D3TennisGreek: Friends, I try not to be full of myself, but I must say, D3Central and I have been on our “A” games recently. Last week, we previewed one of the most anticipated central region weekends of the season, and we’re back for more. Luckily, it’s not mainly just about the UAA this time around, so you should be even more excited! Because we look to provide you great coverage of every match, we will not highlight each individual doubles and singles contest. Instead, the veteran and I will analyze the events as a whole.
Friday, 4:00 pm Central: #13 Wash U vs. #16 UW-Whitewater at Wash U
D3Central: Whitewater has been coasting along ever since their season defining win against Kenyon over a month ago. They also took out Gustavus for the first time in quite awhile if my memory is correct. They have had some close calls with matches against Kzoo and Depauw. I would really be interested in this match if it happened back in February because Wash U was reeling, without Jason Haugen, and major questions at the top of the lineup. Haugen is back and while Carswell isn’t going to dominate, he at least is showing he can compete and making 2-6 better for Wash U’s depth. Don’t get me wrong, Whitewater has a shot to pull an even bigger upset. They will need to take a 2-1 lead at worst in doubles (which they might), Humphreys needs to take out Carswell (which he will), and the back half of the lineup needs to continue to come up big for the Warhawks (going to be tough). Doubles is a toss up so I am not going to predict who takes the lead. I already mentioned Humphreys taking down Carswell which is an absolute must for him as his nationals resume has taken a hit with many tough losses. Haugen’s return hurts Whitewater the most as I think he is going to be the difference and Wash U will take 2 out of 3 at 4-6 singles. This is assuming that Bush is continuing to play #4. Without him, things might get interesting because I do not have much faith in anyone after Haugen (Klein, Cogan, Rada, Berman). In the end, I am picking Wash U to win this one 6-3, but could also make this an 8-1 blowout.
D3TennisGreek: Let me start by saying that I thoroughly respect Wash U and UW-Whitewater. Both of these teams exemplify what D-III tennis is all about: great sportsmanship, stoic coaches, and a true love for the game. It’s unfortunate that one of these teams will lose the match. So it goes. Anyway, on to the preview. At this point, it’s difficult to predict what to expect from the Warhawks. On the one hand, they upset Kenyon and defeated Gustavus Adolphus earlier in the season. On the other hand, they haven’t faced a top team in over one month. Meanwhile, it’s no secret that Wash U is getting hot at the right time. I agree with most of what D3Central had to say, except one important point. D3Central seems pretty confident that Humphreys will take out Carswell. Yes, Humphreys is favored, but Carswell has been playing some great tennis as of late. Despite Humphreys grinding style, if the Bear’s forehand is on point, the Warhawk is going to have a tough time. Much like some of Carswell’s recent matches, I expect a marathon 3-setter. Ultimately, although Humphreys may very well be my favorite D-III player, I’m going with Carswell. Another singles match to take note of is Jason Haugen vs. Zane Navratil. The blog has been pretty high on Haugen, but Navratil has gone relatively unnoticed, so let me tell you something about Zane; he’s really, really good, and the results back this up. Navratil’s only D-III loss in 2016 comes at the hands of Chicago’s Luke Tsai. Even so, the defeat came only hours after the Warhawks upset the Lords. Ok, so how does UW-Whitewater beat Wash U? Much like D3Central said, they would need to take at least a 2-1 lead heading into singles, Navratil would need to oust Haugen, Humphreys would need to defeat Carswell…that’s four points. But, where does Whitewater take a fifth point? Treis clinched the match against Kenyon while cramping, but Johnny Wu has proven himself as one of the top No. 2 singles players there is. I think Wash U is deeper, so I predict that the Bears pull off wins at 4 (especially if Bush is playing at that spot) and 6. Therefore, it’s on Rithwik Raman to overtake the senior Tyler Kratky. It’s an uphill battle for the Warhawks, but it can be done! However, I’m predicting a 6-3 Wash U win.
Saturday 12:30 pm EST: #33 DePauw vs. #30 Denison at DePauw
D3Central: Ah the regular season match-up between Denison and Depauw which is pretty much a preview of the semi final of the NCAC tournament. I believe ever since Depauw has come in the conference, the two teams have been 2nd and 3rd to Kenyon each season. These matches are typically very close and I expect this season to be no different. Early on in the year, I might have picked Denison to take down the Tigers because I thought they might be weak at the top. However, Dan Rodefeld has put together a very solid season that might land him at nationals. One important thing in this match is to point out is that it is at Depauw. Depauw is known to get a pretty raucous crowd of frat boys and sorority girls out to support the team. This is a tough environment to play in. I love both of these teams in their doubles prowess as they get the most out of the talent they have by playing aggressive within discipline. I am giving Depauw a 2-1 edge after doubles. Rodefeld will be favored at #1, but Farrell has been up and down this season at #2. I gotta give O’Gorman Bean the edge at #3 for Denison. The back half of the lineup I actually am favoring Denison to win two of the three there because they have some depth and Depauw is weaker than most years. If all this is correct, my prediction is that it will come down to #2 singles and since it is a home match, I am picking Depauw to win this one 5-4 in what I hope to be an epic box score.
