Hey folks! Us writers at the blog have been busy this week with life, but we’ve still managed to grind out an article pretty much every day. Not too shabby, eh?! There’s a lot going on this weekend, as D3West has already come out with a preview, and I think Greek might even have something up his sleeve. I’m not sure what it is, all I know is that I didn’t have to write about Denison v Kalamazoo. Phew! Anyway, we’ve had a lot happen over the past week, between two ASouth teams heading out to Cali (one of which still has a match tomorrow) and a bunch of northeast matches. As I do every week, I’m going to recap all that happened in the regional world (and by regional world, I’m talking teams ranked in that 30-40 and also what in my head is the 41-50-ish range), and preview what’s going on this weekend and beyond. And away we go…
Generals Spring Break:
I’m using the old ITA rankings here so you can compare how these matches changed the rankings. New rankings are here (and I’m also using the new rankings for my match previews). Let’s recap.
#32 Washington & Lee def. #34 Cal Lutheran 9-0
#15 Redlands def. #32 Washington & Lee 7-2
The Generals spring break went more or less as expected, getting a comfortable win over Cal Lu and losing rather routinely to Redlands. Against the Kingsmen, W&L dominated the doubles, and then cruised to easy wins at #1 and #6 to clinch. #2-4 singles were much tighter, with Jordan Krasner at #2 and Thomas Johnson at #4 both going three sets, but they did well to win both matches.
Against Redlands, I knew the Generals had to get out to a doubles lead, but Redlands turned around their doubles struggles of late and cruised to easy wins at 2 and 3, and won 9-7 at #1, putting the Generals in a huge hole. They did well to win two singles matches, with Michael Holt at #1 and Thomas Johnson at #4, though these were both in super breakers. Jordan Krasner lost 7-5 in the third to Chase Lipscomb, and the rest of the Generals lost in straights. Overall, the Generals proved in this match that they can play some darn good singles against a top 20 team, but unfortunately it was not in the cards today with their doubles play.
The Generals play a couple conference matches today against Lynchburg and Randolph, but the real battle will come on 3/6 against Johns Hopkins. If the Generals can bring it in doubles, things could get tricky, and this is a home match for W&L, so you never know. I’ll have a preview for that down below. The Generals have been playing solid tennis so far this year, especially in a good win over Christopher Newport, and it will be interesting to see if their ceiling is any higher than a low to mid 30s team.
Captains Spring Break:
#1 CMS def. #37 Christopher Newport 9-0
#37 Christopher Newport def. #38 Chapman 6-3
#37 Christopher Newport @ #34 Cal Lutheran 7-2
While the Generals squeezed a couple matches in two days on their spring break trip, the Captains have been playing matches out here for a while now, starting with a loss to CMS on 2/27. The Captains played what was about half of the CMS lineup, and the closest they came to winning a set was 6-4. It’s certainly tough to play CMS on the first match out in Cali, and although I did not expect CNU to win any matches, this really does speak to the Stags’ crazy depth.
The Captains continued their spring break one day later against Chapman, in what lined up to be the most even match on the trip. CNU played good doubles, winning at 2 and 3, and ultimately took four singles matches at #2, #4, #5, and #6 for the win. Not gonna lie, I was almost perfect with this prediction, as I predicted Charlie Werman to play for Chapman, and for him and Buford to get the only singles wins. Although Werman is banged up right now, he did well to take out Steven Boslet 7-5 in the third, and Buford had a solid 4 and 3 win over David Reed. Outside of these two guys, who also had the only doubles win for the Panthers, Chapman really cannot count on anyone, as Sam Mitteldorf is still proving to be a liability at #2. Justin Thompson did play for Chapman at #5, but he lost in straights to Nick Ruzicka. Overall, a nice complete win for CNU, and Chapman needs to find some guys to count on besides Buford and Werman. They can win all they want, but that will still only get Chapman 3 points per match. Hopefully, JPT can continue to get healthy and return to his freshman year form, either providing great depth at #4 or maybe moving up to #3 or #2. Luckily for them, they’ve retained their ranking, staying at #37 nationally.
