If anyone who is going to be at Indoors this weekend is interested in writing some guest articles for the blog, please e-mail me. It would be great to have someone who can relay the dramatic moments, and I would love to keep the blog as up-to-date as possible. For instance, if someone saves 3 match points, serving at 4-5 in the third set, breaks the next game, and wins the match, that's something that cannot be captured by a box score. So please e-mail me if you're going to be there and have an interest in writing
As for results this week...
#6 Cruz def. #26 Bates 6-3
A huge bounce back match for Cruz as they prepare for Indoors, but they didn't answer all of the questions surrounding the team at the moment. What is up with Erich Koenig? And what is going on with the Nurenberg/Scandalis doubles team? Those are problems that need to be fixed before tomorrow.
#15 Redlands def. Washington & Lee 6-3
These two teams had a great battle at the top of the singles lineup, and this match is more proof that the Generals are pretty good this year. It also shows that the Bulldogs are back to their battling ways, and that they are extremely deep this year. I look forward to seeing more results from both of these teams.
#20 Cal Lu def. #24 Brandeis 7-2
I don't know whether to take this as a good sign or a bad sign for the Kingsmen. For one, they dominated a nationally ranked team, but they only did one match better than Occidental. Ballou lost his singles match, which needs to not happen if Cal Lu wants to try to repeat its 2010 success. The fact that Sousa is playing 6, however, bodes well for Cal Lu.
Showing posts with label Cal Lu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cal Lu. Show all posts
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Weekly (Non-Indoors) Predictions
I thought I would just post a few predictions for the significant matches that will be taking place this week not in Minnesota. These aren't really well though out (because that has been working so well for me), and they're really just meant as a jumping off point for discussion, so please comment if you've got a good feel for any of these
#26 Bates @ #6 Cruz
I didn't really take much of a look at this match when I first saw it because Cruz losing to Bates on its home courts was pretty much unthinkable. But since they lost to the #29 team, I figured it's possible that they lose to the #26 team. The Slugs absolutely have to come out fired up for this one and improve on their doubles performance against Whitman. If they take at least a 2-1 lead, I think they cruise to a victory. On the other hand, Bates is stronger than their ranking indicates, and they should be especially strong in singles. If they manage to take a couple doubles matches, watch out. I can't pick against Cruz on their home courts, though, and match experience might be a factor this early in the season. I'll take the Slugs, 7-2.
Washington & Lee @ #15 Redlands
I think I said this before, but the Generals are stronger than their lack-of-ranking indicates. They played and competed extremely well against Hopkins. If we're predicting that Hopkins will be a top 10 team this year, that should mean that W&L has a chance against Redlands, but the Generals were closest in doubles against the Blue Jays, and the Bulldogs have always been phenomenal at doubles. Redlands has also had some pretty impressive non-DIII results early this season, beating a couple top 15 NAIA teams. Redlands probably sweeps doubles and rolls in singles for a 8-1 victory.
#24 Brandeis @ #20 Cal Lu
On the ranking sheet, these two teams are only a couple rows apart, but Cal Lu is trending up and Brandeis is probably going the other way. The Judges also might have trouble adjusting to the California climate, and Cal Lu has improved depth and will be pumped up for their first home match. I will be looking at this box score intently to see exactly how much the Kingsmen have improved deep in their singles lineup. Until they prove that they can win there against ranked teams, I'm going to assume they will lose, but still pick them to repeat their 6-3 victory from last season.
Washington & Lee @ #5 CMS
I wonder if some of Settles' 4-stars that spend time on the bench will get in for this one. 9-0 Stags.
#26 Bates @ #15 Redlands
I think this match will be an absolute battle. As I mentioned, Bates is better than their ranking indicates, and by the time they get down to Redlands, they will have adjusted to the time zone and probably be pretty acclimated to the weather. Without Redlands' results from earlier this year, I would have had this as a possible upset. But since the Bulldogs have played well so far this season, I don't think I can pick against them on their home courts. I think Redlands will take 2 out of 3 dubs, and pull out a 5-4 victory in singles.
That's it for this post, I'll do another for Indoors, and a short one for the other weekend matches (because they matter too, just not as much for the national championship picture). I'm also going to try to take a look at singles and doubles rankings from the regions, but I think it might be a little early for that, and I might wait until after spring break. That's enough out of me. Hope everyone had a great President's Day!
