Guess what ladies and gentlemen. I have thirty minutes to write this preview before I go to a birthday party in NYC, so that means I absolutely can’t be late or I’ll be late for the pre-game. When you’re late for the pre-game, you’re late for the pre-game, you’re late getting to the club. If you’re late getting to the club, you don’t get in until 2AM. If you don’t get in until 2AM, you don’t drink enough tasty drinks. If you don’t drink enough tasty drinks, you don’t get to go back to your apartment questioning your life choices and why you live in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Don’t NOT question your life choices and why you live in NYC. Don’t be that guy. Finish the preview in 30 minutes.
Was that enough of a waste of time for you? I hope so. Today at the UAA, we had something happen that has NEVER happened in the history of the UAA. Wash U and Emory won their semifinal matches and have made it to the finals. Don’t believe me?
Wash U into UAA final for 12th straight year. Faces Emory for 11th time
— Division 3 Tennis (@d3tennis) April 22, 2017
Oh wait, it’s happened again. Like clockwork. Tomorrow, Wash U and Emory will duel again with honestly, not much on the line other than the fact that they aren’t the biggest fans of each other. Chicago and CMU will duel for what could be a spot in NCAAs. Brandeis and Case will duel for what could be Brandeis’s way of getting into the top 20. And NYU and Rochester will duel for, well, they’ll duel for Rochester trying to win more than 1 match in a dual match in the UAA. Let’s get to work.
#1 Emory vs. #2 Wash U
Wash U and Emory is a long historical rivalry that spans many years. Even before the birth of Jesus, Coach Roger Follmer faced off against Coach John Browning in a joust for a seat at King Arthur’s table. Both these teams have peaked at just the right time. Emory’s singles today was downright nasty, smacking down CMU in 4 matches in easy straight setes. Wash U doubles today was downright nasty, sweeping a Chicago team in a surprising fashion. Match by match preview, anyone?
#1 Doubles: Rubinstein/Spaulding (EU) vs. Kozlowski/Haugen (Wash U)
Despite Haugen not being in singles, him and Koz have formed a devastating #1 doubles team that has countless wins over the best in the business. Their all-around doubles games are something beautiful to watch and they certainly have the advantage here. They need to watch out for that classic Emory #1 doubles team surprise, as we’ve seen many times before. Wash U is prepared for this. Wash U, 8-5
#2 Doubles: Bouchet/Renke (EU) vs. Bush/Kroot (Wash U)
A match between a ton of guys that get pretty loud, this could be a big swing match. Wash U’s team has beaten down their opponents at the UAA, while the Emory team has struggled a bit at the end of this season. I picked Jeremy Bush to go undefeated in this tournament and I expect that prediction to come true. Wash U 8-4
#3 Doubles: Jemison/Omsky (EU) vs. Neves/Vishnubolta (Wash U)
The ITA winning team of Jemison and Omsky continue to do work at #3 doubles, as expected. They completed tore apart a talented Rozenvasser/Zheng team today 8-1 and that means that they’re really at the top of their game right now. Give me Emory 8-3.
#1 Singles: Manji (EU) vs. Wu (Wash U)
A tale of two grinders here, just one of them is a senior and one of the best players in the nation. Aman Manji did work on Daniel Levine today and Manji is hitting his stride with the Eagles right now. The senior leader is going to win this match with his ability to be patient with the ever-grinding Wu. Emory, 6-4, 6-2
#2 Singles: Jemison (EU) vs. Carswell (Wash U)
Carswell has played some long matches including a 7-6 in the third match today against Erik Kerrigan, and that isn’t going to help his case against Jemison. Jemison crushed Mike Rozenvasser today and is playing his best tennis of the year as well. Expect some tired legs from the senior Carswell against a fresh Jemison. I’d normally take JJ in a regular match, now I really take him. Emory 6-3, 6-2
#3 Singles: Bouchet (EU) vs. Neves (Wash U)
Neves came up huge today against Pei with a 6-0 in the third victory, and the kid has come a long way since starting the year lower in the lineup (I believe). Great year for Bernardo so far, but a new challenge awaits. Both Jemison and Bouchet played some sick tennis today and that should carry over to the final. That’s what Emory does. Emory, 6-2, 6-4
#4 Singles: Josepher (EU) vs. Bush (Wash U)
