2019 Wallach Recap

People love fall. They love the chill in the air. They love carving pumpkins, pumpkin spice, and yeah some of them just love being basic. For me, my love of fall stems from sports. I love that the playoff baseball keeps you up far too late every night of the week. I love the stress fantasy football gives your Sundays. I love that hockey has started up again and the NBA isn’t too far behind it (Daryl Morey, call your office). Hell, I even love that the WNBA Finals is going to a decisive Game 5 on Thursday night (highly recommend, those games are a blast). But don’t worry readers, we’re not quite done with what is somehow still the biggest love of all in DIII tennis. We have a couple more big fall tournaments to go (mainly the ITA Cup and the Wesleyan Invitational); but, another annual NE tournament took place last weekend so today RegNE/C and NewRegional are here with me to give a little recap. I’ll be taking a closer look at Bowdoin, Brandeis, Tufts, and Bates, while NE/C examines his Liberty League teams, and NewRegional gets the bookends with the top-flight champ in Altmeyer and the bottom-feeding Bantams. Check back later this week for an ITA recap from newCentral, RegionalAS, and maybe, just maybe, if you’re lucky, a WILD CARD article from the headmaster.

#7 BOWDOIN (#4 in the NE)

Who played: Oscar Yang, Evan Fortier, Tristan Bradley, Justin Wang, Justin Patel, Michael Vergara, Jack Carroll, Alan Delman

Noticeably absent: Larry Zhao. While those names may not look like the Bowdoin juggernaut of old, that’s what happens when you lose studs like Tercek/Wolfe.Roddy/Urken/Jiang in the past two seasons. Zhao has been in and out of the doubles lineup for the past two years, but he’s also a junior, so the most likely scenario is that he’s currently abroad. 

The good: Yang and Bradley continued their excellent fall with another deep run in a top doubles draw. They fell in the semis of the ITA to Sorkin/Belandres, but this time they brought home the hardware. They weren’t the only Polar Bears to lift a trophy this weekend, Justin Wang won the B-Flight singles over Yohannes from RPI after escaping a tight super in the semifinals against Bates. Wang was the Polar Bear who struggled the most in the singles lineup last spring, and he’s going to be called upon to play somewhere between #2-4 this year so this is a good sign even if it could be tough sledding. Bowdoin had some good non-winning performances from Oscar Yang, Evan Fortier and Tristan Bradley who all made their flight semifinals (A-A-B respectively) too. 

The not so good: Tough to find something to be really disappointed in, but I guess let’s go with Justin Patel. The lone projected starting Polar Bear senior had a meh tournament, losing in the first round of the C-Flight singles draw to Biswas and bowing out in the B-Flight doubles quarterfinals as well. Granted, both opponents were solid, but I’m sure JP was not satisfied with his weekend. 

What does it all mean: Bowdoin won multiple flights and had strong performances from some of its question marks this weekend so I hope Coach Smith is happy with what he saw from his team (although i guarantee you that happiness was not reflected in any sort of facial twitch that we mortals might call a smile). However, this was just a warm up for next weekend…

What comes next: Wesleyan Invitational next weekend, where we’ll get a very good sense of just how the top of this Bowdoin lineup can compete with the best in the country.

#8 BRANDEIS (#5 in the NE)

Who played: Jeff Chen, Rajan Vohra, Colt Tegtmeier, Simon Kauppila, Niko Ramirez

Noticeably absent: Most of the starters, including Aizenberg, Coramutla, Tzeng and Das. I’m guessing this has to do with Brandeis playing in next weekend’s Wesleyan Invitational?  

The good: All of the possible starters notched at least a couple combined wins this weekend, but Chen/Kauppila won the B-Flight doubles winning a couple of close 8-6 matches along the way. We know Chen is a good doubles player so this isn’t all that shocking, but trophies are trophies, and it must’ve been a good showing from Lil’ Kaup in only his third career appearance. Also, yes Chen lost in the quarters of the A-Flight, but you’re talking about a guy who will likely play either 4 or 5 for the Judges and he beat JT Wynne (projected Skid #1) in the 1st round so that’s pretty damn solid. 

The not so good: Chen backed up his win over Wynne by getting smoked by Fortier (projected Bowdoin #2-4, but he was the 2nd and final Bowdoin player in the A-Flight…) but really the not so good comes from Rajan Vohra in the C-Flight. The junior Judge has been in and out of the singles lineup, but it looks like he’s only in the mix for the #6 spot at this point with Aizy, Cora, Tzeng, Chen and Das safely ahead of him on the ladder. Vohra did bounce back with a semifinal performance in the doubles, and he has a real shot at the doubles lineup (probably two of four along with Das, Tegtmeier, and Kauppila). 

