Williams’ Weekend Wonderland
Williams Power 6: 73.76. Rohan Shastri (11.57), Brian Grodecki (13.01), Sachin Raghavan (12.04), Deepak Indrakanti (12.66), Alex Taylor (12.17), Jordan Sadowsky (12.31).
Chicago Power 6: 75.83. Nicholas Chua (12.70), Charlie Pei (12.57), Luke Tsai (13.18), Erik Kerrigan (12.58), Ninan Kumar (12.34), Peter Leung (12.46).
Redlands Power 6: 71.68. Chase Lipscomb (12.51), Parker Wilson (12.47), Joey Dulle (11.84), Jake Ly (12.37), Tom Suchodolski (11.02), Avery Davis (11.47).
CMS Power 6: 76.42 Niko Parodi (12.50), Glenn Hull (13.33), Daniel Morkovine (13.04), Patrick Wildman (12.85), Daniel Park (12.32), Max Macey (12.38).
#10 Williams vs #4 Chicago, Friday at 12 p.m. EST
NE: Chicago looked a little overmatched against CMS yesterday, and while they are still chock-full of talent, they will likely have tired legs for this match. In terms of implications, there is far more at stake for Chicago here than Williams. Chicago also has a win over PP, but the Maroons have a great 7-2 win over Wash U as well. If Williams were to win this match, the NESCAC would have an advantage over EVERY UAA TEAM THAT ISN’T EMORY. It’s way too early to know this for sure, but if the Ephs can upset the Maroons, there is a real chance that 5 NESCAC teams will make NCAAs. Let me say that again…5 NESCAC teams making NCAAs. Ok, baseball, Nana’s coffee breath, D3AS’ memes, and I’m back.
Both teams play good doubles, but given Chicago’s singles prowess I think the Ephs will need a doubles lead in order to pull off the upset. We’ll see what Midwest has to say about the Maroons, but I have been impressed with Williams so far this trip. Their doubles have been as good as always, and the strength of the middle of their singles lineup is formidable. Chua should have an advantage at #1. Pei and Grodecki will be an absolute battle. I think Tsai probably has a small advantage over Raghavan, but Sachin has played very well so far this spring. Kerrigan and Indrakanti will be a great matchup, but it’s a spot where Williams might actually be favored. Taylor and Kumar will be a fun contest between two of the country’s top freshman. Finally, Leung will be favored over Sadowsky, but he has played a lot of tight ones in dual matches so far this spring. I do think Williams is capable of winning this match, but I’m taking Chicago to win a closer than the score 6-3 match.
MIDWEST: Uhh…I don’t know what else to add because Northeast basically covered everything I was going to say! First, it’s important for the Maroons to understand that although yesterday’s loss to CMS was disappointing, in the bigger picture, it didn’t matter too much. If there is a match this spring break that matters for Chicago, it’s too against Williams — monster Pool C implications!
A couple things to note about Chicago. David Liu did not play yesterday against CMS, which hurt the Maroons, and I don’t see him coming back for this match; Liu hasn’t played all spring break. Chicago’s doubles looked sharp yesterday, but Williams is a much stronger doubles team than CMS. It’s interesting to note that both the Maroons and the Ephs swept Pomona in doubles; expect a battle!
I found it odd that Chicago was unable to go toe-to-toe with CMS in singles, and the Maroons’ bottom of the lineup especially looked shakier than in years past. That said, while Williams is an extremely strong team, they are not CMS. As NE mentioned, Leung hasn’t had the best spring, and it appears that Chicago’s big-time freshmen are not locks for wins. Chicago needs to rely on its play from vets Nick Chua, Charlie Pei, and Luke Tsai to ensure success against the Ephs. I think they come back from yesterday’s disappointment with a vengeance. 6-3 Chicago.
