#IndoorsWeek: Finals and 3rd Place Preview

INDOORS FINALS PREVIEW!!!!!!!!

D3AS: We are here once AGAIN to do the Finals Preview for you.  Shoutout to all my blog writers for getting things DONE this weekend.  If only we got paid for this. We have one final article for you this weekend as we will be taking tomorrow off for good reason, but of course this is going to be the Finals preview.  The big shabang.  Is that how you spell that?  Anyways, after today, good luck to anyone who still has a shot in DraftKings, which has turned out to be a great success.  Of course it was, we’re running it, right? Congratulations to Coach Tee, Coach Browning, Chicago, and Emory for making it this far.  A lot of us picked Emory to make it, but for some reason a lot of us got psyched out by the Guru about Chicago.  Last time I listen to that idiot, lol.  Okay, Finals time!

The FINALS: #4 Seed Chicago vs. #3 Seed Emory

D3Central: Well it looks like I got roped into writing this portion of the preview. Here I thought being old and falling asleep on the couch was going to get me out of doing any work. Ok, I might have lied. I totally got up and went upstairs to take a nap on my bed. Anyways, this was the final that I predicted would happen so I am looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. While I am first in the order here, ASouth has already laid out the match by match preview you will see below. With that, I just want to point out some of the matches that I find being the key for whichever team takes home the title. In doubles, #2 is going to be massive. I fully expect #1 and #3 to split, but number 2 is full of talent. Pei and Leung have been impressive thus far, but they go up against a ton of talent with Mosetick and Jemison. Is that Emory’s real #2 team? Probably not, but hey a coach can throw whatever lineup he wants out there. The reason I picked Emory to win the match is moves like this and I think Emory takes it in a very tight breaker. In singles, I find myself really conflicted because while I really do think Emory is going to win this match, taking three singles isn’t exactly easy against Chicago. Mosetick has to beat Chua, but that isn’t a guarantee. Jemison should take Kranz out, but the match I think could be interesting is #5 which Josh Goodman and David Liu. Obviously we all think Liu is extremely good, but he has had some grind it out matches with both doubles and singles. Goodman has taken care of the lesser competition he has faced and will have a fresher body. Again, I am not sure why I am leaning towards Emory, but I am so I had to find a spot where they could do it and this is where I think it could happen. The longer I type this, the longer I want to pick Chicago so I am just going to stop right there. It should be a great match! Go Maroons!

D3AS: #ProtectTheNest #FIGHT and here we go, Eagles.  The sexy pick to win it all was Emory before the tournament and they have looked pretty dominant up until this point.  Today was a great test for them because CMU came out strong in doubles (crazy that I can say that), but Emory punched back and won the top 5 singles matches to freeze out the Tartans in this balmy February weather.  I’ll recap those matches in a later Indoors Recap, but this is about the finals.  Emory is the fresher team right now simply because they had an easier draw to get here. If Emory is going to win tomorrow, though, they need to come out with a strong doubles effort.  You’ll see why in the match by match predictions. I really think Emory has the tenacity to pull this semi-”upset” by relying on their studs to come up big at just the exact time.  Match by match, below.

#1 Doubles: Chua/Liu (UC) vs. Spaulding/Rubinstein (EU) – There have been so many doubters of Chua and Liu at the #1 spot this year and the thing is, they’ve done a great job.  They took out Case today, took out Trinity yesterday, and took out Kenyon and UWW earlier this year.  What more can they do?  They are up against an unproven Emory team that got nicked by the strong baseline returns of Levine/Arora today.  This fits right into the Chicago gameplan.  Chicago 8-4

#2 Doubles: Pei/Leung (UC) vs. Jemison/Mosetick (EU) – This is going to be the match to watch in doubles.  Whoever wins this match might take home the whole thing.  Four studly players playing on the same court, great returns, volleys, and really just everything.  The icing on the cake is that I have Jemison and Mosetick on my fantasy team.  Pei/Leung have been unstoppable and are probably the best #2 team in the nation.  But today, I think Emory pulls an Emory and fights this one out. Emory, 9-8 (4)

