CMU Spring Break Preview + CMU/CMS 7 ET Today

One day, two different articles from me.  I have to live up to the D3AtlanticSouth name and binge on things that I do best.  That means articles this time of year.  As the weather gets warmer here on the East Coast (its 68 degrees tomorrow!), a certain team from Pittsburgh gets out of the weather nightmare that is their city and heads out to sunny California.  In fact, the team they call the Tartans is ALREADY out in SoCal, doing their thing.  Much like you read in the Mary Washington Recap, CMU has decided to use Whittier as their Spring Break warm up match with great success.  CMU took them out on Sunday by a 9-0 score, with the boxscore here.

http://athletics.cmu.edu/sports/mten/2015-16/files/whc-cmum.htm

Easy win for the newly minted #7 team in the country. Good job Tartans. Anyways, I’ve been doing these Spring Break Previews for a while now and I am going to use a similar format to last years.  It works well and it tells you how important (or not important) this Spring Break is for the Tartans.  Let’s see what we got.

Summary

Normally, CMU plays a ton of Pool C competitors on Spring Break.  This year, that is anything but the case.  They have already played Whittier as their warmup match and they will now play CMS, Sewanee, Wabash, and George Fox the rest of the way.  Obviously, the Tartans are favored heavily in those last three matches.  The big one here is CMS.  Before I get into the match by match preview of the CMU/CMS match that is going to happen in about 5 hours, I’ll go through what this means for the Tartans moving forward.

Looking at their schedule, CMU simply doesn’t have any Pool C competitors on the schedule until the UAA Tournament.  The only team they play that is ranked ahead of them… is CMS.  What this means is that CMU has an opportunity to put their foot down on a Pool C bid right here, right now.  Now, that’s way easier said than done considering CMS is a national title favorite or co-favorite.  But, I did mention last year that CMU had an outside shot to beat Trinity TX at the time, and they did.  This is a team that can put surprise on the right day.  I told my old friend D3NE that CMU could potentially have an outside shot at winning today with the right formula.  I stand by that assessment.  While I don’t think it’s likely, I’d put CMU’s chances of winning at about 15-20%.  A loss today doesn’t really hurt them the rest of the year unless CMS goes out and loses to a Pomona, Bowdoin, or someone else.  I don’t see that happening but it definitely could.  Okay, you get the drift.  If CMU wins today, they lock down a Pool C Spot.  If not, they basically make their season all about the UAA Tournament.  That’s a lot of pressure.

The Match

CMU vs. CMS, 7PM ET

Let’s get amped ladies and gentlemen.  Something inside me says that this will be a fun match.  CMS always seems to either wow us or make us scratch our head (still in wins) in their first action.  A lot of people are touting this team, but the fact of the matter is there are a ton of players in the lineup that have been untested.  CMU has been through Indoors and has a lot of experienced guys in the lineup.  Their freshmen have come to play.  If CMU is going to have a chance in this one, doubles lead is a must.  Good news for the Tartans – they have played stellar doubles so far this year, albeit indoors.  I’m taking a pass at the projected CMS lineup in this one, so this might be a little off.

#1 Doubles: Levine/Arora (CMU) vs. Butts/Yeh (CMS)

Absolute marquee matchup right here, and one that could decide the match for these two teams.  Levine/Arora were a revelation at #1 doubles, putting big shot after big shot past their opponents.  Outdoors tennis features a little bit of a different feel to it, plus CMS kinda plays on these courts like all the time.  Butts and Yeh are a legit #1 team and this is going to be a slugfest.  If Levine/Arora ground strokes are on, this could shift to CMU.  But, I’m taking the home court.  CMS 8-6

#2 Doubles: Zheng/Chen (CMU) vs. Morkovine/Gordy (CMS)

A new #2 team for CMS as they put the established doubles player in Morkovine at #2 with the freshman Gordy.  CMU’s #2 doubles really surprised me at Indoors and they are in fact a strong #2 team, with a win against Mosetick/Jemison that most impressed me.  They are seriously no slouch and won’t get the respect they deserve until the end of the season.  Gordy is a bit of an unknown in doubles, but he’s a proven recruit and has tons of talent.  Another close one here, with CMU coming out on top due to some big match play experience this year.  CMU 9-7

#3 Doubles: Alla/Kumar (CMU) vs. Hull/Macey (CMS)

I’ve spoken to a few people around the circuit saying that the Hull/Macey team isn’t as strong as it is on paper.  The Alla/Kumar team has been giving people nightmares this year, with Kumar stalking the net on big flat ball rallies from Shek.  This will be a very interesting match that I think could be a blowout in either direction.  It depends on who figures out who first.  My ASouth bias tells me that the weirdness of Shek (NOW IN DOUBLES!) gives this one to CMU.  CMU 8-4

