Trinity impresses, Tyler Topples GAC at Home
GAC went into their Texas swing thinking of themselves as a top 15 team hoping to earn an upset over a depleted Trinity team. Instead, they got smoked by a rejuvinated Trinity team before getting upset by Tyler. The Tyler loss isn’t exactly a bad one. The Patriots, who swept #20 W&L last year in doubles in an otherwise disappointing season, are playing their former #1 and 2 singles players at 4 and 5 singles. That’s not a stack; they’re just that much better. Going forward, we need to reassess our expectations for the Patriots this year, as their bevy of transfers have turned them into a very legitimate top 15 threat.
Meanwhile, the Gusties have to regroup before Indoors. I still think they could win two matches there. After losing to Emory in the first round, they have a very winnable match against UCSC (probably) and then a match against either CLU or NWC. That’s about the only thing that could cure their ills from this forgettable road trip. The Pats don’t see significant action until Spring Break when they take on P-P, UCSC, and Whitman in a two day span. That quad just went from good to great. As exciting as this win is for them, we’ll have to put it on the back burner for a little until we see them in action again.
Weekend Preview
The only other significant matches this weekend are Kenyon’s season openers against Whitewater and Chicago. Whitewater has looked good in its young season against DI competition, but this will be their first significant DIII barometer. D3central seems to think this could be a close match. Kenyon was a little slow out of the gates last year in a loss to NWC, but I don’t think they’re about to lose. As I said on Twitter, 8-1 Kenyon, possibly 7-2. I’m more interested to see what happens with Chicago this season. New coach, new players, new result? Perhaps. Even if they have changed their brattish ways, they probably aren’t ready to beat Kenyon, but a 6-3 result and a bunch of close singles matches could strike fear into the heart of their UAA opponents used to watching the talented Maroons going into the tank.