The Battle of Sixth Street, Round 2

Hey! D3West is saving the world or something, so it looks like my regional teams are going to take a back seat for a couple of days in favor of a couple of big west showdowns coming up this weekend. On Friday, we have CMS making the long trip to take on Pomona, with the Hen House hoping to get some revenge on the Stags. The next day, Redlands makes the slightly longer trip to Claremont to also take on the Hens, in a match that Redlands absolutely needs to have any shot for a pool C birth. Let’s get to the analysis and make some predictions!

#1 CMS @ #2 Pomona:

The Stags and the Hens are meeting for the second time this spring, and they could realistically meet four times this year, including the SCIAC tournament and NCAA’s. CMS took down the Hens 8-1 in the finals of the Stag-Hen, with doubles being tight-ish, and two of the six singles matches being relatively close. D3West said it back in March and I’ll say it again: Pomona needs a doubles sweep to have a realistic shot of taking this match. CMS is very good at doubles, but they are ridiculous in singles, and I can’t see a team taking half the singles matches in a match against CMS right now. Let’s run through the matchups:

#1 Doubles: Joe Dorn/Warren Wood (CMS) vs. Connor Hudson/Kalyan Chadalavada (PP)

Wood and Dorn have dominated this year, only losing in two out of fifteen dual matches this spring, including an 8-5 win over Hudson/Chadalavada. The Hens won the ITA tournament in the fall, but have been much streakier this spring, with a total record of 11-10. PP definitely has the goods to compete with the Stags, but I think Wood/Dorn are just playing too solid right now. It will be close the whole way through, but CMS pulls away late.

Prediction: 8-6 CMS

#2 Doubles: Skyler Butts/Daniel Morkovine (CMS) vs. Jonathan Kim/Jake Yasgoor (PP):

Just like Dorn/Wood, Butts/Mork have absolutely killed it, losing only one dual match this spring, back in March to Wesleyan. Yasgoor/Kim have been almost as great. They got off to an incredibly hot start, winning their first eight matches, and they have also won their most recent six, for a total record of 17-4. Butts/Mork took down this team 8-5 back in March, but I think PP toughs this one out for a big win.

Prediction: 9-7 PP

#3 Doubles: Nik Marino/Bryan Mehall (CMS) vs. Antony Bello/Spencer Simonides (PP):

Marino played the first half of this season with Glenn Hull, and the second half with Bryan Mehall, while Bello/Simonides have been together all spring. PP actually took out CMS at #3 doubles for their only point back when Nik was playing with Hull, so this should definitely be close. Similar to #1 and #2, CMS has been more consistent than PP overall at this spot, but PP definitely has the firepower to get it done, with wins over Amherst, Chicago, Middlebury (8-0!), and Williams, among others. I like this PP team a lot, but I’m sticking with CMS in a breaker.

Prediction: 9-8 (5) CMS

#1 Singles: Warren Wood (CMS) vs. Connor Hudson (PP):

Wood has been rolling all year, so let’s talk about Chuddy for a bit. Hudson started his season a little rocky, and lost 1 and 1 to Wood in the Stag-Hen, but has been playing excellent lately, including a 2 and 0 win over Nicolas Chua (Chicago). I do think this match will be much closer than it was a month ago, but it isn’t a good matchup for Chud. I have Wood in two closer sets.

Prediction: 6-3, 6-4 CMS

#2 Singles: Skyler Butts (CMS) vs. Jake Yasgoor (PP):

Yasgoor lost a tight one to Butts at the Stag-Hen, and this one should be close yet again. Yasgoor has been PP’s most consistent singles performer this spring, while just about every CMS singles player is a consistent performer. These guys were having some absolutely crazy points back in the Stag-Hen, and Yasgoor needs to take this for PP to have a chance.

