Phew! An exhausting day 2 of the New England regional ITA has come to a close. We’re down to the semis in both the singles and the doubles draw. Props to both the Tufts and Midd twitter feeds for keeping us updated (what happened to @EphsTennis today??) and let’s hope it continues. Here’s a quick recap of what happened today.
SINGLES
BIGGEST UPSET OF THE DAY
Frons over Zhang, 7-5, 6-2. Straight set win over the #3 seed. Nice win for a guy competing to play at the bottom of Middlebury’s lineup.
BEST MATCH OF THE DAY
Lil’ Weiss over Yaraghi in the sweet 16. 6-2. 5-7, 7-5. I would liked to have seen the Greenberg/Garner chess match during this 3rd set. As I said yesterday, I look forward to seeing these two play at a high level for the next 3 years.
DOUBLES
BIGGEST UPSET OF THE DAY
Campbell/Jones over Micheli/Harron, 8-5 in the quarters. Maybe Micheli has just been off of his game recently. Maybe Harron isn’t a doubles player (though Greenberg will undoubtedly change that). I picked both these guys to win their 2nd round matches, but I had Micheli/Harron winning the whole thing. Micheli has to be disappointed in the results of his last ITA, but we all knew he was streaky from the get-go. Maybe homecourt advantage really does come into play?
BEST MATCHES
Raventos/Shastri over Johnston/Lebovitz 8-6. Then again, maybe homecourt doesn’t really matter? Or maybe there’s a reason that Palmer Campbell is the only man left in both draws (Hanson has to love that fact, I’d have bet a decent amount on that player being Micheli). A 2nd straight day with basically no bonus tennis. I’m hoping for an epic doubles final tomorrow to rival the Skidmore boys at my other ITA…
DAY 3 PREVIEW
DOUBLES SEMIFINALS
#1 Revzin/Solimano (Amherst) vs. Campbell/Jones (Midd)
Not too surprised to see this as a doubles semifinal. Solimano has a nasty serve and volley game, and great touch to compliment it. Campbell/Jones are obviously playing good tennis this weekend as both have made deep runs in the singles draw. That being said, Campbell has more singles tennis to play tomorrow. I’m saying that (in addition to the past two days) will take its toll on the Middlebury sophomore. Amherst 8-6.
Fritz/Fife (Amherst) vs. Raventos/Shastri (Williams)
I’m much more surprised with how the bottom of the doubles draw turned out. I’ve never considered Fritz much of a doubles player, and I don’t think this Amherst team has the firepower to defeat either team on the opposing side of the draw. However, they aren’t playing either of the teams on the opposing side of the draw, yet. Instead they get the Williams freshmen that the Ephs twitter feed has dubbed, Local-Ro and Foreign Jo. Love the names, don’t like the matchup. I’ll be right about an all Amherst final, but in the other type of draw. Jeffs, 8-5.
SINGLES
#9-16 Telkedzhiev (Tufts) vs. Trinka (Bowdoin)
Well this is a shock (I feel shocked). I’m not sure anyone had this as his or her semifinal matchup. Neither is the most highly rated player from their school, and neither had ever won a match at ITAs until this year. Telkedzhiev took out the consitent Carpenter and the hometown hero in Jones in two very close matches. This is exactly the type of result that should get Jumbo fans excited about their season. On the other side is the Bowdoin sophomore who I had losing in the 1st round. Trinka has come through the toughest overall competition to get to the semis, beating Roberts, Micheli, Mountifield, and Berg and dropped only one set along the way. I don’t see anyone stopping this kid (until the finals). Trinka takes out another worthy competitor, 6-4, 6-3.
#5Campbell (Midd) vs. Harron (Williams)
No disrespect, but this is the best match left at the entire tournament. Two guys who will likely play in their contending team’s top 3. Campbell has left no doubt that his run at last year’s ITA was no fluke. He has taken out 4 solid players, though has yet to face a seed. He’ll face his toughest test yet in Conrad Harron. Harron has taken out some big names along the way, Glickman (NOT AN UPSET), Johnston, and Lil’ Weiss (props to Lil’ Weiss for taking out my predicted champion and saving New England from a repeat). This is a tough pick, and though I had Campbell going this far before the tournament, I’m going with the young buck from Chicago. Harron will become the 2nd freshman in as many years to take the crown, beating Campbell 6-4, 7-5, and will be too much for Cool Hand Luke, 6-3, 6-2.
I’ll be writing a full recap after the tournament is done. Expect some riveting review to go up by early next week. Good luck to all 11 guys still playing!