What does it all mean: Overall, I take this weekend for Brandeis as more of a positive than anything else. They can come and compete without their top-4 players, continuing to show they are in a different tier than the majority of teams in this tournament, the tier in which they resided until very recently. Sorry D3Fan, I’m with Mr. T. here. 

What comes next: Like Bowdoin, Brandeis will be at Wesleyan next weekend. Unlike Bowdoin, the lineup they put out should be very different than the one we saw at Wallach. 

#17 TUFTS (#9 in the NE)

Who played: Isaac Gorelik, Rishab Sharda, Ross DeRose, Paris Pentousis, Jack Moldenhauer, Niko Hereford, Ben Biswas, Ethan Bershtein, Josh Belandres, Matt Cashin, Akash Verma

Noticeably absent: B-B-B-B-Boris Sorkin. That’s not an important player to miss, is it? Guessing this is because Young Boris will be playing at the Oracle Cup in a few weeks time. 

The good: In what is becoming almost a ho-hum new normal, Isaac Gorelik made two more deep runs, this time in both A-Flights, where he made the semis of the doubles (with Pentousis which could be a look at Tufts’ #2 team) before losing a tight match to Bowdoin (eventual champs), and made the singles finals earning superbreaker wins over Kania (Bates projected #2-5) and Fortier before falling to Altmeyer in the finals. Biswas and Bershtein also made runs in the C-Flight, both falling in the semifinals.

The not so good: Outside of Gorelik, Tufts went a combined 1-4 in singles matches where they had to step onto the court in the A and B flights of singles. Sharda had been great, but drew the short straw of playing Altmeyer in the 1st round.

What does it all mean: Take that “negative” section with a grain of salt as let’s remember that not only was everybody playing up a spot for Tufts due to Sorkin’s absence, but they also put three guys in both the A & B draws. That means that technically, Tufts’ 8&9 both won two matches in the C-Flight, which is pretty impressive. With Sorkin and Gorelik playing good ball at the top of the lineup, this team will be a tough out come springtime. 

What comes next: Tufts also will be playing at the Wesleyan Invitational next weekend, but they will again be Boris and Belandres…less. 

BATES (#17 in the NE)

Bates Men’s Tennis Invitational, Day 1, at the Wallach Tennis Center.

Who played: Leo Kupferman, Nick Forester, Cam Kania, Jacob Eisenberg, Alex Kennedy, Aaron Ramos, Teddy Koide, Liam Dun

Noticeably absent: Jacob Kauppila, Vid Yadav, Nick Glover. Maybe Bates is anti-senior at this point. Honestly, I have solid guesses at the other teams, but I don’t know what’s happening here. Kauppila and Yadav should not only be lineup players, but probably both in the top half of the lineup for the Bobcats. My best guess is injury at this point, but Glover did play at Middlebury earlier this fall. 

The good: Bates’ youth showed some early signs of encouragement at Middlebury about a month ago, but then didn’t do a whole lot at the ITA. This weekend was closer to the former than the latter. Bates did that thing most tournament hosts do, which is play more players in higher draws, meaning things should be tougher and tougher the farther down you look in the draws. Bates’ young guns went a surprising 3-0 in the first round of the tournament, including a win over Northeast ITA champ SCS (RPI) for freshman Leo Kupferman. All three guys did fall in the quarterfinals, but Leo pushed Altmeyer (eventual champ & Colby #1) to a super, and Cam Kania did the same to Isaac Gorelik (projected Tufts #2). Eisenberg made the semis of the B-Flight and lost 10-8 in a super to the eventual champ in Wang. Finally, Kania/Kupferman made the finals of the A-Flight doubles, falling 8-6 in a tight contest to Bowdoin’s projected top team of Yang/Bradley.  

The not so good: I guess we can look at the other guys in the B-singles draw (Kennedy & Ramos who both went down in the first round of that draw. Or maybe freshman Liam Dun who went 0-2, but I’m stretching here. Honestly, the biggest negative for me is the way Bates posted the results. No bracket, just a list of matches and with a handful of mistakes…

What does it all mean: There are three answers here. 1) Bates can hold their own with some good teams in the region and their youth is already developing. 2) Bates can play anybody close on their own courts. We’ve heard this for years, but unless there was awful weather, Wallach is usually played outdoors and Bates’ outdoor courts are actually quite good/normal. It’s the funky indoors for which you have to watchout . 3) This was a fluke and that might end up being Bates’ best showing of the entire year. Only time will tell, but I prefer to keep Captain Cynical locked away until at least February. 