Prediction: 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 PP

#3 Singles: Nikolas Marino (CMS) vs. Jonathan Kim (PP):

Nik, just like every other Stag, has been fantastic this year, only losing one d3 match, to Palmer Campbell (Midd). Jon Kim has been decent, but has struggled against top-notch teams, losing to UCSC, Chicago, Amherst, CMS, Bowdoin, and Bates. Marino beat Kim 2 and 2 in March, and I think he takes it by a similar score in this one.

Prediction: 6-2, 6-1 CMS

#4 Singles: Joe Dorn (CMS) vs. Graham Maassen (PP):

The Hens lineup has been rotating a bit after Kim at #3, but Maassen has been playing #4 the most, so I’ll throw him in here for the sake of this preview, though I wouldn’t be surprised if Josh Kim plays #3 instead. Also, Dorn hasn’t played singles since the Middlebury match on 3/27, so Dan Morkovine could play instead. Who knows who will play! Anyway, I like Maassen a lot. He’s been up and down this year, but does sport wins over Aaron Revzin (Amherst), Jackson Frons (Midd), and Luke Tsai (Chicago), among others. Maassen vs. Mork went three sets back in March, but Mork ran away with it, 6-1 in the third. I will take Dorn/Mork/whoever CMS plays over Maassen, but it will be relatively close.

Prediction: 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 CMS

#5 Singles: Daniel Morkovine (CMS) vs. Josh Kim (PP):

Again, this might not be Kim. It could be Antony Bello, who recently played #5 against Gustavus. Let’s go with Kim just for the heck of it. Kim has played well at times (def. Amherst, Williams), but has also struggled in quick losses to Midd, Chicago, Mary Washington, and Case. It could be Mork, or it could be Macey, but whoever it is, I have to pick the Stags, in two close sets.

Prediction: 6-4, 6-4 CMS

#6 Singles: Max Macey (CMS) vs. Antony Bello (PP):

Instead of Bello, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Spencer Simonides for PP. For CMS, if Dorn does not play at #4, expect Glenn Hull to fill in at #6. PP has been solid at the bottom of the lineup, but I expect CMS to be just too much in this match.

Prediction: 6-1, 6-3 CMS

Overall prediction:

This match will be closer than the match at the Stag-Hen, but CMS will still prove to have too much firepower for the Hens. If PP takes two or three doubles matches, it could get close, but that is the only chance for PP.

Final score: 7-2 CMS

#16 Redlands @ #2 Pomona:

I think this matchup between the #2 and #3 teams in the SCIAC will be an absolute dandy. Both teams play solid doubles, and although PP has had the better results so far this year, Redlands matches up very well. Both teams play good doubles, so that is definitely a toss-up. Both teams have also struggled a little bit with their depth, so I’d call that a toss-up as well. Overall, a toss-up! Let’s go match by match:

#1 Doubles: Connor Hudson/Kalyan Chadalavada (PP) vs. Patrick Lipscomb/Nick Cummins (UR):

Lipscomb/Cummins started their dual match season off with a bang, winning 13 out of their first 14 matches, beating Middlebury, Bowdoin, Wesleyan, Mary Washington, and UCSC among other good teams. They recently lost 8-2 to Dorn/Wood of CMS but have still been incredibly consistent all season. As we know, team Chuddy has the goods to get it done, but I think UR will rebound at #1.

Prediction: 8-5 UR

#2 Doubles: Jonathan Kim/Jake Yasgoor (PP) vs. Gram Leahy/Ted Burchett (UR):

Leahy and Burchett have also had a solid start to their year, though they’ve been slightly more inconsistent compared to Lipscomb/Cummins, losing to Middlebury, Mary Washington and Brandeis. I love this #2 team for PP, and they’ve had a terrific year so far. It will be tight, but I see Kim/Yasgoor pulling it out.

