Players of the Week: 02/18/19-02/24/19

REGIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: 02/18-02/24

Happy Tuesday, boys and girls. Today we have our first Players of the Week (POTW) of 2019! This is a weekly feature we run near the beginning of each week highlighting some of the accomplishments of players in our “regions.” There will be a different theme each week, with a couple of silly questions that I have each blogger answer in addition to their player write-ups. If you ever have suggestions or nominations for POTW, feel free to email/tweet at your specific blogger, or just tag me and I’ll make sure the player is at least considered. Some of us (mainly me) only have a few teams playing yet, so the options are limited, but there are always results and achievements worth praising, especially in our under-appreciated DIII world. So without further ado, 2019’s first installment of POTW!

A-SOUTH

Player: Antonio Mora

Team: Emory

Results: 3-0 in doubles 2-0 in singles at Indoors

Recap: While the Emory freshmen were a mixed bag this weekend, Mora was all positive. He was leading his last match against Alejandro Rodriguez and was almost the second 15 point player in DRAFTKINGS. Mora looks to be one of the better #4 singles players in the nation and it should be a lot of success for him going forward.

What’s next: Trinity TX and Wesleyan

Honorable Mention: Clark Safran (CMU), Adrien Bouchet (EU), Patrick Hughes (UMW)

Best part of 2019 Indoors: DRAFTKINGS of course

Worst part of 2019 Indoors: My teams failing to live up to expectations

Thing you most want at 2020 Indoors: NESCAC TEAMS

NewD3CENTRAL

Player: Joshua Xu

Team: U Chicago

Results: 2-1 at #3 doubles, 3-0 at #6 singles

Recap: Joshua Xu was instrumental in Chicago’s first National Indoor Championship. He dominated all three of his singles matches against Case (Powell), Wash U (McClelland), and Emory (Raina) – that’s a lineup and a half that Xu defeated in six sets. He also teamed up with his senior captain, Pei, to a 2-1 weekend at 3 doubles, but his two wins were absolutely essential because they kept Chicago in matches where their top two teams flopped.

What’s next: Xu and his teammates get a nice month off of matches to return to class and continue their slogs through one of the country’s most difficult schools. They head out for Spring Break at the end of March to take on fellow Pool C foes: @Pomona-Pitzer, Williams, and @CMS.

Honorable Mention: Alex Guzhva (Chicago), Pascal Lee (Kenyon), Nicholas Aney (GAC), Jeremy Yuan (Chicago), Jonathan Powell (Case)

Best part of 2019 Indoors: A 3-3 Wash U & CMU match being decided by three third set tie breakers at 2, 3, and 4 singles.

Worst part of 2019 Indoors: That it really isn’t a national championship without the NESCAC.

Thing you most want at 2020 Indoors: I want antiquated NESCAC traditions/rules to fade away or the creation of a NIIT (National Indoors Invitation Tournament).

NE

Player: Jeff Chen

Team: Brandeis

Results: 3-0 at #5 singles, 3-0 at #2 doubles, 0-1 at #4 singles, 1-0 at #1 doubles

Recap: What a week for the freshman. Chen picked up MASSIVELY important wins against Caltech, PP and Redlands, going 6-0 in those three matches, two of which ended 5-4. He had to move up against CMS and lost to Gordy in two tight sets, but he and Tzeng stayed together and beat Parodi/Gordy in the doubles, which is a really really good win. I’ve talked a lot so far about Tzeng and the young Deis team, but might have still somehow not given Chen the proper hype!

What’s next: A non-DIII match against Bryant on Saturday and then a home match vs Bates on Sunday. Deis is now favored against a team it has historically been underdogs against in the Bobcats. Each match like this will prove crucial if Brandeis wants to keep the Pool-C dream alive.

Honorable Mention: David Aizenberg (Brandeis) & Vid Yadav (Bates)

Best part of 2019 Indoors: Live video and live stats

Worst part of 2019 Indoors: No NE teams

Thing you most want at 2020 Indoors: Brandeis…duh

NewDIIIWEST

Player: Quinn Hirsohn

Team: Pomona-Pitzer

Results: 3-1 at #6 singles, lone singles win against Wash U.

