Intro:
Just because it’s INDOORS WEEK (!!!!) doesn’t mean that we’ll be forgoing our non-Indoors-related DIII tennis coverage. There were some great matches this past weekend in Pennsylvania, as the middle of the Atlantic South started their seasons with a West region visitor crashing the party without bringing any In-n-Out with them. Rude.
Box Scores:
#24 Whitman def. Haverford 7-2
#28 Christopher Newport def. Haverford 5-4
#28 Christopher Newport def. #26 Swarthmore 5-4
#24 Whitman def. #26 Swarthmore 6-3
#24 Whitman def. #28 Christopher Newport 7-2
Whitman:
Grade: A-, though I didn’t get a chance to watch any of the live stream, by all accounts this was an impressive display from the Whitties. They traveled across three time zones, beat a ranked team on the road, then beat another ranked team in their first outdoor tennis of the season. They protected their wins over PP and GAC, and if PP wins a match this weekend, they should debut in the top-15 in March. Throughout the weekend, they got contributions up and down their lineup. We haven’t started doing Players of the Week yet, but this week’s POTW in the West region would be senior Petar Jivkov. Jivkov went 6-0 on the weekend including two match-altering comebacks. Against Swarthmore, he went down 0-2 in the third before winning last six games of the match to put Whitman up 4-2. Against CNU, he and Hewlin were down 3-7 at 2 doubles before winning four straight games and taking the tiebreaker at 7-7 to sweep doubles, essentially ending the match right there. Kudos to the senior, and I’m very happy to give his mom something to tweet about.
What’s next: The Whitties don’t have much in the way of big team matches for the next couple of weeks, but there will be plenty of individuals intrigue. They have matches against Pacific and George Fox coming up, where Clark “The Shark” Winninger and ITA-champ Spencer Watanabe will both be looking to bolster their nationals resumes with wins over Hewlin, while Carter and Hoeger will look to back up their 3-0 weekend against a couple regionally-ranked opponents.
Christopher Newport:
Grade: B+, CNU started off the weekend with a statement by beating what all of us bloggers thought would be a very dangerous Swarthmore team. I originally thought that this match was going to a 3-6 loss and an earlier season measuring stick to see how much work needed to be done in order to potentially compete with other top 30 teams. I was wrong. The Captains let the rackets do the talking and took down the Garnet. This match obviously took a toll on CNU; however, they were able to finish the weekend with some decent results. The match against a pretty talented Haverford team could’ve been a disaster, especially with Reed sitting out, but the Captains flexed their depth and were able to squeak out a 5-4 win (Editor’s note: this was actually quite impressive considering Haverford decided to sit their top 2 players against Whitman, and CNU needed to save a couple team match points to pull out the victory). They finished out the weekend with a tough 2-7 loss to a very good Whitman, who is arguably a top 15 team this season. A big shout out to David Reed making a couple of very big singles statements with wins over Hewlin and Fallati, both very good past NCAA qualifiers.
What’s next: CNU will take on Division II foe Chowan before heading out to sunny Southern California to take on a very tough Spring Break schedule, highlighted by Pomona and Redlands. Pomona looked a little shaky to begin the season, so the Captains have an opportunity here to get a statement win here if they catch the Hens off guard. A win over Pomona or Redlands could potentially propel CNU to a top 20 ranking, however they need to keep their eyes set towards beating Mary Washington in order to qualify for NCAAs.
Swarthmore:
Grade: C-, we knew going into the weekend, that the Garnets would definitely be challenged, but I don’t know if anyone thought they would go 0-2. They dug themselves into a very deep hole by getting swept by CNU and that deficit just proved to be too much to overcome. There were brief moments where it looked like the tides were going to turn, but in the end, their top performers couldn’t get it done, resulting in a 4-5 loss. To make matters even worse, they had to play Whitman in the same day. I’m not going to beat a dead horse by talking about how good Whitman is again, but I will say that if the Garnet want to bounce back from these two early season losses a couple things need to happen: Fallati went 0-4 on the weekend, granted against very good players, but he needs to become a cornerstone in the Swat lineup moving forward. Secondly, the doubles really need some work. I know it was the first 2 matches of the season. I know that it’s unfair to judge these things this early on, but I also know that no one can go 1-5 over the course of two matches and find success. I like the Garnet, I really do, but they need to step it up A$AP Rocky.
What’s next: The Garnet get a couple weeks to prepare for two big Atlantic South matches against Washington and Lee and Sewanee. Both are dangerous; however, both are beatable, so this will be the perfect chance for Swat to hop back on the bus and get back on track.
Haverford:
Grade: B-, you might be surprised to see that Haverford got a higher grade than Swarthmore, with very similar results (4-5 loss to CNU and 2-7 loss to Whitman), but allow me to explain myself. We had high expectations for Swarthmore and they fell short; however, Haverford didn’t really have any expectations, and they competed very well over the weekend. I don’t think anyone would’ve guessed they could push CNU to 4-5 or take a couple matches from a top 15 team. They played hard and showed flashes of talent. Will this team be competing for a national championship any time soon? Probably not, however they’re a couple steps in the right direction away from the top 40, and have the potential to develop into a good team over the next few years with the right kind of coaching and motivation.
What’s next: The Black Squirrels will welcome a depleted NYU to their home courts next weekend, which could be a great chance to pick up the first W of the season if they catch the Violets off guard.
Conclusion: In conclusion, it was a fun weekend of tennis that was enjoyed by all.