ASwizz Special – Indoors X Factors, 10 Things to Watch, and Stuff

Indoors is my favorite tournament of the year other than the NCAA tournament, so it only makes sense for me to be writing a huge preview on all the stuff that isn’t hit on by the basic bitch match by match previews that we’re almost required to write.  Ha, kidding, I love those things.  But I love Indoors more.  And that means I am here to write this article for about the 5th year in a row.  You’ve heard all about #IndoorsWeek already, you know who’s going to be playing, and you know who to pick in Draftkings. Maybe.  By the way, if you haven’t signed up for Draftkings, D3NE basically picked your team for you in the past article.  Read it and make a team, it’s that easy.  Beat us at our own game.  There will be live scoring, there will be candy, there will be memes, and you can choose to be anonymous.  What is there to lose? C’mon, Jay Tee.  You know you want to sign up.  Kidding. Last year I did X-Factors and 10 Things to Watch.  I’ll try and add some more this year but let’s see how this goes.

The X Factors

First, I’d like to take a look at my X-Factors last year.

Wash U – Jake Klein

The bottom of the Wash U lineup mightily struggled last year with Klein actually losing the clinching match in the Case upset and losing to Pomona as well. His win against Kenyon got the Bears a 5-4 victory.

Pomona – Jetlag

Pomona came out flat against CMU in their first match, looking lifeless and needing a gritty win at #2 doubles to stay in it. They eventually lost what could have been their biggest match of the year.

Emory – Jonathan Jemison

I notoriously said that Jemison was the best freshman “and it wasn’t even close” in this article last year and I was proven correct. Jemison powered through the Indoors singles draw winning all three of his matches, leading to an Emory trophy.

Chicago – Doubles Specialists

The funny thing about last year’s X-Factor for Chicago is that they lost at #3 doubles every single time out, but were able to overcome that by beating Trinity TX and Case in the quarterfinals and semifinals.  Looks like my X-Factor for Chicago was a miss last year.

Trinity – Matt Tyer

Matt Tyer was honestly not very good at Indoors last year.  He lost all his singles matches and went 1-2 in doubles.  Trinity TX was able to take victories over Pomona and Wash U despite the lackluster play of Tyer, so let’s chalk this one up to a miss.

Kenyon – The Lord Mentality

Nothing helped the Lords last year. They lost a ton of close matches and unfortunately we’re taken out. They definitely had a large bench mob, but that didn’t translate to wins.

CMU – Clutch Play

CMU had struggled with clutch play throughout their history but they were able to get some against Pomona as they took a couple three setters to clinch. Against Case, however, they lost in a three setter. How do they play so many close matches? Let’s call this one a watch, but it seems as if every year that CMU plays close with most of their opponents.

Case – Home Court

Case really turned up the home court last year, riding the crowd to beat Wash U in the first round. Home court made a huge difference last year as the Spartans found momentum from their yelling drunk friends in almost all 3 matches. They won this year.

Now, ASwizz, who/what are your X-Factors for this year?

2017 X Factors

#1 Emory – Adrien Bouchet

Emory really brings their best during Indoors and I think they mostly have everything handled when it comes to preparation and talent. What I look for from the Eagles are key players that really will determine the success of the team.  This year, that person is Adrien Bouchet.  Manji and Jemison are proven at the top of the lineup and the doubles teams are pretty much all set. Bouchet, however, mans the #3 position, where he didn’t really play last year despite his success at #4.  He’s playing important doubles for the first time in his career with Renke, who also will be playing his first meaningful matches.  If the Eagles are to win this tournament, it’s going to be very important that Bouchet is winning.

#2 Chicago – Lineup Choices

The question that always arises for me when talking about Chicago is being able to give their talented players the right matchups. Every player on the Chicago team from 1-11 is a really damn good player.  It’s up to Coach Tee to mix and match that lineup and ride the hot hand to get a potential win against Emory, but before that a tough match against Wash U potentially. Right now, it looks like they’re going with Liu/Chua/Pei/Tsai/Kerrigan/Meyer. It will be interesting to see what it ends up with.

#3 Wash U – Staying Fresh

Injuries and fatigue have actually plagued the Bears the past few years, starting from Tyler Kratky all the way to other injuries and tired legs from some of the other players.  Last year, they squeaked by a struggling Kenyon team on the last day to basically save their tournament and potentially their season with a gritty win. Wash U basically has their path set up for them, as they have an easier first round match against Kenyon and then a really tough match against Chicago.  It’s going to come down to the 3rd place match for them against CMU/Case, which will make or break their tournament.  They need to be fresh for that match.