D3TennisGreek: On paper, this looks to be a very even match. Consider both teams’ results against other top opponents this year. Denison fell to Kenyon and Chicago 8-1. Meanwhile, the Big Red defeated Kalamazoo 5-4. On the other side, DePauw bested Coe 6-3 but has suffered losses to Emory (5-0), UW-Whitewater (5-4), Wash U (7-2), and Gustavus Adolphus (7-2). Top to bottom, Depauw’s lineup is pretty even. What I mean by this is that most of the Tigers’ starters hold about .500 records. As D3Central mentioned, and the stats confirm, Denison’s bottom half of the lineup has been pretty successful. While several players have rotated around the No. 5 spot, as a whole, the Big Red are 11-3 there. For the Big Red to win, I think they need to take three wins from the 3-6 spots and win two of three doubles matches. Having seen the DePauw crowd first hand this season, I know they will turn it up. Denison will need to come in very mentally prepared. Overall, you probably don’t want me to agree with D3Central, but it looks like I will follow his lead again. 5-4 DePauw.
Saturday, 3:00 pm EST: #40 Oberlin vs. #18 Kenyon at Oberlin
D3Central: I got a lot of flack from some of the blog team two years ago when I put on our season ending article that my team to watch in the Central region was Oberlin. Well they have made me look good receiving a national ranking in the past ITA rankings (new ones out today). Now I am not sure what they have done to deserve said ranking, but hey at least someone is noticing. Unfortunately Kenyon is going to be more than Oberlin can handle this go around. Kenyon is trending up a bit after struggling early this season. Their 5-4 loss to CMU shows this improvement. That match ended up being decided by a 3rd set tiebreaker (not a super) between Alla and Geier in which Alla handed Geier his only D3 loss of the year. Alla always seems to turn it on as the season gets into May. Anyways, Oberlin has proven they can bring the goods in doubles which is a great because to compete in the NCAC, you have to. I expect them to take at least one of the doubles matches, but would need two to scare the Lords. Little Drougas doesn’t have enough firepower to challenge Geier at 1 as Sam will hit through him. Paik can win at 2, but hasn’t been playing well of late. Callen Louis is one of those guys no one wants to play, but also can go missing from time to time. Overall I don’t see Oberlin having enough talent in singles to make this close and at best I have them getting one singles match. Kenyon wins 7-2.
D3TennisGreek: Once in awhile, you may see a blogger mention tiers when discussing teams. Unfortunately, Oberlin appears to be a tier or two below Kenyon. There is absolutely nothing that the Yeomen have done wrong, but even if they play their best tennis of the season, Oberlin is still outmatched. Consider the following. The Yeomen have no nationally-ranked wins this season. Losses have come at the hands of Carnegie Mellon (1-8), Case (2-7), DePauw (3-6), UW-Whitewater (3-6), and Denison (4-5). Meanwhile, Kenyon is upward trending, and I’m surprised the loss of Nick Fiaschetti hasn’t hurt the Lords’ singles lineup. As of late, Kenyon is red hot, and the 8-1 win over Denison at Denison and 5-4 nail biting loss to Carnegie Mellon may foreshadow what’s to come for the end of the season. An encouraging point for the Lords has been doubles play. Earlier in the season, they were swept by Chicago, Emory, and Trinity and were were down 2-1 against UW-Whitewater, Pomona-Pitzer, Wash U, and UT-Tyler. Yet, within the past couple weeks, the Lords held a 2-1 lead over the Tartans and swept Denison. If they continue to play solid doubles, I can’t see Oberlin taking more than a couple points overall. However, if Oberlin takes a 2-1 lead, I could see this being a 5-4 nail biter (still favoring the Lords). I think Kenyon continues to play solid doubles, and as much as I want to predict a 7-2 finish, I have to go 6-3 Kenyon since I want to have a dissenting opinion.
