Regional Roundup – Report Cards

As teams finish up their regular seasons, I’m feeling retrospective, and also don’t feel recapping a million matches, so instead I will recap a million teams!  Not every team is done with their regular season or conference tournament yet, but I’m going to give each team a grade, and then justify said grade with a recap of the season.  Also a note that I’m grading each team based on my expectations for them for the season.  Teams that were higher ranked that I expected more from were graded tougher than teams that I did not expect to crack the rankings.  That’s my explanation and I’m sticking to it.  Here we go:

#25 CNU: B

CNU’s year is likely all done, but they had some great moments to put themselves back in the spotlight for the first time in a number of years.  After a solid Cali trip where they almost pulled a crazy comeback over Redlands, CNU had their best win of the year, 5-4 over Johns Hopkins.  Unfortunately, they went downhill from there, with David Reed going down, and 9-0 losses to Mary Washington and TCNJ, along with a 7-2 loss to Stevens.  They battled a little better with Mary Washington in the CAC tournament finals, winning two doubles matches before ultimately losing 5-2.  CNU overall had a nice year, and they should finish in the top 30, a really great result for them.  They only graduate one player, Chiraag Shetty, so they should be a solid team again next year.

#28 Brandeis: C

Oh Deis.  The Judges had a bit of an inconsistent year to say the least.  After an up and down Cali trip where they fell to Redlands after a doubles sweep of their own, the Judges lost a very tough 5-4 match to Stevens.  They took care of business in the UAA, taking out Rochester and NYU, and also got a great win over Bates, 5-4.  Unfortunately, it was downhill from there, as they fell 5-4 to Tufts in a match that came down to the final set, lost 7-2 to Bowdoin, and worst of all, a 6-3 loss at home to Trinity (CT).  They stumbled into UAA’s, and this showed as they were crushed by Wash U, 9-0.  They did come back and easily defeated Rochester 7-2 in the second round, but they were swept in dubs by Case Western in a 5-4 loss.  The Judges showed nice resilience in taking 4 singles matches, but a loss is a loss.  The Judges fell 7-2 to MIT yesterday in another tough loss, and although they are in the top 30 right now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them fall back to around #31 or #32 in the year end rankings.  The Judges had a very up and down year, but they are definitely talented, and relatively young.  Tyler Ng (#4 singles) and Jackson Kogan (#6) are two talented freshmen, and those two along with the three seniors Granoff, Bunis, and Arguello should lead to a nice team last year.  Similar to CNU, Brandeis only graduates one guy (Danny Lubarsky) so they should be in good shape.  They will need to be more consistent though if they hope to get back in the top 30 and beyond next year.

#29 Pacific (OR): A-

Pacific deserves a big round of applause because they flew under the radar pretty much all year long.  They started their year with a tough loss to Denison, but they were solid basically the rest of the year.  They beat a good Oberlin team 6-3, Lewis & Clark, Cal Lu, Occidental, Cal Tech, and Colby.  Those are all good teams and potential trap matches, and the Boxers won them all by 6-3 or more.  They did fall 7-2 to Whitman and 5-1 to them in the NWC finals, but they beat L&C 5-2 in the semis to again finish second in the NWC.  They are graduating two starters, #1 Brennan Faith and #5 Chris Dalton, but they do a great job at development, and I think they will be solid again next year.  The Boxers are still a ways away from Whitman, but they outperformed expectations this year.  Congrats to Pacific on a solid year.

#30 Lewis & Clark: B+

The Pioneers explored their way through a year similar to the Boxers.  They beat everyone in the conference besides Pacific and Whitman, and also had a nice 5-4 wins over Colby and Chapman.  After losing 9-0 to Whitman early in the year, L&C completely turned things around mid-season with a historic 5-4 win over Whitman, and they backed that up with wins over Whitworth and George Fox.  The double Whit win combo is so great!  Unfortunately, the Pioneers didn’t get a rematch with Whitman as they lost 5-2 to Pacific in the semis, but overall, the Pioneers had a good year.  They are clearly #3 in the NWC, and their win over Whitman was an amazing moment.  Similar to Pacific, Lewis & Clark is great at development, and even though they are losing two quality middle of the lineup guys, Daniel Hahm and Kevin Ross, I think L&C is trending upwards.  Also, look out for Raed Attia at #1, he’s a very talented guy who got a lot better as the year went along.  He did lose a few matches, but he also took a set off Noah Farrell, not an easy feat.  Coach Dreves and his five assistant coaches should be in a good place next year.

#34 Coe: B

Through about three quarters of the season, I started looking down on Coe as they had barely won matches over Oglethorpe and Rochester, and I really had no idea if they were any good or not.  I even took them out of my power rankings for one week, the ultimate possible insult.  Coe didn’t exactly respond with any wins, but they battled really well with Case, DePauw, and most impressively, Wash U.  Against Wash U, Coe won two doubles matches and in singles, Brady Anderson took out John Carswell and Nate Ackert beat Josh Cogan.  I know Wash U was down a couple guys but this was still a nice match from the Kohawks.  Mr. Anderson is now #6 in the central, and he should be in good shape to make NCAAs, though he does have a date with #8 Jake Humphreys for this Sunday in Coe’s final regular season match.  Since Jake is #8, even if Anderson loses, he should still be within the top 8, a great result for the sophomore.  Coe unfortunately does graduate their #2, Riley Galbraith, and their #4, Ryan Hickman, but their lineup is young besides those two guys.  Coach Rogers should be proud of another consistent season for the Kohawks.  They don’t do anything amazing, but they work hard, play good doubles, and get the job done.  Coe is a great college tennis team.

