This article could be a long one, so I will save the words in the introduction. Great day again today as we saw two top 10 battles and one of them was an instant nail biter. Onto the rest of the article.
Day 2 Recap
Much like Day 1, today was really defined by one match that was a really good one. I am actually writing this recap as this match is going on, so I will not cover that match until it’s finished, obviously. That would be Wash U vs. Chicago, which is turning out to be a classic. Here are your results from the matches:
Let’s talk about Wash U/Chicago for a second. I was discussing with the Guru prior to the match and I thought Chicago was going to turn it on and blow the Bears out of the water. Being the historian that he is, he told me I was wrong and that Wash U would turn it on, just like they always have every year. He was right, as usual. Wash U was actually two points away from a sweep and Chua/Liu came up big to salvage the match for the Maroons in doubles to go down 2-1. Chicago’s 3 team of Tsai/Hawkins is still finding it’s groove, but the season is running out. Anyways, the win at #1 doubles might have ended up to be a bad thing for Chicago because they ended up battling really hard later on in singles only to come up short.
In singles, Wash U took three first sets at #2, #3, and #4 with Wu, Kratky and Bush. Kratky absolutely demolished the freshman Charlie Pei and that’s a great result for the senior. Bush and Wu continued to do their thing. Meanwhile, Chicago took the first set down bottom with Leung and Tsai. However, into the second sets everything just became close. Kratky and Tsai finished theirs, but the rest went three setters, meaning Wash U was up 3-2. Leung was up big in his second set 5-2 before losing three straight games and he paid for that with what sounded like full body cramps. It’s hot out in Florida and I don’t blame him for the cramps, but he has to be disappointed he couldn’t end this before that happened. That came back to hurt him as he had to retire after winning the first game of the 3rd set. Then, team MVP Johnny Wu of Wash U clinched the match against David Liu, handing him his first loss of the year. This was an absolute battle and I will be surprised if either of these teams has enough in the tank for tomorrow against equal or better opponents.
As you can see, the other matches were not as eventful. I came into today thinking that CMU had a chance to oust Emory on the right day. I come away from that today thinking I was a bit crazy, but not totally. CMU lost this match at #2 doubles when they were up 6-3 and let off 5 straight games to the Mosetick/Jemison combo. While that is nothing to be that disappointed over, the Tartans have to be kicking themselves letting a 2-1 lead go to the #1 team in the nation. If they took that lead, we could be talking about this match very differently right now. I think the loss deflated the Tartans and they came out flat in singles. Emory took first sets routinely on all 6 courts, similar to how they went up big in singles against CMU at Indoors. This is why they are the #1 team in the nation – they have no holes and can jump on you right off the bat. Carnegie did battle later on and took sets at #1 and #6 (seniors) to make things a bit interesting for a little, but overall this was a very convincing win for the Eagles. Jonathan Jemison is a straight up beast. He smoked Levine today in a rematch of their three setter Indoors. Bouchet and Goodman both had easy wins at their respective spots, with Goodman bouncing back from his loss against NYU. It had been a while since we’d seen Emory, but today’s convincing win tells me they have not lost a step. For CMU, I think after they went down in doubles they went into the semi-conserve mode, knowing they have an important match tomorrow. Not the worst thing in the world, but I wish there could have been more of a battle.
In the other matches, Case routinely took out NYU as expected and Brandeis righted the ship a little with a sweep in the doubles play against Rochester. Case is showing some vulnerability especially at the bottom of the lineup, where they got smoked by CMU and had some trouble at #3, 5, and 6 against NYU. If Brandeis is to beat them tomorrow, that is where they will have to capitalize. In regards to Deis, thank god they showed up today or Coach Lamanna would have been furious in their performance. They have their big match tomorrow against Case in what should be a sneaky good one.
#1 Emory vs #3 Wash U
Ah, I spoke too soon when I thought that we wouldn’t get an Emory Wash U battle. Guess what, we do! And this is going to be a great one. I always expect Wash U and Emory to be a hell of a match and whatever the Bears have left in the tank will be maximized by their hatred for the Eagles. The Eagles have everything going for them, including the talent, so this has the makings of a blowout. But, I have come to expect nothing but battles from these two and that is something I will look forward to. Let’s do some quick looks at the matchups.
#1 Doubles: Spaulding/Rubinstein (EU) vs. Haugen/Kozlowski (WU) – Both of these teams are good and both of them are 1-1 at UAAs. I think this is a really evenly matched #1 doubles match and it should be very close and exciting. The team of Haugen/Koz has come into their own recently and the Emory team is a bit of a wild card sometimes. I like the steady team of Wash U here, 8-6.