#3 Doubles: Kranz/Zhang (UC) vs. Omsky/Harrington (EU) – Omsky and Harrington have been Emory’s most consistent team and Kranz and Zhang have been Chicago’s least consistent.  I was a bit disappointed in their loss today against Case, especially with Kranz and Zhang being experienced players. Some jitters might hit Omsky/Harrington but I don’t think it will be enough to take them out.  They play quality doubles and will hit Chicago in the face with a quick jab and hook. Emory, 8-5

#1 Singles: Chua (UC) vs. Mosetick (EU) – Premiere match! Mosetick vs Chua is going to be a beast of a matchup.  Chua hasn’t had the greatest tournament, losing to Deuel and also losing to Krimbill, and he’s going to have to really battle to take this one.  I’m taking Rafe because that’s what I do.  Emory, 7-5, 7-6

#2 Singles: Kranz (UC) vs. Jemison (EU) – I’m catching a lot of flak for picking saying Jemison is the best freshman in this tournament, but he’s won two matches in singles and he’s generally been pretty damn good.  Jemison can grind with the best of them but he even surprised me with some firepower indoors.  Emory 6-4, 6-4

#3 Singles, Pei (UC) vs. Manji (EU) – Manji is doing himself a ton of favors by taking quick matches, and today’s match he simply played stellar tennis.  He has a new test in Charlie Pei and this is where Chicago starts to show their singles prowess.  Pei hasn’t lost because he’s the best #3 singles player here, and I’m sticking with him.  Chicago 6-4, 7-6

#4 Singles Leung (UC) vs. Bouchet (EU) – I severely underestimated Bouchet today and he came out with a great match against the freshman Arora.  Leung had a tough three setter today, which hopefully doesn’t affect him in singles early in the morning.  When he’s on, he’s one of the best in the business.  When he’s not, he’s simply an above average player at #4.  I like Leung in another close one, but watch out for the fatigue.  Chicago 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

#5 Singles: Liu (UC) vs. Goodman (EU) – Liu gets a lot of praise from us, but it’s funny because Goodman beat him just last year.  Both players are top at their positions and Goodman has had a great tournament, winning all his matches in straight sets.  Goodman plays for the big match and will come out with fire.  Liu will bounce back and hit him right back and this will be a marathon match, potentially the deciding one.  Emory 4-6, 7-6, 7-5

#6 Singles: Liu (UC) vs. Harrington (EU) – Max Liu has really gotten great big match experience in this tournament and he is a rock solid player at the bottom of the lineup.  While he doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence, neither does Harrington who lost to an untested Chaz Downing today.  Not sure if that was because the match was over, but it might have been.  Either way, I think M Liu is well rested and takes this one.  Chicago, 7-5, 6-2

PICKS!

D3AS: Emory def. Chicago 5-4

D3Northeast: Chicago def. Emory 6-3

D3Central: Emory def. Chicago 5-4

D3West: Chicago def. Emory 5-4

D3Regional:  Emory def. Chicago 5-4

D3Greek: Emory def. Chicago 5-4

Bonus: Third Place Match!  #7 seed Carnegie Mellon vs. #8 seed Case Western

D3Regional:  Tomorrow’s final will be a great one, but there is also another match tomorrow with big implications.  CMU will take out the Spartans in a match that should be very important for UAA tournament seeding.  The winner has the inside path to the #3 seed at UAAs, meaning a first round match most likely against Brandeis, which is much more favorable than the #4 seed and a first round match against Wash U.  Case does play Wash U again in April and the seedings could switch around depending on that match, but CMU can all but guarantee the 3 seed with a win here.  In the past, the storylines for this match would be Case doubles and CMU singles.  However, Case is grinding really well in singles right now, and CMU won 2 of 3 doubles against both PP and Emory, so I’m not even sure what to think.  Case will be fired up but CMU has shown terrific energy this tournament, so they won’t be intimidated.  Let’s get to the matchups:

#1 Doubles:  Levine/Arora (CMU) vs. Krimbill/Stuerke (Case):  Levine and Arora are on a huge roll right now and playing with a ton of firepower, as they’ve gotten two great wins over PP and Emory.  Krimbill/Stuerke are coming off a bit of a surprising loss to Chicago, but they are one of the best doubles teams out there.  I’m going to go with what may be a bit of an upset, but I’m picking CMU to continue blasting those returns and win.  CMU 8-6.