#35 Kalamazoo: B

Kalamazoo is a team that was not on my radar whatsoever.  However, despite not getting any big wins, Kzoo broke into the top 35 and played several teams close.  They lost tough 5-4 matches to both Whitewater and Denison, 7-2 to Gustavus, and 6-3 to Emory, though I know Emory sat a few guys in singles in that match.  Kalamazoo should once again take care of business in the conference tournament and return to NCAA’s.  A nice story for Kalamazoo is junior Brenden Metzler, who has absolutely killed it this year.  He’s sitting at #2 in the central, is a lock for NCAAs, and should be in nice shape to receive a seed as well.  Kalamazoo is also hosting this year, so it will be a fun experience for Metzler to grind it out on his home turf.  The Hornets have a lot of juniors on their team, with three currently starting in singles and five overall, and they’ll graduate just one starter, Robert Hudson.  They also look to be bringing in a 3-star and two 2-stars next year, so Coach Riley should have a good balance of experience and talent to work with next year.  If the Hornets had won one of those 5-4 matches, this would have been a tremendous year for Kalamazoo.  As it stands, a top #35 ranking is nothing to be ashamed of, and it’s good to see the Hornets relevant again.

#36 Sewanee: B+

Before I start talking about the Tigers actual results this year, I just wanted to draw attention to the absolutely massive recruiting class coming in next year.  Sewanee is bringing in two 3-stars, SIX 2-stars, and an international player.  It’s hard to say how a lot of those players will develop, but strength in numbers is huge, and this will certainly help the Tigers for the next few years.  Back to the tennis.  Except for a tough 5-4 loss to Oglethorpe that is hurting their ranking, I think Sewanee had a very solid year.  Coach Shackelford put together a great schedule, and the Tigers got wins over Chapman, Whittier, Trinity (CT), Salisbury, and most recently, Washington & Lee.  The Oglethorpe loss is really the only thing keeping me from bumping up the Tigers to an A-, because Sewanee also played the higher ranked teams close, falling 6-3 to CMU, and though they were crushed in singles against Emory, they did take two doubles matches.  Eric Roddy/Jack Gray, despite the loss to Oglethorpe, are still #1 in the ASouth in doubles, so they are looking very nice for NCAAs.  Avery Schober should also be in at #5 in singles, and although he probably won’t get in, senior Eric Roddy is currently ranked #10 and has had a great season.  Sewanee will graduate two starters, Eric Roddy and Connor Winkler, and although those guys are huge parts of the Tigers’ team, that gigantic recruiting class should definitely help.  Development will be key for a school like Sewanee that might have trouble attracting the 3-5 stars, but Sewanee has the track record to do it successfully.

#37 NC Wesleyan: C+

The Battling Bishops are a team that I basically forgot about after February, as they started their season with losses to CNU, Stevens, Mary Washington, Kenyon, and Case, and then didn’t play another ranked team for a month and a half.  The Bishops did beat TCNJ 6-3 a couple of weeks ago, getting them back in the top 40, but they then lost 8-1 to Johns Hopkins.  They play Washington & Lee this afternoon, and given the Generals’ struggles, I think the Bishops should be favored, but only very slightly.  They did take care of business in their conference tournament, but that’s to be expected.  With no singles starters graduating, just starters Peter Hviid (#1 doubles) and Eduardo Ugalde (#3 doubles), the Bishops should continue to improve into next year.  Sebastian Sikh and Ioannis Brokakis are a solid #1/2 punch, but they drop off a little after that.  The Bishops still have some season left, with the W&L match today and NCAA’s after that, so their story isn’t finished quite yet.

#40 Oberlin: B

The Oberlin Yeo’s or whatever are another team that benefited from cracking the rankings despite not really winning any big matches.  They did get a very nice 5-4 win over NYU, but NYU isn’t ranked.  All year, Oberlin was very consistent, winning every match against teams outside the top 40, and losing every match to schools in the top 40, including DePauw, Pacific, Whitewater, Denison, Case Western, and CMU.  The Denison, Whitewater, Pacific, and DePauw matches were all pretty close.  Oberlin played solid doubles all year, winning 2 of 3 against Whitewater, DePauw, and Pacific, so they clearly have top 40 doubles play, but not necessarily in singles.  They will try to take another step forward next year with a nice recruiting class, including a 3-star and two 2-stars.  They will lose one starter, Callan Louis (#3 singles and #1 doubles), so that will hurt, but Oberlin has a lot to build on after a good season.  They still have tennis to play though, as they are currently mid-match against Wabash (on the move) in the NCAC quarterfinals.  The winner will take on Kenyon in the semis.

