Central Region Obituaries

I have been instructed to follow the same format as Mr. D3West in our post season wrap up so in an effort to be a conformist (how fun is that!), here goes nothing. The Central region had another solid season filled with teams that are doubles specialist and grit out wins. It seems to be the Central mantra and it has been proven to work, but also leaves openings for possible upsets as doubles is such a finicky game. Anyone can win on any given day, but for the Central teams seem to always come out up after dubs when playing out of region teams. The Central region was able to squeak out 8 teams in the rankings (not final yet) which is another solid showing.We had three teams preseason without a ranking that ended up in the Top 30 and a couple of others that improved their ranking through the season (Case and Gustavus). I am giving 2 rankings for your reading pleasure. The first is the ITA ranking as of May 1 and the second is the blog team’s final power rankings. Final ITA rankings are not released until next week.

Denison

Preseason: Unranked

Finish: #28 (ITA), #27 in Power Ranking

Best Result: Oddly enough, Denison’s best results are actually losses. They did have an early win against NC Wes, but we all know they weren’t the team of the past. They collectively have three 5-4 losses that propelled their season (Chicago, Bowdoin, and Depauw). You turn one of those losses into a win and I would be raving on the Big Red’s season. A solid win would be the 5-4 win over Trinity Ct.

Worst Result: Going against the grain once again, their worst result was a win. Their 5-4 win over Allegheny early in the season brought about a ton of scrutiny from myself as it put into question whether or not Denison had lost it’s national recognition. In hindsight, it was a tough match up for them as Patrick Cole from ‘Gheny was basically two guaranteed wins making Denison behind early. They did lose to Tufts 6-3 on spring break, but that was before their #1 singles player quit (Telkedzhiev).

Verdict: As you can see, Denison had a lot of close matches throughout the year. They were 3-8 in matches that were decided 5-4 or 6-3 so while that is not a good thing to brag about, I think they achieved what we all expected of them. If you can only even that close match record to 50% or above, the Big Red would be in the top 25 or even top 20. Overall, they should be satisfied, but not happy with how the season turned out.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Preseason: #24

Finish: #27 (ITA), #34 in Power Rankings

Best Result: The 5-4 win over Chicago early in the year was a monumental one for the Warhawks. Without it, they would not be even in consideration for a national ranking. The good news for WW was Chicago was able to post some good wins down the road which made this win seem even bigger as the season progressed. They took care of business against lower ranked in-region opponents, but that is about it.

Worst Result: Spring break was not friendly to Whitewater as they have a 5-4 loss to Colby and a 7-2 loss to Depauw. The Depauw loss doesn’t look as bad now as they turned out to be solid, but the Colby loss hurts.

Verdict: I was very low on this team going into the season, but then changed my tune once they upset Chicago. I should have stuck with my gut and stayed low as they weren’t able to back up the Chicago win with many good results. Shkylar fell off the radar, but individually you have to give major props to Humphreys earning All-American honors in both singles and doubles (with partner Balkin). Team wise, the Warhawks should be disappointed. Individual wise, they should be absolutely thrilled!

Depauw

Preseason: Unranked

Finish: #24 (ITA), #24 in Power Rankings

Best Result: Depauw had a phenomenal spring break with convincing wins over Whitewater 7-2, Colby 6-3, and NC Wes 5-0. Combine that with two wins over Denison (7-2 and 5-4) and the Tigers were able to climb back into the national conversation

Worst Result: While a loss to Kenyon 5-3 in the NCAC tournament final normally would be expected, after sweeping dubs and then not being able to take a singles match (or set I believe) is a disappointing loss for Depauw. Kenyon was reeling from the Raz debacle and they were primed for an upset. Depauw definitely missed their chance there.

Verdict: All in all, Depauw fans should be thrilled with how the season went. After graduating some key seniors (Moss and Garlock), my expectations were pretty low for the Tigers. But they were able to develop some guys into key players and Miles/Kopecky caught fire at the right time. They will have to do it again as they lose both of the aforementioned guys, but this one may be a bit tougher in the end. They have been 1 and 2 all 4 years of their careers.

