2019 NCAA Regional Preview: Emory Region

EMORY

NCAA Rank/Blog Power Rank/Slam Tennis Rank: #2/#2/#2

Power 6: 72

How they got here: Emory won the UAA Tournament which is essentially a rite of passage for them at this point. Despite having a rough go of it at Indoors in the beginning of the year, this Eagles team didn’t lose a match from then on, beating Wash U, Trinity TX, Middlebury, and exacting their revenge on Chicago at UAAs.

Why they can win: They’re Emory. They are far and away the best team in this region and should face fairly low difficulty here. They dispatched Sewanee easily during the season without playing Jemison and Cassone and the same should be seen here. Emory is as close to a lock as you’ll get to make it to the Elite 8.

How they can be beaten: It won’t happen in this region, but a top 5 team that comes out on the right day has a shot at beating the Eagles in a variety of different ways. No one position other than Mora at 4 has been automatic. However, Emory has one of the best doubles lineups in the business and it’s going to take a full team effort from a CMS or Chicago, etc, to beat them.

Player to watch: Antonio Mora

Odds of making the NCAA Quarterfinals: 98%

SEWANEE

ITA Rank/Blog Power Rank/Slam Tennis Rank: #20/#20/#24

Power 6: 66

How they got here: After narrowly escaping Rhodes in the regular season 5-4 (winning 2 6-3 3rd sets), they turned around in the SAA tournament to take down the Lynx 5-2 after going down 1-2 after doubles. They have had some good wins over Stevens, Mary Washington, Gustavus, Denison, Kalamazoo and Carleton and could definitely be a pesky team if they advance to the regional final.

Why they can win: As I mentioned, this is a very pesky team who has the same caliber of player from top to bottom. They have great depth and have been pretty good at doubles for the most part all season. If they can grab a 2-1 doubles league, they bring out your barns because they aren’t going away in singles.

How they can be beaten: They have had a couple of head scratching moments this season with a 9-0 loss to Pomona-Pitzer and close 5-4 win over Rhodes. As I mentioned, they have usually been known to have solid doubles, but have been a little lax in some matches and found themselves down early. If they are down early, then they could find themselves in trouble against NC Wesleyan and forget about beating Emory.

Player to watch: Brandon Kali

Odds of making the NCAA Quarterfinals: .87%

NC WESLEYAN

ITA Rank/Blog Power Rank/Slam Tennis Rank: #23/#22/#22

Power 6: 67

How they got here: They beat a bunch of random teams that I’ve never really heard of and remained the biggest enigma in D3 tennis. They did pick up a “signature” win over Hopkins early in the season, but after that, I truly don’t know.

Why they can win: They can do what they did against Hopkins and take control early and ride the depth of their singles. They are very talented in singles and can hang with the best of them. Much like Sewanee they have 6 players all around the same level and can win at any position. String together a doubles match and a couple of third set victories, you have an upset on your hands.

How they can be beaten: Their only D3 loss was to Mary Washington early in the season when the eagles were hot. They got down 1-2 after doubles and lost a couple of crucial third set breakers. They seem to have some trouble coming from behind, so if their opponent takes the lead, look for the Bishops to falter.

Player to watch: Juan Vallejo

Odds of making the NCAA Quarterfinals: .83%

WASHINGTON & LEE

ITA Rank/Blog Power Rank/Slam Tennis Rank: NR/NR/#61

Power 6: 63

How they got here: They took care of business in the ODAC and defeated Hampden-Sydney to reach the NCAA tournament.

Why they can win: If they can hold serve and manage to win a couple of tiebreakers to put themselves in a favorable position, then hope that their three best players Shepherd, Fedor and Neuner get hot, they could have a chance to win.

How they can be beaten: They really haven’t been all that consistent this season and unless they are playing well, they can be beaten fairly easily. Shepherd hasn’t been the impact player this season that he was last season, and that has been a big factor for this team all Spring. If Shepherd can’t generate 2 points, they will be beaten.

Player to watch: Harry Shepherd

Odds of making the NCAA Quarterfinals: .3%

RegASouth Surprise Match Analysis: Sewanee vs. NC Wesleyan

This is one of the closer second round matchups between two teams that are built essentially the same way. Fundamental doubles and singles depth. We had a request from a reader to do a breakdown of this intriguing matchup because of how similar both teams are. We at The Blog aim to please, so let’s dive into it!