Recap: It was nice to see Quinn come out firing in the first week of the season, coming from behind against Brandeis to then going 2-1 at Indoors. Providing the only win in the Wash U. match must have felt good for the junior, but still lots of work to be done and results to be had if he wants to cement himself in the lineup. We all know that Bickham revolving door at the bottom of the lineup…

What’s next: A couple weeks off then they hit the ground running with Mary Washington and Stag Hen.

Honorable Mention: Gearou Bros (I’ll group them together since their clutchness against GAC was one for the press), CMS (quietly taking care of business against Deis out west).

Best part of 2019 Indoors: Schedule change. The losers from Day 1 no longer had to play two matches on day 2 providing enough rest for Day 3 matches.

Worst part of 2019 Indoors: Whitman struggling real hard.

Thing you most want at 2020 Indoors: Let the NESCAC play!

REGIONAL NE/C

Player: Masaru Fujimaki

Team: Rochester

Results: 3-0 at #1 singles, 3-0 at #1 doubles so far this spring

Recap: I’m giving this award to Fujimaki for his work all month, not just in the past week. The Yellowjackets are off to a great start, with wins against #26 RPI as well as Vassar and Ithaca, with the Jackets sweeping doubles in all three. Fujimaki has also beaten two players that are either ranked now or have been in the past in Sebastian Castillo-Sanchez (RPI) and Minos Stavrakas (Ithaca). Both of those guys had beaten him in the past, by the way. 6-0 at #1 singles and doubles is legit, especially with two of the three wins coming in the 5-4 variety. There’s nothing I love more than seeing a senior rise up and go out with his best season, so here’s hoping for more success this spring for Masaru!

What’s next: A doubleheader next weekend, with the headliner being against Oberlin! I’m very excited to see how this one plays out, as these two teams have had some battles the past couple years with Oberlin coming out on top in both. Can the Jackets use the home court advantage to their advantage and take out the Yeomen, further solidifying their place in the top 40 (in my eyes).

Honorable Mention: Justin Wain (TCNJ), Matt Puig (TCNJ), Felipe Duarte-Rico (Ohio Wesleyan)

Best part of 2019 Indoors: When some octogenarians in all whites and 20+ year old racquets walked onto the court to start playing before the D3 guys had even shook hands.

Worst part of 2019 Indoors: Watching Whitman get completely outclassed (sorry, CHB).

Thing you most want at 2020 Indoors: NESCAC!

REGIONAL AS

Player: Jack Gray

Team: Sewanee

Results: 4-2 (#2-4 singles and #1 doubles) against Mary Wash, Kenyon and Stevens

Recap: Sewanee’s former #1 singles player has bumped down in the lineup, which can sometimes lead to a lack of motivation, especially from a senior, but Gray took it in stride and played a key role in picking up two quality wins for his team this weekend. His only losses were a three set match against Mary Washington and a tiebreak doubles loss against a Stevens team that made the finals of the Northeast ITA. A solid showing from the senior.

What’s next: Essentially a weekend off against Wittenberg and Centre before the STAG HEN SPRING BREAK TRIP!

Honorable Mention: Adi Iyer (NC Wes)

Best part of 2019 Indoors: Not coming in last in DraftKings!

Worst part of 2019 Indoors: NONE

Thing you most want at 2020 Indoors: ASouth to come in last place in Draft Kings amongst the bloggers.

NEWREGIONAL

Player: David Aizenberg

Team: Brandeis

Results: 2-1 at #1 singles, 2-1 at #1 doubles

Recap: After losing his first singles match to Varun Shanker of Caltech, David Aizenberg picked up two of the best wins in his career while on spring break with the Judges, taking out All-Americans Jed Kronenberg and Chase Lipscomb in 2 sets. Aizenberg partnered with Anupreeth Coramutla to take out the #4 doubles team in the country in James Wei and Shanker, and the #1 team from Redlands while falling to Pomona in a tiebreaker. An excellent start to the season for David

What’s next: Brandeis has a little time to rest up and get everyone healthy before they play Bates on 3/3 and Tufts on 3/9

Honorable Mention: Joshua Bode (Concordia TX)

Best part of 2019 Indoors: 3 third set tiebreakers in the CMU, Wash U match

Worst part of 2019 Indoors: Well, I got last in Draft Kings, and the team I predicted to win came in 7th….

Thing you most want at 2020 Indoors: A little ticker on each live stream showing which position each stream is (I realize I’m picky, the live streaming was great!)