I wasn’t going to write anything about tomorrow’s Individuals but then I saw that we have a Blog fan who (very nicely) asked us for offseason content. Well that just made my cold heart grow three sizes…so here is an off-the-cuff quick preview highlighting some matches to watch tomorrow. No research will be done while writing this article. It’s 11:46 p.m. as I type this, and I will be posting by 12:15 a.m. so I can get my beauty rest and be ready for a big day of Blog coverage tomorrow! Call me out on fact checking/spelling mistakes at your own risk. Click here to see the singles bracket. Click here to see the doubles bracket. This one’s for you, Blog commenter, you know who you are.
5 SINGLES MATCHES TO WATCH
#1 Niko Parodi (CMS) vs Daniel Levine (CMU)
Why is the #1 overall seed involved in a first round matches to watch article? Because every single player in this draw is really freaking good at tennis. True, Levine didn’t have the year everybody was expecting after a spectacular junior campaign, but now that’s he’s had time to focus solely on this and train with Downing and Coach Belmonte over the past few weeks, you KNOW he’s going give this tournament everything he has left. Who knows, the GOAT CMU debate could be opened again if he makes a deep run. As for Parodi, we all know just how talented the Stag juniof is, but just how much energy/fitness does he have left? He’s played a ton of tennis this week, and every single match looked beyond draining both emotionally and physically. We could see Parodi win the whole thing, but I also won’t be shocked if he falls victim to a 1st round upset.
#4 Ethan Hillis (Wash U) vs Chad LeDuff (UC Santa Cruz)
Two ITA winners are squaring off in the 1st round of NCAAs, and while they didn’t play each other in the fall, we could see some fireworks on Friday. LeDuff is donning the Slug uniform for the final time, and he has a brutal 1st round matchup in Hillis who not only gets to everything, but can also provide enough offense to keep even a heavy ball striker like LeDuff on his heels. In the fall, I would’ve told you this could’ve easily been an NCAA Finals matchup, but now Hillis is certainly the favorite. That said, we know what LeDuff is capable of, and it’s never a good idea to bet against a senior on his last stand.
#7 Andrew Finkelman (Wesleyan) vs Hayden Cassone (Emory)
This is going to test my no research policy, but I’m pretty sure these two played in the 1st round of NCAAs last year too, with Cassone getting the win. We know what Hayden is capable of when he’s playing well, but this year it’s Finkelman who comes in as the hotter player, with Cassone dropping all three of his singles matches this week (ableit to a murderer’s row of #2’s in Neves, Farrell and Katzman, all three of whom also qualified for this tournament). Finkelman’s game should be an excellent foil for Cassone, as we saw all three guys beat the Eagle sophomore this week by wearing him down. There’s another question of just how mentally and physically fit Cassone will be given he’s played a lot of tennis this week already and has likely been celebrating with his team for the past 24+ hours. If I had been celebrating and was both physically and emotionally spent, Andrew Finkelman might be the absolute last person I would want to see on the other side of the net.
Jerry Jiang (Bowdoin) vs Austin Diehl (Kenyon)
A battle of top #2 players, each with their own unique story. Jiang has been a Bowdoin folk hero since his insanely clutch play (as a freshman) en route to Bowdoin’s title back in 2016. Now as a senior and captain, his big time play is no longer a surprise and has been counted on all year long. On the other side you have arguably the most under-appreciated player in all of DIII (outside of newCentral who worships at alter of the blond bomber every night before bed). Diehl had an insane dual match win streak that came to an end against CMU (Downing, I think) earlier this year, but he probably has more wins in the past two season than almost any other singles player in the country. Both of these guys know how to win, and while Jiang is a senior, this one is as close to a tossup in my mind as we have.