#1 Singles: Alla (CMU) vs. Butts (CMS)

Man, I really wanted to get on the Shek bandwagon here.  I think he’s way better than what he showed at Indoors for the second straight year and this will be his only huge match this Spring Break.  He’s hopefully going to leave it all on the table in his senior year.  Unfortunately, so is the best player in the nation and that is Skyler Butts.  Butts will ground and pound with Shek for a little bit and figure out how to beat him.  CMS 7-6, 6-1

#2 Singles: Levine (CMU) vs. Hull (CMS)

Swing match right here.  Levine finds himself in two separate ones as this CMU year is going to really go down to how Levine and Arora play.   I can’t wait to watch this match and I hope it’s on the live stream.  Hull is moving up from #6 to #2 and that is anything but an easy move.  This match is going to be the decider if CMU pulls the upset.  I think Levine’s big shots get a bit neutralized on the outdoor CMS courts and Hull uses that to his advantage.  Levine might take this one Indoors, but I gotta go with the CMS bias.  CMS 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

#3 Singles: Arora (CMU) vs. Morkovine (CMS)

An interesting development out of CMU has been the lineup switch of Arora to the #3 position over the veteran Kenny Zheng.  There definitely is some lineup posturing going on here and this is a move that is basically going for the win.  Arora is good, but he had some hiccups in singles at Indoors and Morkovine is one of the most underrated players in the country at #3.  In a tight situation, I could see Mork getting some jitters, but this one won’t be tight.  CMS 6-2, 6-3

#4 Singles: Zheng (CMU) vs. Yeh (CMS)

A battle of a steady player in Zheng and a guy who we really haven’t seen yet in Yeh.  Word on the street is that Yeh is playing lights out right now and that is something that scares me.  You can blow Zheng off the court on a given day and there is a chance that happens here.  I think Yeh comes out firing with confidence to start the first, then cools off a bit, making this one really tight.  CMU needs this one if the above three singles holds true and Zheng is a guy they love.  But, it’s simply not in the cards today.  CMS 6-1, 5-7, 10-8 in the super

#5 Singles: Wadwani (CMU) vs. Macey (CMS)

Another match that I would love to watch, as we welcome Kunal Wadwani back to the lineup and Max Macey into the lineup for CMS.  Wadwani is one of the true outdoor guys on CMU and he has been itching to play his first meaningful match.  He will be all set to go and that might take Macey by surprise.  It is one of his first big matches after all.  I think this is the match where CMU gets their strongest chance at a singles point.  CMU 6-4, 7-5

#6 Singles: Downing (CMU) vs. Gordy (CMS)

FRESHMAN BATTLE! Downing has been a great addition to the lineup considering Kiril Kirkov has fallen off a cliff.  Downing has come in and played great, taking out Harrington of Emory and Dughi of Case at Indoors.  That experience will take him far against another freshman who has yet to play a dual match of high importance.  I think Gordy is the more talented player here, but Downing has some confidence on his racket.  Look for big shots and a close match.  Toss-up if I’ve ever seen one.  CMS 7-6, 7-5.

There you have it. That means a 6-3 CMS victory with CMS taking 5 singles matches across the courts.  This will be a great battle and the first we see of CMS against a top 10 team.  I must say I’m pumped AF right now.  This is a battle between two top 7 teams! On a Wednesday! Okay, onto the rest of the trip.

The Rest

CMU will win the rest of their matches.  The biggest one is Sewanee, where they will have regional rankings at stake here for Alla and Levine.  Don’t be surprised of Levine jumps Shek to play against Schober and potentially get a national qualifying win.  Either way, CMU will come out with victories against Wabash, George Fox, and Sewanee.  If it doesn’t happen, they have a lot of issues.

Okay! The match begins in 5 hours and I want to get this out for max viewership.  Feel free to tweet at me throughout the day as we begin our Stag Hen coverage as well.  If anything, this will give us a good look at CMS going into the weekend. Also, I wanted to take this time to recognize something that I just saw on the CMU website.  Jonathan Spero, who graduated in 2010, has set up a hefty endowment to CMU Tennis in honor of his late parents.  I remember playing Mr. Spero back in the day and it not being any fun at all.  Shout-out to you, Jonathan, for an inspiring impact on DIII Tennis.  Link can be found here:

http://athletics.cmu.edu/sports/mten/2015-16/releases/20160229fwg4g3

That’s all for me today folks. Actually, it isn’t. But whatever. Catch ya on the flip side. ASouth, OUT.