Spring Break Final Chapters: CMU, A Recap

As you all know, we’ve been going through our “Spring Break Chronicle” format in recent weeks as a ton of the East-Coast teams go on their California spring breaks (and in Kenyon’s case, Mardi Gras) to get some good tennis in and really shape up the later NCAA brackets.  Now, with a ton of Spring Breaks sadly coming to a close, it’s time to recap some key Spring Breaks and I’ll go ahead and start with the CMU Tartans, because I want to brighten up my Sunday of course.  Obviously, CMU has a lot riding on Spring Break as I mentioned in their SB Chronicle article – the break normally represents the kind of finish we should expect from them for the rest of the year.  That being said, I want to do one of those comparison tables where you don’t know who is who.  You ready? See below:

Team A Spring Break:

• Defeated #12 ITA Ranked team, #11 in Division III Power Rankings by a score of 5-4 on the road
• Defeated #19 ITA Ranked team, #19 in Division III Power Rankings by a score of 5-4 on neutral court
• Lost to #3 ITA Ranked team, #1 in Division III Power Rankings by a score of 8-1 on neutral court
• Defeated #16 ITA Ranked team, #14 DIII Power Rankings by a score of 5-4 on the road
• Defeated #15 ITA Ranked team, #15 DIII Power Rankings by a score of 7-2 on the road

Team B Spring Break

• Defeated #13 ITA Ranked team, #13 in DIII Power Rankings by a score of 6-3 on neutral court
• Defeated #15 ITA Ranked team, #15 DIII Power Rankings by a score of 5-4 on the road
• Lost to #1 ITA Ranked team, #3 DIII Power Rankings by a score of 6-3 on neutral court
• Defeated #18 ITA Ranked team, #17 DIII Power Rankings by a score of 6-3 on a neutral court
• Defeated # 16 ITA Ranked team, #14 DIII Power Rankings by a score of 5-4 on the road

Which Spring Break would you choose?  There are arguments for both, but overall these look like very similar trips to me.  In fact, you might even choose the second one over the first one.  Well, if you are a Tartan fan, you know that Team B is Carnegie Mellon.  Team A?  That would be that of the Trinity Texas Tigers.  You know, the team that is beloved throughout the DIII landscape as a hard-working, over-achieving team and a potential contender.  They are also known as a gritty team that doesn’t get tired because of their desire.  Well, I think it’s time to start believing in this CMU team after this break.  With wins over three Pool C contenders all on the road or at a neutral site, as well as the only team so far other than CMS to put a legitimate scare in the Wash U Bears, CMU has staked its claim to a potential top 10 ranking and the right to be included in the big NCAA conversation.  Just in case you missed it, let me take you through some of the takeaways from potentially CMU’s most successful Spring Break in team history.

Takeaway #1 – Abhishek Alla is a straight up baller right now.

This gif is basically what I see Alla doing after every match.

http://5.kicksonfire.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/8XktyaL.gif

Alla is straight fire right now, and no one can tell me differently.  There was some doubt as to whether Alla should be considered as a favorite in every one of his matches despite winning Fall Nationals this year.  Well, he just beat Matt Heinrich, Noah Bragg, Ross Putterman, Mya Smith-Dennis, and Chris Weichert this week.  His only loss came to the man Patrick Lipscomb in a super tiebreaker after the match had already been decided.  He lost one set in those matches (to Heinrich, no less).  None of those sets other than Heinrich went closer than 6-4.  Now that, my friends, is a dominant performance.

Takeaway #2 – CMU is 2 legit dubs teams away from being as scary as Norman Bates in Psycho.

I’m basically turning this negative into a positive for CMU because that’s what has to be done right now.  Look at the doubles results from this week and you’ll see a scary trend.  CMU relies on the randomness of doubles to take one doubles spot and then they try and dominate the singles play.  They got swept by Wash U, went down 2-1 to Redlands, PP, and GAC, and only had a lead versus Bowdoin.  This was especially hurtful against Wash U, because digging out of a 3-0 hole against the #3 team in the nation is not really the best place to be in.  They fought hard, but how many times are you going to see that happen?  Definitely less times than D3West gets a match on Tinder, and that’s not a great amount.  Think about it – if CMU even takes a lead against a top 5 team, what’s stopping them from splitting singles and winning that match?  Not much, given where their singles are right now.

Takeaway #3 – If Abhishek Alla is Jay-Z, then the freshmen are Kanye West, Beyonce, and Pharrell.

Time to infuse some musical culture into your life! The CMU freshmen brought the rain this Spring Break.  If you were wondering, the trio of Kiril Kirkov, Kenny Zheng, and Kunal Wadwani were a combined 15-2 in singles over Spring Break.  (Hold on, let me check again to make sure that’s right).  Yes, that’s f*cking correct.  I’ll let the record speak for itself.  I thought this would be a weakness coming into SB especially with the loss of Kasbeer.  Turns out they don’t need him and these guys will be just fine.

Takeaway #4 – It’s time to play some tiebreakers in practice

Another stat that I thought was really confusing about CMU’s Spring Break.  Overall, CMU went 6-10 in tiebreakers (super breakers or regular breakers) over the break.  That’s not that bad! But wait, they lost two breakers at #3 doubles against GAC and PP, Duncan lost a crucial second set breaker against Jeremy Bush, and Wadwani lost a first set breaker against Kevin Chu.  Those last two breakers especially hurt.  Those two breakers were essentially the difference between beating the #3 team in the nation.  Good thing is, this is a young team and maybe that can be chalked up to inexperience.

Final Takeaway – This team is a top 12 team, with the potential for more

Based on the other takeaways, this team has a lot of talent but still has a lot to work on.  They showed the most heart I’ve seen from them since their Elite 8 year maybe 5 years ago, and that’s good company to be in.  However, their journey should be far from over.  With a few different things to work on, especially doubles, this is a team on the rise until they tell us otherwise.  I’m very much looking forward to seeing what they have to show us for the rest of the year.

Bonus Takeaway – #BreakingPlaid

The writers loved this hashtag.  I’m pretty sure D3Northeast made his blankets sticky after it broke, if I read his email about it correctly.

Well, that’s that.  My first Spring Break recap has now been completed and I’m glad that I got the pleasure to recap such a positive Spring Break.  I’ll keep the Recaps coming with a Mary Washington Spring Break (another positive!), a Stevens Spring Break (not as positive!), and maybe some other articles coming out this week.  This is DIII Tennis’s time to shine and we’re happy to continue to give you updates on the year.  Please feel free to leave comments as I very much appreciate either positive or negative feedback.  Let’s keep it mostly positive, though.