Professor DIIIWest here.
Three West region ITA’s are in the books and we all know what follows: A REPORT CARD! Yes, kids, start shaking in your boots and brainstorming excuses for your parents because it is THAT time. Hopefully there isn’t much boot shaking or excuse making having to be done since there are a lot of highlights coming from these ITA’s this year. Surprise winners, impressive teams in the making, and depth all around show that these West teams are heading in the right direction for the Spring. Let’s get into the nitty gritty and throw some grades out there from the Fall.
A
Chad Leduff – Sources say that Chad was by far the most impressive player in this year’s tournament at out Claremont. Without so much as dropping a set, the Slug was able to take out three formidable opponents in the quarters, semis, and finals (all 6-4 sets) to take the title. Beating Kronenberg and Katzman, seen as the top two sophomore’s in the country, in straight sets and barely dropping serve in the process shows that Leduff is very much in control of his game and hitting his senior stride. The way he competed this past week… I give him a good chance of winning the title in Rome; his punishing groundstrokes and suffocating style of play makes him a tough out for anybody. Quick side note: Can Brad Cummins transfer to Cruz to make a Brad and Chad #1 doubles team? Who do I need to talk to in Admissions to make this happen? #5thyear
Joshua Bode – Bode’s impressive victory makes him the first ever ITA winner in Concordia history! With his win this past week, he moves onto Georgia where he’ll take on Leach of George Fox for the eighth and final spot in Nationals. His wins over big boy Lambeth, the top seed in Alex Joseph, Bajoit of Southwestern, and finally Pitts of Trinity(TX) was by no means an easy draw, but he was able to maneuver his way around these tough opponents to lift the trophy. A definite A for the freshman transfer here and really the surprise outcome in the West region this fall! Hand claps for Bode.
George Fox – Leach, Lemaitre, Baker. Nuff said. These three are the shining light in an otherwise George Fox dominated ITA. I went over the depth and the talent this team possesses in my West Region Recap, but just to reiterate, this team is the real deal. Leach is a stud on both the singles and doubles court and with Lemaitre, Baker, and Namba not far behind, this #32 ranked team in the nation is trending upward! Out of all the teams in the West, Fox was the most dominant (3 out of 4 semi finalists and the doubles winners) proving that there is a new king in the PNW. Leach, once again, showed he is one of the best in the PNW and will try to beat out Bode for a spot in Nationals.
A-
CMS – As expected, CMS put themselves in position to win both the singles and doubles portions of their tournament, unfortunately, a first place finish in either wasn’t in the cards this time around. However, something needs to be said about their depth and their relative success, despite Parodi and Burney absent in the draw. The Stags had 4 players in the quarters of Flight A (Katzman, Vemuri, Liu, and Meister), with Katzman succumbing to Leduff in the finals. Katzman was also able to make his way to the doubles final with Senior Gordy before falling to Caltech in a tight third set that could have gone either way. Without a player qualifying for Nationals, CMS was still able to have four singles quarter finalists, 3 doubles quarter finalists, and a runner up in each – a sign of a deep team despite two of their three best players not in the draw.
Pomona Pitzer – Maybe, just maybe, it seems that Pomona Pitzer is heading in the right direction as the Spring lies ahead. The Hens, led by Kronenberg, had three players in the quarters of Flight A singles (Kronenberg, Bellet, and Gearou), with Jed and Josh G booking themselves a spot in the semis. Tough matches for both in this round, but what I found most impressive from the Hens this past week were their results in Flight B (3 out of the 4 semi finalists with sophomore Jack Bernstein taking it all!) With a lackluster doubles performance, these Flight B singles results proves that depth may be their saving grace as we head into the season. A solid top three in Kronenberg, Bellet, and Gearou, along with the onslaught of solid players sprinkled throughout Flight B shows that this team may be deeper and more talented than we all think.
B+
Southwestern – For all intents and purposes, Southwestern was the winner of the Texas ITA. Not only were Porter’s daily recaps emmy-winning material, he was able to coach four of his players to the quarter final stage. Though only one of the of the four were able to advance to the semis (shoutout to Bajoit who beat Wilson Hamilton of Trinity), it still shows the true depth this team possesses. Disappointing to see top seed Joseph and Dimanche fall in their respective matches (both of which were tight and could have gone either way), but their depth once again was on full display as there was an all-Southwestern backdraw final between Norman and Wilson, a match Norman was able to take down. Excited to see this team compete in the spring and if the fall is any indication as to how talented and deep this team is, a SCAC championship is very much achievable for this squad this coming year.
B
Caltech – Wei and Shanker!! As the first seeds, I’ll admit, I did not envision this team going all the way. Boy, did they prove me wrong! Not only did they win the thing, but they did it in incredibly impressive fashion – winning three separate matches 8-7 capping off the tournament with a 7-6 in the third epic against a tough CMS team. The only reason this team isn’t in the A-/B+ range is because of their mediocre singles performance. I expected a whole lot more success out on the singles court for Tech, but they ended with zero players in the quarterfinals and really only a couple of memorable matches to build off of (Wei defeating Gordy, Valencic’s loss to Vemuri 7-6 in the third, and Shanker’s close loss to Bellet). An onslaught of players in Flight B lost in the second round with only one player advancing to the second day of singles in this flight (shoutout to Gonzalgo). Again, not a whole lot to be disappointed about here considering Wei/Shanker made program history on the doubles court, but if Tech wants to compete with the likes of CMS and PP, singles guys need to step up!
Trinity(TX) – This team will always flex their muscles and be a dangerous team regardless of their fall performance. The Tigers are always a threat on the doubles court and that was once again shown this fall, as Lambeth and Pitts not only dominated their Fall ITA, but also took first in the ITA Grass Court Championships in Rhode Island. When was the last time this team lost?? Pitts was also able to make it to the finals of singles before falling to Bode of Concordia in a tough three setter. Somewhat disappointing to see Lambeth, Hamilton, and Krimbill fall relatively early, but that is one talented and deep team once the spring rolls around. A mix of impressive singles players along with some solid doubles teams make the Tigers a tough out this year once again.
C
Whitman – A poor performance from the Blues are causing some blues up in Walla Walla. Kirsch was the lone Blue to make the semis and despite the fact that they had three players in the quarter finals of singles, both lost in somewhat routine fashion to George Fox players. This tournament proved that there is a new sheriff in town in the PNW explaining the low grade received above. All in all, having three players make the quarterfinals, one in the semis, and a doubles team that made a run to the finals would call for a higher grade than a C, but the fact that this is a tournament that was previously dominated by Whitman makes this year’s performance more alarming. All I can say is watch out for Fox.
C-
Redlands – Last year was a rollercoaster for this team so I’ll cut them some slack here. But wow, this team is lucky to be getting a passing grade. Lipscomb, last year’s winner, almost got double rounded, no other player won consecutive matches on the singles court, and absolutely zero results throughout the Flight B draw. Lipscomb/Cummins were able to string a couple of doubles wins together, but this is some serious panic time for Roche right now. Not only can this current Bulldog not team compete with CMS, but it looks like both PP and Caltech are on a different level in terms of skill and depth. Disappointing considering this team a couple years ago was knocking on the door in terms of being a top 10 team in the country, but let’s hope Redlands can put together a squad to compete within the SCIAC.