I don’t know who’s going to be starting for the Eagles as they pulled James Spaulding today. That meant the big man Josepher at #4 and that actually did not pay off in this particular spot. Kenny Zheng of CMU beat him in a super breaker. I wouldn’t be surprised if Emory goes with Spaulding here, but I don’t think it’s going to matter. Bush steps up in these moments with a big win that Wash U absolutely needs. Wash U 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
#5 Singles: Goodman (EU) vs. Engel (Wash U)
Goodman has been moved up in the lineup with the pulling of Spaulding, and that means that the senior gets to play his original position of #5 singles. I think Wash U is a bit weak at this spot as Engel is a bit more suited to be a #6 player, but the freshman has had his moments this year. Goodman can sometimes throw a head scratching loss in from time to time but this seems to be his element. It’s 60 degrees in St. Louis. Emory 7-5, 6-4
#6 Singles: Rubinstein (EU) vs. Kroot (Wash U)
I’m really glad we get to see the spunk of JJ Kroot in the lineup for the Bears, and this should be a nice battle with two really fiery guys that want to prove they belong in the starting lineup. This one should be close and I must admit I have never seen JJ Kroot play, so I can’t really make an educated guess here. But, that’s what you pay me to do. Wash U 4-6, 6-4, 10-7
As you can see, I’m predicting that Emory clinches this one with time to spare, as the #6 singles match will go to a super breaker. Emory does singles really well. Wash U doesn’t do it that well. Wash U needs a sweep here and Emory is very good at not getting swept (probably because of Jemison/Omsky). Overall, this one goes to Emory, 5-4.
#3 Chicago vs. #4 CMU
The implications of this match are huge for a lot of teams. Take these scenarios. If Chicago wins, CMU gets put into one of the last spots of Pool C because they literally have no top 10 wins. It becomes a resume battle between them, Wesleyan, Amherst, and Williams. CMU will be sweating that out hard and they will also be sweating out the NESCAC tournament and remaining NESCAC matches. That’s a lot of sweat. If CMU wins, Chicago has a 7-2 demoliton of Williams in hand. This is big. Williams is rooting hard for Chicago tomorrow because if CMU does win, that means Williams probably becomes the odd man out in Pool C with Amherst’s win over Wesleyan today. There you have it. Those are the implications, what about the match?
Chicago has really fallen off since starting the year kind of strong, but that does not make them a team that anyone can look over. They played a tough match today which does not help them in tomorrow’s match. CMU kind of got beaten down in singles which now benefits them (oh, what a conundrum!). Both teams have the motivation to win this one – it depends on who is more clutch. A year/two years ago, a similar situation happened and CMU won it. What will happen this year?
#1 Doubles: Kerrigan/Kumar (CHI) vs. Levine/Prettyman (CMU)
The new Levine/Prettyman combo has two wins against two very good doubles teams, something that has surprised me a lot so far in this tournament. Daniel Levine continues to be CMU’s MVP and he will need to hero mode tomorrow to win this one. The Kerrigan/Kumar team is very good, but let’s remember that they are freshmen. Kerrigan’s legs might be a little shot from singles. I’m going to pick a surprise here. CMU 9-7
#2 Doubles: Hawkins/Raclin (CHI) vs. Chen/Downing (CMU)
The Chen/Downing team came up with a big win against Renke and Bouchet today and that gives me some confidence in them going forward. The total doubles specialist team of Chicago was a bit disappointing today but this is still a really damn good team. This is definitely a swing match here and could go either way. It actually might make the difference between a CMU sweep and a 2-1 lead. Or something else! Chicago 8-6
#3 Doubles: Bethke/Pei (CHI) vs. Rozenvasser/Zheng (CMU)
The CMU team really needs to step up. They are licking their wounds after today’s match and will need to forget about that one quickly as they will be playing one of the best #3 doubles teams in the business barring today’s result. I was a bit surprised and someone on the Chicago team must have overslept his alarm today because it wasn’t a great performance. Same for the CMU team. The CMU team is known for some slow starts – if they take an early lead I’ll take them. CMU 8-5
#1 SIngles: Chua (CHI) vs. Levine (CMU)
A big match here between a junior and a sophomore, and I believe this will be the first time these two guys play in their careers. The baseline screamers should be on point and despite a tough loss for Levine today against Manji, he had his chances. Chua is playing well and took it to Johnny Wu, but I think the power of Levine to Chua’s forehand will get the better of him. CMU 6-4, 7-6 (4)
#2 Singles; Kerrigan (CHI) vs. Rozenvasser (CMU)
