The picture above makes me as jealous as you can possibly imagine. The Central region needs some weather like this as we are still digging out from a snowy mess. As I begin to type this, I realize I am in the post indoors lull. With all the matches the central region plays early in the year, once indoors hits, there seems to be a boring couple of weeks until spring break finally hits. Well we are at that point as many of the Central teams travel to warmer climates to play top competition. Kenyon heads out west again this year and is out there a week before the Stag Hen starts which means they have quite a few matches leading into the highly regarded tournament. I will leave the Stag Hen analysis for next week as we will definitely be covering it widely. I don’t like the Lords chances there considering the schedule they have going into it. They will be playing on some tired legs!
Chicago vs. Depauw March 8th
Before I get into the Kenyon spring break matches, I figured I should probably cover Chicago vs. Depauw considering they are both ranked and in my region. This is a story of two very different teams in that Chicago is on it’s way up and Depauw is on it’s way down. The Maroons are finally figuring out what lineup is best for them and I think they have finally done so. With the murderer’s row singles lineup of Chua, Sabada, Kranz, Tsai, Leung, and Liu, it’s hard to imagine many teams stronger top to bottom. Tsai has climbed and Liu has fallen and I think their games are better suited for their current positions as Liu is a grinder and six singles is a great place for that. Doubles still has been a mix of results as Hawkins and Tsai had a pretty bad loss to Carroll, but they still are a good top doubles team. As for Depauw, they have been less than impressive in all facets in my opinion. Losing to resurgent Whitewater 6-3 shows that the Tigers are declining each year. Doubles and depth have been their calling card for the last few years and they are a bit weaker in each. Like Chicago, they have moved their #3 doubles team up to the top spot with decent results. This obviously makes them a bit stronger at 2 and 3 doubles, but so is Chicago. Last season a weaker Chicago team swept a stronger Depauw team in singles so this time around it should be a similar result. I expect Depauw to only get a win or two in doubles and in the end I predict Chicago to win 8-1.
Kenyon vs. Santa Cruz March 8th
The Lords do play a match before going up against Santa Cruz, but since Concordia isn’t D3, I won’t be covering that match. It will be a nice introduction to outdoor tennis which will be important. Both of these teams have been surprising in different ways as the Lords impressed at Indoors with some great wins and a close loss to Wash U. Santa Cruz disappointed at Spring Break Walla Walla, but followed that up with a good win over Cal Lu. I think if the Slugs want to have any chance at all, they have to be ahead after doubles. I think Richter and Littlejohn should be favored over Geier and Rosensteel, but Heerboth and Hass will be favored at 3 doubles. That put’s 2 doubles as a swing match and I will give a slight edge to Kenyon, but not by much. Heading into singles, Littlejohn and Heerboth should have a great match that could go either way. Geier is favored at two over Stone. At 3, Turlington has shown some inconsistency as of late (beat Kratky, but lost to Simhadri) and will go against Richter who typically can get results when needed. I see Kenyon much stronger at 5 and 6 singles particularly if Rosensteel is playing well at 5. Huber is a weaker 4 so Cruz may snag a point there, but it’s not guaranteed. So if I have Kenyon favored 2-1 after doubles, Cruz would struggle to find the four remaining points to get the team win. If Cruz takes control, things could get interesting as Littlejohn, Richter, Stone, and Soper have a little wiggle room to make something happen. In the end, I think Kenyon comes out on top 6-3.
Kenyon vs. Trinity March 9th
Calling this match a nightmare match-up seems a bit over zealous considering Trinity now is the #1 team in the country and will be favored against anyone not named CMS. But Kenyon should have trouble with the Tigers because where Kenyon relies on some spots to win, Trinity is stronger there. I could easily see Trinity sweep doubles as they are really good at all three spots. Kenyon could win at 3 doubles, but that is a pretty evenly matched spot in my opinion. As we know though, doubles is doubles and anything can happen. Heading into singles, Heerboth and Geier are typically a great duo to at least get one point from the two, but with Krull and Skinner waiting for them, I just don’t see it happening. Krull is straight up a stud and Skinner has found some of his form from two years ago. Jordan Mayer should take care of Turlington at #3. The weakest link for Trinity is also the weakest link for Kenyon at #4 singles. I am not sure I can pick a winner between Huber and Neiss. Curtis and the other Mayer (Chas) anchor the back end of the lineup. They are near the top of my list in terms of 5 and 6 players so Rosensteel and whomever Kenyon puts at 6 will have their hands full. In the end, Kenyon just can’t match the firepower of Trinity. I have Trinity winning this match 7-2
Kenyon vs, Whittier March 10th
I will be the first to admit that I don’t know a whole lot about Whittier and have moved them down on my power rankings as of late because they haven’t really done much as of late. Their loss to Bates was convincing and beating Cal Tech isn’t exactly a great win. Now that all comes with the caveat of top singles player Samuel Farmer being out of the lineup. I have no idea what his status is for the weekend so I won’t try to speculate there. For the Poets sake, let’s say he will be playing. Whittier always seems to have a good top doubles team and Chavez and Linscott are fresh off a big win over the highly regarded top Bates team. If Farmer is back, he will definitely help the 2 and 3 doubles teams. Three has been weak and Kenyon is really good there. A Farmer return will give the Poets a chance to take 2 of the 3 doubles spots, but I don’t expect that to happen. Kenyon should lead 2-1 heading into singles. Kenyon’s depth will be plenty to beat Whittier as the Lords will be heavily favored at 4-6 singles (with Farmer at 1). Even at the top, I struggle giving Whittier much chance against the likes of Heerboth and Geier. Like I have said continuously, Whittier needs Farmer to even make this a match at all. With him, I still don’t believe they can pull it off. They will be lucky getting Kenyon on it’s third match in 3 days and probably only their 5th day practicing outside. Don’t underestimate how that can play a factor. Kenyon wins 7-2.
So there you have it: three rather important matches for Kenyon before they play in the Stag Hen. The Lords will get a few days off before they tackle Wash U in a rematch of the first round of Indoors. Most teams will start off their spring breaks with the Stag Hen, but Kenyon ends with it and with the long matches and warmer weather, it could take a toll on them in the tournament.