My Thoughts from the Past 2 Days

Neither of these teams fall in my region (cmon, ASouth), but that being said I wanted to provide all of you with my general thoughts on the Finals, because I really like DIII tennis.  Please be aware that D3Northeast and D3West will have a joint preview for you coming out later tonight!  First off, today’s Final 4 was really amazing.  I honestly didn’t expect both matches to be so close and I especially didn’t expect someone to come back from being down 3-0 after doubles.  I’m so glad that there was live streaming available for the match because it gave everyone a chance to see all these players that have been working so hard this year to get where they are.  The commentator probably had a bit to improve on (that’s understating) but at least he wasn’t downright annoying.  Let’s stay focused on the tennis though, because that’s what we’re here for!  The next few paragraphs will just go through any general thoughts that come to my mind about the Final 4 and the Finals.  I’d love to make this an open discussion so please let me know your thoughts and predictions for tomorrow!

The Environment

First off, I think it is really necessary to point out the environment at the Elite 8.  I’ve been present to my fair share of Sweet 16s and Elite 8s, and there is truly a huge difference in the intensity between the two.  It’s like the NBA and NHL Playoffs where teams just seem to step up at the right times.  There are almost always pressure moments and every team is going to come with a punch.  Today, Trinity came out with a haymaker in doubles to start off the match, but Amherst took it in stride.  Middlebury came out taking sets against the vaunted singles lineup of CMS, but CMS took that in stride and ended up winning a ton of matches in 3 sets.  It’s the teams that handle these punches that are successful.  The thing is, if you haven’t experienced these types of matches, it’s tough to handle the adversity on the first try.  Middlebury came out and rocked Case in the first few games of doubles and Case was too shell-shocked to answer.  Hopkins made a run at CMS at the end of singles.  In the Elite 8, it’s all about the team that keeps calm and confident through tough times.

Experience

I always, always, harp on experience when I talk about NCAAs.  Throughout the season, I admit it doesn’t mean all that much because guys simply aren’t as nervous.  Let’s take a look at some of the records from nationals and see what we come up with.  I really hope I’m not wrong, because that would be embarrassing…

• Seniors 10-3
• Juniors 6-8
• Sophomores 6-8
• Freshmen 1-4

Well, thankfully that went as I expected.  I’m well aware that this is a very small sample size and that the matchups matter, but that’s a telling tale right there.  First off, you simply don’t see that many freshmen making the Final 4, which is why they don’t have as many results.  When they did, they had a 20% winning percentage.  Seniors, on the other hand, have gone 10-3 already in the Elite 8.  That’s incredible.  I’m sure there would be similar statistics last year with the Williams title and even if you go deeper into the depths of the history, I’m sure it’s the same story.  Experience matters at this time of the year because of what I said in the first paragraph.  There are guys that just know what’s about to come, the adversity that is about to occur, and they know how to handle it.  Shoutout to Big Z today for his close 7-6 win in a close match against Middlebury.

Talent

In the end, let’s be honest.  The two most talented teams in the tournament are left in the finals.  That’s something that is not to be denied.  Both Middlebury and Trinity TX put in good efforts but in the end they were overwhelmed with a combination of talent and experience.  That’s not a knock on them, but more of a testament to the two teams that have geared themselves well for this year.  You’ll remember at the beginning of the season that a lot of people questioned Wash U’s talent level.  That came around to bite them in the Elite 8 against a very talented Trinity TX team.  Case Western, always the workmanlike team, was just outdone by Middlebury.  Emory has been weakened recently and they ran into a hot Amherst team.  Hopkins was probably the most talented loser in the Elite 8 but they just got an unlucky draw.  Coaching, experience, and all of that come into play, but there are just some times when the more talented teams win.

The Host Site, Social Media, and Interactions

I wanted to take a paragraph to give a big shoutout to CMS for a great hosting site, as always.  The fact that we can watch all of these matches on live stream with great quality video is amazing.  We have a live chat on the stream where we get to interact with alumni and current players alike.  I know I saw at least 5-6 players that I knew in the chat and it was a lot of fun.  Not to mention, the live scoring system at CMS is unlike any other.  If only CMS didn’t give such an advantage for the Stags, I’d suggest having this at Claremont every year.  It’s great to have a ton of people there live tweeting, so big shoutout to @Sagehens, @d_quazzo, the team twitter accounts, Max Frey, and anyone else that the bloggers have interacted with the past few days.  It’s really been a fun ride and we’re glad that DIII Tennis has come such a long way to where we’re live tweeting almost every big match, streaming the finals, and talking about it together.  Let’s keep this thing going!

My Brief Finals Thoughts

That’s all I really have, but I don’t want to leave without giving my finals thoughts.  I don’t have a team in the finals but I do run this blog sometimes, so I wanted to give at least some food for thought.  The Finals is where we throw all previous regular season data out the window.  One match to win it all that means everything to these guys is a big deal.  With two teams that are so talented, this one is going to come down to one thing – whoever wants this more is going to win.  The team that puts away all the pressure and wills themselves to win as a team is going to take this one home.  I know it’s very cliché, but I personally think it is 100% true.   In my mind, Amherst showed they want it today by coming back from down 3-0 with some amazing three-set efforts.  To me, I don’t think we’ve seen CMS’s extra gear, if they have one, which is a scary thing for Amherst.  If this is truly the greatest team of the past 5 years, they will come out on fire with confidence, because that’s what the best teams do.  A close match against UCLA doesn’t win you a championship.  A win over an Amherst team that is just as talented as you will.  Tomorrow should be an epic battle because like I said, both teams are going to make their runs.  I’m sure twitter will be blowing up and D3Central will be making bold claims based off of momentum, but remember, as we saw today, things can change in the blink of an eye.

My prediction is that Amherst gets one of the doubles matches and we see 2-3 three-setters that will define the match.  This one is going to be close.  It all comes down to clutch play and honestly I have no idea who is going to win.  If I had to pick, I’d pick CMS by a 5-3 score.  That guess is good as the next readers guess.  I’m excited to watch the match with you guys tomorrow and I hope you enjoy the commentary that we provide.

Lastly….

If you haven’t yet, please provide us with your thoughts on the blog in the thread below.  I was expecting some more feedback given how many people read the blog, so please, don’t be shy!  I’ve received some great emails already.  We’re doing this so you guys can have your most enjoyable time reading, and your feedback is appreciated.  We know you have your thoughts about us!  Just don’t call us assholes or something, cause that’s not constructive… (heh, kidding).

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And with that, as always, ASOUTH OUT.