Welcome to my final Spring Break Chronicle: The Williams Ephs. It’s been a real pleasure writing these previews, and then seeing my “lineup-less” predictions go down in flames, but I’m here, at your mercy, ready to give it one more go. The Ephs are your defending national champions, though many people have already forgotten about them. Maybe it’s the fact that they haven’t played a DIII opponent yet this spring? Maybe it’s the fact that they graduated 5 starters? Maybe it’s the fact that you have no idea what an Eph is, and frankly you’re kind of intimidated by the sound of it? For whatever reason, Williams is some how flying under the radar, and I’m very excited to see how they handle their California trip. I’ll be giving further lineup analysis in all spring break recaps. Here is Williams’ schedule…
Monday @ Point Loma 6pm
Tuesday @ #13Pomona 7pm
Thursday @ #1CMS 8pm
Friday @ #15Redlands 5pm
Saturday @ Glendale College
Tuesday @ #21Cal Lu 5pm
Wednesday @ Westmont 5pm
NB I believe all these matches are EDT
As you can see, Williams has done a nice job of scheduling some challenging matches, but also not going completely overboard. They don’t have to travel very far once they get to California, and their matches are spaced out rather nicely. The Ephs got into Cali over the weekend so they will have also had at least one day to hit and one warm up match before their tricky matchup with Pomona. As per usual, I’ll do a mini preview of all the DIII matches on Williams’ slate for the week.
Williams @ Pomona
I know that Williams/CMS will be hyped as the match of the week, but this is actually my most anticipated match. Pomona is a team that could present a dangerous matchup for the Ephs. Pomona has the singles strength to stick with the Ephs at almost any position. The real question will be the doubles. Historically, doubles strength has been a mainstay in Williamstown, but we’ll see if the young guns can keep up the tradition. Doubles has been a bit of an Achilles heel for the Hens over the past month, as PP has found themselves on the wrong side of a 2-1 deficit to Bates, Skidmore, Bowdoin, Whitman, and Amherst. I’m not saying they need to sweep to win, far from it, but obviously taking the lead after doubles (unless you’re playing CMU) can totally swing the momentum in your favor. Pomona has the best chance to upset the Ephs, but I see Williams taking control of the doubles and running away to a 6-3 win.
Williams @ CMS
Well lookie here I am a burnin again, thought it was a real, but this national championship rematch, it was only pretend. We all know that this Williams team won’t be the same one that took the trophy from the Stags last spring and CMS is the one team that on Williams’ trip that will be able to compete with “Eph doubles”. Although Amherst was able to topple Dorn/Wood and keep #2’s close, CMS has looked anything but vulnerable. I’m very interested to see how Harron takes on Marino at #3 singles. I’ve been saying all season long that Marino is the best #3 in the country (ok, not groundbreaking seeing as you could argue that for almost all of CMS’s 9 positions) but I believe Harron might just be his equal. I see 3 close doubles matches, and CMS taking a 2-1 lead. In singles I have Williams taking two singles spots including C-Rad, CMS 6-3.
Williams @ Redlands
It’s interesting to think that Pomona and Redlands are so close in the rankings when the two teams have two totally different styles. I don’t see Redlands’ pushing Williams in the doubles, although in an 8-game proset anything is possible. The singles will be more interesting, especially at the top of the lineup. Lipscomb hasn’t played the past two matches, but my guess is that he’ll be ready to go come Friday. I think if healthy, he takes down Micheli, although Matty Ice has proven that he can beat anyone on any given day. Cummins has gotten a lot of D3West love and with good reason, however he has faltered twice recently while filling in for Lipscomb at #1. I think Lil’ Weiss has what it takes and brings down the highly regarded Bulldawg in 3 sets (or more likely a super). Redlands does not have the depth to stick with the Ephs, so my guess is that they take the bottom ½ of the lineup with relative ease, leading to an 8-1 onslaught in favor of the Mass Men.
Williams @ Cal Lu
Last but not least (well…kind of least) the Ephs will travel up to Thousand Oaks and take on the Kingsmen. All 4 of these teams will provide great tests for the top ½ of the Williams lineup (Micheli, Lil’ Weiss, and Harron) and the Kingsmen are no exception. All 4 matches should provide a good barometer as to if those three stack up against the Cali elite (excluding Whittier and Cruz). Like Redlands, I do not believe that Cal Lu has the doubles skill or the depth the stick with the Ephs. After a few days off, I’m taking the reigning national champions in a sweep, 9-0.
Ok folks, that’s all for now. I’ll be coming back with a couple of mini-recaps of Amherst and Bowdoin’s spring breaks (or maybe one larger joint recap, I haven’t really thought this through yet). Keep checking the site throughout the week, as the other writers will be taking a trip to the suit store and putting on their cologne (Central wears Sex Panther), as they attend their respective “State of the Region” Addresses. It’s kind of a big deal…