CNU played Cal Lu a couple of days later, and came away with a relatively easy 7-2 win. CNU did well to win at #1 doubles, where Steven Boslet/Chiraag Shetty took a 9-7 win to give the Captains the 2-1 lead going into singles, squashing any possible Kingsmen momentum. Gio Valdez of Cal Lu won in a super at #1, but CNU cruised to wins at every other spot except #4, where Michael Sulahian again lost in a third set (super breaker this time), just like he did against W&L. The Captains did especially well to win at #2 and #3 in straights, two spots where the Generals had some trouble. The Captains will conclude their spring break on Friday against Redlands. Similar to W&L, the Captains absolutely need a doubles lead if they want to have any hope of puling what would be a pretty huge upset. Look for a preview of that down below for some more regional insight. I have to keep you hanging.
Other Matches:
There were some other great matchups that took place over the past week. I wasn’t able to write up previews on all of these, mostly because the d3sports site was missing TCNJ v RPI and Stevens v RPI. Instead, I’ll bring you the next best thing to a preview, a recap! Here were some of the big regional results from the last week.
Rochester def. Vassar 8-1
This had all the makings of a Vassar win, meaning they had just lost a tight match to Skidmore where they split the singles with them, and Rochester was coming off the tough Ithaca loss. I thought that Rochester would turn it around and tough out a 5-4 win, and I was right with the result, but way off on how one-sided this match ultimately was. The Yellowjackets won 8-1, with the only loss being Dan Cooper winning easily over Ian Baranowski at #2, though Rochester also won in three sets at #1 and #3. #4-6 were routine wins for Rochester, as were #1 and #3 doubles, with UR also winning 9-7 at #2. Rochester really showed their depth at #4-6 in this match, especially given the fact that Vassar won at #4 and #6 against Skidmore. #1-3 will continue to be tough spots for UR, but Masaru Fujimaki over Nick Litsky at #1 is an excellent win regardless of how long it took. Overall, this was a disappointing loss for Vassar, but an excellent rebound for Rochester. Although the Ithaca loss certainly hurts, they have matches against both Brandeis and NYU in season this year, meaning they are completely in control of their destiny for their seed in UAAs, and by completely in control, I mean they can be seeded anywhere between #6-8. The Jackets will also play Coe in Florida on 3/10, another solid opportunity. That should be an excellent match.
#31 Swarthmore def. NYU 8-1
My prediction for this was pretty similar to UR v. Vassar, as I had Swarthmore winning a tight 6-3 win. Once again, I was right with my prediction, but way off as Swarthmore won this match easily, and rebounded very well from the difficult Stevens loss. Swat won easily in all three doubles matches, and Josh Powell was the only guy to lose for Swat in singles, falling in straights to the freshman Yanik Parsch. #3 singles was tight, with Ari Cepelewicz winning 5 and 6 over Matt DeMichiel. DeMichiel is a really good grinder, but I’m not sure his game is big enough for #3. He had some good results at #5 last year, and this ultimately would be a better spot for him. NYU also looked to be missing transfer Umberto Setter and senior captain Sidd Thangirala, who played #1 last year for the Violets. I know injuries happen, but this was the first match of the year for NYU, so it is disappointing to see them missing what very well could have been their #1 and #2 guys. NYU gets back at it Saturday against Skidmore. Yes, I have a preview of that down below, don’t you worry. I know you were worried. Don’t worry!
#39 TCNJ def. RPI 5-4
I was out hiking a mountain this weekend, and took a quick peek at my phone and noticed that TCNJ and RPI were locked in a battle after doubles, with the matches being 9-8 RPI, 9-7 TCNJ, and 9-7 RPI. “How did I miss this match”, I thought to myself, and then I vowed I would write up a little recap to make up for it, so here goes. Well, I guess I’ve already recapped the doubles, as McKinley Grimes and Sherman Uyeno, who had that terrific fall season, including winning the A flight at the Midd Invite and making the finals of the Northeast ITA doubles tournament, toughed out a 9-8 win at #1. They are currently #4 in the northeast, though they lost 8-6 to the #5 team Heinrich/Foran of Stevens one day later, so I expect them to drop to #5 in the next northeast rankings (spoiler alert). Anyway, RPI then won at #1 and #2, with Grimes getting an especially impressive win 6-3 in the third over Pierce Cooper. However, TCNJ won three setters at #3 and #4, and won in straights and #5 and #6, ultimately winning 5-4.