#4 CMU – Michael Rozenvasser

Rozenvasser has been a mystery for the spring season, starting off with a loss against DI Duquesne and then really never being seen since.  Levine is a more than capable top of the lineup player, but Rozenvasser is going to be what makes the Tartans tick this year. I hope that Rozenvasser can play this tournament, because with him the Tartans are a top 7-8 team and without him they might be more around 10-12 team.  That’s a big difference when everyone is around the 1-14 range in the tournament.  

#5 Case Western – CROWD NOISE

Case Western is going to make a big deal about this tournament for the third year in a row. Last year, they definitely had an effect on the matches, where Case eeked out two matches and I find it hard to believe they would have won either had it not been in Cleveland. Just ask Lebron. Case is facing a steep talent gap with some of their potential matches.  They can make this up by doing what they always do – fighting hard, playing off the crowd, and relying on their tough guy Coach to get them through these matches.

#6 Pomona – Indoors Experience

D3West said something to me today that really struck me. Every time the old Cruz teams played at Whitman indoors prior to Indoors, they had a really successful Indoor Nationals tournament. Well, Pomona did just that this year in what was a clear try to copy that Cruzian success from previous years.  Hats off to you, Coach Bickham.  Now, will the guys from Cali be able to transition from playing outside against Bates this past week back to Indoors mode? That is the big question.

#7 Kenyon – Get the Brooms

I’m sorry, but I think that the only way Kenyon takes a match in this tournament is if they pull off a doubles sweep. They are potentially weak at 1,2,3 and 6 and are far from locks at the other singles spots. Against the best of the best, there is almost no way that they beat the top seeds without the upset special – the brooms. I hope the Lords have been practicing their doubles this past week.

#8 Trinity TX – Pitts/Crawley

The middle of the Trinity lineup might end up being their bread and butter. Lambeth and Mayer at the top don’t really strike much fear in anyone, so the wheelhouse will have to be that middle of the lineup. Emory is going to be tough, but if they play Case/CMU, that’s the place to get them. Pitts/Crawley are playing #3 and #4 singles as well as #2 doubles.  If they can go 3-0 in their combined matches, they have the bottom of the lineup to pull some nice wins in the potential back draw.

ASouth’s 10 Things to Watch at Indoors

1. Well, this is ironic – I think the first thing I absolutely have to callout is that we’ve moved from free streaming of last year to a paid subscription service that costs 2x more than having unlimited shows and movies from the best in the business for a month (that’s Netflix, by the way).  Read the #WhyD3 that we do every year and you’ll see a lot of people saying that the sport is so pure at the DIII level, mostly because it hasn’t been monetized by the higher powers.  Well, DIII Indoors has not been saved from the jaws of the corporate giant. I won’t be subscribing to the $20 live stream. This will be the first time in 3-4 years I won’t be able to watch.  Sad!

The Indoors Haircuts – Everyone remembers the indoors mohawks that Emory brought to the tournament a few years ago, but a new mohawk is potentially in town. The man they call I am Groot (Wash U) brings his own style to the tournament and may or may not have the best haircut in the game right now. Wash U is not known for it’s flashiness, but Kroot has become an instant favorite on the blog for his sick haircut.  How will Emory respond to this attack on hair gel supremacy?

Kenyon’s Priorities – Kenyon has started this year really poorly, to say the least. They have a 5-4 win over Wheaton and a loss against Kalamazoo, neither of which are close to the talent level that we’re talking about in this tournament.  Whoever runs their twitter account seemingly had a lot to say to start the season, but he’s slowly but surely eating his words.  I expect Kenyon to be quiet this tournament – they need to start focusing on getting their work done before spewing off on social media.  Leave that stuff to a certain teammate who left you behind.

DRAFTKINGS – Well, I’m not sure if you thought you’d get away from me mentioning Draftkings at least one more time. We have about just as many submissions this year as last year and I had a LOT of fun doing the competition with some new faces this year.  We have a great mix of dads/moms, alumni, current players, and current coaches in the live standings list.  I am so damn pumped for Draftkings.