Some quick season recaps of the teams that are not currently in the rankings:

Washington & Lee: C+

The Generals’ season started oh so promising with wins over CNU and Mary Washington.  However, with Michael Holt getting hurt, they have not been able to recover, losing to Swarthmore, CMU, and Sewanee, with none of these matches being all that close.  They also lost their first conference match in I don’t know how long to Virginia Wesleyan, 5-4.  Despite this loss, I still think W&L is the favorite in the ODAC tournament, starting Sunday.  They also play NC Wesleyan this afternoon in potentially their last opportunity to get back in the rankings.

MIT: B-

I initially had MIT at a C, but there thumping of Brandeis yesterday led me to reconsider.  The Engineers basically had just treaded water this year, beating Colby, Vassar, Coast Guard, and Babson (barely!), but losing to Bates and Amherst.  However, they put it all together yesterday in a dominating win over Brandeis, winning at the #3-6 lineup spots easily and sweeping the doubles.  MIT is still really talented and it was great to see them get a big win, which should help them get in the rankings for the first time this year.  They also have two more 4-stars coming in next year.  Who knows if MIT will ever become the top 15 team they are capable of being, but this was a nice way to continue their season.  They will play Tufts today at home to finish off the regular season, with the NEWMAC tournament next weekend.

Babson: B+

Babo, similar to MIT, really flew under the radar this year without a big win.  However, they battled Brandeis, Tufts, and MIT, falling 6-3, 5-4, and 5-4.  The Beavers are always a tricky team, and they have some talent in that lineup as well.  Roberto Perez is a terrific grinder, and Isaac Thylen and Victor Vu both have very nice games.  Brandon Rosenbluth at #4 is also a talented freshman who should continue to get better.  Unfortunately for Babo, they’ll have to go through MIT to make NCAAs, but it’s definitely not out of the question after their last match.  Perez, Vu, and Thylen are all seniors, so next year looks like it could be a rebuilding one for the Beavers.  Go Babo!

Haverford: A-

So many teams, so many paragraphs!  I don’t want to leave any teams out, which I know I will, but I have to give some props to Haverford after a great win over Franklin & Marshall.  Haverford only has losses to Johns Hopkins and TCNJ this year, and that win over F&M gets them some recognition in our power rankings for the first time.  Even with that win, they are still huge underdogs in the Centennial Conference Championships to both Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins, and they’ll likely have to face Hop in the semis thanks to the win over F&M.  They play Swarthmore tomorrow with the chance to really throw off the seeds.  Haverford will be graduating their #1, #4, and #6 singles players, Luis Acaba, Harrison Elbert, and Zack Mason, so next year will be a new-look team.  They also have like 30 players on their roster, which I always love.  Brings me back to the Trinity CT and Amherst teams from a few years ago.  Loved those squads.

NYU: C+

NYU did not have a great regular season this year.  Their only decent win was over Vassar, and they had losses to Swarthmore, Skidmore, Brandeis, TCNJ, Oberlin, Stevens, and Rochester.  Most of those matches were relatively close, with the Stevens match being way closer than I thought it was going to be, but losses are still losses.  In UAAs, NYU lost to Emory and to Case, and ultimately beat Rochester once again in UAAs to finish 7^th.  NYU is a talented and deep team, but they just had trouble putting it together in one match this season.  The only starter they are losing is Sidd Thangirala (#1 singles and doubles), and while this loss will hurt, I think Benedict Teoh and Umberto Setter should continue to improve and turn into good talent at the top of the lineup.  They do have a bunch of juniors this year (Setter, Matt DeMichiel, Sammy Aronson), so the Violets should be a nice experienced team next year.  Hopefully they will be able to turn some of those close losses in season into wins next year.

Rochester: C

Rochester, similar to NYU, had an up and down sprint season.  They did beat Vassar 8-1, as well as Hobart and NYU, but they also lost to Ithaca, Coe, and Brandeis.  Because of that win over NYU, they were seeded 7^th in UAAs, but they lost to NYU in the finals to finish 8^th once again (6^th straight year and 10^th straight year of finishing 7^th or 8^th).  Some positives for Rochester is that they played pretty solid doubles all year, and freshman Masaru Fujimaki established himself as a good #1 at the top of the lineup.  They will lose both Ian Baranowski (#3 singles and doubles) and blog-favorite Ben Shapiro (#2 singles and doubles), so the Yellowjackets will have some holes to fill next year.

I will have a Liberty League Championships preview next week, so get pumped for that!  I was going to do it this week, but I’m a little unclear on the seeding.  Skidmore will definitely be the #1 seed, but RPI beat Vassar, then surprisingly lost 7-2 to St. Lawrence, who lost to Vassar.  Only four teams make the tournament so they should be the four, but who knows how #2-4 will be organized.  Hobart also plays Vassar this Saturday and RPI Sunday, so they might be able to throw a wrench into things with a win.  Basically, I have no idea what I’m talking about!  I also want to recap the seasons of a few other teams I didn’t get to this week (Trinity CT, Cal Tech, Chapman, Colby, and maybe some others as well).  Okay folks, D3Regional out.