Stevens 9-7.

#2 doubles: Henry/Polk vs. Kogan/Lubarsky

Lubarsky is an excellent doubles player and has matched up nicely with the talented freshman.  Henry and Polk are good, but I’m picking the Judges at #2.  Brandeis 8-5.

#3 doubles: Drake/Cenderelli vs. Bunis/Granoff (or maybe Saal/Ng)

Bunis/Granoff played #3 in the opening match, but Saal/Ng played after Granoff’s injury, and both teams have looked solid.  Bunis/Granoff offers a lot of experience and grit, and I think Coach Lamnna sticks with that.  The Drake/Cenderelli team is still new, as Drake actually started this year playing with Danny Polk.  Once again, I think it will be close, but I like the way the Judges are playing doubles right now.  Brandeis 8-6.

#1 singles: Heinrich vs. Granoff

Heinrich won this match 6 and 6 last year.  Granoff took out Brett Buford of Chapman in a super in his only action so far this year, and while Heinrich lost to Mark Fallati of Swat, he’s still playing at a really high level.  Stevens 7-6, 6-4.

#2 singles: Polk vs. Arguello

This match has all the makings of a classic, although both guys have been up and down as of late.  Polk is coming off a loss at #1 to McKinley Grimes of RPI and a 3&0 loss to John Larkin of Swarthmore.  Arguello played #1 against Redlands and lost in straights to Joey Dulle.  Polk has had some trouble winning this year in singles, and while Deis has not played many matches yet this year, I still like Arguello in three.  Brandeis 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

#3 singles: Drake vs. Bunis

Both of these guys are very tough players, and both guys also love to go three sets.  I think this will be an absolute marathon of a match.  Bunis has done an excellent job of coming back in matches so far this year (Chapman, Redlands, CMS), but he lost in a third set to Redlands and CMS.  I think this match will be similar.  I’m going with Drake by the thinnest of margins.  Stevens 6-2, 5-7, 7-6.

#4 singles: Foran vs. Saal

Foran is the former #2 now playing at #4, and Saal is consistently in the lineup for the first time as a sophomore.  Saal is a tough opponent, but Foran has looked really good this year at #4, recently winning in straights against Swat and RPI.  This is one of the weaker spots in the Judges’ singles lineup, and a strong one for Stevens.  Stevens 7-5 6-2.

#5 singles: Henry vs. Kogan

A tight match like (hopefully) this one is where young guns earn their stripes, and both Henry and Kogan will be looking to that in this match.  Henry won against RPI in a super, but had a great 4&1 win over Blake Oetting of Swat a few days earlier.  Kogan won easily against Chapman but lost badly to Redlands and CMS.  Kogan is talented, but I think he will need more matches (like this) under his belt before he wins a big three-setter.  Henry, as a sophomore, simply has more experience in long matches.  Stevens 4-6, 7-5, 6-2,

#6 singles: Persson vs. Ng

This could be Persson and it could be Feldman.  Either way, Stevens has done well this year at the bottom of the lineup.  Ng was dominated by CMS, but won good matches against Redlands and Chapman.  I think Ng wins another big one for Deis.  Brandeis 6-3, 7-5.

That’s right, I’m going with Brandeis winning 2 of 3 doubles matches, but Stevens taking 4 of 6 singles to win the match 5-4.  Battle!!!  I’m predicting a bunch of three setters and close three sets, and there isn’t really a spot where I think either team is clearly overpowered (maybe #4 if I have to pick one).  That’s it, time to move on to some other matches.

Colby @ MIT:

This is the first match of the spring for the Colby Mules, first year head coach Jason Cohen, and Shaw Speer.  The Mules have a solid looking recruiting class already for next year, but in this match, they look to be under matched in the talent department.  However, MIT was swept in doubles by Bates last weekend en route to a 7-2 Bobcat win, meaning there has to be some form of life for the Mules.  It’s difficult to predict this match without really knowing Colby’s lineup, but the Mules do have a very established #1 and #2 with Carl Reid and Vlad Murad manning those spots.  They are an excellent doubles team as well, as I believe they qualified for NCAAs last season.  Bates won at all three of these spots (among others) against the Engineers, and these are the spots that Colby will have to win.  MIT is also beatable at #5/6 singles, but I don’t think Colby has the depth right now to win those spots.  If the Mules dominate doubles and sweep, Murad and Reid can both win in singles, but MIT is very good at #3/4, and Colby drops off in singles after Murad.

Prediction: 7-2 MIT (wins at #2-3 doubles, and #2-6 singles)

#28 Sewanee @ #37 Chapman:

After playing CMU Friday, Sewanee will travel to Chapman on Saturday to continue their spring break.  Sewanee actually took 2 of 3 doubles last weekend against Emory, though the Eagles quickly turned it around and dominated all six singles matches, and the only one being all that close was #2 singles Eric Roddy losing 4&5 to Jemison.  For Chapman, this is yet another good opportunity for them, as they have already lost matches to Brandeis, UCSC, and CNU. Outside of Brett Buford and Charlie Werman for the Panthers, I really have no idea what I’m getting, as everyone else in the lineup has really struggled.  On the other hand, Sewanee has only played one D3 ranked team, and that team was the #1 team in the country, so I’m not sure what I’m getting with them, either.  However, given just how much the Panthers have struggled outside of Buford/Werman, and given the fact that Sewanee does play solid doubles, I think the Tigers get a good win here, and I’ll also go with Eric Roddy/Jack Gray winning a nice pro set against Werman/Buford.  That Sewanee team has been fantastic so far this year!  Buford vs. Schober should also be a great match, and I’m going with the Panther, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see this match go to three sets or a super breaker.