Chicago

Preseason: Unranked

Finish: #17 (ITA), #20 in Power Rankings

Best Result: There is no question that the Cal Lu win vaulted the Maroons back into the spotlight. I had high expectations for this team and after an early loss in the season to Whitewater, we all wrote them off. At the time, the 7-2 win over Depauw didn’t seem all that big of a deal since no one expected them to be that great, but hindsight shows that was a big win as well. The Cal Lu win brought them into the Top 20 conversation though.

Worst Result: Absolutely no question the worst result for Chicago was the 5-4 loss to Whitewater. This was mainly compounded by the fact that WW went missing the rest of the year. Had Whitewater continued to play well, it wouldn’t have been a terrible loss, but still hurt Chicago’s chances to get a Pool C bid. Take that loss away and they had an outside shot.

Verdict: Has Chicago shut the haters up yet? Sadly no. I continue to be a big Chicago supporter and cannot wait for them to have a breakout year. Next year they are as primed as ever. I don’t expect anything crazy, but I can see a Carnegie Mellon type of year where they beat some top teams, but fall short in the tourney. 5 teams from the UAA in the tourney? It could very easily happen!

Gustavus Adolphus

Preseason:18

Finish: #14 (ITA), #11 in Power Rankings

Best Result: Pick anyone of their close losses and GAC was so close to making a massive splash in the top 10. Losses include Wash U (3-6), Emory (3-6), Carnegie (3-6), Middlebury (4-5), and Trinity TX at nationals (3-5). Every one of those teams will finish in the top 10 nationally and Gustavus played them all close. Unfortunately they failed to find the elusive 5th point to pull off the upset.

Worst Result: Oddly enough I am picking the same match for the worst result as well. The loss to Middlebury shouldn’t have been a loss at all. They blew a two break lead at 3 doubles that ended up costing them a big win. They barely sneaked out a 5-4 win over Tufts the following day.

Verdict: Even without a marquee win, Gustavus took a giant step forward when previously it seemed they have been going the other way. They showed tremendous depth in singles (remember they split singles with Wash U) and continued to be a doubles force as they traditionally have. I expect much of the same from this team next season although they do lose some key players to graduation.

Kenyon

Preseason:5

Finish: #12 (ITA), #13 in Power Rankings

Best Result: Interesting enough, I searched the results of Kenyon and couldn’t really find a result that I would call a great one. They did dismantle Chicago 8-1 early in the season and came back from a doubles sweep to take down Depauw in the NCAC final which gave them the tourney berth so I would lean more towards that one.

Worst Result: With Raz, they lost 5-4 to both Case and Emory (twice). Without him, they got beat handily by Carnegie 7-2.

Verdict: This was definitely a disappointing year for the Lords as the Raz roller coaster cast a dark shadow over their season. They have to be disappointed in their early results with him in the lineup, but pretty happy with their results after he left as they showed they weren’t going to lay down and let people beat them even after they lost an All-American. Next year will be interesting to see who plays where, but they don’t lose much. Will Raz return? Doubtful, but it should would be nice to have that talent.

Case Western

Preseason:13

Finish: #9 (ITA), #8 in Power Rankings

Best Result: I could pick quite a few matches that were monumental for the Spartans, but you have to give the edge to the 5-4 win over Carnegie to reach the Elite 8. That is a program defining win particularly because they avenged an earlier loss to them in the regular season. It is hard not to mention the 5-4 win over Kenyon at Indoors as well as they avenged the tournament loss from the previous season.

Worst Result: Although on paper it is not a bad loss, the first one to Carnegie is a tough pill to swallow considering Case swept doubles and still couldn’t win. (I predicted that btw!) Again, not a bad loss at all because Carnegie had a breakout year as well. I am sure Case is a little disappointed with their Elite 8 match against Middlebury as well since they were swept at the thing they do best, but for a first time appearance, I am sure there were plenty of nerves.

Verdict: There is no question that this season was a huge success! Case hosted Indoors and beat nemesis Kenyon in the first round. They beat Carnegie in an epic match to make it to the Elite 8 for the first time ever. Oh yeah and they had the National Doubles Champions in Krimbill/Klawitter! Needless to say the Spartans are sitting at home extremely pleased with the outcome. What’s the best thing about this team? I highly doubt they are satisfied with the year. They are probably working their tails off this summer to continue the success next year.

