As the title suggests, #23 (#28 ITA) Bates pulled off the upset of the young DIII season by knocking off #9 (#11 ITA) Pomona 5-4. As this is a fresh reaction, there is no published box score yet. Let’s go piece by piece through the night. Props to both @BatesTennis and @SagehenTennis on their updates throughout. For those of you (Jose Antonio, I’m looking at you) hoping for a quick Bates/Whittier preview, skip down towards the end.
1st Doubles: Planche/Ellis (Bates) def Hudson/Chadalavada (PP) 8-4
2nd Doubles: Kim/Yasgoor (PP) def Lee/Ordway (Bates) 8-3
3rd Doubles: Bates (Schwartz/Rosen) def PP (Crawford/Wei) 8-2
Bates takes a 2-1 lead. At this point, I told D3ASouth that Bates had a 25% chance to win this match, and he told me even that might be high. To be fair, Bates had a 2-1 lead on PP last year and Pomona went out and swept the singles en route to a 7-2 win. Let’s go in order of finish. Remember. This is not the time for heavy analysis, that will come later.
#2 singles Yasgoor (PP) def Ellis (Bates) 6-2, 6-0
Yasgoor ran through Ellis and was first off the court. But while this was going on, Bates had 4 first sets. I initially wondered why Yasgoor was playing behind Hudson. No disrespect to Chuddy who has the heart of a mountain lion, but Yasgoor’s results from last year and this fall were better. However Chuddy soon showed exactly why he has the top spot.
#3 singles Schwartz (Bates) def Maassen (PP) 6-4, 6-2
Whoa. What have we here? Did Bates pull a hidden gem? Really really impressive night from Schwartz. He and Rosen are the team MVPs. Maassen had a great year at 4 last year for the Sagehens. I’ll look back at the Cali weeks from Bates and Brandeis after they have been completed, but right now Adam Schwartz is my front runner for POTW.
#4 singles Feldman (Bates) def Simonides (PP) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
I tweeted this just after Feldman won his match, but Brent had not been known for the big win. Although he played a ton of close matches, he was just 3-19 in his career. Im sure the “here we go again” thoughts were there after Simonides came back to level the match. Major props to “B-Money”, as the Bates twitter account calls him, for coming through with the big win.
#1 singles Hudson (PP) def Planche (Bates) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
CHUDDY! Pomona’s captain came through when his team needed him most, Planche was up a set and they #1’s were on serve midway through the 2nd when something must have clicked for the Chudster. Hudson won 9 of the final 10 games and kept his team alive. You all know I’m high on Planche, so Hudson gets props for pulling out this win.
#5 singles Rosen (Bates) def Kim (PP) 5-7, 7-6, 6-1
This match was the turning point. DUHHHHHH! But perhaps not where you all think. Rosen fighting off 5-6 in the 2nd set after he was up 5-4 was gigantic. If Rosen loses this match in straight sets, everything goes to hell in a hand-basket for the Bobcats. Rosen holds, gets the breaker, and pulls away in the 3rd to come up LARGE in his first dual match.
#6 singles Low (PP) def Ordway (Bates) 6-7, 6-4, 6-4
A great match at #6 that will go largely unnoticed due to Bates clinching while this match was yet to finish. Ordway was a solid #5 last year, so Low getting the win at 6 is impressive. We talk a lot about PP’s possible revolving door at #6, but Low’s play should be enough to earn him at least another match.
There will always be questions. Where was Bello? No Wei or Chang in the lineup? But hindsight is always 20-20. Bates has a statement win early on in their season. Now let’s see if they can back it up…
BATES VS. WHITTIER
3pm PST
Going off of D3West’s season preview of the Poets (http://www.division3tennis.com/2015-season-preview-19-whittier-poets/) here are the mini matchups. Remember that DK left Whittier to turn professional, and Schommer graduated. Coach Belletto is one of the best in the business, but so is the guy on the other side of the net. Gastonguay will have his guys ready to fight again tomorrow, and there will be live streaming to prove it. Here is the site as of now (about 1am east coast time): http://portal.stretchinternet.com/whittier/. If it changes, i’ll update this post tomorrow. Let’s take a look at the matchups so I can go to bed.
1 doubles: Simple really. Planche and Ellis are an established team with an ITA win under their belt. Even on a night where both guys lose, they still play rock solid dubs. Advantage Bates
2 doubles: Ordway and Lee looked subpar tonight, but Whittier’s 2 and 3 dubs should be the opposite of a strength. Coach Belletto does always have his guys ready to fight, and the Poets will need this point to have a chance. Push
3 doubles: Bates: See above. Bates’ freshmen look good. And somewhat out of nowhere. That 8-2 thrashing was big, but as Old Man Wooten pointed out on Twitter, Bello was nowhere to be found for the Hens. Until we see anything from the Poets, Advantage Bates
1 singles: Planche looked pretty good for about a set and a 1/2 tonight, then one of two things happened. Either his lack of fitness got the best of him, or Chuddy went all Chuddy (my guess is some combination). This brings the fatigue factor into play. Yes, its Whittier’s first match, but they will also be the fresher of the two teams because of it. Assuming Planche doesn’t cramp up, he should do well against Farmer. Although it is (slightly) important to note that Farmer’s best win last year came over none other than Connor Hudson. Advantage Bates
2 singles: Well now that’s amusing. We have a rematch of the #4 singles matchup from last year. Shimzu is a senior, and Ellis is a sophomore. Ellis won this match handily last February, and went on to have a better year. However, Ellis got rocked by Yasgoor tonight. Overall, it’s close to a push, but Slight Advantage Bates.
3 singles: Adam freakin Schwartz. Maybe the kid just likes playing in his home state? The win over Maassen convinces me. Not necessarily in the long term, but that the kid has enough game to take down Troy Chavez or whoever Coach Belletto has at #3. Again, all you Whittier fans, I’m sorry. I wish I knew more about your lineup. We’ll just have to wait and see. Advantage Bates
4 singles: What a corner turning win for Feldman. It’s tough to call it that after one match, but man that kid needed a win and found a big one. Linscott had a rough go at #6 last year, but I’m sure the sophomore is ready to turn his own corner. I’d like to see both guys win more consistently before I pick them. Slight Advantage Bates
5 singles: Stanko is a transfer, and could end up playing higher than 5. If D3West’s assumptions are correct, then the matchup becomes Stanko vs. freshman hero Ben Rosen, who put the finishing touches on the Bobcats’ win tonight. Hero worship only goes so far, and I’d like to see Rosen do it on a consistent basis. Plus, rumors out of Maine are that Rosen’s conditioning could be iffy (which is why he was on the outside of my projected lineup). That 3-setter tonight might have set him back. Push
6 singles: Mr. Laguna, a friend of our commenter! Ordway looked decent tonight, though he didn’t come out with a win. I can’t totally fault him here, as his team clinched an emotional match and left him on the court. No Laguna in the fall, but our friend seemed high on him so what the hell, he gets the starting nod for the Poets. Advantage Bates.
The important things to watch for in this match will be fitness, the hangover effect, and Whittier’s depth. If Bates can handle the fact that they pulled off a big win tonight, and treat tomorrow’s match like their season depended on it, they should get out of the purple and green courts without too much trouble. This will be a good test for Whittier and their new look bottom of the lineup. Bates is deep? Who would have thought I ever could’ve said that with a straight face? Prediction: Bates 7-2