Saturday, 7:00 pm Central: #5 Chicago vs. #19 Gustavus Adolphus at Janesville, Wisconsin
D3Central: I have lost a little enthusiasm that I have on Chicago as of late. It’s not because they aren’t a great team, it’s just I expect so much out of them. The loss to Case Western was pretty disappointing, but obviously dismantling a solid Wash U team helps ease the pain a bit. My only concern for the Maroons in terms of this match is the doubles side of the court. Chicago has faltered in this area in some key matches and Gustavus is primed to sweep them. I don’t believe that it will happen, but it very well might. I am still hoping to see Luke Tsai and Max Hawkins together as I think they solve Chicago’s problem at #3 doubles. They took out a very good Wash U team in Hawkins return to the lineup. If they can find consistent success at #3, I put Chua/Liu and Lueng/Pei as a coin flip in each of their matches which bodes well for Chicago. Gustavus needs the sweep to pull the big upset and I just don’t see it. They will always compete well though and will likely steal a couple singles matches to keep the score line close. Chua needs a good win at #1 and I think he gets it against Al-Houni. Pei needs a bounce back and will try to get it against Saenz. I am not sure he gets it, but he should. Overall I think Chicago takes this one 6-3.
D3TennisGreek: In an earlier article, I expanded a little bit on how upset wins impact teams moving forward. Well, Chicago had just the opposite last Friday against Case — about as tough of a loss as they get. Yet, in the same way that some teams tend to falter after huge wins, the Maroons 5-4 loss to the Spartans may have ignited a fire in Coach Tee’s squad. As you saw in our blurb about Wash U, the Bears are a team on the rise, so for Chicago to sweep doubles and go on to win five of six singles matches tells me that there may be good things in store. A few things I will be watching from the Maroon end of things (don’t worry Gustie fans, I’ll get to your team soon). 1. Do Max Hawkins and Luke Tsai keep the momentum going at the No. 3 doubles spot? Against the Bears, the Chicago 3rd doubles tandem won over the veteran combo of Jeremy Bush and Tyler Kratky. That’s big considering it was Max Hawkins’ first match since the fall, the Maroons have had difficulties at the No. 3 spot (they are 8-8 this season), and Kratky and Bush were playing No. 1 for a while this year. Singles wise, Coach Tee switched up the lineup against Wash U after the Case match: Sven Kranz was back, playing No. 4; Peter Leung moved down to No. 5; Luke Tsai shifted to No. 6. Given its success over the Bears, I’d have to imagine that Coach Tee sticks with this lineup. If so, the Maroons look very good top to bottom. For example, despite some tough losses at the 2 and 3 spots, Sven Kranz posted a monster three-set victory at No. 4 over Bush. Luke Tsai allowed a combined 3 games against Josh Dughi and Jake Klein (not each, BOTH). Meanwhile, Peter Leung went 4-0 (doubles and singles) over the weekend. So, although I mentioned in last week’s preview that I thought Tee’s lineup was about as strong as it could get, I now believe he has found a winning combination.
Now, to one of my favorite teams in the central region, the Gusties! Gustavus Adolphus has honestly surprised me this season. I thought things were going to be a little shaky given some of the starting lineup’s inexperience. But, Dr. Valentini has proven himself again as a premier coach by developing these young players. Here’s what I’ll be watching for from the Gusties. 1. Can they take a 2-1 lead after doubles? While Gustavus’ strength has traditionally been doubles, the Gusties have been unable to take a lead heading into singles against every top 20 team they have faced this season (Wash U, Trinity TX, Case, Pomona-Pitzer, UW-Whitewater). It appears as if Gustavus would need a doubles sweep because Chicago’s singles lineup is very deep. Keep in mind that the Maroons had leads after doubles against Wash U, Trinity TX, UW-Whitewater, and Case (at Indoors). 2. Will Andres Saenz play? The senior is an integral part of Gustavus’ success, but he hasn’t played singles in a couple weeks (most likely due to injury). His absence from the lineup hurts a bit given that he’s beaten UW-Whitewater’s Michael Treis, Wash U’s Johnny Wu, and DePauw’s Patrick Farrell. Of course, Zach Ekstein has done an incredible job this season, even when stepping up to the No. 2 spot, but Gustavus needs its full lineup against the Maroons. 3. How will Mohanad Alhouni fair against Nick Chua? I’ve always viewed Alhouni as one of the top singles players in the country, and objectively, he is. However, despite some big wins over the likes of Jake Humphreys, CJ Krimbill, and Jake Yasgoor, the sophomore recently fell to Macalester’s Joshua Doyle 6-2, 6-2. I’m never one to overreact to one loss, and I think Alhouni will bounce right back for a competitive contest against Chua.
Ultimately, I’m predicting a 7-2 win for Chicago.
Against Case, Tsai played Dong (not Dughi)