Amherst vs Texas in Florida

AMHERST vs TEXAS in FLORIDA

Amherst Power 6: 74.59 #1 Anton Zykov (12.74), #2 Zach Bessette (11.88), #3 Josh Marchalik (12.70), #4 Jayson Fung (12.08), #5 Gabe Owens (12.51), #6 Oscar Burney (12.68)

Trinity Power 6: 70.88 #1 Wilson Lambeth (12.21), #2 Chas Mayer (12.77), #3 Jordan Pitts (12.24), #4 Liam Crawley (11.67), #5 McKenna Fujitani (11.16), #6 Tilden Oliver (10.83)

UT-Tyler Power 6: 70.01  #1 Arthur Fagundes (12.60), #2 Vinicio Hadlich (11.67), #3 Daniel Rodriguez (11.30), #4 Pablo Gomez (11.58), #5 Joey Fischer (11.69), #6 Jose McIntyre (11.17)

Amherst vs UT-Tyler Tuesday, 03/14, 12 p.m.

D3Westv2: Here are the matchups, with the bold assumption that Amherst will play the same lineup they played against Kenyon today:

#1 Arthur Fagundes/Vinicio Hadlich v. Zachary Bessette/Jayson Fung

#2 Pablo Gomez/Joey Fischer v. Oscar Burney/Anton Zykov

#3 Vinicio Hadlich/Ryan Elwood v. Nathan Kaplan/Josh Marchalik

#1 Arthur Fagundes (UTR 12.60) v. Anton Zykov (UTR 12.74)

#2 Vinicio Hadlich (UTR 11.67) v. Zachary Bessette (UTR 11.88)

#3 Daniel Rodriguez (UTR 11.30) v. Josh Marchalik (UTR 12.70)

#4 Pablo Gomez (UTR 11.58) v. Jayson Fung (UTR 12.08)

#5 Joey Fischer (UTR 11.69) v. Gabe Owens (UTR 12.58) (26% reliability)

#6 Jose McIntyre (UTR 11.17) v. Oscar Burney (UTR 12.68)

As you can see, UTT is mismatched at every singles position. The only scenario where UTT hangs with Amherst at the bottom of the lineup would be in the event of some freshman jitters, seeing as Amherst’s 3-6 are all relatively new to college tennis. The matches at #1 and #2 could be interesting, but ultimately I don’t think this match will be close. UTT takes #2 doubles, but fails to avoid a singles sweep from a young Amherst team.\

D3West: Judging by Amherst’s 8-1 beatdown of Kenyon today (who, maligned though they may be, has only been truly crushed by Wash U and now Amherst), the Amherst Somethings are just starting to work themselves into gear. Between the superior depth and experience, it doesn’t seem like Tyler has much of a chance in this one, but let me paint you a pretty picture of what a Tyler victory would look like. It starts with a doubles sweep. If the Pats can do it against CMS, they can do it against Amherst. They just have to convince themselves that this match is as important as the national tournament, while for Amherst it’s just the 5th of their 10 matches in five days. After the doubles sweep, they need Fagundes to go into God Mode against Zykov and win a quick one to make it 4-1 or 4-2. Then, they need the experienced hand of Joey Fischer to take advantage of a nervous freshman at the bottom of the singles lineup in three sets. Boom. 5-4 upset. More likely, I think Amherst takes a 2-1 lead with easy wins at #2 and #3 doubles and cruises to a 7-2 win, with Fagundes taking out Zykov in a 10-pointer.

D3NE: Kudos to the new guy for laying out the matchups, but I’m not sure it was necessary to prove that on paper Amherst should roll through UT-Tyler. Personally, I don’t think the Pats are any better than the Lords, who Amherst dispatched with no trouble yesterday. I’m a little putoff but Burney all the way down at 6, but he may move up as the week/season rolls along. In terms of a prediction, I agree with both D3Wests that it seems unlikely, but if Tyler were to pressure Amherst early, they might be able to use their veteran guile. The other factor could be fatigue. After not playing matches in about five months, and basically only practicing in the bubble, Amherst will be playing its 3rd match in as many days tomorrow. No rest for the wicked as they continue that frenetic pace through most of the week (just see below), but at some point I would think the intense schedule and heat will get to them, especially the younger guys. D3Midwest reminded us that Fung and Owens are Cali raised, but even if you play your juniors outdoors for 18 years, 6 months in a bubble in Western Massachusetts can mess with even the strongest. All that is a bunch of verbal vomit that really boils down to an Amherst 7-2 win.

Amherst vs Trinity Tx, Wednesday, 03/15, 11:30 a.m.

D3West: I don’t want to make you read the same paragraph twice, but a Trinity upset over Amherst entails basically the exact same things a Tyler upset would entail, though it is much more feasible. The Tigers have been absolute beasts on the doubles court this year, and I actually expect them to take a 2-1 lead with wins at 1 and 3. After that, I think Mayer will give them their only singles point en route to a not-quite-as-close-as-the-score-might-indicate 6-3 loss. To win, they’ll need a sweep + wins from Mayer and Pitts (probably the second most likely singles win, followed by Fujitani). Congrats to the Tigers for beating the teams they needed to beat to stay in the top 16 (assuming they take care of business today). Even without a win over Amherst, they can consider this a successful spring break trip, as they continue to improve. If they want to make it into the top 10 this season, they’re going to have to become big Whitman fans, up until their showdown with the Whitties on April 8th in Tyler.\

D3NE: I would feel better about this prediction after seeing if Amherst shows any exhaustion effects during the Tyler match, but I disagree with D3West slightly. I think Trinity is at least a ½ step above Tyler, and they are far more tested team already in 2017. While D3West says the only way that Tyler could take down Amherst would be with a doubles sweep, I think the Tigers have a much higher chance of actually pulling that off. However, there is a large difference between having a chance and actually executing a doubles sweep. Trinity plays two matches today (Stevens and RPI), and while I’m sure they will rest some guys, I’d be surprised if some starters didn’t play in both matches. That should level the fatigue factor a bit, and i believe it should be enough for Amherst to get another somewhat comfortable win. Zykov and Mayer should be a good one, and Fujitani has been playing well this season, but on paper Herst is significantly stronger at 2-3-4-6. I think they win all those spots and another singles spot, to take a convincing 7-2 win over a good team setting themselves up for a monster showdown with Emory on Saturday afternoon.