This was a huge win for TCNJ to protect their national ranking, and also just a great win for their confidence. Cooper is a great player and he will continue to be a strong #1, but TCNJ won this match with their singles depth. Although they have a little break in their schedule after a match against Haverford, they will play NYU at the end of March, another team that will be gunning for a nationally ranked win. TCNJ is the hunted this year for the first time. So far, so good.
#25 Stevens def. RPI 7-2
RPI followed up the tough loss one day later with a 7-2 loss to Stevens, who rested Heinrich after they got the doubles sweep. Grimes got another nice win over Danny Polk, and Stephen Baxter took out Will Persson at #5. Kyle Henry (#4) and Michael Feldman (#6) both won in super breakers, and Stevens won in straights at #2 and #3. RPI’s depth played better than they did against TCNJ, though everyone was playing up a spot for Stevens. Grimes is playing great tennis right now, though it would have been nice to see how he would have done against Heinrich. RPI will play Skidmore on Sunday 3/6, in another opportunity for a nationally ranked win. They are 0-2 so far with losses to TCNJ and Stevens, but Skidmore is one team that I think is very beatable right now. Preview below.
Cal Tech def. #34 Cal Lutheran 6-3
Cal Tech won their first nationally ranked match in program history on 2/26 with a 6-3 win over Cal Lu. Big congratulations to them! Cal Lu is a team that was hit especially hard by graduation and some other factors, but they did beat Whittier earlier this year, and Cal Tech absolutely deserves this win. They came out and won 2 of 3 doubles, actually coming close to sweeping as they lost 9-8 (6) at #2. Although they lost at #1 and #2 singles, they won in straights at #3-5, and won in a super at #6. The straight set win for Derik Nguyen over Mike Sulahian at #4 was impressive, given that Sulahian went three sets with both W&L and CNU. Cal Lu is having a down year for sure, but Cal Tech played great tennis in this match and nothing should be taken away from them. It’s a little tough to tell just how good Cal Tech is, but I’m going to continue to follow them. They play Wabash next Wednesday, currently #16 in the central and a match that Cal Tech should win. The big test comes 3/21 against Pacific, a team that was hit hard by graduation but has looked pretty good this year, especially in a win over Oberlin. Anyways, congrats to the Beavers! Also a quick shout out to the Beavers video stream, it is top notch. I know what I’m going to be doing at work on 3/21 11:00am Pacific time. I’ll be watching them play Pacific! Also a quick addition as I go through and edit this article (yes ASouth, sometimes I edit my articles), big congrats to Cal Tech for their first national ranking in program history! Cal Tech is now #40 in the country. They are officially in D3Regional territory. Welcome to the promised land, Beavers.
The Week to Come:
Friday 3/4
#32 Christopher Newport @ #14 Redlands
After a few days of practice and enjoying the southern California weather (going to Clippers games, visiting television sets, hitting the LA Zoo?!), the Captains will conclude their break with a match at Redlands. Redlands might not be the strongest doubles team, or have the best top of the lineup, but they are very deep and fight very hard. Redlands has played excellent singles in their three ranked wins this year, Brandeis, W&L, and Bates, and I expect that to continue against the Captains. In doubles, we all know anything can happen, and Redlands has certainly been streaky in this aspect. If CNU wants to have any chance of winning this match, they absolutely need a doubles lead, as I can’t see the Captains winning more than a couple singles matches. Wilson, Hunt, and Ly are an excellent #4-6 for Redlands, and I think their depth will dominate CNU. Chase Lipscomb at #2 is extremely talented, but he went three sets with Brandeis and W&L, and lost to Ben Rosen of Bates, so I see this as a potential spot where Justin Cerny of CNU could make it close. I still think Lipscomb wins, but I give Cerny a shot. Overall, I do think there will be some tight singles matches, but Redlands is stronger at every position.
