NCAA MEN’S REGIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: March 9th-March 15th
Happy Monday, boys and girls, and welcome to another stimulating edition of POTW. As I’m also writing my State of the Region, this intro will be shorter than most. We had some incredible tennis last week, and I think for the first time this year that all 5 writers are satisfied with their picks. After a wonderful weekend of tennis in Claremont, it almost feels like spring here on the east coast. To help bring on that swell summer vibe, this week’s theme is ice cream, with a heaping side of Stag-Hen moments. The Blog has kicked into high gear of late, and this week will be no exception. Look for my State of the Region later today, Power Rankings tomorrow, a variety of match previews and “precaps”, and hopefully D3AS will get his act together and give us the Pool-C article he’s been blabbering on about for almost a week now. For now, sit back, relax, and enjoy your regional players of the week!
A-SOUTH
Player: Christian (Big Chris) Heaney-Secord
Team: Carnegie Mellon University
Results: 4-1 in Doubles, 4-1 in Singles over Spring Break
Recap: Without Heaney-Secord, CMU’s season would be over right now. The week he had last week was pretty sweet, as he went 4-1 in both doubles and singles against Pomona, Bowdoin, Trinity TX, Sewanee, and Rochester. When CMU needed a doubles point (which is every match) CHS and his partner Duncan usually came through. Oh, and not to mention Heaney-Secord clinched the match against the then #1 team in the nation, 7-5 in a third set. Although it’s a bit frustrating to watch him on his bad days, there were certainly a lot of good days this week for the senior.
What’s next: CMU goes to W&L to play the Generals on 3/28
Honorary Mention: Abhishek Alla, CMU
D3AS’s Favorite Stag-Hen Moment: Dante Quazzo’s commentary as well as the guest Sagehens in the booth.
D3AS’s Least Favorite Stag-Hen Moment: Tristan telling us where Joe Dorn was playing in the lineup every five seconds.
D3AS’s favorite ice cream flavor: Hazed and Confused (link, http://www.benjerry.com/flavors/cores bruh). Not only a sick ice cream but a sick name as well.
D3AS’s favorite ice cream topping: Oreo bits or Reese’s Pieces. Both of those are mainstream but I get hype when I get em.
Central
Player: Jason Haugen
Team: Wash U
Results: 4-1 in singles (#4-6), 3-2 in doubles (#2)
Recap: I gave Haugen a bit of love in the Stag Hen recap, but realized that he deserved even more props for his spring break efforts. Haugen went 4-1 in singles with wins over Rochester (at #4), Case (at #6), Kenyon (at #5), and Trinity Tx (at #6). His only loss was to Morkovine from CMS. Before this week, Haugen was really only seen in the doubles lineup with Chu at #2. He proved that he is a great addition as a freshman to this Wash U team. While I still don’t think he is someone who breaks into the Top 6 guys in the lineup, he is a proven winner with these results and a great player to fill in when he is needed most. If there are injuries, fatigue, or other things, Wash U won’t miss a beat by putting Haugen into the lineup.
What’s next: Nothing comes up immediately for the Bears, but the trip out east is going to be great as they take on Williams (April 4th) and Wesleyan/Amherst on the same day (April 5th). Haugen could feature in these matches as fresh legs can make a big difference.
Honorary Mention: Rob Turlington (Kenyon), Jake Humphreys (Whitewater), Chris Krimbill (Case Western)
D3Central’s Favorite Stag-Hen Moment: Central teams salvaging a good results on day 2.
D3Central’s Least Favorite Stag-Hen Moment: Everything dealing with Whitman
D3Central’s favorite ice cream flavor: Mint Chocolate Chip (Northeast, shall we share one spoon?)
D3Central’s favorite ice cream topping: (Noah) Sprinkel (see what I did there?)