Jed Kronenberg (PP) vs Chaz Downing (CMU)
My final singles match to watch features two guys who could easily go on deep runs in this tournament in JK and #ChazHands. Kronenberg didn’t have quite the phenomenal sophomore year that some were expecting after he burst onto the scene as a freshman and was basically the best player in the West not named Parodi. We know how good he is, and he’s shown it at times this year as well. His opponent on Friday is yet another senior (shocking that my matches to watch are full of seniors!). One of the Blog chat’s oldest jokes at this point revolves around Mr Downing and that he would be a good lower lineup player on a title team. This has obviously been proven 100% wrong as Chaz has become not only one of the best #2’s in the country but also one of the best players, winning his fall ITA and even winning a round at Small College Nationals (I don’t remember if it was the 2nd or 3rd match in the backdraw). Tough to see one of these guys go out in the first round, and don’t be surprised if either pushes the winner of Hillis/LeDuff in the 2nd round as well.
3 DOUBLES MATCHES TO WATCH
#2 Gordy/Parodi (CMS) vs Kerrigan/Kumar (Chicago)
Why is this one interesting? Well we just saw it and it was SO AWESOME. Both sides were crazy pumped up, Parodi broke out the double fist pump with a back so arched it looked like his head was going to hit the ground, then Kumar told him to “hold my racquet” and…well…flung his racquet after the Maroons completed the comeback and took the doubles point to avoid the sweep in their Tuesday NCAA semifinal match. Yup, Chicago won that doubles match, and once again they come as underdogs looking to exact some revenge on the team that knocked them out of the tournament. I’d expect a similar amount of passion tomorrow, assuming Parodi and Kerrigan (but especially Parodi) aren’t too wiped from the singles earlier in the day. Let’s also see what senior captain Julian Gordy has left in the tank after an emotional defeat to fellow senior Adrien Bouchet in his final singles match as a Stag.
#3 Jiang/Urken (Bowdoin) vs Johnson/Whaling (GAC)
This is probably the single match to which I’m most looking forward in tomorrow’s first round. Jiang and Urken are my pick to win the entire tournament. It’s a double senior team, with tons of NCAA experience, and they only played one match this week. It could hurt that both guys will have played at least some singles earlier in the day, but I like the resolve of this duo. However, I would have more confidence in my pick if they had an easier Day 1 opponent. Yes, GAC is known for breeding good doubles teams, but Whaling has been a stellar doubles player for years now, and Johnson has proven his mettle at Indoors tournaments for multiple years in a row now. Whaling is also in the singles, and has a tough matchup against Jack Katzman to start, so Chase Johnson will be the freshest guy on the court, and is a senior to boot. Wow, four seniors all of whom participated in their program’s best wins in the past decade (yes Bowdoin’s best wins in program history, but you can’t say that about the Gusties). Sign me up.
Bouchet/Jemison (Emory) vs O’Kelly/Vithoontien (Carleton)
Finally, a doubles match that is going under the radar. Yes, on paper Emory will be the heavy favorites in this match. But you have multiple things holding the Eagle duo back. 1) They just won a national championship. 2) Both had necessary wins in that championship. 3) Both are seniors and should have been celebrating harder than they ever have over the past 24+ hours. 4) Both are also in the singles draw, and both have tough first round matchups. 5) Finally, BOUCHET AND LEO ARE PLAYING EACH OTHER AGAIN. I don’t actually know if that’s a bad thing for either guy, but I don’t remember a time when two players matched up in the first round of both the singles and the doubles draws. You’d think the committee could’ve avoided this issue but oh well. As for the Knights, we’ve been raving about Leo for over a year now, but don’t look past Jordon O’Kelly who will be BY FAR the freshest player on the court late in the afternoon tomorrow after the other three have had been baking in the Kalamazoo sun (or more likely clouds) all day.
BOOM. That’s it. 12:09 a.m. 23 minutes start to finish. Looking forward to a great day of tennis tomorrow. If you haven’t already, please sign up for our bracket challenge. You have until 11 a.m. tomorrow for the singles and 4:00 p.m. for the doubles.
Thank you Northeast! Love the content!