Wash U

Preseason:4

Finish: #2 (ITA), #5 in Power Rankings

Best Result: There is a lot to choose from when you think of Wash U’s best result, but I have to lean towards winning national Indoors as they put together wins over Redlands, Trinity TX, and Hopkins in consecutive days. Equally as impressive would be the UAA tournament taking out Case and Carnegie (second time of the year). The Bears had an impressive regular season.

Worst Result: Obviously the Trinity TX loss in the Elite 8 is disappointing as it breaks the final 4 streak. Doubles was extremely important and being down 2-1 hurt the Bears. Carswell having a high fever didn’t help, but I can guarantee you that they aren’t using that as an excuse.

Verdict: With such a dominant (outside of CMS) regular season, the Bears probably ended the season a bit down, but they shouldn’t hang their heads. They graduated the national singles champion, started two freshmen at the top half of the lineup, and still were the second best team in the country heading into nationals. With only graduating Noack from the lineup, the Bears will be dangerous once again. Aren’t they always?

The all-Central region team

I am not going to be as friendly as D3West and make sure all the teams are represented only because there will be a pretty even distribution without doing that.

#1 Doubles: Chris Krimbill/Eric Klawitter (Case Western). Not a whole lot to say here other than this is your 2014 National Doubles Champions! Pretty awesome stuff for the program that prides itself on hard work and doubles.

#2 Doubles: Krishna Ravella/Max Hawkins (Chicago). Wait…a Chicago team made the doubles? This team only played 5 matches together at the end of the season, but with direct wins over Drougas/Healey from Case and Cogan/Carswell from Wash U, how can it not be them?

#3 Doubles: Patrick Farrell/Harold Martin (Depauw). This team went undefeated once they were put together in the final 11 matches with wins over Kenyon (twice), Denison (twice), and Whitewater.

#1 Singles: Wade Heerboth (Kenyon). Heerboth made it to the round of 8 at individuals getting through arguably the toughest section by destroying both Johnston (Middlebury) and Cardenas (Cal Lu). He was a set away from making the semis and recently named the Central region’s Player to Watch although I am pretty sure we all have been watching.

#2 Singles: John Carswell (Wash U). The UAA player of the year as well as rookie of the year. Went undefeated in the regular season at 2 singles as the best player on his team’s roster. A horrible flu bug hampered him at Nationals, but there is no doubt he will have plenty of chances as he is only a freshman.

#3 Singles: Ankur Bhargava (Chicago). His direct win over Bush (Wash U) gets him this spot. Bhargava struggled early on in the season, but was able to put it all together to really anchor the Maroons lineup. Also had a win over Drougas at 2.

#4 Singles: Tim Noack (Wash U). Undefeated in region senior? Yeah it’s impossible to not pick this guy. His game may be unorthodox, but he is someone that the team could lean on most matches and he never beat himself.

#5 Singles: Motasem Al-Houni (Gustavus): This freshman was just solid at both 1 doubles and 6 singles. He has some great wins on his resume including Middlebury and Wash U. He started the season playing 6, but finished at 5 and should be a player to watch next season.

#6 Singles: Kevin Chu (Wash U): His only loss in the regular season was to CMS. A bit of a surprise for Wash U if you ask me as I thought they would be weaker at this spot, but Chu stepped it up and put together an impressive resume.

This turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be and I know I have picked some players that may go against what other people think. It is hard not to mention John Healey in doubles or singles for that matter. I love his game. Obviously Krimball at the top singles spot is a big name along with teammate Fojtasek at 5. Humphreys had an amazing season as well. Not picking a Wash U doubles team was tough as Putterman/Bush were favorites to win it all and Hirsch/Chu turned out to be a great 3 team. O’gorman-Bean was very solid at the bottom of the lineup for Denison as well.

It was a great year for the region and maybe even a bit of a surprising one. Next year looks to be another big one as Chicago’s recruiting class is the top in the nation, Wash U should be in the top 3 in recruiting, and Case put together the deepest one they have ever had. This year was very junior heavy so having a lot of the key guys return will be a big bonus for the region. Can we start putting the pressure on CMS now to make them choke it away in May? From what I have heard, nationals will be in Cincy this year which is awesome. I will definitely be in attendance!