Prediction: 8-1 Redlands (Wins at #1 and #3 doubles, #1-6 singles)
Saturday 3/5
NYU @ #24 Skidmore
The Skid kids will play two tricky Northeast foes this weekend in NYU and RPI. Yes, Skidmore is currently ranked #24 nationally, but they did not look like the 24th best team in the country against Vassar on 2/20. The Vassar indoor courts are fast and tricky, and Skidmore looks great in doubles, but they lost at #2, #4, and #6 singles, though a couple of those were in supers. Regardless, after Leung at #1, I’m really not sure what I’m getting at #2-6 singles, even with an experienced guy in Sanderson at 2, who lost in straights to Dan Cooper of Vassar. Meanwhile, NYU looks to be pretty banged up, and while they are certainly talented, they are very unproven. Assuming NYU rolls out a similar lineup to their match against Swat, I have to favor Skidmore. NYU has traditionally struggled in doubles, and they were just swept by Swat, while Skidmore swept Vassar. If NYU gets a doubles lead, even if it’s only 2-1, I certainly think they can split the singles with Skid, as they are stronger at singles than Vassar is. I don’t think Skidmore is anything special, and if Setter and Thangirala play for the Violets (especially in doubles, where Thangirala can serve huge), pushing guys with experience like DeMichiel and Khoshbin down in the lineup a bit, things definitely get more feasible for Coach Choy’s squad. This is a home match for Skid though, and I just have way more questions about NYU than I do about Skidmore.
Prediction: 6-3 Skidmore (Wins at #1 and #3 doubles, #1, #2, #3, #5 singles)
Sunday 3/6
RPI @ #24 Skidmore
RPI is reeling just a bit after losing to TCNJ after leading 2-1, and falling routinely to Stevens. However, they did take two singles matches against Stevens (yes I know Heinrich did not play), and McKinley Grimes is playing solid tennis at #1. Sherman Uyeno was a terrific player last year at the bottom of RPI’s lineup, and he’s adjusting to playing higher up at #3, as is Tristan Wise at #2. RPI is certainly capable of playing some great doubles, but they were recently swept by Stevens. I think this match will actually be better than the NYU v Skidmore match, just because RPI is more capable of sweeping or taking a dubs lead. I see Skid toughing it out, and I think they’ll raise their singles game if a team can take a doubles lead on them. Also keep your eye on McKinley Grimes v Kai Yuen Leung at #1. Grimes isn’t even ranked in the northeast, but he’s playing good tennis, and Leung is ranked #2, meaning this is a terrific opportunity for the Engineer.
Prediction: 6-3 Skidmore (Wins at #2 doubles, #1-4, #6 singles)
#12 Johns Hopkins @ #31 Washington & Lee
This will be the first test of the year for a Hopkins team who graduated four starters. However, they are always talented, and they have a couple good freshmen in Scott Thygesen and Esthan Dave who started against in their opening match against Delaware. They also still have Mike MVP Buxbaum, and when you have Bux, you’re always in good shape. The Generals come into this match with much more match experience, as they’ve already played six matches this year, three of those being against ranked teams. The Generals opened their season against Hopkins last year, failing to win a match. However, even though the Generals lost their #1 Chris Hu, everyone in the lineup looks to be playing better than last year, especially Michael Holt at #1. Even though Hopkins has a much different team than last year, I still think they will be quite good. They are still really deep, and while I think the matches will all be closer than last year, I see this going similar to the Generals match against Redlands, where Redlands dominated at the bottom of the lineup.
Prediction: 7-2 Hopkins (Wins at #2 and #3 doubles, #1, #3-6 singles)
Vassar @ NYU
This match is another good chance for Vassar to move up in the northeast rankings. They are stuck at #20 right now because they lost 5-4 to Coast Guard in the fall, but they played Skidmore tough, though they also just lost 8-1 to Rochester. The Violets are the favorite in this match, and I think they are clearly better at the bottom of the lineup, where the Yellowjackets beat up on the Brewers. Both of these teams struggle in doubles, so I don’t expect the crispest play, but one team has to take a lead. If Litsky and Cooper can both get wins for Vassar up at the top, I could see a guy like Juan Felipe Laso grinding out a win, but I think NYU is just better at spots #3-6. That’s too many spots for Vassar to overcome. If Setter plays, look for a great match at #1 singles. Otherwise, I think Litsky and Cooper are both playing too well right now. Outside of those spots, I’m leaning NYU.
Prediction: 6-3 NYU (Wins at #1 and #3 doubles, #3-6 singles)
All right team, that’s all I have this week! Not too much happening Monday – Wednesday next week, but I’m going to preview Rochester v. Coe before Thursday. That’s it! D3Regional out.