We’re just one day away from the Elite Eight and to celebrate we’ll be posting both of our remaining quarterfinal previews today. Next up we have the Emory/Chicago quarterfinal. Emory is our #1 seed, and since I’m (D3ASW) writing this intro I’m also going to call Emory the favorite to win the whole tournament. ASouth power! Let’s take a look.
#1 EMORY
Power 6: 56.87
Best wins: #3 CMS (5-4), Chicago (7-2), Amherst (6-3)
Worst losses: In Division 3? None.
Seniors: Bridget Harding (#2 singles/#1 dubs), Anna Fuhr (#4 singles/#2 dubs)
Starting freshman: Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico (#1 singles/dubs), Defne Olcay (#5 singles), Stephanie Taylor (#2 doubles)
Where they are strongest: This is a hard question to answer for a team that is strong throughout. Throughout the season, #1 doubles hasn’t lost a match. In singles they will occasionally lose a match but it’s not consistently at one spot in the lineup. So even if one person is having a bad day everyone else will cover for it and then some.
Where they are vulnerable: The only really vulnerable part in this lineup is #3 doubles. They’ve taken a loss to Chicago previously at this spot, as well as losse to CMS, Amherst, and Tufts.
How they got here: At this point, it’s essentially expected that Emory will make the QFs at NCAAs, and that reputation is well-earned. The Eagles had another great season and beat Sewanee 5-0 in their regional final.
What would be considered a success: Nothing short of a National Championship.
Three words to describe this team: Powerful, confident, consistent
Don’t forget: They won championships in 2014 and 2016 so even numbered years are obviously their thing.
#10 CHICAGO
Power 6: 52.67
Best wins: Bowdoin (5-4), CMU (6-3, though previously lost 0-5) Wash U (7-2, 5-4)
Worst losses: #1 Emory (7-2), #2 Williams (9-0), Pomona (7-2)
Seniors: None!
Starting freshman: Claire Handa (#1 singles/dubs), Darryn Ellison (#2 doubles), Catherine Xu (#2 doubles/#3 singles)
Where they are strongest: Their most consistent wins this season have come at #2 singles. Antohi was able to get a win here in their last match up with Emory at UAAs.
Where they are vulnerable: Their lack of experience. The fact that Chicago has 3 freshman contributing in key positions to their team is incredibly exciting, but can also be a risk going onto the big stage of NCAAs. I’ve always thought that experience, especially in the later stages of the tourney, is crucial and can have a huge impact on the performance of the players. It’ll be interesting to watch how these Chicago freshman deal with the nerves of their first NCAA QF.
What would be considered a success: An upset over this strong Emory team would be seen as a huge success for Chicago, but, unfortunately, I think that’s pretty unlikely. While it is a bit of a cop out, I think getting to the Elite 8 is already a success for this young Chicago team.
Three words to describe this team: Young, resilient, small
Don’t forget: This is a tiny team without any graduating seniors. They are one all-star recruiting class away from making the semis or the finals.
Match rundown: In this match up, we get a replay of the UAA finals, and with the line ups of both teams remaining mostly the same, I think our predictions will be fairly safe. That’s not to say that there won’t be some thrilling matches on slate for Monday’s meeting, but Emory is just the stronger team. Let’s jump into these matches!
#1 doubles: Bridget Harding/Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico (Emory) vs. Marjorie Antohi/Claire Handa (Chicago)
ASW: I have to stick with my region here. I don’t think Antohi and Handa have the fire power to challenge the Emory duo. Emory 8-4
NEW: Emory 8-3
D3Nameless: Harding and Gonzalez-Rico have been rock solid at 1 dubs all year, and I expect them to continue that trend with a fairly routine win over this young Chicago pairing. Emory wins 8-4.
#2 doubles: Anna Fuhr/Stephanie Taylor (Emory) vs. Catherine Xu/Darryn Ellison (Chicago)
ASW: Another time where I think Emory’s firepower is just too overwhelming for Chicago. Emory 8-5.
NEW: Chicago 8-6
D3Nameless: Another senior-freshman pairing at the top of the Emory line-up that has had a phenomenal season so far. They have big wins over teams like CMS and Chicago and with all that confidence, I see them taking this match with ease. Emory wins 8-3.
#3 doubles: Katie Change/Daniela Lopez (Emory) vs. Alyssa Rudin/Estefania Navarro (Chicago)
ASW: I think Chicago will take this one. Yes this is a different setting but I think Chicago still has the advantage of winning their previous meeting and this #3 team for Emory has been a little shaky this season. Chicago 8-5
NEW: Emory 8-5
D3Nameless: This is Emory’s weakest doubles position, but on any given day, they’re still tough opponents. With this match being on a much bigger stage than previous matches this season, I see Emory completing the sweep with this one. Emory wins 9-7.