#2 Doubles: Mosetick/Jemison (EU) vs. Wu/Cogan (WU) – Great win today for the Wash U team and an equally great win by the Emory team as well. Everyone knows how much I love the combination of Mosetick and Jemison and it seems like they come up big every time something is asked of them. This seems to have a lot of groundstroking involved and that is where Cogan would have to take the net. I think he does for a little, but not enough of it. Emory, 8-5
#3 Doubles: Harrington/Omsky (EU) vs. Bush/Kratky (WU) – This one is going to get testy. Omsky is a fiery player and the Wash U guys have no love lost for Emory as it is. Expect big strokes, big serves, and a lot of yelling from this court. This one is going to come down to whoever comes out on fire and simply put, comes to play. I really, really want to take Wash U here because of experience. For competition sake, I will. Wash U 9-7
#1 Singles: Mosetick (EU) vs. Carswell (WU) – Here’s where Emory starts taking control and starts taking out the Wash U tired legs. The last thing Carswell probably wants to do right now is play against Mosetick at 9AM on a Saturday. Rafe is going to grind him down and wait until he folds sometime at the end of the 1st set. From there, it’s straight cruising. Emory, 6-4, 6-1
#2 Singles: Jemison (EU) vs. Wu (WU) – This is the match of the match (ha) between two guys that simply don’t miss. I wonder how Wu is feeling after today’s bloodbath with DLiu, even if he is probably one of the most fit people in DIII Tennis. I can see him coming out big and taking a set from Jemison, but at the end of the day Jemison has the fresher legs and outlasts him. This is a must win for Wash U but I don’t think they get it in time, if they do. Emory 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
#3 Singles: Manji (EU) vs. Kratky (WU) – Great match here between two guys that are simply on fire. Manji has barely lost at #3 this year and is straight dominating after being at the bottom of the lineup last year. Kratky is a senior that always comes to play at UAAs. Today’s match was a blessing for him as he barely took any court time. Usually by now, Kratky is laboring. I think that makes a difference and Kratky surprises. Wash U 7-5, 6-4
#4 Singles: Bouchet (EU) vs. Bush (WU) – Probably the biggest match of the day here between Bush and Bouchet. One guy is rested and the other is not. I picked against Bouchet against CMU and was clearly wrong once again, which is like my fifth time being wrong about Adrien. I can’t do that again even if Bush comes out firing. Emory 6-3, 7-6 (4)
#5 Singles: Goodman (EU) vs. Haugen (WU) – Haugen coming back has been an absolute blessing coming back to the Wash U lineup and they really need him here. Goodman made quick work of Arora today after losing to NYU the day before. That keeps sticking in my head. Haugen meanwhile, just outlasted Leung today. This is a really tough one because I feel on fresh legs Haugen has a good shot, but Goodman will up his game. Emory, 7-6, 6-2.
#6 Singles: Harrington (EU) vs. Klein (WU) – I simply think Harrington is the better player here. But, he did battle with Kumar of CMU today and it’s possible Wash U throws Berman into the mix here. I think this one will be closer than expected. It seems as if Harrington really hasn’t been dominant this year so I expect this to be close. Harrington in a super. Emory 3-6, 6-3, 10-4
And there you have it. If you add that all up, Emory goes down 2-1 in doubles, scaring us a bit, but then takes 5 out of 6 singles matches to take this one by the score of 6-3. I think on a fresher day for Wash U they could really challenge the Eagles, but the Eagles have shown no reason to doubt them all year round. I won’t start doing that now.
#5 CMU vs. #2 Chicago
If you remember last year, Chicago came in as the #5 seed hoping to cement their Pool C bid at UAAs. They took out Case Western before moving on to play Emory and giving them a battle. Despite losing, they got a tired CMU team in the third place match after CMU had just played six 3-setters. They took CMU to a ton of three-setters on their own and went on to win that match easily 8-1. Well, take a look this year. CMU is basically in the same situation except they are the ones that were fighting for their lives. Interesting, right? My regional team is hoping for the same result this year, especially with the implications it has. For both teams, it’s win and in the NCAA Tournament. If the loser is CMU, they have to sweat it out a little (although I think they will still make it) and hope Pomona/Williams doesn’t knock them out. If Chicago loses, I think they still make it into the tournament but they will sweat a little as well. Chicago’s late season results have been weak with losses to Case and Wash U now, and a loss to CMU in the last match could give the NCAA some head scratching to do come pick em time. Anyways, Chicago is really hurting after today. Who knows if Leung can even go in singles and they might have to pull him and throw in Max Liu. While that’s certainly a great option at #6, the rest of the team is probably hurting as well. Chua, Liu, and Kranz all went three setters and Pei simply got smoked today. Doubles was almost a sweep. This is going to be a tough one for Chicago. On the CMU side, they simply got torched by Emory. I suspect some of this might be a bit of energy conservation after losing the doubles portion, which will turn out to help, probably. Let’s get to the match by match.
