Greetings tennis fans! I’ve been busy (as I’ve alluded to one or a thousand times) and have recruited some writing help for the SW ITA Regional this year. Below is a debut article from a writer who will be joining us this season! (And hopefully beyond). Enjoy.
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, gather round, gather round, the SW ITA preview is here. I am going to roll forward with a quick statement: I have a feeling we will have an Eminem and Cool Hand Luke reference coming in this preview.
The question of the tournament is: Will Trinity flex their muscles once again, or can UT-Tyler stymie the Tigers and take a trophy from the ITA back to Tyler? If history is indicator, smart money would be best spent on the Tiger’s retaining the singles and doubles crowns. So let’s just wet your palette with a few tasty morsels of information straight out of southwest region.First and most important of them all is the BREAKING NEWS OF THE FALL.
PAXTON DEUEL IS BACK
Coach McMindes had been playing this one close to the vest, without a peep coming out of the Trinity camp during the summer months. This is a game changer for the Southwest ITA, as the #12 player in the country from 2013-2014 re-appears to play his senior year out at Trinity University. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and start talking about the Spring and another Elite 8 run, but the Trinity Tigers just went from NO WAY to GET OUT OF THE WAY. So, let’s take a look at the Top 16 guys according to the SW ITA.
Seeds: Singles
- Adam Krull, Trinity
- Paxton Deuel, Trinity
- Daniel Budd, Tyler
- Arthur Fagundes, Tyler
- Niko Snovely, Southwestern
- Gabriel Borunda, Concordia (TX)
- Chas Meyer, Trinity
- Wilson Lambeth, Trinity
- Joey Fischer, UTTyler
- Scott Wilding, UMHB
- Matt Tyer, Trinity
- Frankie Fischer, UTTyler
- Alex Hunt, Hardin Simmons
- Tom Weir, McMurry
- Nick Farmen, Southwestern
- Tyler Tolopka, ETBU
Seeds: Doubles
- Eliot Guin and Chas Mayer,Trinity
- Arthur Fagundes and Frankie Fischer,UTTyler
- Adam Krull and Matt Tyer, Trinity
- Paxton Deuel and Clayton Neiss, Trinity
- Daniel Budd and Joey Fischer, UTTyler
- Niko Snovely and Grant Gideon, Southwestern
- Alex Hunt and Andrew Eurek, HSU
- Tom Weir and Rayce Roberson, McMurry
Here are a few of my own picks for the SW ITA
Favorites: Adam Krull and Paxton Deuel
Dark Horse Pick: Arthur Fagundes
Newcomer of the Tournament: Wilson Lambeth
Early exit by a top 8 seed: Niko Snovely on Upset Alert for Friday
Impact Player of the Tournament: Chas Meyer
The seeds are fairly easy to make sense out of this year. We have three prize stallions, one colt with a lot of promise and a whole lot of no one else. The fact is, the last two SW ITA champions should be competing for this title at the end of Sunday.
People around D3 tennis have huge questions about Daniel Budd and whether he looks like Eminem, and will continue on his meteoric rise after finishing #20 in the nation, or was it just a Bizot bump that earned him All-American status in 2014-2015. So my question is, “Will the real Daniel Budd please stand up, please stand up, please stand up?”
The next question is whether Paxton will be on his game or is the cowboy hat wearing, “Cool Hand Luke” looking, Deuel going to have a meltdown in the semis just like he did last year.
If I am a betting man, Adam Krull in his senior year is the best bang for my buck. Krull should be the frontrunner in this tournament for sure. The draws seem to open up all the way through the semis for Krull with Niko Snovely, Frankie Fischer, Keaton McCormick and Manny Brown in his quarter. Adam will be the freshest player on the courts come Sunday morning. This year’s tournament sets up beautifully for the Trinity train to continue rolling through this region.
Friday Matchups that may interest:
- Ryan Elwood UTTyler- Alex Hunt HSU#13 seed – 1st round
- Wilson Lambeth Trinity – Jack Puckey UTTyler – 1st round
- Daniel Budd #3 UTTyler – Liam Crawley Trinity – 2nd round
- Arthur Fagundes #4 UTTyler – Tilden Oliver Trinity – 2nd Round
- Jose McIntyre UTTyler – Chas Meyer #7 Trinity – 2nd Round
- Keaton McCormick UTTyler – Niko Snovely #5 SW – 2nd Round
- Frankie Fisher #12 UTTyler – Manny Brown Trinity – 2nd Round
Quick Facts from Qualifying on Thursday Night:
- Trinity – 12 A Draw Players and 6 A Draw Doubles Teams
- UTTyler – 13 A Draw Players and 6 A draw Doubles Teams
39% Trinity and UTTyler – A draw singles – 25 of 64 spots
37.5% Trinity and UTTyler – A Draw Doubles – 12 of 32 Teams
Friday’s’ matchups are pretty good, but Saturday will be a monster day. I can’t wait to send you guys updates from San Antonio.
Well, that is all for night one of the SW ITA. Talk to all of you tomorrow.”
There you have it. Not bad for a rookie, if I do say so myself. An inquisitive DIII tennis fan will be paying close attention to each and every Tyler-Trinity match that happens in this tournament to see if the Pats have a chance at dethroning the Tigers for the Texas crown. As you can see, there will be a lot of them. I know folks in Tyler are high on Fagundes, so I’m eager to how this plays out.
Yours in Tennis,
D3W