Prediction: 6-3 Sewanee (wins at #1 and #3 doubles, #2, #4-6 singles).

#15 Mary Washington @ #31 W&L:

The Generals will get another chance for a big upset on their home courts when #15 Mary Wash visits Lexington this Saturday.  The Eagles are coming off a disappointing spring break where they lost 5-4 to PP after taking 2 doubles matches, and lost 6-3 to Redlands after getting swept in doubles.  The Eagles are definitely favored here, but I think W&L has enough firepower at different spots in their lineup to make it close.  It starts at #1 with Michael Holt vs. Lunding-Johansson.  Although Holt didn’t get the chance to face Buxbaum last weekend, he has been playing excellent tennis all season, and this is another chance for him to make a push in the individual rankings.  Jordan Krasner at #2 is also a guy with a ton of experience who is capable of pushing Stratton Gilmore (it’s possible the UMW guys might switch at #1 and #2 as they did vs. PP).  I like Brandon Griffin at #3 for UMW, but #4 with Eric Hurwitz vs. Thomas Johnson should also be a great match.  At the bottom of the lineup, Will Bannister vs. Patrick Hughes could get close, though I do like Matt Miles as #6.  In doubles, although the Eagles are coming off a sweep, so is W&L, and I think UMW comes out firing and takes at least 2 of 3.  This match can definitely get close, as W&L has competed well this year against teams above them, but I think Mary Wash turns around their year starting Saturday.

Prediction: 7-2 Mary Washington (wins at #1 and #3 doubles, #2-6 singles)

Sunday 3/13:

#27 Brandeis @ NYU:

Deis follows up their Stevens match with a clash against UAA foe NYU.  This is a big match for UAA seeding, as Brandeis can win as many matches as they want this year, but if they lose head to head to NYU, it will be very tough to get a higher seed than them at the tournament.  With Emory and Chicago looking like the #1 and #2 seeds right now, and Case actually looking like the third, I guarantee both of these schools would much rather attempt to upset the Spartans on UAAs day 1.  Brandeis won this match 6-3 last year, though both teams had very different lineups, with classic names like CJ Leong and Alec Siegel gracing last year’s box score.  Man, I loved CJ Leong!  NYU has had a lot of trouble up top in their singles lineup, though they have showed solid depth with Matt DeMichiel and Yanik Parsch at #5 and #6.  I still don’t really know what I’m getting with Deis at #5 and #6, but I definitely like them at #1-3 with the juniors Granoff, Arguello, and Bunis.  #4 with Ethan Saal vs. Jiri Honajzer represents a weak spot for both teams, but given that Honajzer just lost 1 and 0 to Lago from Vassar, I have to favor Saal.  For doubles, although NYU just swept Vassar, Brandeis simply plays better doubles and I like them to take at least a couple matches.  Overall, this match will be close, but I think the Judges are just playing better tennis than the Violets right now.

Prediction: 6-3 Brandeis (wins at #1 and #2 doubles, #1-2, #4, #6 singles)

Wednesday 3/16:

Vassar @ #37 Chapman

I close this week’s Reg. Roundup with another look at my two favorite regional darlings, Vassar and Chapman.  Both teams have missed opportunities this year, but this one is a big danger match for Chapman as they would likely drop out of the rankings if they lose this one.  I really like Chapman in the doubles, and if they can sweep, I think they cruise to at least two singles matches, but if Vassar can just eek out one match, the match gets much tighter.  Nick Litsky vs. Brett Buford should be a terrific match at #1 between two very clean hitters.  Chapman is weak at #2 with Sam Mitteldorf, so I think Dan Cooper cruises here.  Similarly, Vassar is weak at #3 with Evan Udine, and Chapman is quite strong with Charlie Werman, so I think the Panthers grab that one.  Juan Felipe Laso (VC) vs. Hunter Morris (CU) is a big swing match as I think these guys are very evenly matched.  If Justin P. Thompson can regain any of his freshman year form, he should be a huge favorite at #5 over Jamie Anderson.  Although he’s not playing great, I have to go with Chapman at this one.  At #6, I don’t even know what to think.  Nick Lee has been decent for Vassar (win vs. Skidmore), though that was also on the fast indoor Vassar courts.  I’ll lean Chapman for exactly that reason.  I am definitely leaning Chapman in this match, but if Vassar can do anything in doubles, it gets a lot closer and they certainly have enough singles talent to get the win.

Prediction: 6-3 Chapman (wins at #1 and #2 doubles, #1, #3, #5, #6 singles)

That is all I have!  D3Reg out.