#1 Doubles: Chua/Liu (UC) vs. Levine/Arora (CMU) – Great, great match here between two shot-making teams. Levine and Arora had a huge win today at #1 doubles against Spaulding/Rubinstein. Chua and Liu are a different beast though and I think they know they have to win this one. I like the national contenders to take the two freshmen in what could be a must-win match. Chicago, 9-7
#2 Doubles: Leung/Pei (UC) vs. Chen/Zheng (CMU) – I don’t even know who is going to play here for Chicago because I am unsure if Leung can even play tomorrow. If he does, he’s going to be a bit tired (understatement) and I am not sure how much gas he has in the tank. Waking up at 9AM isn’t the best thing for a tired body and the CMU team is kind of due for a win. They are almost always close and this is finally the one where they take it. CMU 8-5
#3 Doubles: Tsai/Hawkins (UC) vs. Alla/Kumar (CMU) – I was pretty disappointed in the results from both these two teams today and I am again unsure if this Chicago team will even play here. If they pull Leung, will they move this team up and go with a different combo at #3? Very interesting. Anyways, the two seniors of CMU should be able to step up despite two slow starts in two days. Get a good start and they will take this one. CMU 8-6
#1 Singles: Chua (UC) vs. Alla (CMU) – A match I would love to see and actually happened last year with Chua taking it in three sets. Both these guys knock the crap out of the ball and it will be interesting to see the strategy that Chua goes with this time. I don’t think he’s going to have the legs to be able to grind and junkball with Shek, so he’s going to have to hit through him. Shek is going to love that and I see him taking advantage. CMU 7-5, 6-4
#2 Singles: Liu (UC) vs. Levine (CMU) – I keep doubting Levine and here is another match where he can potentially prove me wrong. Liu lost his first ever dual match this year against Wu in a barn burner and has to come back today against a big hitter in Levine. If Levine is on, he will win this one. I think Liu will do just enough to throw him off his game and take this one to the bank for a much needed Maroon win. Chicago 6-4, 6-4
#3 Singles: Pei (UC) vs. Downing (CMU) – A match really against two freshmen who have been kind of up and down this year. Downing has been up as of late as he’s steadily moved up in the lineup. Both these guys should have fresh legs. Pei got smoked by Kratky today and I have no idea why, it’s possible Kratky just took it to him in his last UAAs. I don’t have faith that Downing can take out a top freshman so I am going to go with Pei here. Chicago 7-6, 4-6, 6-2
#4 Singles: Kranz (UC) vs. Zheng (CMU) – A battle between two grinders, expect one of them didn’t just play a marathon match. In a regular match I’d take Sven here, but him being such a big dude and needing to be solid with Zheng all day long is going to be pretty damn brutal. Zheng has fresh legs and should be able to stay consistent, wearing down Sven until he basically throws it in. CMU 7-6, 6-3.
#5 Singles: Tsai (UC) vs. Arora (CMU) – I am going to pull Leung here and that’s going to hurt Chicago at the #6 spot, but potentially be okay here at the #5 spot. Arora is just a guy I don’t have the utmost confidence in singles and Tsai has been rock solid at the bottom of the lineup all year round. Legs shouldn’t affect this match with Tsai winning routinely today. That makes it a talent vs. talent battle and Tsai’s groundstrokes should take this one to the bank. Chicago 6-3, 6-4.
#6 Singles: M. Liu (UC) vs. Wadwani/Kumar (CMU) – Again, with the Leung pull in singles, I have Max Liu battling down here with either Wadwani or Kumar. CMU keeps slotting Wadwani in there at 6 before pulling him, so I don’t know which person would play. Pick your poison. Wadwani would come in with fresh legs and a willingness to grind all day. I think he would take it to Max Liu in his first UAA match. If you put Kumar there, the senior has been a revelation in the singles lineup and has played really really well. Either way, I have to go with CMU here over the freshman. CMU, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
There you have it! If you add that all up, I have a 5-4 CMU victory despite Chicago coming in with tired legs. I think that CMU is pretty deep all the way around but Chicago has the spots to potentially make some of these tip in their favor. They need big days from their fresh guys – that means Tsai, Pei, and maybe Max Liu. CMU has the talent to keep with them at the tired spots and that could mean a lot. This could be anywhere from a Chicago 5-4 win to a CMU 7-2 win. Either way Chicago is going to have to really battle. Not sure if many teams in the country can do that. I have CMU winning and sending them into the NCAA Tournament.