Sandwich Battles – The Cleveland Racquet Club doesn’t really offer too many really quick options for lunch nearby, but they do feature two of the most famous sub chains in the country.  That would be Subway and Jimmy Johns.  Personally, I’m a way bigger fan of Jimmy John’s considering well, they use real ingredients, but hey I know some of these teams are chilling on a tight budget. I’ve also heard that the food at the actual racquet club is amazing, so maybe we’ll just get a lot of chow at the actual tournament site.  Anything is better than Subway.

Important Twitter Accounts – There are some great twitter accounts to watch this weekend, including the following: @D3Tree, @UAATennis, @FloTennis, @ITA_Tennis, and of course, the team accounts.  With streaming not being free and many of us not paying for it, we’ll be relying heavily on live stats and team twitter accounts like we’re back in 2015.  Come on, we’re so 2000 and late.  Anyways, we at the blog are going to try and find ways to get some streams up so you don’t need to cancel that beloved Hulu subscription you use to watch the Bachelor every Monday.

Rivalries, New and Old – We have a great mix of rivalries in this tournament, mostly because the UAA is playing.  We all know about the Emory/Wash U rivalry and the Guru has so graciously taken us through the other UAA rivalry in Case/CMU. However, we have the budding rivalry between Emory and Chicago, which apparently has a lot of run in some of the other sports, as well as the friendly rivalry between Trinity and Pomona.  Kenyon is always angry at Case and vice versa, which makes for great TV (if only we had it).  Every single one of these teams is familiar with the others.  I just wish Hopkins was here to spice it up a little more.

Pool C Talk – Of course, we’re going to have to mention Pool C. There are potentially 5 Pool C contenders in this tournament.  The rest of the UAA and Pomona will be fighting at the end of the year to determine resumes. Last year, Pomona took a big hit to their resume by losing to CMU in the first round and carrying that direct loss with them all year round.  It honestly could have been why they missed the tournament overall.  If you don’t talk about Pool C when you talk Indoors, you’re doing it wrong.  

Blog Articles, as always – We do it every year and never fail to do so.  We tweet, we write, and we try and get you the best coverage out there for DIII Tennis.  I believe that we are the best tennis blog out there across any division, and I welcome any trolls to come by and try and needle me about it.  We’ll try and focus on mostly  the positive stuff to come out of Indoors, but we pride ourselves on being objective too.  We will try and bring the best live scoring all weekend while I also try and do my taxes at the same time. I’d bet you the IRS won’t be happy this year.

Have Fun and Be a Good Sport – The sportsmanship across DIII has gotten way better since I started covering DIII Tennis as my job. I don’t know why it’s happened, but I just feel like we’re at a place where everyone seems to genuinely like the other teams they play against.  If anything, at least they don’t hate them.  I remember the days when we had issues at Indoors.  Those days are long gone.  We have had more parking lot snowball fights (shoutout to Nick Ballou, Aaron Skinner, and others) than twitter arguments these past few years and I’d love to keep that the same.  Despite the heated battle, I believe all these teams will rise to the occasion and represent DIII tennis in a way that we are all proud of.  If anyone watches it.

Other Quick Notes

• I’m calling it right now that Adrien Bouchet has a huge Indoors Tournament.
• Coach Todd will absolutely be walking around with his clipboard
• UAA Tennis will avoid tweeting me even though we are best friends
• We will be able to get at least 3-4 “This Week in Highlights” submissions from the tournament
• The bloggers will spend at least 10 cumulative hours covering the tournament this weekend.
• There will be at least 1 live stats screw up that sends me into an infuriating rage
• More than half the teams will use their listed #7 singles player at some point in the tournament
• Jonathan Jemison will prove that he’s the best sophomore in the nation, and it isn’t even close.
• D3NE will finish in the bottom half of DRAFTKINGS
• One of the new D3Regional writers will also finish in the bottom 10
• Alcohol + Streaming

Conclusion

I’ve already wrote too much.  Let’s get to sleep.  You have less than 8 hours to get to Draftkings, and we are really winding down.  West Coast people, it’s all on you.  Even a swing dancer who never played DIII tennis has entered the competition.  Come on, YOU CAN EVEN STAY ANONYMOUS.  Just do it man.  I am looking forward to the first big weekend of the year. you all at 8AM ET.  I’ll be there, so you should too.  ASouth, OUT.  Indoors, IN.