Kerrigan’s stamina will be tested here as he played a marathon match against John Carswell, while Rozenvasser was out getting smoked by Jon Jemison. Tennis is a cruel sport to those who watch it. I think Kerrigan may be the better player and he’s certainly playing the better tennis right now, but if Rozenvasser can bring this to 3, he can win it for sure. Chicago 6-4, 6-3
#3 Singles: Pei (CHI) vs. Downing (CMU)
This was Chaz Downing’s signature win last year at #4 singles, and I am sure both guys remember it. Pei also played a three setter today and it looked like he was gassed by the end of it. Downing needs to bring his A baseline game and grind Pei into the dust. CMU 6-2, 7-5
#4 Singles: Tsai (CHI) vs. Zheng (CMU)
The story is flipped here as Zheng played a long match today and Tsai is simply one of the best in the business at #4 singles. I think these two have played previously and Tsai certainly has the advantage in terms of talent and gameplay. Tsai is basiaclly a souped up version of Zheng, which makes it tough for KZ to win this one. I think he needs to either be on his tree mode or Tsai to be on tank mode. Neither will happen, and Tsai is just a little bit better on every rally. Chicago 6-2, 6-3
#5 Singles: Leung (CHI) vs. Arora (CMU)
These are both guys that are struggling a bit right now but Leung has at least notched two wins here at UAAs. Can this be where Arora gets a signature win this year? The dude really needs it to give himself some confidence going into NCAAs, and this one should be a very, very close one. Leung is the more veteran player here but both are proven gamers. This one is tough and it pains me to pick, but I’m going with the man Peter. Chicago 6-3, 5-7, 6-1
#6 Singles: Li (CHI) vs. Kirkov (CMU)
Kiril has been in both of his matches this week and really gave Rubinstein a big battle. He looks like he’s coming into his own after trying to find it for the past two years and he gets a player who might be reeling a little with a big loss to JJ Kroot today. If Chicago sticks with Li here, I have to go with the senior for the win and to clinch it. Give it to me in a three setter. CMU 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
And there you have it. I’m predicting a 5-4 CMU win because I’m a homer and I love my region. This is why I love the UAA. This should be a good one for sure!
#5 Case vs. #7 Brandeis
This was a match on everyone’s radar and Brandeis is going to try and use the famous #CHBBoost. Brandeis is playing some great tennis right now and Case well, is not playing that great of tennis. I think Brandeis is rearing to go here and they have three seniors at the top of the lineup that should be looking to go out with a bang. I’m not going to get into a mtach by match here but I believe Brandeis takes the 2-1 lead in doubles, and sweeps the top 3 singles matches to win this one. I don’t want to predict an end score because I HAVE TO GO.
Oh by the way, NYU should win the 7th place match.
D3RegionalNEC UPDATE, 11:35pm: Fear not, I’m here to give a bit more of a rundown for what to expect in the seventh place match! While it’s not as glamorous and won’t be as closely followed by most, this is actually one of the biggest matches of the year for both these teams. NYU and Rochester have met here many times before, and while NYU has won every time since the tournament has been in Florida (since 2011), these two teams usually have pretty competitive showdowns. While NYU beat Rochester 8-1 a few weeks ago, the Violets definitely don’t seem to be at quite the same level right now, especially given their results against Brandeis today. Unfortunately for the Yellowjackets, things haven’t been great either, as they’ve lost 9-0 the past two days and have still been switching their lineup around, presumably due to injury (though at this point I really have no idea. Seems like every match it’s something different.) Regardless of what lineup they put out there, Rochester’s best shot at keeping this one close is in doubles, where judging by the scores today NYU is not looking great. Now, I’d be remiss to not mention that Rochester lost 8-3, 8-5, and 8-0 today to case, so it’s not a strength for them either, but I do think it’s possible for Rochester to take a 2-1 lead.
In singles, Umberto Setter will likely complete the 3-0 weekend with a win over Sam Leeman, though I will take Masaru Fujimaki over Benedict Teoh at #2. Without knowing the Rochester lineup, it’s tough to predict much down lower, but I have a hard time seeing the Yellowjackets winning more than one match at #3-6. At the end of the day, as ASouth said earlier, NYU should come out on top here, and just for kicks I’ll predict a 7-2 final.
Okay, ASouth, OUT.