#10 Williams vs #11 Redlands, Saturday at 1 p.m. EST
NE: It’s tough to call this the biggest match of the weekend considering Redlands is lowest ranked team that Williams will face, but it’s certainly the match with the most at stake for both teams. To borrow a phrase from an old friend, both teams will REALLY want to win this one. Considering both have beaten Pomona, the winner of this match will be in a really good spot for Pool-C. Even if Williams loses to Chicago and/or CMS, if they can take care of the Dawgs in the desert (easier said than done), they will be in great shape moving into their conference schedule. I’m sure D3West will talk more about Redlands, but this is the Dawgs’ last big Pool-C match. They take on CMS later in the year, and will likely get a rematch with PP in the SCIAC semis, but if they lose this one, they will almost certainly be sitting behind four NESCAC teams and at least two/maybe three UAA teams, and the SCIAC, even with three current top-10 teams, might be a one-bid conference yet again.
Redlands has played mediocre doubles so far this year, and while it may be too early to say for the Ephs, Coach Greenberg has his team playing good doubles almost every year. Just like with Bowdoin, I think a doubles sweep for the Ephs is more likely than Redlands taking a 2-1 lead. Again just like with Bowdoin, Redlands should probably be favored at the #1 singles spot, and there should be some real battles through the rest of the lineup. Williams’ strongest spots are like 2-4, which are strong for Redlands as well. Taylor and Suchodolski should have some fire at #5, and Sadowsky vs Davis could be a close one as well. In the end, I think Redlands loses yet another close match, and I like the Ephs to ride a doubles lead onto a close 5-4 or 6-3 win.
WEST: To me, this is clearly the biggest match of the year in terms of Pool C implications. Pomona-Pitzer has now has losses to Bowdoin and Williams. Redlands has losses to Bowdoin and Wesleyan. Amherst and Middlebury aren’t heading to So. Cal this year, so this is basically the SCIAC’s last chance to pick up a win over a Pool C-caliber NESCAC foe. Without a win, it will be hard for the committee to justify putting a SCIAC team in ahead of the NESCAC/UAA #4 (assuming the NESCAC top 5 are Amherst, Midd, Williams, Bowdoin, and Wesleyan, in no particular order, and the UAA top 4 are Emory, CMU, Wash U, Chicago). So, anyways, no pressure.
Do I truly believe that Redlands is going to win this match? Not particularly, but do I want to continue to be a caricature of a regionally-biased talking head? Absolutely. Here’s how I see it going down. Williams picks up quick wins at 2 and 3 doubles, but Redlands scrapes out a momentum-stealing 9-7 victory at #1 (ala CMS). Lipscomb will get back on track with a quick win at #1 singles, but Raghavan and Grodecki will win in straights at 2 and 3 to put Williams on the brink of victory. The Dawgs will turn on the depth engine and grind out three consecutive three-set matches at #4-6 singles for a 5-4 win.
#10 Williams vs #1 CMS, Sunday at 7 p.m. EST
WEST: Is this even a question? Watching CMS right now is like watching a Bourne movie. Doubles is the beginning of the movie when Bourne doesn’t quite know what’s going on. Singles is the second ¾ of the movie when he takes a bullet in his shoulder and somehow beats three jiu jitsu black-belts in hand-on-hand combat. It’s really exciting, but it also kinda feels a little bit predictable, so that’s just what I’m going to do. Predict it. Williams is going to take a 2-1 lead with wins at 2 and 3 doubles. CMS is going to sweep singles for a 7-2 victory. Jason Bourne is going to finish the movie by calling the bad guy from their own house/office. Goodbye and thanks for all the fish.
NE: That’s a great example, and in this case I’ll take Williams as Clive Owen’s character in the Bourne Identity. They’re another trained Treadstone agent, and while they look good in a sweater, all they’re good for is humanizing the other killing machines. Don’t worry, Ephs, you’ll have an incredibly underrated career while remaining devilishly handsome. I’ll admit that I only watched CMS/Chicago when the Gonzaga/West Virginia game was on a commercial break, but woah baby that singles performance from the Stags was tight. We knew CMS was good, and after Stag Hen we knew their singles were incredible, but the consistency of their singles dominance against other top teams is simply remarkable. I agree with D3West, in that Williams is going to take at least 2 of 3 doubles matches. But they will need a sweep if they are going to pull off the shocker. If they do take a 3-0 lead, I think the spots most likely to win are Indrakanti at #4 and then either Grodecki at #2 (although Hull looked real good against Pei), or Raghavan at #3 (ditto for Mork). Just for fun, I’ll take the Ephs to get 3 points! CMS 6-3