What comes next: In an odd turn of events, Bates hosts Franklin Pierce in a dual match this weekend. I’ll be interested to see the lineup Coach Gastonguay starts in a match where the Bobcats should have no problems. 

#19 SKIDMORE (#8 in the NE)

Who played: Jack McClaren, JT Wynne, Noah Williamson (he was in the draw but withdrew from singles and doubles), Alper Kulturel, Brendan Jimenez, Suraj Mahtani, Sergiu Celebidachi, Conor Biernat

Noticeably Absent: 4-star freshman David Cohen is one of the best recruits (on paper) that Skidmore has had in a few years, and the only match he’s played all fall was a first round doubles loss in the B flight of the Midd Invite.

The good: Another couple of freshmen with solid results, as Brendan Jimenez won the C flight and Sergiu Celebidachi won the D flight without dropping a set. Suraj Mahtani also had a run to the C flight finals before losing to his teammate. The two flight winners also teamed up to make the finals of the B doubles, losing to Chen/Kauppila of Deis 8-6.

The not so good: The guys we know more about we’re underwhelming. Tough loss to Chen (Deis) for JT Wynne, though it’s not horrible as Chen is a very solid player and there aren’t many easy matches in the A flight. It was a shame to see both Kulturel and Noah Williamson have to pull out (not sure if it was injury, illness, or something else) but it is what it is. Overall though, Skidmore didn’t do much to suggest they have the strength at the top of the lineup to compete with teams ranked ahead of them.

What does it all mean: On the flipside, Skidmore continued to make the statement that they are going to have a lot of depth and should be very formidable at 3-6 singles at the very least, with a number of good options. JT Wynne can absolutely still be a good #1 and there a several guys in the mix to step up and hold their own at #2. On the doubles side, it definitely looks like there’s some potential to find solid 2-3 teams, and I believe Williamson/Wynne will again be solid at #1. Overall, a pretty encouraging fall for Skidmore with still some room to grow.

What comes next: Skid finishes off the fall with a match against Liberty League bottom-feeder Bard, in what will be a good chance for some of the bench guys to get some playing time.

RPI (#12 in the NE)

Who played: Sebastian Castillo-Sanchez, Yudai Terayuma, Andrew Imrie, Abraham Yohannes, Dylan Payne, Eddie Wu, Phoenix Tamaoki, Zack Ebenfeld

Noticeably Absent: Everyone listed on the roster played!

The good: Freshman Abraham Yohannes made the B flight final with wins over Hallal (Colby), Bradley (Bowdoin), and Moldenhaur (Tufts) before losing to Wang (Bowdoin) in a tight match. No other way to slice it, that’s a great result for the man with the ‘fro from Albuquerque. RPI will need him to step into the lineup big time with the loss of a couple guys this year.  Senior Zack Ebenfeld made the D flight final with three straight set wins. Ebenfeld has been more of a doubles guy over his career so I’m sure he’d love to make his mark in singles as well in his senior year. In doubles, Yohannes was again a bright spot, as he and Eddie WU made the B flight semis—neither of their wins to get there were that impressive, but you can only beat who’s on the other side of the net, and all experience is good at this stage of the game. 

The not so good: It’s obviously a bummer to see ITA champ SCS fall in his first round match to Bates freshman Kupferman in a close straight set match, but I’m not too worried about that in the grand scheme of things (though that’s NOT a loss he’s going to want on his resume come NCAA selection time). Yudai Teruyama lost badly in the first round of the A flight, and Andrew Imrie also fell in his first round B flight match, so as nice as Yohannes’ run was, no one else in the top half of RPI’s lineup won a singles match. RPI also went 0-2 in A doubles.

What does it all mean: I would say my takeaway for RPI is similar to Skidmore—unimpressive at the top but some solid depth. However, I would say Skidmore was the better version of the two. Given their conference rivalry I’m always going to naturally compare these two, and as of now the edge goes to Skidmore. That said, there’s enough uncertainty with both teams that I’m far from ready to declare Skidmore out-of-reach. RPI is going to have some work to do to rebuild after losing a few key lineup guys, but if Yohannes can step up, SCS can hold it down at 1, Ebenfeld becomes a dependable low lineup guy, and they figure out their doubles, good things can happen. There are a lot of “ifs” in that, but I’m saying there’s at least a chance.

What comes next: For Sebastian Castillo-Sanchez it’s off to Rome, Georgia for singles at the ITA Cup next weekend, while the rest of the team is scheduled to play the Wesleyan Invitational that same weekend.