NE
Player: Chase Savage
Team: Bowdoin College
Results: 4-0 at #4 singles
Recap: Phenomenal start to the year for the junior from New Jersey. He started off his week with a routine 4&2 win over Chapman’s Charlie Werman, then took down CMU’s Will Duncan 6-0 in the 3rd set, put the 1&0 beat down on Marko Mandic from PP, and laid waste to the Poet’s Tyler Linsett, 2&1. Even though Chase lost a set, he only lost a grand total of 19 games over the course of 4 matches against some good competition. It’s a wonderful start to the year for Savage, who has continued his steady improvement over the course of 2.5 years at Bowdoin. Savage should be favored in the majority of matches he will play for the rest of the time he is at #4.
What’s next: Bowdoin travels to the Desert to take on Redlands on Tuesday, plays Whitman at CMS on Wednesday morning, and finally Trinity Ct on Thursday morning before heading back to Maine (hehehe).
Honorary Mention: Michael Liu (Wesleyan), Steven Chen (Wesleyan), Winn Smith (Wesleyan), Luke Tercek (Bowdoin), Matt Heinrich (Stevens)
D3NE’s Favorite Stag-Hen Moment: Wesleyan upsetting Kenyon, duh
D3NE’s Least Favorite Stag-Hen Moment: Quaz missing Saturday’s coverage
D3NE’s favorite ice cream flavor: Mint Chocolate Chip (Central, no)
D3NE’s favorite ice cream topping: Chocolate Sprinkles
WEST
Player: Warren Wood
Team: CMS
Results: 3-0 in singles in the Stag-Hen, 2-1 in doubles
Recap: Warren Wood’s mysterious absence from the Stag lineup turned out to be because he sustained a concussion running into a poll on the court. What does he do? Well he starts off by beating ITA semifinalist Michael Liu in his first match on the court post-concussion. Then, he follows that up by routing Carswell and Hudson. His lone loss came against Wash U’s #1 doubles team, but everyone on the Stag’s lineup had the same record this weekend, and I had to pick one of them, so I’m going with the top dog.
What’s next: The Stags are making the rare East Coast Spring Break trip, which will feature a match against Johns Hopkins and a duo of matches against Georgetown and either Penn or Temple. First, they have to make sure they take care of business against the mighty Phoenix.
Honorary Mention: Skyler Butts (CMS), Adam Krull (Trinity), Anthony Bello (Pomona-Pitzer)
D3West’s Favorite Stag-Hen Moment: Pomona-Pitzer’s doubles dominance against Case
D3West’s Least Favorite Stag-Hen Moment: Whitman not getting a W
D3West’s favorite ice cream flavor: Half Baked (chocolate and vanilla ice cream with brownies and cookie dough)
D3West’s favorite ice cream topping: Cookie Dough
REGIONAL
Player: Danny Polk
Team: Stevens
Results: 2-0 at #5 singles (def Jackson Frons of Midd and Danny Lubarsky of Brandeis both in straights)
Recap: Danny Polk has sneakily become the rock at the bottom of the Ducks lineup this year. Polk started the year at #3 and lost three straight, but since moving down to #5, he’s 4-0 without losing a set. I have been on Stevens for a perceived lack of depth, but Polk has had a fantastic week and has clinched multiple matches at #5, against Swarthmore and Brandeis, earning one of the best hash tags in the business, #ThatsAllPolks. Polk is only a freshman, so the future is bright for this young Duckling.
What’s next: The Ducks schedule does not let up, as they’ll head down to Orlando to take on Wisconsin-Whitewater, yet another great opportunity to move up nationally. They will then head out to Ohio where they’ll take on Case Western and Oberlin.
Honorary Mention: Kevin Wang (MIT)
D3Regional’s Favorite Stag-Hen Moment: CMS playing Pomona for the first time ever in the Stag-Hen!
D3Regional’s Least Favorite Stag-Hen Moment: Case vs Wesleyan controversy.
D3Regional’s favorite ice cream flavor: Moose Tracks (vanilla ice cream, fudge swirls, peanut butter cups for those of you not in the know)
D3Regional’s favorite ice cream topping: Reese’s pieces