NCAA Semifinal Preview: No. 2 Middlebury vs No. 6 Emory

NCAA Semifinal Preview: Middlebury vs Emory

After a somewhat disappointing day in terms of the lack of excitement, we’re back with our 2nd NCAA Semifinal preview and what hopes to be a more thrilling day of tennis! Midd and Emory both won their QF matches without too much trouble, ending Whitman and Williams’ respective seasons. Just like in our other semifinal, this matchup is a rematch from the regular season. Also just like the other semi, the first match was played at a neutral, outdoor location, which should at least somewhat mimic tomorrow’s conditions (without the heat). Midd put a 7-2 beatdown on Emory that weekend in Connecticut, and until tonight the Eagles hadn’t looked the same since. But it’s classic Emory to be playing their best tennis at NCAAs, and our friends at Slam Tennis have this at just a 51%–49% edge to Midd. Will the individual matchups agree? It’s way too late to be vamping. Let’s go to the matchups. 

#1 doubles: Cuba/Schlanger (MIDD) vs Rubinstein/Spaulding (EMORY)

NE: While I’m not necessarily expecting the 8-1 beatdown that this Midd team laid down last time, the Panther duo is certainly favored, and probably deserves the overall #1 seed at Individuals later this week. The Emory top pair looked good against Williams today, but this is a much tougher opponent. Midd 8-5.

#2 doubles: Farrell/de Quant (MIDD) vs Bouchet/Jemison (EMORY)

NE: Swing match! The court will be made up of incredible singles players, but this one will probably come down to who plays better between Farrell and Jemison. Bouchet and Renke played against Midd last time around and also got wrecked, but I think we will see a much closer result this time around. Midd, 9-7.

#3 doubles: Martin/van der Geest (MIDD) vs Cassone/Harrington (EMORY)

NE: This Emory pair has made Coach Browning look like a genius for the swap he employed in the final weeks of the season. Cassone’s booming game and Harrington’s stability compliment each other, and after today’s results I’m going with EU to stave off the sweep. Emory, 8-5.

#1 singles: Lubomir Cuba (MIDD) vs Jonathan Jemison (EMORY)

NE: This should be a fun battle. Cuba took the regular season matchup 5&2, and should be the favorite again tomorrow. However, Jemison impressed me against Grodecki tonight. They got into some verbal sparring, and usually if you’re verbal warring with BG it doesn’t bode well for your result. However, JJ took the first set in a breaker to help snuff out any chance of a Williams comeback. This is a spot that the Eagles will likely get if they’re going to advance to the finals. However…Midd 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

#2 singles: Noah Farrell (MIDD) vs Hayden Cassone (EMORY)

NE: Cassone had a great bounce back effort tonight after dropping the first set, and quickly let me just say, to Lil Barr. He ran away with the 2nd and 3rd sets, and ended up clinching the match. Farrell looked average against Kirsh, but I like his style of game against the powerful Cassone. Noah won the previous matchup with relative ease, and while I think tomorrow will be tougher, I still like the Panther’s grinding style to outlast the fireworks from the Eaglet. Midd 7-5, 6-2.

#3 singles: William de Quant (MIDD) vs Alec Josepher (EMORY)

NE: Like most of his team, Josepher also impressed me tonight. He was down 3-0 in about 5 minutes to Sachin Raghavan (a senior, by the way), and then rattled off 12 of the next 13 games. I think de Quant is right there with Tsai as the best #3 player in the country, so if Josepher continues his hot play this match could be great. However, I’m not picking against WDQ in what could be his final match. Midd 6-4, 6-3.

#4 singles: Kyle Schlanger (MIDD) vs Adrien Bouchet (EMORY)

NE: So much strength in one matchup! Schlanger and Bouchet represent possibly the strongest spots for each team with respect to the rest of the country, but how will their games matchup? Both players enjoy running around to hit the consisten inside-out forehand before smacking the inside-in, and I think whoever hits that shot better could end up winning this match. Though Kyle has had his issues at NCAAs in the past, he has been the more consistent player this year, and I’d like to see him get the monkey off his back (Ari Smolyar style). Emory leads, 5-7, 6-3, 1-0

#5 singles: Nate Eazor (MIDD) vs Andrew Harrington (EMORY)

NE: Eazor gets a lot of middling press on this site, purely because Midd’s top 4 are so damn strong. The Panther freshman put up a big win today against a senior to help Midd advance. However, Harrington has been one of the best #5’s in the country, and is the clubhouse leader for Comeback Player of the Year. The Eagle senior dropped a quick set to Indrakanti today, but had bounced back and was early in the 3rd set when the match finished. In addition, Harrington did not play against the Panthers earlier this year, but Rubinstein beat Eazor in a super. Emory, 6-4, 6-3.

#6 singles: Andre Xiao (MIDD) vs Scott Rubinstein (EMORY)

NE: Rubinstein was up big early on Kam tonight, but blew the 5-2 lead and eventually lost the first set in the breaker. Xiao will be another big test for the Eagle senior, and though the Middlebury freshman doesn’t have the big-match experience of his opponent, this could be quite the grind down at line 6. The results say that Scotty should be at least a slight favorite, but Xiao has been improving all year long and my gut says that he will have a good day. Midd leads, 7-6 (3), 3-5.

Final Match Predictions:
NE: Middlebury def Emory 5-2

AVZ: Middlebury def Emory 5-2

newCentral: Middlebury def Emory 5-3

DIIIWest: Middlbury def Emory 5-1