COLBY (#19 in the NE)

Who played: Scott Altmeyer, Jan Wenger, Max Schuermann, Jonathan Hallal, Luis Gonzalez Kompalic, Ben Powis, Gerard Lopez, Josh Fleishman

Noticeably Absent: Sumukh Pathi, Garrett Reiter. Both juniors are abroad this fall, and played #2 and #4 respectively last year. Colby had 8 players around this fall, and everyone got to play in their last tournament of the season. 

The good: Scotty Altmeyer how you doin?! Altmeyer won the A-flight for the second year in a row, taking out Sharda (Tufts), Kupferman (Bates), Yang (Bowdoin), and Gorelik (Tufts) to bring home the hardware. His win over Gorelik is particularly impressive as Isaac has been having himself a fantastic fall – winning the Midd A-flight (note: Sharda also won the B flight. Damn, Tufts finna win a natty??) and making the quarters of ITAs. Max Schuermann picked up a nice win over Pentousis (Tufts) in the B-flight. 

The not so good: Whelp, Colby went 0-4 in doubles. That’s not so good. Colby certainly had some opportunities, losing 8-6 in two matches, but this was not the doubles weekend Coach Reeb was looking for. If Colby wants to get back in the national rankings, they are going to need to improve their doubles. Coming back from a 1-2 doubles deficit as an underdog ain’t easy. Outside of Altmeyer, Colby went 2-6 in singles with Schuermann and Gerard Lopez each winning a match in the B and D-flights. 

What does it all mean: It means that Colby has some work to do this offseason. While I’m sure Colby would have liked to pick up a few more wins, it certainly wasn’t a disaster of a weekend for the Mules – first years Wenger and Powis got a little more experience, Schuermann looks ready to build off last year, and Altmeyer balled. Colby stock holding steady

What comes next: Snow and subzero temperatures (has it snowed in Maine yet?). Colby is done for the fall and after a little R&R will set its sights on the spring season as we embrace the szn preview grind. 

TRINITY (NR in the NE)

Who played: Chris Bilicic, Charlie Kilbourn, Will Frigerio, Alfi Auersperg, Matthew Fenty, Ryan McGarvey, Ross Derose

Noticeably Absent: Granville Kaynor – junior and two year starter. 

The good: Chris “Tall Drink of Water” Bilicic (seriously, the dude is 6’9”) took Cam Kania (Bates) to a third set superbreaker in the first round of the A-flight, and Bilicic and Dylan “Yeah I’m from Bermuda, you jealous?” Powell beat Eisenberg/Ramos (Bates) in the first round of A-flight doubles. Ross DeRose is listed as a Tufts player on the results, but pretty sure that’s a typo. DeRose had a solid freshman year and lost in 3 sets to Forester (Bates) in the A-flight. Senior Will Frigerio went three sets with Koide (Bates) in C-flight action. Trinity was the only unranked team in the tournament, so it’s encouraging to see their guys battling, especially in the top flight. 

The not so good: Trinity was overmatched in all flights and doesn’t have a top guy that can make a run in fall tournaments. The Bantams were left without a player after Day 1. 

What does it all mean: It doesn’t mean too much. Bilicic and DeRose seem to have taken a step forward which is encouraging, but I still think Trinity is looking at a 9th place finish in the NESCAC this year (ahead of Hamilton and Conn)

What’s next: Apple picking and pumpkin carving 

4 thoughts on “2019 Wallach Recap

  1. Matt

    Belated welcome back to all of the writers–and thanks for all of your blogging hours.

    D3NE, you could probably speak to this better than I could, but I feel as if Bates has a history of resting its veterans at the Wallach. Odd, certainly–but a recurring theme.

    1. D3 Northeast

      Interesting. I will need to go back and check, but I don’t necessarily remember this being any sort of trend. You think it’s more than just juniors being abroad? And when you say veterans do you specifically mean top players or just upperclassmen?

      1. Matt

        This is really dating myself, but I was thinking of how at various points–unless I’m misremembering–Timmy Berg, Pierre Planche, and Christopher Ellis didn’t play. But you’re right, there probably isn’t anything systematic behind their absences.

        Again, glad to have you all back.

  2. Joe Tegtmeier

    Great read…well great listen (as I drive to MN enjoying Fall color). Super analysis with usual fun tone. Appreciate the nod D3NE. Yep, the Judges looked good. Rest of the guys were down in Waltham opening the new Cordish Tennis Center. New outdoor w/purdy Scoreboard and “The Hill” for fan viewing. Hey Charlie Kilbourn! (Another USTA Midwest guy).

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