This Week In SCIAC: THE OJAI

It’s finally here. The event we’ve all been waiting for. The opportunity for CMS to assert their all-encompassing dominance by having their B team players knock off top guys. The chance for lesser-known doubles teams to come out of nowhere and win the tournament. The chance for people on the bubble for an NCAA berth to choke their brains out. The Ojai starts on Friday!

But first I’m going to talk about what happened last week

Last Week In SCIAC

#11 P-P def. #23 Whittier 6-3

Nothing much to see here. After an abysmal couple of weeks for Whittier, they finally got it together to give P-P a good battle in singles, even though the match was effectively over when the Hens swept doubles. Match notes: Weichert got tuned by Konstantinov, missing out on yet another of his myriad of chances for a signature win. He is firmly on the singles bubble going into the Ojai with Butts and (oddly enough) Yasgoor breathing down his neck. On the doubles side of things, Weichert and Bello continued their recent hot streak – which includes a win over Wood and Dorn – by beating Konstantinov and Farmer. Not sure what the impetus for change is at the #1 doubles spot for Whittier. Maybe Belletto was trying to protect their doubles ranking? Either way, that loss will count against the Poets, and the Hens are in prime position to make the post-season.

A Quick NWC Aside

#12 Whitman vs. #39 Pacific (OR)

Whitman used to be able to go to the Ojai, but it looks like their conference championship has been moved. That actually works out quite nicely for them, as Malesovas/La Cava are currently in the top 4 in doubles with wins over P-P, Trinity, Redlands, and Cruz (looking better and better). If they avenge their loss to Pacific, they will assuredly make the doubles tournament. As far as the team match goes, Whitman hasn’t lost an individual match in their conference tournament in the last three years. As long as they come out fired up in doubles (as in, not tight because they’re worried about making NCAAs), they should be just fine.

THE OJAIIIIIIII

Because I know a lot of you ungrateful plebes don’t read to the end of my articles, I’m just going to tell you what the big surprise we’ve been hinting at is. During this year’s Ojai tournament, the one and only Nicholas Ballou will be providing Twitter updates. I know the one question that’s been burning deep in your amygdala this whole season has been, “what is Nick Ballou doing with his life?” The answer: he’s doing pretty well for himself, and he’s gonna be playing the open tournament at the Ojai and has generously offered to provide Twitter updates and recaps for the site over the weekend. So, for those of you looking for Ojai twitter updates, please follow @NickBallou on Twitter in addition to the usual assortment of reliable tweeters (@CMStennis, @sagehentennis, @PoetTennis, @Cruz_Tennis). As for the recaps, they will be written by him, posted by us, and read by you on this site. Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

Big Story Lines

How will Weichert fare with his nationals berth on the line? He got a favorable draw for someone trying not to lose his position (he has to go through Macey from CMS and either Scandalis or Treacy, but that could be tough). He did not get a favorable draw for someone trying to really win his spot. His earliest chance is a probably matchup with Warren Wood, and that’s not as nice as playing someone like Konstantinov or Lipscomb again.

Will someone else step up to win that spot from him? It’s not like Weichert is the only guy who could get knocked out of the top 8. Dorn and Marino’s positions are precarious as well. Dorn’s looking at a Round-of-16 match with Yasgoor, who has that nice win over Wood on his resume and could win himself a trip to natties by mounting another Stag head on his trophy wall. Marino looks to have a good draw, but a deep run by Butts could usurp him, and Butts has been known to make deep runs at big tournaments. Wouldn’t you say?

Who’s the Dark Horse? Can anyone in this field make an Andre Halabi-like run to the finals? For you kids out there, Halabi played #3 for Cruz two years ago and beat Weichert, Lipscomb, Wood, and Nuremberg (the #2 player in the West region at the time) en route to the finals. It was a very memorable run. I think the biggest threats to repeat the feat this year are Morkovine (from CMS) or Wilson (from Redlands)

So what the hell is going to happen in the doubles tournament this year anyways? The doubles tourney at the Ojai has always been a bit unpredictable. Two years ago, CMS’ #3 team won it, and the year before that, Redlands’ #2 team came out of nowhere to win it. It didn’t necessarily do either of those teams any favors, as neither made the post-season, but it was fun while it lasted. This year, P-P’s, Whittier’s, Cal Lu’s, and Santa Cruz’ #1 doubles teams are essentially playing for the last two doubles spots in the West. P-P and Cal Lu are in the drivers seat right now, but there’s a lot of tennis to be played and there are a few snakes in the Ojai grass. Most notably, this is Cruz’ last chance to make an impression on the selection committee, as they don’t have the SCIAC tournament ahead of them. For the ubercurious among you, you can thank Whitman’s #2 doubles team for squashing any talk of multiple CMS doubles teams making the tournament a la 2007 UC Santa Cruz.

