POTW 04/17-04/23

REGIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: 04/17-04/23

A fantastic weekend of DIII tennis brings us to yet another POTW where each of the bloggers had many fantastic choices! Seeing as there were a number of big upsets this weekend, we’re going to keep this POTW “tennis” themed. Don’t you worry, we’ll be back to our more far more entertaining weekly norm next Monday. Stay tuned over the next 24 hours for the launch and first slate of team profiles in the Recruiting Hub!

A-SOUTH

Player: Scott Rubinstein

Team: Emory

Results: 2-0 in singles, 2-1 in doubles

Recap: Scott Rubinstein was a surprise add to the Emory lineup this weekend, playing #6 singles against both CMU and Wash U and winning both times against two strong opponents in Kiril Kirkov and Shaun Berman.  It’s refreshing to know that Emory has lineup flexibility and it’s coming from non-freshmen. Rubinstein also held down his spot at #1 doubles this weekend, leading the charge on a sweep against Wash U that was very surprising.  But, why are we surprised by Emory at this point.

What’s next: Emory could potentially be the #1 overall seed in NCAAs and will be my favorite to win the whole thing at the end of the year.

Honorary Mention: Kenny Zheng (CMU), Aman Manji (Emory), Jonathan Jemison (Emory), Adrien Bouchet (Emory), Mark Prettyman (CMU)

Most surprising upset of the weekend: CNU over Mary Washington. I thought UMW still had the goods to beat a Captains team that hasn’t really done that much, especially on their home court.

Most surprising upset of the season: Kalamazoo over Kenyon. It was out of nowhere and I personally think it gave Kenyon a bit of a kick in the ass.  They thought they could cruise this year when clearly, they can’t.

Match this week you’re most excited about: There are no ASouth matches but I’m particularly excited for Kenyon in the NCAC Tournament taking on Denison and then DePauw. I’m waiting for Kenyon to turn it on.

MIDWEST

Player: JJ Kroot

Team: Wash U

Results: 3-0 at #s 5/6 singles and 2-1 at #2 doubles

Recap: I AM KROOT. JJ had an unbelievable first UAA tournament. As only a freshman, he went 3-0 at 5 and 6 singles against Brandeis, Chicago, and Emory (all very tough teams), and his lone doubles loss came to Emory. I was most impressed with how he conducted himself in singles against the Eagles. While the match was basically over after doubles, the Bears’ freshman didn’t let that get in his head. Division III tennis should be scared that Kroot will be playing the next 3 years!

What’s next: Wash U hosts Rose-Hulman this Sunday before getting ready for NCAAs.

Honorary Mention: Peter Leung (Chicago)

Most surprising upset of the weekend: Wesleyan over Middlebury

Most surprising upset of the season: Wesleyan over Middlebury

Match this week you’re most excited about: Amherst vs. Williams

NE

Player: Tiago Eusebio

Team: Wesleyan

Results: 3-0 at #2 doubles (def. Midd, Amherst, and Trinity CT) and 2-0 at #3 singles (def. Midd and Amherst)

Recap: Lots of strong candidates this week, and I went into this POTW sure that I would give this to Princeton “The Clinch” Carter, but Mr Eusebio gets the final nod. Props to both Kaplan (Amherst) and Roddy (Bowdoin) who had tremendous weeks, but the importance and scale of Eusebio’s wins push him over the top. He paired with Max Smith to win all three doubles matches by the same 8-6 score, but his singles wins were even more impressive. Tiago took down wunderkind Jayson Fung 7-6 in the 3rd set at Amherst on Saturday, albeit in a 5-4 loss to the Mammoths. The next day, after beating Derbani and Schlanger at #2 doubles, Tiago put the beatdown on Derbani in singles, earning Wesleyan’s first singles point of the day. The Cardinal junior is 9-3 this spring, but these were likely his two best wins of the year!  

What’s next: Wesleyan finishes their regular season with a swing up to Maine to take on Bates and Bowdoin on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Honorary Mention: Nathan Kaplan (Amherst), Gabe Owens (Amherst), Gil Roddy (Bowdoin), Grant Urken (Bowdoin), Princeton Carter (Wesleyan), Ananth Raghavan (Williams)

Most surprising upset of the weekend: Mary Wash not winning their conference for the 1st time in like 17 years, but anytime the #1 team in the country goes down it wins this category. Wesleyan def. Middlebury 5-4.

Most surprising upset of the season: Kzoo over Kenyon was a big one, but I’m still going with MARY HARDIN BAYLOR over GAC.

Match this week you’re most excited about: I know I should say Amherst vs Williams for the Pool-C implications or Bowdoin vs Wesleyan with at least a share of the NESCAC crown on the line for both teams, but I love the Ojai. Even with impending changes, the bracket format just makes everything that much more exciting.

WEST

Player: Glenn Hull

Team: CMS

Results: 4-0 at #2 singles and #2 doubles against PP and UCSD

Recap: Glenn “Sunshine” Hull is the MVP of the season as far as I’m concerned, and he kept up his winning ways this past week to help CMS clinch yet another regular season SCIAC title. Against PP, Hull teamed with Berber to get the Stags’ lone doubles point in a tiebreaker, and eventually clinched the match in another second set tiebreaker against Graham Maassen. (Side note: CMS went 5-0 in tiebreakers against Pomona-Pitzer. If three of those tiebreakers go the other way, maybe we’re telling a different story. Side side note: the better teams usually win the tiebreakers, so don’t spend too much time thinking about that.) Hull backed that up by picking up another doubles victory against UCSD in a CMS sweep (sweep!?!) before beating the 34th ranked player in DII in straight sets. Not a bad final regular season weekend for the senior.