#1 Doubles – Davis/Brewer (Sewanee) vs. Brokakis/Puig (NC Wes)

Davis and Brewer are 8-3 while Brokakis and Puig are 11-3. This is about as close of a matchup as you can get and I truly believe it will be a coin flip. I am going to give the edge to Brokakis and Puig, purely because they’ve had a couple of more matches together to gel as a team. The Bishops take this one 8-7(4).

#2 Doubles – Gray/Carro (Sewanee) vs. Iyer/Vallejo (NC Wes)

The former doubles All-American Gray pairs with the much improved #1 singles player Carro to form a solid #2 doubles team. Iyer and Vallejo have also been a good team, but haven’t quite seen the level of competition that the Tiger duo has or played together as long. I think the tough matches and the Gray’s experience alone gives this team the advantage. Sewanee wins 8-4.

#3 Doubles – Kali/Wax (Sewanee) vs. Remmerswaal/Telles (NC Wes)

Kali and Wax are a fairly new team, only pairing for 7 matches this season and having some decent success. Remmerswaal and Telles just started playing together the last couple of matches this season, but my gut tells me that Coach Brice saw something that he liked and will keep them together for NCAAS. This one is going to be very close, but once again, I will fall on tough match experience and go with Sewanee 8-6.

#1 Singles – Andres Carro (Sewanee) vs. Ioannis Brokakis (NC Wes)

Both players are good #1 singles players but haven’t really had any defining moments this season. This is the time for their defining moments and this will be a key matchup in the final result of the match. I think this one goes three sets, but I’ll take Carro 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 because he has been battle tested with multiple top #40 matchups all season.

#2 Singles – Jack Gray (Sewanee) vs. Roberto Puig (NC Wes)

Gray has been solid all season between the #1-4 singles spots and has settled nicely in as a very strong #2 singles player. Puig has been splitting most of his time between #1 and 2 singles all season long, only losing 3 matches. UTR suggests that Puig has the slight advantage with a .02 rating advantage, but my gut tells me that Puig is a little inflated and Gray takes this match 6-4, 6-4.

#3 Singles – Brandon Kali (Sewanee) vs. Adi Iyer (NC Wes)

Kali has played pretty well at #3 singles and very well at #4 singles this season, while Iyer has player very well at #2 singles and pretty well at #3. Once again, you can argue that they competition hasn’t been as stiff for the Bishops, but I think Iyer has confidence and experience to get the job done. I’m going with Iyer 6-3, 6-4.

#4 Singles – Jordan Brewer (Sewanee) vs. Juan Vallejo (NC Wes)

I think overall this is a very close and intriguing matchup that could potentially be the clincher. My gut feeling is that it will go into a third set and might not finish. Brewer has been a perfect 6-0 at #4 singles all season, but Vallejo has been a perfect 5-0 at #4 singles. They have both been successful at other spots as well. Brewer is going to take the first 6-2, but Vallejo will fight back to win the second 6-4. At the end of the day though, this match will be unfinished in a third set.

#5 Singles – Jack Metzger (Sewanee) vs. Jhonny Acosta (NC Wes)

Metzger has been a very nice addition for the Tigers and has immediately impacted this team by starting at #4, 5 and 6 singles and going 11-5 on the season. Acosta on the other hand has not lost a dual match between #3-6 singles. All good things must come to an end and I believe Metzger ends Acosta’s undefeated spring and clinches the match for the Tigers 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

#6 Singles – Ryan Olps (Sewanee) vs. JD Telles (NC Wes)

Olps has been in and out of the lineup all season and I can see him making his return in primetime, but this could also easily be Fletcher Kerr or Aubrey Davis. Regardless Telles is one of the better players on this team and this is essentially like Todd putting Concannon at #6. Telles will be heavily favored in this matchup and should dispatch whoever comes his way. I’m taking the Bishop 6-2, 6-3.

If you add that up, then you get a 5-3 victory for the Tigers with one match on court. This match is going to be a barn burner and I’m all for it.