Prediction: 8-6 PP

#3 Doubles: Antony Bello/Spencer Simonides (PP) vs. Joey Dulle/Jake Ly (UR):

This is a huge swing match for two teams that are very evenly matched in singles. Both #3 teams have been playing well, and both teams actually beat CMS 8-6 at #3 doubles. We know Bello/Simonides are good, but let’s talk about Duelle/Ly for a second here. They have wins over CMS, Midd, Bowdoin, Wes, Mary Wash, and Brandeis among others, and have only lost to Whitman and Williams. However, I think on PP’s home courts, on a beautiful Saturday morning, Bello/Simonides get it done, giving PP the 2-1 lead going into the singles!

Prediction: 8-6 PP

#1 Singles: Connor Hudson (PP) vs. Patrick Lipscomb (UR):

I’m a big Patty Lipscomb fan, and I think this is a terrific matchup between two seniors. These guys actually played last year at the Ojai, and Lipscomb took it 3 and 4. I’m predicting a similar score in this match. Hudson has had some terrific wins this year, but I think Lipscomb will be just a bit too solid. If Hudson can extend it to three sets, then he has a great shot to win the third, but I think Patty is too solid and takes it in two tight ones.

Prediction: 6-4, 6-3 UR

#2 Singles: Jake Yasgoor (PP) vs. Nick Cummins (UR):

This is the best matchup of the entire match for me between two very strong #2’s. Cummins has been very strong this year, winning against Williams, Bowdoin, and Mary Washington, though he did lose to Wesleyan and Middlebury. Yasgoor has won against pretty much every team in the top 20 except for CMS and Amherst, and I see him getting it done in three sets!

Prediction: 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 PP

#3 Singles: Jonathan Kim (UR) vs. Parker Wilson (UR):

Kim and Wilson are both very good, but have both been a little inconsistent. Parker won against Brandeis and UT Tyler, but lost close matches to Midd, Williams, Bowdoin, Mary Wash, and Whitman. Because of this, I think Kim takes it in three.

Prediction: 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 PP

#4 Singles: Graham Maassen (PP) vs. Taylor Hunt (UR):

Similar to the CMS match, the matchups get a little shaky down towards the bottom, partly because PP has rotated around their guys, and Hunt for UR has been out of the lineup for part of this year. Anyway, I like Maassen, a lot. In fact, you could call me a Maassen fan. He is coming off the loss to Gustavus, and he does play a ton of three-setters, with about a .500 record in them, but he plays a lot of guys close, especially with the match on the line. Hunt has missed some time, but has been good when he has been in there, defeating Courtney Mountified (Midd) 1 and 2, though he did lose to Williams. I’ll go with the sophomore from PP in yet another three-setter.

Prediction: 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 PP

#5 Singles: Josh Kim (PP) vs. Joey Duelle (UR):

Both PP and UR get a fair bit streakier down at #5 and #6. Duelle has the goods for UR, but has lost just about every difficult match he has played, including Midd, Williams, CMS, Bowdoin, Wes, Mary Wash, and Whitman. Kim has been off and on as well, but at least has wins over Amherst, Tufts, Skidmore, and Williams. Despite this, I think Redlands wins a match they have to win.

Prediction: 7-6, 6-3 UR

#6 Singles: Antony Bello (PP) vs. Gram Leahy (UR):

I like Leahy’s game quite a bit, and if he stays consistent for the whole match, I see him getting it done. He started off his spring with a bang, winning against UT Tyler, Whitman, Deis, CNU, Mary Wash, Wes, and Sewanee, though he has been off and on lately. Bello is tricky, but I’m taking the Bulldog.

Prediction: 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 UR

Overall prediction:

YES folks, that’s right. PP takes two out of three doubles, and splits some very close singles matches featuring four three-setters. And yes, PP wins yet another match 5-4, their tenth of the year!!

Final score: 5-4 PP

Well there you have it, west fans. Should be a great couple of days out in Claremont. Fear not, regional fans, for my regional roundup WILL be coming, most likely tomorrow. There are four epic regional matches on Sunday, so that will be the focus. Sorry West, had to throw in a quick plug. Have a great weekend everyone, I know I will!