#26 Bates @ #6 Cruz
I didn't really take much of a look at this match when I first saw it because Cruz losing to Bates on its home courts was pretty much unthinkable. But since they lost to the #29 team, I figured it's possible that they lose to the #26 team. The Slugs absolutely have to come out fired up for this one and improve on their doubles performance against Whitman. If they take at least a 2-1 lead, I think they cruise to a victory. On the other hand, Bates is stronger than their ranking indicates, and they should be especially strong in singles. If they manage to take a couple doubles matches, watch out. I can't pick against Cruz on their home courts, though, and match experience might be a factor this early in the season. I'll take the Slugs, 7-2.
Washington & Lee @ #15 Redlands
I think I said this before, but the Generals are stronger than their lack-of-ranking indicates. They played and competed extremely well against Hopkins. If we're predicting that Hopkins will be a top 10 team this year, that should mean that W&L has a chance against Redlands, but the Generals were closest in doubles against the Blue Jays, and the Bulldogs have always been phenomenal at doubles. Redlands has also had some pretty impressive non-DIII results early this season, beating a couple top 15 NAIA teams. Redlands probably sweeps doubles and rolls in singles for a 8-1 victory.
#24 Brandeis @ #20 Cal Lu
On the ranking sheet, these two teams are only a couple rows apart, but Cal Lu is trending up and Brandeis is probably going the other way. The Judges also might have trouble adjusting to the California climate, and Cal Lu has improved depth and will be pumped up for their first home match. I will be looking at this box score intently to see exactly how much the Kingsmen have improved deep in their singles lineup. Until they prove that they can win there against ranked teams, I'm going to assume they will lose, but still pick them to repeat their 6-3 victory from last season.
Washington & Lee @ #5 CMS
I wonder if some of Settles' 4-stars that spend time on the bench will get in for this one. 9-0 Stags.
#26 Bates @ #15 Redlands
I think this match will be an absolute battle. As I mentioned, Bates is better than their ranking indicates, and by the time they get down to Redlands, they will have adjusted to the time zone and probably be pretty acclimated to the weather. Without Redlands' results from earlier this year, I would have had this as a possible upset. But since the Bulldogs have played well so far this season, I don't think I can pick against them on their home courts. I think Redlands will take 2 out of 3 dubs, and pull out a 5-4 victory in singles.
That's it for this post, I'll do another for Indoors, and a short one for the other weekend matches (because they matter too, just not as much for the national championship picture). I'm also going to try to take a look at singles and doubles rankings from the regions, but I think it might be a little early for that, and I might wait until after spring break. That's enough out of me. Hope everyone had a great President's Day!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Season Preview #20: Cal Lutheran
#20 Cal Lu
General Discussion
Two years ago, Cal Lu jumped into the top five sweeping the doubles and winning 1 and 2 singles with one of the best 1-2 punches in the country. After an amazing month, the rest of the country caught on, and their doubles cooled off. Still, they managed to jump from 30 to 12 in one year, which is pretty impressive. Last year, they gave a lot of that back when started off their season with a horrible tournament at Indoors, which not only saw them lose all three matches (two of them in heartbreaking fashion) but also ended Nick Ballou's season. The rest of the year, they played a lot of 6-3 matches. They had one of the best #1's in the country in Giuffrida, a great #1 doubles team, and got an amazing season from Justin Wilson, but they just couldn't win without Ballou. This year, they essentially trade Giuffrida for Ballou, which means they are capable of winning three matches against basically any team. The problem for them was that they couldn't buy a win at 5 or 6 singles last year, and if they want to improve their ranking this year, some of their new players will have to step in and win in those positions.
Where They'll Win
This is no mystery at all. They won 1, 2, and 3 singles against Middlebury, P-P, Redlands (sort of), and Claremont. They also got some good victories out of their #1 doubles team last year. They return their 2 and 3 singles players, Wilson and Worley, and they can essentially slot Ballou in for Giuffrida. I'm just going to cut this section a little short because I'm not telling anyone anything new by saying Cal Lu is strong at 1, 2, 3 singles and 1 doubles. Yeah...
Where They'll Lose
Well, they lost 4, 5, and 6 singles against all those teams I just mentioned. Sousa was actually a capable #4 singles player, and Kowalczyk made up half of a decent #2 doubles team with Wilson, but their 5 and 6 singles players were horrible. I'm not trying to be mean; they were just awful. It must have been weird for the team going into big matches basically knowing that they were going to lose 5 and 6 every time. Fortunately for the Kingsmen, they got two freshman this year, both of whom should be definitively better. I expect the bottom of Cal Lu's singles lineup to be weaker than the top of their lineup this year, but they will be much improved. If they can find some wins at 4, 5, and 6, they will start beating some top 15 teams.
