Short on time, but wanted to hit you all with some late night stream of consciousness as another weekend arrives. Here are a few thoughts on the happenings in the world of the Northeast and Central regionally ranked teams. No proofreading, little research, just some pure, unfiltered, thoughts. Enjoy!
Will UWW pull off another late season upset of Coe? Last year UWW went the entire year without any significant wins on a national scale until late April, and a big win over Coe locked the Warhawks into a Pool B spot. This time around, Whitewater doesn’t have quite as much to play for, but I’m sure they’d like to end their season on a positive note. The Kohawks have looked somewhat vulnerable at times this season, and will surely be looking to get some momentum going into the IIAC tournament where a rematch with Luther awaits. On the one hand, UWW’s competitive 6-3 loss to Kalamazoo a few weeks ago makes me think they can beat Coe, but on the other the fact that they barely beat UW-La Crosse after being down 4-0 makes me feel like it’s not going to happen. I know both teams have had this match circled all season, and if the Warhawks can take a doubles lead (which I somewhat expect), we could have a good battle.
Lots of great NCAC storylines. While the “Kenyon is going to lose to Denison this year” hype has died down, there are still some great stories to follow in the NCAC. First and foremost, how about a hand for Ohio Wesleyan! With their win over Wabash on Friday, the Battling Bishops ensured a top four finish for the first time in school history (I think…their record book is a bit confusing to read. It’s either the best finish ever or best since 1984. Damn impressive either way!) Huge round of applause to Coach Potsma and the entire team, though I have to give a shoutout by name to Shouta Fukamachi, who’s been holding it down for years as OWU has slowly and steadily improved.
Another interesting storyline is tomorrow’s consolation match between DePauw and Wabash. Wabash blew a 3-0 lead in the regular season a few weeks ago in what was their best chance at beating DePauw in 40 years, and it’s going to be even tougher for the Little Giants to win this time around, especially on the heels of today’s tough loss to OWU. On paper this is a toss up to me, but when you put it in the context of recent events, the edge goes to the Tigers. While Reifeis and McAuley have continued to dominate at #1 doubles, DePauw’s McClanahan and Fraunheim are a solid team and I am calling this a danger match for the undefeated Wabash pair looking to put the finishing touches on an NCAA-worthy resume.
Ithaca holds off upstart Hamilton and more NESCAC foes. I tweeted about the great match earlier this week between Ithaca and Hamilton, where the Bombers just barely topped Hamilton with a third set win at #6 singles to clinch the match 5-4 (shoutout to Lorenze Viguie Ramos for the W). While Ithaca has been hovering around 20 in the Northeast for a while now, Hamilton is fast improving with new coach Matt Brisotti and will break into the rankings if not this year then next for sure with a very young team. The Bombers had both Trinity CT and Connecticut College on the schedule for this weekend, and while I’ve been looking forward to seeing how these matches played out all spring, unfortunately it looks like the Trinity match has been cancelled (which effectively ends Trinity’s season…bummer). Hopefully we’ll still get to see some Camel vs Bomber action, where Conn College will have a chance to possibly sneak back into the rankings before the end of the year (though their 8-1 loss to Nichols certainly won’t help their case).
Heartland Conference action heats up both on the court and on Twitter. Without ever saying what they’re referring to for sure, it’s obvious that Earlham’s twitter account called their showdown with Rose-Hulman this weekend “the match.” While I didn’t realize the true magnitude of this battle, it certainly is the most intriguing match of the season in the Heartland Conference. Rose-Hulman sits at 18 in the Central Region while Earlham is unranked, much to their chagrin. The Quakers claimed that they get less respect than Rodney Dangerfield (I do not understand the reference at all), and as AVZ pointed out on Twitter, they’ve got zero ranked wins this year. Now would be an excellent opportunity to back up that statement with a win over the Fightin’ Engineers. I can’t think of a better time to repeat a phrase that we like to use around here: Let the Racquets Do the Talking.
I’m getting pumped for the Liberty League tournament next weekend. Not a ton to report on right now in the Liberty League, but next weekend is the conference tournament (now with six teams!). There could be a lot of interesting matches in there, including Vassar vs Ithaca, RPI vs Hobart, and of course the likely final of RPI vs Skidmore. This growing rivalry has never been more competitive in my eyes and this year’s final is going to be a lot of fun to see if Skidmore can continue to hold off the teams on their heels (I have a feeling RPI will be in there against them in the final, but I can’t totally discount Hobart either).
NYU and Rochester are getting rocked at UAAs so far, but one of them will leave with a win at least. The NYU vs Chicago box score from yesterday was very one sided. But nothing compared to the Emory vs Rochester box score, where no Yellowjacket won more than four games in singles (and four games total in the three doubles matches). I have a feeling that as much as Emory and Chicago are already looking past the first round matches at UAAs, Rochester and NYU are as well, as the 7-8 NYU vs Rochester match has become almost as ubiquitous as Emory vs Wash U finals (though that obviously isn’t happening this year). This match is the last one of each team’s season and a chance to end on a good note. While it’s been since 2010 since Rochester didn’t finish eighth, this match is usually at least somewhat competitive. I think Saturday’s showdown will be once again decently competitive (NYU won 6-3 in the regular season) but as has been the trend, in the end I have a feeling the Violets come away with UAA 7th place.
I’m also pumped for the CCIW tournament, where I have no idea what’s going to happen. In my heart of hearts, I would bet on Wheaton to win despite a loss to Augustana earlier this season, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Augie takes it either. Sam Totten and Eric Pohl (seniors, Augustana) could be major X factors here in getting their team to NCAAs for one more ride. Wheaton is quite young after graduating some key seniors last year, so experience might play a role, but in terms of talent Wheaton is probably a little better in my eyes. There are a few sleepers in there that could make noise as well, Carthage chief among them. Herman Abban is almost always good for two points, and if they can conjure up the magic they had when they beat Augustana earlier this season, anything can happen. While I feel pretty confident that the Liberty League final will be all chalk until the final (and even then I’d take #1 Skidmore over #2 RPI), I’m much less confident in that for the CCIW, where I don’t even know what the seeding will look like. Stay tuned….