I am not sure if I even remember how to do this now that it has been so long since my last post. But I have a few extra minutes and thought I would give some quick reactions to the Kalamazoo regional ITA draw. While my focus this season is going to be national with coaches and such, my blood still runs deep for the Central. For those who haven’t seen the draws, here they are.
http://hornets.kzoo.edu/sports/mten/2016-17/2016-ITA
First Round matches of interest:
Ian Paik (17) vs. Cameron Metzger: This one has two parts to it. Paik is immensely talented, but also very streaky. So depending on which backhand shows up, he could be great or not so good. Metzger threw his name on the radar last year when he beat Tyler Kratky in February. This could be a battle, but I am leaning towards Paik coming through.
Jason Haugen (9) vs Luke Tsai: Worst draw for anyone goes to Haugen. Luke Tsai is probably disappointed as well in that he didn’t play Kenyon’s top player as the last two years he has beaten both Wade Heerboth and Sam Geier in the fall. I am high on both of these guys, but am going to pick Tsai getting another big upset.
John Carswell (4) vs. Austin Diehl: The only reason why this is mentioned is John Carswell’s struggle in the fall outside of his freshman year. He has been highly seeded each of the last two seasons and lost both times with the first to Peter Harris of Baldwin Wallace and then Michael Selin from Chicago. I don’t know much about Diehl, but Carswell had a decent fall invite at Valpo so I think he is in better form and will cruise.
Dane Paulsen (25) vs. Sam Concannon: Paulsen plays behind Ancona at Wheaton and a very solid player. Concannon is the Indiana State singles champion of last year now at Case. This has three sets written all over it and I am going to give Concannon the edge.
Unseeded players that could win the whole thing:
Peter Leung: Leung is hugely talented and typically I wouldn’t back him here as he has struggled, but his draw is extremely favorable. He plays freshman 25 seed Grupposo in the first round which might be difficult because I don’t know much about the new Yeoman other than he took a gap year. If Leung gets through that match, I am predicting a run to the semis (what?!?). Rodefeld is in his quarter which is a tough match. He is in the Ancona part of the semi draw and I will discuss that more below. Fitness from Europe could be an issue for the Maroon.
Bernardo Neves: I am shocked Neves didn’t get a seed, but he is probably Wash U’s 3 or 4 right now. It won’t be easy as the Bear would have to go through Stroup (Case), Paolucci (Kenyon), and Metzler (Kzoo) just to reach the quarters, but I think he has the talent to do so.
Fantastic draws for seeded players:
Anyone in the Justin Ancona semi: This has nothing to do with how good of a player Justin Ancona is. He undoubtedly is a deserved 3 seed and should win his matches. However, Wheaton does not play on Sundays (like Hope) so Saturday night, Ancona will either default his match or win and then forfeit his quarterfinal on Sunday. This opens the door extremely wide for guys like Leung, Rodefeld, Reifeis, Abdul-Aal. I expect a surprise semifinalist from that group.
David Liu: I like Liu’s draw all the way through the quarters. He could find a match against Carswell there, but I would favor Liu to get through. I don’t see the other seeds in his quarter McDonald (Denison), Stadnyk (Earlham), or Karoub (Kzoo) to give him much trouble.
Who wins it?!?!?
This is probably the most wide open tournament that I can remember so it really is anyone’s game at this point. I am going to go a bit out of the usual picks and say the final is Eric Kerrigan (Chicago) vs. Johnny Wu (Wash U). Wu has a horrendous draw and will have to take down two of Chicago’s top players (Kumar and Chua) just to make the semifinal. Because of that, I am going to pick Eric Kerrigan, a freshman!, to win the whole thing. Hoping that 3 setter against Carthage’s #2 was not really indicative of the talent he has.
There you have it! I haven’t really fact checked or proof read this so read at your own expense. I am old and can get away with breaking the rules now. Good luck to all!