Schedule Analysis
Cal Lu will run the gauntlet again this year, with 15 matches against ranked teams (that's not a misprint). It could be even more if Whittier can get themselves in the rankings. I'm not even going to try to go at it on a match-by-match basis, but I will say that, with so many opportunities, the Kingsmen will definitely capitalize. Of the teams that they play who are ranked above them, I would say Pomona, Kenyon, both Trinity's, Redlands, Bowdoin, Cruz, and maybe Williams are within striking distance. If they can win three of those matches, they will be in prime position for a Pool C bid. I think there's only room for one SCIAC team in Pool C, however, so will it be P-P, Redlands, and Cal Lu
Prediction
The only area that I think Cal Lu really needs to work on to be successful this year is the area between their ears. They can't afford any Ballou blowups, and they need Worley to be solid (and not third sets with the team score tied 4-4). Having more depth should take the pressure off Worley, and I think the Kingsmen will beat Redlands and move back into the 13-17 range, but I don't think their season will be as good as Pomona's (even though they could beat the Sagehens head-to-head). Accordingly, I see them just missing out on Pool C.
Nick Ballou (So.??)
General Discussion
Two years ago, Cal Lu jumped into the top five sweeping the doubles and winning 1 and 2 singles with one of the best 1-2 punches in the country. After an amazing month, the rest of the country caught on, and their doubles cooled off. Still, they managed to jump from 30 to 12 in one year, which is pretty impressive. Last year, they gave a lot of that back when started off their season with a horrible tournament at Indoors, which not only saw them lose all three matches (two of them in heartbreaking fashion) but also ended Nick Ballou's season. The rest of the year, they played a lot of 6-3 matches. They had one of the best #1's in the country in Giuffrida, a great #1 doubles team, and got an amazing season from Justin Wilson, but they just couldn't win without Ballou. This year, they essentially trade Giuffrida for Ballou, which means they are capable of winning three matches against basically any team. The problem for them was that they couldn't buy a win at 5 or 6 singles last year, and if they want to improve their ranking this year, some of their new players will have to step in and win in those positions.
Where They'll Win
This is no mystery at all. They won 1, 2, and 3 singles against Middlebury, P-P, Redlands (sort of), and Claremont. They also got some good victories out of their #1 doubles team last year. They return their 2 and 3 singles players, Wilson and Worley, and they can essentially slot Ballou in for Giuffrida. I'm just going to cut this section a little short because I'm not telling anyone anything new by saying Cal Lu is strong at 1, 2, 3 singles and 1 doubles. Yeah...
Where They'll Lose
Well, they lost 4, 5, and 6 singles against all those teams I just mentioned. Sousa was actually a capable #4 singles player, and Kowalczyk made up half of a decent #2 doubles team with Wilson, but their 5 and 6 singles players were horrible. I'm not trying to be mean; they were just awful. It must have been weird for the team going into big matches basically knowing that they were going to lose 5 and 6 every time. Fortunately for the Kingsmen, they got two freshman this year, both of whom should be definitively better. I expect the bottom of Cal Lu's singles lineup to be weaker than the top of their lineup this year, but they will be much improved. If they can find some wins at 4, 5, and 6, they will start beating some top 15 teams.
Schedule Analysis
Cal Lu will run the gauntlet again this year, with 15 matches against ranked teams (that's not a misprint). It could be even more if Whittier can get themselves in the rankings. I'm not even going to try to go at it on a match-by-match basis, but I will say that, with so many opportunities, the Kingsmen will definitely capitalize. Of the teams that they play who are ranked above them, I would say Pomona, Kenyon, both Trinity's, Redlands, Bowdoin, Cruz, and maybe Williams are within striking distance. If they can win three of those matches, they will be in prime position for a Pool C bid. I think there's only room for one SCIAC team in Pool C, however, so will it be P-P, Redlands, and Cal Lu
Prediction
The only area that I think Cal Lu really needs to work on to be successful this year is the area between their ears. They can't afford any Ballou blowups, and they need Worley to be solid (and not third sets with the team score tied 4-4). Having more depth should take the pressure off Worley, and I think the Kingsmen will beat Redlands and move back into the 13-17 range, but I don't think their season will be as good as Pomona's (even though they could beat the Sagehens head-to-head). Accordingly, I see them just missing out on Pool C.
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