#4 Case vs. #6 Brandeis
D3Regional: I’m writing this preview with Brandeis up 4-0 on Rochester and with 5 first sets. If Rochester suddenly turns things around, all you Judges fans out there can blame yours truly…
Yes, the good old 5th place match at the UAA tournament. Not quite the 7th place match, but still not where either of these teams wanted to play, especially the Spartans. Brandeis finally played some doubles today as Coach Lamanna pulled the right strings and completely switched up his doubles lineup. This takes some confidence to do in a conference tournament, but it certainly worked out as the Judges got three easy doubles wins. They also looked really solid in singles against Rochester. Case, coming off the incredibly tough loss to CMU, got the win over NYU, but they dropped a couple singles matches in the process. Case does not want to get 6th in this tournament, and I expect them to come out firing. I like Case to take a 2-1 lead after doubles with wins at #1 and #3 doubles. I think Danny Lubarsky and Brian Granoff are a solid #2 team and they will pull out the win. 3rd doubles should also be very interesting in match that looks like it will feature three freshmen (David Zakhodin/John Benedetto plus Tyler Ng). That #3 Case team has struggled this tournament, but they toughed out a 9-7 win over NYU today, and I think this will set them on the right path. Anyways, 2-1 lead for Case after dubs, that’s what I’m going with.
Singles should be very interesting. CJ Krimbill should have a big advantage over Ryan Bunis, but the other matches could all be pretty close. #3-5 singles are spots where the Judges can do the most damage. Michael Arguello vs. Robert Stroup is a great matchup, and Stroup is 0-2 so far this tournament. Tyler Ng is capable of grinding down Louis Stuerke, but Stuerke certainly has the experience and will be fired up for that one. Danny Lubarsky vs. Kevin Dong is also a nice matchup, and Danny can certainly win that one. I’m not sure if it will be Jeff Cherkin or Jackson Kogan at #6, but I have to go with Josh Dughi just based on match experience and toughness. Brian Granoff vs. James Fojtasek also should be a battle between two experienced juniors. I like Case at #1, #2, #4, and #6, and Brandeis at #3 and #5. That’s a 6-3 score line in favor of Case. If Brandeis gets swept in doubles, I don’t think they have any shot at coming back in singles. However, if the score is 2-1 either direction or 3-0 in the Judges’ favor, this match is definitely worth keeping an eye on as singles should be pretty close.
#7 Rochester vs. #8 NYU
D3Regional: Rochester and NYU will do battle in the 7th place match for the second time this year. Last year, Rochester beat NYU in season and then lost to them in the 7th place match, so they will be trying to avoid a repeat. NYU, although falling to Case today, looked pretty good, as Matt DeMichiel continued his great tournament with a win at #5 and Umberto Setter had a nice win at #3. The first time around, I was actually surprised how good Rochester looked in singles against NYU, and I’m curious to see if history repeats itself. In doubles, I like Rochester to jump out to the 2-1 lead.
In singles, I think things will switch in favor of NYU. Umberto Setter is playing really well right now with more match experience, and I like him at #3 over Ian Baranowski. Benedict Teoh vs. Ben Shapiro should be a battle, and I like Teoh in three sets here. I do think Masaru Fujimaki will beat Sidd Thangirala again (Fujimaki is having a nice tournament and a great freshman year), but I also think Matt DeMichiel will continue to ball against Aaron Mevorach. The two closest matches in my opinion will be at #4, Sam Leeman vs. Sam Khoshbin, and at #6, with Andrew Nunno vs. Yanik Parsch. Rochester won both of those matches in straights the first time around which was huge, but this time, I think Parsch turns things around for the win. I do think Leeman will beat Khoshbin in the battle of the Sam’s, but that should be a close match too. If you add all those up, and if I am adding this all up correctly, that’s a 5-4 win for NYU and as I predicted in our poll on our site, I think NYU will outperform their seed and finish 7th. This match can certainly go either way though. I just think NYU is playing better right now, and the Violets will be playing confident singles after a good performance against Case.
Whew! And we’re finally done. I haven’t finished my dinner yet because I’ve been so focused on this writing. Gotta give the readers what they want. I’ll see you all at 9AM tomorrow to watch these awesome matches. Thank you to the whole UAA for giving us a great weekend so far. ASouth, OUT.
Wu played doubles with Cogan at 2 today
thx for the correction 🙂