REGIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: April 7th-April 13th
It’s almost Easter, and you all know what that means…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hcIUD8cdEA! Today we get a glimpse at the sweeter side of each of our esteemed writers (apparently there is no sweet side to D3AS, just a drunk side). As always, please tweet @D3West to let him know what you think of his choices. I mean, c’mon, Sweet Hearts? Yes, D3West, you are the ONLY one.
A-SOUTH
Player: Avery Schober
Team: University of the South
Results: 3-0 in Singles, 3-0 in doubles
Recap: If nothing of note happens in a region, do I have to write a Player of the Week article? Apparently, the answer is yes. This week, we give a shoutout to Avery Schober of Sewanee, who went an insane 6-0 against powerhouses like Covenant, Birmingham-Southern, and Millsaps. This is more of a shoutout to Schober for what has been a fairly impressive season in which I think he should be in the top 10 in the region. Maybe not a national contender, but a regional top 10. Good job Avery.
What’s next: Sewanee plays Washington and Lee this weekend. Looking forward to seeing what Schober can do against Taylor Shamshiri.
Honorary Mention: Wade Heerboth, Kenyon
D3AS Favorite Holiday: Free Rita’s Italian Ice Day (First Day of Spring)
D3AS Favorite type of Holiday Candy: Alcohol
CENTRAL
Player: Ankur Bhargava
Team: Chicago
Results: 3-0 in singles at 2 and 3 and 2-1 at 3 doubles
Recap: Bhargava had a very impressive weekend for the Maroons. He went 3-0 in singles with wins over Drougas (Case’s 2), Bush (Wash U’s 3), and Galbraith (Coe’s 2). Combine that with a 2-1 record against the same squads at three doubles and you have a very successful weekend. Bhargava isn’t going to get much love on a national scale since he is playing 3, but the Case and Wash U wins have to be pointed out as both of those opponents are the best of the best at that line. Bhargava also has a win over Sam Miles who is playing 1 singles for Depauw from earlier in the year.
What’s next: The UAA tournament is a rather important weekend. With Sabada peaking, Kranz hopefully healthy, and Bhargava playing well, Chicago could be poised for an upset. I believe they will go in as the 5 seed and play Case Western in the first round which they lost 7-2 this weekend but were without Kranz.
Honorary Mention: Deepak Sabada (Chicago), Brandon Metzler (Kzoo), Sean Stokstad (Coe)
D3C Favorite Holiday: Hug a short person day. Seriously, they need it. Conflicting reports as to when this day actually happens, but it should be every day.
D3C Favorite type of Holiday Candy: Candy Corn
NE
Player: Brantner Jones
Team: Middlebury Panthers
Results: 3-0 at #3 singles, 3-0 at #2 doubles
Recap: Bjones cruised through his NESCAC weekend, going undefeated against Williams, Wesleyan, and Trinity Ct. In the 6 singles sets that he won, he lost a total of 6 games! To be fair, he did drop a set to Harron, but he followed that up by winning the 3rd set 6-0 and clinched the match against Williams. BJ then destroyed Monk and Matingo (sounds like a cartoon morning show) over the weekend. In dubs, he and Palmer Campbell went undefeated on the weekend assuring the Panthers a lead in each of their 3 matches. Great weekend for Brantner and Midd.
What’s next: Midd hosts both Bowdoin and RPI on Saturday. 10am and 3pm start times. Jones should have a particularly fiery matchup with Bowdoin when he’ll square off against Sam King.
Honorary Mention: Joey Fritz (Amherst), Rob Jacobson (Tufts), Michael Liu (Wesleyan), Kyle Wolstencraft (Bowdoin),
D3NE Favorite Holiday: Either 4th of July or Thanksgiving. What’s better, America or food? That’s a tough one
D3NE Favorite type of Holiday Candy: Cadbury Mini Eggs. Ate double digit (~14) packs yesterday while watching the Masters alone in my apartment. It was a banner day in the NE household
WEST
Player: Moises Cardenas
Team: Cal Lu
Results: 2-0 in singles, 1-1 in doubles against P-P and Cruz
Recap: This is a long overdue POTW mention for the Lord Commander of the Kingsmen. The newcomer continued his recent hot streak with wins over Weichert and Scandalis (double bagel!? What?) in singles. He also contributed to a key win at #2 doubles against Cruz and just missed the perfect weekend with a 9-7 loss to P-P’s #2 team. Cardenas has been a model of consistency for the Kingsmen.
What’s next: Cal Lu plays Caltech next weekend before heading into the Ojai the week after. After yesterday’s doubles loss to Santa Cruz, Treacy and Nichols will be looking to solidify their doubles standing with a decent showing. As predicted, the doubles race is an absolute Gemisch.
Honorary Mention: Jake Yasgoor (P-P), George Goetz (UCSC)
D3W Favorite Holiday: Christmas, duh
D3W Favorite type of Holiday Candy: Am I the only person who really likes Sweet Hearts?
D3Central, I think that means you should give the Emory team a hug