Notable Early Singles Matches

Max Macey (CMS) vs. Sam Farmer (Whittier), First Round

The #7 or 8 for CMS is usually better than the #3 for Whittier, but Farmer’s been having himself a season, and his serve will be tough to handle if Macey has any jitters in his first real chance to prove himself this season.

Zhenya Pereverzin (CMS) vs. Kyle Richter (UC Santa Cruz), First Round

Zhenya is probably the favorite here, as he’s been the best #6 in the country all season, but the Earlham transfer has been playing great for the Slugs, and the Ojai hasn’t been very kind to Pereverzin historically.

Connor Treacy (Cal Lu) vs. (15) Elias Scandalis (UC Santa Cruz), Second Round

Treacy is on a tear for the Kingsmen, and I don’t remember the last time Scandalis won a big singles match if it has ever happened. I want to see Scandalis assert himself as a #1 singles player in this potential match.

(14) Connor Hudson (P-P) vs. Lester Yeh (CMS), Second Round

Another non-lineup CMS player vs. a mid-lineup player from another team here. Hudson has had an up-and-down season. If he’s down in this match, he will lose. I expect him to prevail in three.

Graham Maassen (P-P) vs. (12) Justin Thompson (Chapman)

Thompson is a tough out, but history says to lean towards the guy who gets to play tough players every single day in practice early in a tournament.

Winner Richter/Pereverzhin vs. (3) Konstantinov

DK is by no means untouchable, and Pereverzhin is capable of playing at a really high level. The top Poet will probably win in straights, but if Zhenya or Richter is more warmed up, it could be tough for Konstantinov to sink his teeth into this one.

Daniel Morkovine (CMS) vs. (16) Parker Wilson (Redlands)

This is some hot freshman-on-freshman action if I’ve ever seen it. Wilson has been playing great since returning from injury, but it’s tough to go against a Stag freshman has has played his way into that lineup.

Notable Early Doubles Matches

Bascially every doubles match in the Ojai could turn notable at any moment. That being said, here are a few:

Morkovine/Yeh (CMS) vs. Hudson/Maassen (P-P), First Round

How is this a first-round match? The winner of this one has a very legitimate chance of beating Goetz/Scandalis and officially knocking the Slugs out of post-season contention.

Littlejohn/Richter (Cruz) vs. Wilson/Burchett (Redlands), First Round

Two good doubles teams playing for the right to get slaughtered by Marino and Pereverzhin.

Farmer/Chavez (Whitter) vs. (3) Nichols/Treacy (CLU), Second Round

Every early round match is a trap match for the teams hoping to play their way into nationals. A couple big serves could be a nightmare.

Lipscomb/Leahy (Redlands) vs. (6) Butts/Kotrappa (CMS), Second Round

The erstwhile Redlands #1 doubles team will go against perhaps the strongest #3 doubles team in the history of DIII in this second round dandy. Definitely the best potential doubles match of the first day.

The Picks

I’ll say Cardenas beats Butts in the finals, with Wood and Dorn being the other two semifinalists. DK, Marino, Weichert, and Lipscomb are my other quarterfinalist. (I know that is a very boring prediction).

In doubles, I like anarchy over democracy in a tiebreaker, Marino/Pereverzhin to win the whole thing over Wood/Dorn. Goetz/Scandalis put themselves in position to make the tournament with a win over Konstantinov/Schommer to get to the semis, and Butts/Kotrappy take down Nichols/Treacy.

That’s it for the first day! I’ll keep this wrap-up short and sweet. Should be a fun weekend and Happy Tweeting!

One thought on “This Week In SCIAC: THE OJAI

  1. Coach Belletto

    There was no doubles change for Whittier. It was inputted incorrectly.

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