What’s next: The Stags head to the Ojai this weekend where they’ll try to continue their string of dominance. Mork is a two-time defending doubles champ

Honorary Mention: Clayton “Nemo” Niess and Chas Mayer (TU)

Most surprising upset of the weekend: I’ve gotta go with Wesleyan over Middlebury. Everybody knew Case and Mary Washington were ripe for upsets, but Wesleyan managed to come back from a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to beat the #1 team in the country on the road. That’s immense.

Most surprising upset of the season: Even though we saw it coming with the way Kenyon was playing at the beginning of the year, Kalamazoo beating Kenyon is retrospectively kinda crazy.

Match this week you’re most excited about: The Ojai!

REGIONAL

Player: Brian Granoff, senior

Team: Brandeis

Results: 4-0 at #2 singles, 3-1 at #3 doubles

Recap: This past week was a great one for Brandeis tennis, as they took out MIT last Tuesday and then had a very strong UAA tournament, where they fell to Wash U 6-3, took out NYU 7-2, and then beat #12 Case Western 5-4 to finish 5th, their best result since the 2009-2010 season when they finished 4th. Granoff, a senior captain for the Deis, was at the forefront of every one of these results. In singles action, Granoff took out Alex Cauneac of MIT 6-0 in the third. At UAA’s, Granoff simply dominated, taking out John Carswell (Wash U) 1 and 1, Benedict Teoh (NYU) 0 and 2, and Siddharth Rajupet (Case) 2 and 2. BG was no slouch on the doubles court either, has he and sophomore Jackson Kogan won against MIT (8-4), NYU (8-4), and Case (8-5). Their lone loss was perhaps a costly one, losing 9-7 to Wash U in a match that gave the Bears the 2-1 doubles lead, but nothing should be taken away from what was an absolutely fantastic weekend for the senior. The Judges’ season had been a little lackluster up until this week, but the MIT win combined with the UAA performance certainly made up for it. It will be interesting to see where the Judges are ranked in the next ITA rankings, which come out this Thursday.

What’s next: The Judges have one more match this year, where they will take on Tufts for their Senior Day. Granoff along with Ryan Bunis, Michael Arguello, and Jeff Cherkin have been a fantastic class, and they will certainly be missed.

Honorary Mention: Andrew You and Thomas Koszowski (Whittier)

Most surprising upset of the weekend: Wesleyan over Midd

Most surprising upset of the season: Hmmmm good question. I’ll go Kalamazoo over Kenyon.

Match this week you’re most excited about: Wesleyan vs. Bowdoin on Sunday

REGIONAL AS

Player: Jack Gray

Team: Sewanee

Results: 4-0 in SAA Tournament (1 Doubles, 3 Singles)

Recap: Sewanee had some closer 6-3 matches against conference foes Millsaps and Rhodes this season, but this weekend was a different story. The Tigers came to play and their doubles phenom Jack Gray won all 3 doubles matches, breezed through a singles match and was a game away from picking up another singles win, but unfortunately the matches are played to clinch, not completion. Mr. Gray has been my “honorary mention” for who knows how many weeks and I feel like this week he deserved the nod. This Sophomore has been a rock in the doubles lineup since day 1 in the purple filled mountains and has proved that he is the real deal this season by pairing with a freshman to put together a very good season. Unfortunately some early season hiccoughs will most likely keep them out of NCAAs, but keep your eye on Jack Gray for years to come, he will be a doubles national champion. Bold predictions from RegASouth that might or might not come true, stay tuned.

What’s next: THE BIG DANCE

Honorary Mention: Justin Cerny (CNU)

Most surprising upset of the weekend: Wesleyan over Midd for sure.

Most surprising upset of the season: Midd over Emory was probably the biggest surprise for me. I was convinced that the Eagles were going to run the table, but then Midd came in and asserted themselves firmly atop the rankings by breaking Emory and holding serve against CMS.

Match this week you’re most excited about: Wes vs. Bowdoin should be very interesting

REGIONAL NE/C

Player: Umberto Setter

Team: NYU

Results: 3-0 at #1 singles, 1-2 #1 doubles at the UAA tournament

Recap: Umbe had an excellent UAA tournament singles wise, starting on Friday with a super tiebreaker win over Nicholas Chua of Chicago for the Violets only point. On Saturday, he battled to a first set tiebreaker win over Ryan Bunis of Brandeis before Bunis retired early in the second, and on Sunday, Setter had his best day, going 2-0 against Rochester, first pairing with Sam Khosbin to win 8-4 at #1 doubles before topping senior Sam Leeman 6-2, 6-3 to cap off his perfect weekend in singles. Umberto’s performance is likely going to earn him second team All-UAA at first singles, a great accomplishment.

What’s next: Great question. Umberto is listed as a senior, NYU’s season is over, and he’s not going to move up far enough in the rankings to really have a shot at making NCAAs, so you’d think that’d be it for his career.  And while it very well might be, after some research I believe Umberto may have another year of eligibility remaining. I could be wrong, and he might just be graduating and moving on, but don’t be shocked if this isn’t the last we see of the Swiss lefty.

Honorary Mention: Nate Wallace and Harold Martin (DePauw)

Most surprising upset of the weekend: Not really an “upset,” but how about DePauw getting the top seed in the NCAC tournament?

Most surprising upset of the season: Mary Hardin Baylor over Gustavus, just because if you had told me that was going to happen I would’ve said you’re crazy. Honorable mention to Ithaca over RPI.

Match this week you’re most excited about: NCAC tournament!