#1 singles: Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico (Emory) vs. Claire Handa (Chicago)
ASW: This one definitely won’t finish. Both of these players are so solid that they won’t roll over quick enough before Emory takes it. Emory leads 7-5, 2-2
NEW: Emory leads 7-5, 3-1
D3Nameless: When these two played a couple of weeks ago in the UAA final, they went the distance with Gonzalez-Rico taking the match in the third. Both are extremely strong players and have had stellar seasons, but with this being both of their first Elite 8, especially at the #1 singles position, you have to question the nerves and lack of experience. I’m going to bet this one goes unfinished, but Emory leads 7-5, 4-2.
#2 singles: Bridget Harding (Emory) vs. Marjorie Antohi (Chicago)
ASW: Antohi took this one last time at UAAs. I don’t think this will finish but I expect Antohi to continue her success. Chicago leads 6-3, 2-1
NEW: Emory 6-4, 6-2
D3Nameless: Antohi took a pretty routine win over Harding in the UAA finals, but I’m going to bet that Harding comes out swinging on Monday and makes the match a lot closer, as she looks to lead Emory to a national title in her senior year. Another close match that I don’t think we’ll see to completion, but expect this one to be close. Chicago leads 7-6, 2-1.
#3 singles: Daniela Lopez (Emory) vs. Catherine Xu (Chicago)
ASW: Lopez took this one in straight sets at UAAs. I expect Xu will be looking for revenge. Emory leads 7-6, 1-3
NEW: Chicago leads 6-4, 2-2
D3Nameless: Lopez has had some battles this season and Xu is playing some great tennis heading into post-season. While not as competitive as the top two matches, I definitely see this match being close and ultimately unfinished. Emory leads 6-4, 3-1.
#4 singles: Anna Fuhr (Emory) vs. Estefania Navarro (Chicago)
ASW: I think Fuhr will win this one fairly comfortably to clinch the match. Emory 6-3, 6-2
NEW: Emory leads 6-3, 4-0
D3Nameless: Fuhr has had an amazing senior season in both singles and dubs, and I see it only fitting that she continue that trend into NCAAs. She took care of Navarro easily at UAAs, and I expect her to be on the brink of victory when the match is clinched. Emory leads 6-3, 5-2.
#5 singles: Defne Olcay (Emory) vs. Alyssa Rudin (Chicago)
ASW: Olcay won this match very soundly at UAAs. Emory 6-2, 6-2
NEW: Emory 6-2, 6-4
D3Nameless: Olcay marched right through Rudin at UAAs. If Emory sweeps the dubs, they’ll be looking to the bottom of their line-up to close out the match quickly. I don’t foresee Olcay having too much trouble with Rudin, and I actually bet she clinches her first NCAA match to send the Eagles to the Final Four. Emory wins 6-3, 6-3.
#6 singles: Stephanie Taylor (Emory) vs. Laura Gutierrez (Chicago)
ASW: Taylor took this one with gusto at UAAs. Emory 6-1, 6-2
NEW: Emory 6-4, 6-1
D3Nameless: This is another match that Emory ran away with at UAAs, and we can expect Taylor to take care of business at NCAAs, too. Although it is her first Elite 8, Taylor should have the confidence going into this match having handily beat Gutierrez recently at UAAs, and unfortunately for Chicago, I don’t think Gutierrez has it in her to take this match. Emory wins 6-2, 6-3.
Overall prediction:
ASW: Emory win 5-1
NEW: Emory 5-1
D3Nameless: Despite a fantastic year for Chicago, Emory is stronger at almost every position, making the upset incredibly difficult and unlikely. I think Emory will waltz into the Final Four with ease. Emory wins 5-0.
Sidenote: While I do think that this year’s bracket is very fair and overall the NCAA did a good job, I am pretty bummed that we don’t get to see a lot of cross-conference matchups. Three of the 4 QF matches are in conference matchups, which, in some cases, will be the THIRD time these teams see each other this year. I’m def not complaining, but it would’ve been really fun to see some different (harder to predict) match ups in the tourney this year.
So there you have it. Emory is a heavy favorite in this match and I don’t think even Chicago would disagree with that. However, if Chicago plays with nothing to lose, there is no doubt in my mind that they could give Emory a good run for their money. Let us know what you think in the comments and stay tuned for our last quarterfinal preview later today!