Less than one week until the NCAA Quarterfinals and the Face of the Blog WILL BE MAKING A VERY SPECIAL APPEARANCE! So if you know what’s good for you, bring AVZ some team swag and he’ll be sure to rep your squad while he’s golfing/curling/actually that’s all he does with his time. If you missed our Mother’s Day POTW, check it out. Tonight we have a little roundtable looking ahead to the quarterfinals as a whole. Don’t worry, we will have regular quarterfinal previews for you later this week, plus tomorrow THE DOGS RETURN! We will also have a smattering of other tennis things along the way, including some actual new articles! If you all have any suggestions for the new articles this week, please let us know in the comments or on Twitter/Email.
Which matchup intrigues you the most?
AS: Wesleyan vs. Middlebury. Wesleyan has had a long journey from an unranked team to one of the teams that is contending for a national championship. Do I think they have the goods to win it all this year? No, I don’t, even though I picked them to be cool in the bracket challenge. But, they do have the talent and the leadership to take out a Middlebury team that has pretty much mailed the regular season in this year to just make the playoffs at the end. Middlebury knows they are good. Wesleyan wants to tell everyone they are good. The team that I think has worked all year wins this one, and it’s the Cardinals.
NE: I want to say all of them, yes even Emory/Wash U, but it’s gotta be Chicago vs Amherst. Two of the best recruiting teams in the country, two teams that have suffered perennial postseason disappointment over the past few years. I will be very surprised if either team runs away with this one, and think we could be in for a last match on situation.
newCentral: In order: Wes v Midd, Chicago vs Amherst, CMS v Bowdoin, Emory v Wash U.
RegNEC: Wesleyan vs Middlebury: the rubber match.
NewRegional: CMS vs. Bowdoin. These teams always play each other tight, and a Urken vs. Parodi rematch will be fun to watch
Which matchup has the best chance of an upset?
AS: This one is easy, because it’s basically Chicago/Amherst.
NE: Whichever of the Chicago/Amherst teams is technically the underdog. Chicago plays more consistent doubles, Amherst has been better throughout the top and bottom of the singles lineup, it should be a BATTLE!
newCentral: I think that the favorites, CMS and Emory, should win their matches. I agree with NE, whichever team is the underdog in Amherst and Chicago will have the best “chance at an upset” because I think that’s the closest 50-50 match we have in this round.
RegNEC: Chicago over Amherst. On paper Amherst is the favorite but I think this one is pretty much 50-50.
NewRegional: Is Wesleyan over Midd an upset? (NE edit: YES!) Wesleyan looked good against Kenyon, and it looks like Roji and Lilienthal are peaking at the right time
Who is your BIG winner from the first weekend of the tournament?
AS: No one. Everyone did as expected and nothing was proven this past weekend. Give me winners when there are actually winners to talk about.
NE: I agree with RegNEC but I’m gonna take it one step farther and say Mike Fried. He and Coach Tee both have two programs in the NCAA Quarterfinals, which is amazing, but Wesleyan had to play their NCAA Regionals in different locations. That requires either A LOT of trust in your assistant coach, a lot of managing from afar, and probably a lot of both.
newCentral: Wesleyan went down to the toughest Regional this year and passed all their tests with flying colours. Coach Fried + The Machine met their Lordly test head on and now greet an old friend with the Final Four on the line.
RegNEC: Wesleyan—they got past the toughest test of anyone with a win against Kenyon and they now have a match against a team they’ve already beaten this year for a chance to make their first ever final four.
NewRegional: Wash U. Another year, and 13 straight Elite Eight’s for the Bears. They kept the streak going and have nothing to lose against Emory
Are you changing any of your predictions after one weekend of NCAA play?
AS: Did we have predictions? When did we do that? I don’t remember, but I do know that Monday is going to be a doozy. Don’t sleep on Emory/Wash U. That rivalry will bring the fireworks, especially with Wash U having a chip on their shoulder with all the chat about their candidacy.
NE: I don’t think so. Wesleyan looked really good against Kenyon but without thinking about the individual matchups I still think Middlebury will win that match.
newCentral: This question has me like Jimmy Neutron mid brain blast to try and think if I made any predictions that I need to refute, a remembrall would be really helpful right now! I’m still not sure but I’ll go with my not-yet-researched picks of: CMS, Midd, Emory, Chicago. Two 5-4s, Two 5-2s.
RegNEC: I never made any initial predictions and I won’t change that now!
NewRegional: I think Amherst is going to beat Chicago. Chicago looked vulnerable at the top of the lineup against GAC, and that match probably finishes 5-4, even after a doubles sweep.
What is the one individual matchup you’re most excited for in the QFs?
AS: Jayson Fung (Amherst) vs. Charlie Pei (Chicago). People tend to forget that this will be Pei’s last run at college tennis. The pressure is on and the opponent is tough. I’m calling Fung over Pei in the clincher for Amherst.
NE: Andrew Finkelman vs Lubomir Cuba. Two top-10 players in the country. Each player has won one of their spring single matches, and not so coincidentally their team won that match. It could be the same thing in the deciding match as well.
newCentral: 5 Singles: Nate Eazor (Midd) v. Princeton Carter (Wes)…last match on at 4-4.
RegNEC: Jiang vs Katzman. Two of the best #2s in the country. Jiang is one of a very small number of #2s that can beat Katzman.
NewRegional: Probably should have read all of the questions before I started responding. Parodi vs. Urken