Amherst’s narrow escape against Bates was the story of the weekend, but there were a couple other results from the weekend that are worth mentioning, so I’ll start there.
#3 Williams def. #23 Skidmore 7-2
This is just more of the same for both of these teams. The Thoroughbreds have shown that they can compete with just about anyone in the country, but they can’t necessarily beat them. Their win over Trinity is starting to look more and more fluke-ish, but the program is obviously headed in the right direction. Another good singles win for Loutsenko, but I’m starting to wonder if Meyer is really Williams’ best singles player *cough* Sun *cough*.
Franklin & Marshall def. #21 Swarthmore 5-4
If there was any doubt as to whether or not Swarthmore’s win over CMS was a fluke, I think we can officially get rid of it. Franklin & Marshall caught my eye a couple weeks ago when they nearly beat Mary Washington, but at the time, I attributed the match to the strugglefest that was going on in Fredericksburg. It looks like (get ready for another awesome D3 mascot name) the Diplomats are actually pretty good. Unfortunately for them, they won’t be getting a ranking because they lost to TCNJ and Monmouth, but they could be a team to watch in the future. Swat needs to pull it together fast and beat Mary Washington and F&M in their conference tournament or they could drop out of the rankings despite their one big win.
#1 Amherst def. #15 Bates 5-4
The Bobcats came very, very close to pulling off an upset that could have rivaled Swarthmore’s, but they came up just one third set short. I suppose this match was played on carpet, but that doesn’t totally discount Bates’ continued good play. They’ve managed to consistently win a few matches at the bottom of their singles lineup, and the way they’ve been playing, they actually have a pretty good chance to beat Bowdoin and make NCAA’s. That’s would be an unbelievable achievement for a program that had been pretty much buried in NESCAC mediocrity until this year. If you go to their webpage and blog, it looks like there’s a lot of enthusiasm in Lewiston, Maine these days.
Previously, I had said that I didn’t think Bates could beat Amherst on their best day, and that’s pretty much what happened. Amherst won one doubles match easily, but Bates won the close ones to give them a lead. Then, the Jeffs sat one of their top singles players and still came back from the 1-2 deficit in difficult conditions. You had to admire Amherst’s toughness (they won all three tiebreakers they played in singles), but I can’t help but wonder if teams will look at this match and see some chinks in their armor. (Don’t fire me ESPN). The Bobcats play Bowdoin on the 20th, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens there. The next big match for Amherst is Williams on the 22nd.
Franklin and Marshall is not good at all. I watched them play a few times and they really suck
CNU sat their 2,3, and 4 for the match against Averett and lost 5-4. It would have been 9-0 if the coach had played his regular top six. Ooops ! Methodist beat Averett 7-2 in March. CNU beat Methodist 7-2 last Saturday.
A question please; how do you resolve a three way tie for 2nd place when A beat B, B beat C, and C beat A ?
For the most part, you would resolve that tie by looking at the rest of Team A, B, and C’s wins. For instance, Mary Washington beat Cal Lu, Cal Lu beat Pomona-Pitzer, Pomona-Pitzer beat Mary Washington. But Cal Lu has more and better wins, Pomona is clearly second with a slew of good wins of their own, and Mary Washington is obviously third.
All other things being equal, tiebreakers are usually settled by matches won, then sets won, then games won. For instance, if Team A beat Team B 9-0, Team B beat Team C 7-2, and Team C beat Team A 6-3, the rankings would go: 1. Team A (12 matches won); 2. Team C (8 matches won); 3. Team B (7 matches won).
Swarthmore is not in Mary Washington’s Conference, they are in Johns Hopkins Conference with F&M
They are playing Mary Washington, and they will probably play F&M in the conference tournament
i think meyer beat sun in the itas in the fall
nope, micheli did
Re: “I’m starting to wonder if Meyer is really Williams’ best singles player *cough* Sun *cough*.” Are you really “starting to wonder” or just being facetious? Meyer is clearly a very strong player, but I find it pretty much impossible to believe that Sun should be their #2. Sun is arguably playing better than he did last year.
I think Sun is better, but I don’t want to question Greenberg’s coaching. I’m guessing Meyer beat Sun in a close challenge match or something, and they’re just sticking with what’s working for them
Looking at their results this spring, Sun has dominated his six matches, not dropping a set. In fact, his matches haven’t even been competitive, with twice as many love sets as 6-4 sets and not a single 7-5 or a 7-6 set. Not sure how you justify a 3-3 (this spring in D3) Trey Meyer playing above him.
At the same time, Williams has played a couple teams that has a significant drop after their top player (Skidmore and Cal Lu), so if Meyer and Sun are just as good as each other, it’s easy to see how the discrepancy in results would arise.
You simply can’t compare Meyer playing #1 to Sun playing #2. Meyer is playing much harder players because a lot of teams do have a lot of great #1 players and only good #2 players. Cal Lu being an example d3tennisguy used, Ballou destroyed Meyer and Wilson gave Sun a good run for his money but lost. Sun is a great player but you have to take a look at how much easier the players are at #2 than at #1 where Meyer is playing. Meyer is doing well at the #1 spot. Sun is a great player so of course he is destroying at #2. IT would probably be the same way around. Maybe Sun would win one extra match at #1 possibly at #1 but Meyer would go 6-0 just like Sun did if he were playing #2.
You can’t compare playing at the one position vs. the two, but you can compare players. Obviously it isn’t so cut and dry, and coaches should have the benefit of the doubt in terms of how they decide their lineups. Universal Tennis Ratings does let you compare players, and they include recent results as well as a competitive match threshold. Just as an FYI, the top guys in D3 are rated 12, with the lower lineup guys on decent programs, around 9. Meyer is an 11, while Sun is 12. Also, Ballou and Worley are both 12, while Wilson is 11. Food for thought. The rationale and reason are on the site.
meyer destroyed trinity ct’s 1 yesterday
I completely agree that you cannot compare one matches to two matches. Like posted, there is a big drop off between some teams with one and two. I’ve watched Meyer play several matches he is a fine competitor and doing fine at the one spot. He’s after all the number 1 for Williams whose ranked 3 in the nation and undefeated. Sun would have lost to the same guys Meyer lost to and Meyer would beat the same guys Sun beat.
I think Skidmore is a good story though I disagree that their win against Trinity was a fluke. Their lineup has been up and down this year with guys switching around. Loutsenko at 1 can beat any number 1 in the nation. Look at the win against Putterman whose only lost a match to Pottish in D3. Skidmore is headed in the right direction