#2 Doubles:  Chen/Zheng (CMU) vs. Collins/Daum (Case):  We’ve got Chen/Zheng who are coming off a great 9-7 win over Rafe/Jemison, and Collins/Daum, who have lost both of their doubles matches this tournament.  I think this plays right into the Tartans hands, and they come away with an 8-5 CMU win.

#3 Doubles:  Alla/Kumar (CMU) vs. Fojtasek/Gruber (Case):  Alla/Kumar have actually been pretty solid this tournament, which is a little surprising because Alla has never really played doubles for the Tartans, and I’m a little curious how they play.  The #3 team for Case has been rolling, and though this match could get tricky, I’m going Case 8-4.

#1 Singles:  Alla (CMU) vs. Krimbill (Case):  Alla showed more energy than he did against Yasgoor, but CJ is just playing too well right now, taking out Chua and Bush, both in straight sets.  These quick indoor courts are just too well-suited to Krimbill’s game for me to give Alla any chance.  Maybe in the heat of UAAs, this match could get a little faster, but tomorrow I have to go with CJ, Case 6-1, 6-3.  

#2 Singles:  Levine (CMU) vs. Fojtasek (Case):  Levine has looked great this tournament, beating Maassen and falling to Jemison in a super.  In the first set tiebreaker against Jemison, Levine was absolutely pummeling the ball, and showed just how good he can be.  Fojtasek has lost two close matches, and if he plays consistent, Levine might start to get a little erratic, but I think Levine is just playing too well.  CMU 7-5, 6-4.

#3 Singles:  Zheng (CMU) vs. Stroup (Case):  Stroup is a guy with a ton of talent and he had a great win against Kratky of Wash U, but he lost 4 and 0 to Pei from Chicago today.  Similarly, Zheng took out Kim from PP but lost 1 and 0 to Manji from Emory, so both guys should at least be well rested!  I’m going with Zheng and his experience to win a close one in three sets, CMU 4-6 6-4 6-3

#4 Singles:  Arora (CMU) vs. Stuerke (Case):  Stuerke showed good fight today against Leung, and Arora has played great tennis at times in a tight win over PP and a tough loss to Emory.  Stuerke has both the experience and the crowd, but Arora has played well all tournament.  CMU 6-4 3-6 6-3

#5 Singles:  Kirkov (CMU) vs. Dong (Case):  I think Kirkov is the better player, but he has struggled against PP and Emory, though he got it going a little towards the end of his match against Goodman.  This is one match where I think the crowd can have an impact, and I’m going with Dong to tough it out in three sets, Case 6-4 2-6 6-3

#6 Singles:  Wadwani (CMU) vs. Dughi (Case):  We are hearing rumors that Wadwani will be back in there at 6 tomorrow, which is an interesting move since Downing took out Harrington today and looked good against PP.  I could also see Kirkov being taken out and Downing/Wadwani in some order at 5 and 6.  Anyway, assuming Wadwani plays 6, I like his experience against the tricky Dughi.  Dughi has certainly been tough, even on these quick indoor courts, but I think Wadwani comes through, assuming he is healthy.  CMU 6-2 7-5.

PICKS!

D3AS: CMU def. Case, 5-4

D3Northeast: CMU def. Case 6-3

D3Central: Case def CMU 5-4, just because

D3West: CMU def. Case 5-4

D3Regional:  CMU def. Case 6-3

D3Greek: CMU def. Case 5-4

D3NE NOTE: I didn’t actually write any of this. I’m just really really good at formatting and clicking the post button.