So far, spring break has not been very kind to many Northeastern teams. Thinking about some of their missed opportunities depresses me. In fact, nearly every team did “almost/kind of/sort of/not quite but close to” as well as they were supposed to (Midd and Williams, you can still redeem us!) First recap, the Bowdoin Polar Bears. Since results are at a premium these days, let’s take a gander…
RESULTS
March 9th, Skidmore, Win 7-2
March 10th, Carnegie Mellon, Loss 3-6
March 11th, WashU, Loss 2-7
March 14th, Pomona, Win 5-3
March 15th, CMS, Loss 9-0
March 15th, Emory, Loss 8-1
March 19th, Trinity Ct, Win 6-3
March 20th, Denison, Win 5-4
THE GOOD
Skidmore, WashU, Pomona
I have been fairly harsh on the Polar Bears so far this spring, so let’s start this recap with the “good” things from their break. Their first match against Skidmore was a bit of a trap match. Skid did lose to NYU, but the talent is most certainly still there. This was Bowdoin’s 1st match of the season, and they took out two reasonably tough doubles teams to take a 2-1 lead. Even though many of the singles matches were close (4 went to 3-sets) Bowdoin won 5/6 singles, and only lost #3 when King retired at 4-4 in the 3rd set. While it wasn’t a dominating performance, a win is a win and the Polar Bears started off their season well.
The 2nd positive from Bowdoin’s week actually comes from their…loss to WashU. What’s that? How can a 7-2 loss be taken as a positive? Just take a look at this box score, http://itarankings.itatennis.com/TeamMatch.aspx?scseId=274928&page=ts. Bowdoin again took #1 doubles, and this time did it against a team that according to D3Central has a good chance of making nationals. The Polar Bears dropped 2&3 dubs but both matches were very tight. In the singles, Bowdoin came out firing and hung with the Bears through 3 sets in 5 different matches. WashU ended up winning 4 of them, but the idea that WashU was pushed is an understatement. At the same time, Bowdoin was up a set in all 5 of those matches, ah what could have been.
After dropping a few close matches to CMU and WashU (don’t you fret, the CMU match will still be discussed) the Polar Bears seemed dejected and all of a sudden NEEDED a win over the Sage Hens to stay in control of their Pool-C destiny (who doesn’t love that phrase??). Bowdoin responded with a crucial victory, again starting off the match by taking the top 2 doubles spots. Bragg and King then pulled off impressive straight set wins over Weichert and Hudson and Savage closed the door with an easy win at #6. Even though Trinka and Lord fell to the studly Pomona freshies, the Polar Bears got the win they needed and advanced to the top ½ of the Stag Hen bracket.
THE BAD
CMU, CMS, Emory
I know that CMU has been getting a lot of love recently from the blog, and it’s well deserved, but I’m gonna defend my region for just a second. Bowdoin did not have a healthy Sam King for their match with the Tartans, and this screwed them royally. CMU’s doubles has always been/still is a little suspect. I fully believe that with a healthy King, Bowdoin wins #1 doubles, and then, even if King loses at #3, gives the guys below him a significantly better chance to win. All that being said, this match still definitely goes in the “bad” column of their week. It confirmed that Bowdoin’s #3 team of Bragg/Lord was simply not going to get the job done, and that the depth machine at #5/6 singles of Wolstencraft/Savage might not be ready to take their respective next steps. Give Alla all the credit in the world, the kid’s craftier than Wile E. however the 0&2 beat-down he put on Bragg tells me more about Noah than Abhishek. This matchup left Coach Smith with more questions than answers and put a whole boatload of unnecessary pressure on the Polar Bears to beat Pomona and keep their Pool-C hopes alive.
I can’t get too mad about a loss to CMS, it seems to be all the rage these days, but I can take issue with how the Polar Bears lost that match. Getting swept by the Stags was not a shocker, but it was the way they responded for the rest of the day that makes me question Bowdoin’s toughness. Other than Trinka, not one player won more than 6 total games, and out of all 12 sets, only one set went further than 6-4. I know CMS is plenty scary right now, but I feel as though some wind must have left Bowdoin’s sails after a tough tiebreak loss at #1 doubles. A-South was ranting about “this is how you differentiate the good from the great” and other clichés like that, but he might have a valid point. The lack of energy definitely transferred to their 3rd place match with the Emory Eagles…
Doubles, DOUBLES, DOUBLES! Something in this world is topsy-turvy when Emory sweeps doubles from a possible top 10 team. However, not only did the Eagles sweep doubles, they did so with convincing tones, winning 8-5, 8-4, and 8-4 respectively. I’m sure Bowdoin was full of tired legs, and maybe they did front load their schedule (considering they only played 2 matches in the week after the Stag-Hen) but the remedy for tired legs is…doubles! Less movement, quicker points, and taking a lead would have certainly reenergized their team. Once you go down to Emory after dubs, there is no going back. Emory took 5/6 singles, and though most of these matches were closer, the end result was never in doubt. Before this week, I was going to take Bowdoin for 3rd place in the Stag-Hen, but after their losses to CMU and WashU I relegated them back to 4th (I did pick the whole tournament correctly #sportsgossip). In order for Bowdoin to be successful, they will need to step up their doubles. They do have the chance to win at any spot, but they will not necessarily be heavy favorites at any spot. Without a doubles lead, the Polar Bears don’t look up to the task of taking down a top 10 team. With NESCAC play just around the corner, we’ll see how they respond.
THE WEIRD
Trinity CT, Denison
Look, I don’t want to beat around the bush here, Bowdoin won both of these matches and at the end of the season we’re not going to look back and say, “Hmmmm, those close wins with Trinity Ct and Denison were quite telling.” The Polar Bears got the job done, but it must be noted that both matches were far closer than expected. In fact, the Polar Bears had a legitimate chance at losing both matches. Trinity took a 2-1 lead after doubles, and somehow Bowdoin overcame a Denison doubles sweep to eek out a 5-4 match with Bragg and Lord both needing 3 close sets. In the end, Bowdoin saved their season/Pool C chances (for now) by beating both teams, but these were certainly not encouraging victories.
WHAT’S NEXT
Rarely would I tell you that leaving California in favor of Maine is a wise decision, but for the Polar Bears this could be just what the doctor ordered. They have had some time to regroup, and will now travel to play a young and fiery Brandeis team on Saturday. On paper, the Polar Bears shouldn’t have any trouble with the Judges, but then again on paper Bowdoin should have had a better spring break. After a bout with MIT, they will move into the rest of their NESCAC schedule, where it will become clear just how disappointing of a season this has become. Polar Bear fans should be disappointed with a 4th place NESCAC finish, even if that’s what the pundits predicted. Barring further disaster, Bowdoin will still likely be a team that no one wants to see in their region come NCAAs, but only if they get their doubles together.