UAA Tournament Brawl: Case Western vs. Chicago

Good evening blog lovers. I apologize for not being around the last few days as the grand canyon has very spotty internet reception. However, I am back on the grind per ASouth’s instruction previewing the huge match in the first round of the UAA tournament tomorrow morning. That match is none other than Case Western and Chicago. This is a rematch of an early season battle where Case came up with the win 5-4 after being down 2-1. This match should have just as much nail biting moments as Chicago is playing some good tennis and Case has gone pretty quiet since the Stag Hen tournament. I will point out that Chicago was without #2 Sven Kranz in February so that should be a big difference as match-ups will be completely different. Here we go match by match:

1 Doubles: Krimbill/Stuerke vs. Sabada/Bhargava: On the surface, I would say that the Spartans have a huge leg up at this spot as Krimbill will carry them a long way. But Sabada and Bhargava are a new pairing with some impressive wins on the resume in the last 4 weeks that they have been together. Their is no doubt that Krimbill and Stuerke are the better doubles team, but Sabada and Bhargava are shot makers and can take down anyone if the shots are going in. The Case team will bring aggression and discipline while the Maroons will be solid returners and hit some great passing shots. With that being said, you have to give Case the edge, but this could easily go either way. Case Western 9-7

2 Doubles: Drougas/Simhadri vs. Tsai/Hawkins: This match has swing match written all over it. Case has been experimenting all season to figure out who to put at the 2 slot. Drougas and Simhadri are definitely the talented guys, but may not be the best doubles combo. Tsai and Hawkins started at 3, played lights out, moved to 1, struggled, and now have found a home in the middle at 2. I will be completely honest and say I don’t know what to expect from either team. Hawkins and Tsai just got dominated 8-1 against Gustavus so that is never a good sign. Because of this, I have to lean towards the Spartans. Case Western 8-5

3 Doubles: Komarov/Chen vs. Chua/Liu: Komarov and Chen have come into their own a bit as they have played together more throughout the season. They are still young and inexperienced, but a full season together helps. Chua and Liu are also both freshman and a relatively new pairing as Chicago has mixed up their lineup in the past month. The good news is they have an unblemished record together with good wins over Wash U and Gustavus show they are playing well. I think they will have just too much firepower for Case and scrounge out Chicago’s only point in doubles which could give them the win as a team. Chicago 8-6

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1 Singles: Krimbill vs. Chua: Out of the 6 singles matches, this is the only one with the same players against each other. In February, Krimbill beat Chua pretty routinely, but that was months ago when Krimbill was at the top of the D3 world beating everyone. He has stumbled as of late, but with the post season around the corner, I think he will bring it for this match. Chua on the other hand has been playing pretty well, but he did just fall to Mohanad Al-Houni from Gustavus. Chua has the game to beat Krimbill, but I have to go with the Spartan in another routine win. Case Westerm 6-3, 6-3.

2 Singles: Drougas vs. Kranz: Kranz is a great player, but I think 2 singles is Chicago’s weakest spot. They have one stud with Chua and then 9 guys who all would be great 3 and 4 singles players. That’s why they dominate at the bottom of the lineup, but can struggle at 2 whomever would play there. Drougas is a senior and absolute warrior on the court. There is no doubt in my mind that he will want to win this match more than anything and that fire in his eyes will make him the favorite over Kranz. Case Western 6-4, 7-6

3 Singles: Simhadri vs. Sabada: Every way I look at this match, it is a nightmare match up for Simhadri. That doesn’t mean he can’t win it, but he is going to have to blast a whole lot of forehands from the baseline to take out Sabada. Deepak is one of the best taking his opponent’s pace and changing directions with it. I think this will probably be a three set match as Simhadri will string together some big games with a ton of winners, but Sabada will weather the storm and pull out a close one. Chicago 7-5, 3-6, 6-2

4 Singles: Stuerke vs. Leung: The biggest surprise of the first match-up was that Case took 2 of the final 3 singles spots. Chicago’s depth is impressive, but they folded under the pressure of their first big match of the year. I think their last match against Gustavus will help them as they pulled out a close win. Leung is extremely talented, but has underachieved a bit. Stuerke has played against some tough opponents and had some close battles, but not as many important wins. I think Leung will just be too much for Louie in this one. Chicago 6-4, 6-4

5 Singles: Komarov vs. Tsai: Two more freshman pitted up against one another. One highly regarded recruit in Tsai and one that was a bit unheralded coming out of high school in Komarov. Komarov has surprised me lately, but again, he is probably over matched. Tsai is just too good. He only has two losses to D3 opponents this year. One in California on his fourth match in four days and the other to Johnny Wu from Wash U. Komarov just recently took Kirkov from Carnegie to three sets so he has the goods to compete, but not enough game to pull the upset. Chicago 6-4, 6-2

6 Singles: Chen vs. Liu: Liu has been lights out at 6 singles for the Maroons and I don’t expect him to have much trouble with Chen. Don’t get me wrong, he is a solid base line player, but this is a classic match-up of similar styles of play where one guy is just better at it. That guy is Liu and not Chen. The points may be really long and that favors Liu. If Chen comes with a game plan to try and put points away early, he may have a shot. That game plan also could make it a quick match if he is missing his shots. In the end, Liu will have too much game to not win this match. Chicago 6-3, 6-2

Well folks, there you have it. If all plays out like my predictions above, it will be a Chicago 5-4 win over Case Western. It also would come down to #3 singles which would be awesome! Doubles is much more important for Case to be ahead than it is Chicago, but Case proved that they can come back from a hole against the Maroons earlier in the year and they won after being swept against Gustavus at indoors. Those matches seem like ages ago. My heart says go with the overachievers in Case, but my head says go with the talent in Chicago. They have yet to really get a key win to prove that they have “arrived.” Pool C is getting interesting and both teams need at least one win at the UAAs to stay in it. Needless to say I am pumped to see the live stats!

3 thoughts on “UAA Tournament Brawl: Case Western vs. Chicago

  1. Babooshka

    Where is the NCAC preview?

    1. D3CentralTennis

      I will do a two word preview for you: Kenyon wins. You are welcome. Do you want me to cover the MIAA too or is Kzoo’s 77 straight conference championships not enough? Bottom line is, Denison and Depauw aren’t like they used to be and only one team from the NCAC will go to NCAAs and Kenyon is a cut about the rest. That’s the flat out truth.

      1. Babooshka

        drop the mike… walk off stage…

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