Weekend (Non-Indoors) Predictions

Carnegie Mellon's Vinit Palayekar

There are some matchups happening this weekend that are worthy of recognition, but once Indoors starts, I will probably not pay attention to anything else. Here are my predictions for those matches:

Saturday


#21 Wisconsin-Whitewater @ Kalamazoo


Kalamazoo has proven that they are tough, especially on their home courts, but there's a really safe way to view this match: Whitewater beat Chicago 5-4. Kalamazoo lost to Chicago 5-4. Whitewater swept Chicago in doubles. Chicago swept Kalamazoo in doubles. I think these two teams will end up splitting the singles, but Whitewater has been really good in doubles and Kalamazoo has been atrocious. Unless something has changed drastically in the way the Hornets play doubles in the last week, I have to take the Warhawks in this one. 6-3.

#17 Carnegie Mellon vs. Luther


Luther got demolished by Whitewater two weeks ago. Sure, Whitewater is especially good this year, and CMU might be in for a down year, but I just can't pick the upset in this one. Luther apparently has two good singles players, but if they can't win in doubles, they have no chance. This is the first look we'll have at CMU this year, but until they prove that they're especially bad this year, I'll have to go with the Tartans by a score of 7-2.

#24 Brandeis @ #15 Redlands


Redlands starts its D3 schedule tomorrow against Bates, but I think it's safe to say that Bates is significantly better than Brandeis this year after the Judges' loss to Oxy. The only way I see this match being close is if the Bulldogs completely let down after a big win tomorrow. Again, Redlands have looked good this year so far, but they are prone to weird performances. Plus, the Judges will definitely be acclimated by the time they play Redlands. I think Brandeis will play its best match of the trip against Redlands but still lose 8-1.

Luther @ #16 Depauw


I consider CMU and Depauw to be a lot alike this year. Both teams competing for a Pool C bid and flying a little bit below the radar. The difference is that Depauw now has a significant blemish on its record already, so they have to play balls-to-the-wall for the rest of the season if they want to make the tournament. I think they will eventually have to take their foot off the gas, but there's no way that happens in their first big match after the upset. Depauw, 8-1.

#26 Bates @ #5 CMS


Bates, quite simply, has no chance to win this match. It's scary to me that the Stags can use teams ranked in the 20's as warm ups, but they have certainly have a well-planned schedule this year. 9-0 Claremont.

Sunday


#17 Carnegie Mellon @ #16 Depauw


If you ignore the state of Minnesota, this is the match of the weekend. After being upset by Case last weekend, Depauw absolutely cannot afford to lose this match, but the Tartans need it almost as bad. Losing to a Pool C competitor is always incredibly damaging. Given Chicago's start, Pool C looks a little bit more open to both of these teams, but neither can afford to lose this one. Depauw has the slight advantage of playing on their home courts, but that didn't help them last weekend. CMU, however, hasn't played a significant DIII match yet. I think last weekend's experience ends up making the difference in this match, and Depauw wins a 5-4 thriller.

Wild Weekend

Whitewater junior, Andrew Bayliss

Another crazy set of matches in the last 24 hours, and I'm not really sure how to cover them, so I'll just go chronologically.

#19 Case Western def. #16 Depauw 6-3

I couldn't have been more wrong about Case Western, but at least this time, the original D3 was with me. They played strong doubles, just like we knew they were capable of playing, but this time, they found a way to win three singles matches. These guys must be pretty tough to take two three setters in their fourth match of the weekend. This win saves their season, but in no way does it mean they will get a Pool C bid. Still, with Chicago's loss, it seems like they're extremely vulnerable, so all they have to do to get the bid is probably beat CMU and Chicago, which is possible. It's still a long shot, but it looks about 100 times more likely than 24 hours ago.

For Depauw, this loss is absolutely devastating. They could sneak into Pool C with wins over W-W and CMU if CMU gets got and beats Case, but in my mind, that's much less likely than them just beating Kenyon for the conference championship. Kenyon is still better, but anyone can get hot for one match. We'll see what happens next weekend for the Tigers (though that match will probably fly under the radar with Indoors)

Kalamazoo def. #23 Rhodes 5-4

This is actually a really interesting result. For one, Kalamazoo finally got a tight win, but from the start times of the two matches in Fredericksburg this morning, I'm guessing they started the match with singles. That means the match was already clinched by the time they went into doubles. I really think this helped Kalamazoo because, if they had been down 0-3 going into singles, it's probably much less likely that they win five of six singles. Regardless, the Hornets finally got their win, and that bodes well for them the rest of the season. They have winnable matches against Whitewater and Trinity left, and they will probably need to win one of those to finish the year in the national rankings.

Rhodes, on the other hand, will probably fall out of the national rankings, and they have little hope of returning. Their only other matches against ranked teams are against Tyler (which will probably fall out of the national rankings themselves) and a possible match with Trinity in the conference chamionship (which is probably unwinnable). The Lynx are still a good team, but they really needed a win this weekend, and they didn't get it.

#29 Whitman def. #22 Mary Washington

I've been pretty harsh on Whitman so far, but when you're wrong, you're wrong. On paper, they really have no business beating Mary Washington, but they found a way to win again today. D3 mentioned that the weekend was a total team effort, and it's true that they won at least one match from every position (a statistical unlikelihood over the course of three matches). They will be probably be rewarded for their play this weekend with a top 15 ranking, and they are now the biggest Cruz fans on the face of the planet. All they have left on their schedule are matches against an underrated Whittier team and Trinity (CT). They have to avoid to letdown if they want to stay away from the brutal California regional for sure. Short on talent, long on heart.

For Mary Washington, this match hurts, but it's not the end of the world. The big concern is that they looked so much better than Whitman yesterday. They have to be asking themselves how it all went wrong, and I have no idea. I know the Eagles are hoping to return to prominence, but they don't have as much to worry about with Salisbury anymore, so they pretty much have a ticket to NCAAs. Plus, they have a ton of matches left against ranked teams, so they'll have plenty of chances to get their ranking up. Next up for them is a California swing against Cal Lu, Pomona, and Redlands. If they can get a win there, it would be huge.

as good as those matches were, the match of the night goes to....

#21 Whitewater def. #11 Chicago 5-4

I was extremely harsh on Whitewater in the season preview, and I think I have to learn to stop paying so much attention to tennisrecruiting.net. The teams that are ranked with poor recruits are clearly up their for a reason, and Whitewater also has a ton of heart. This box score has the classic look of an upset: a doubles sweep followed by two gritty singles wins. The Warhawks have always played good doubles. Hopefully they don't have to rely on it so much in the future. Up next for Whitewater is Kalamazoo, a match I now think they will win. As a side note, the schedule on Whitewater's calendar doesn't include Depauw, but I think they're playing. This match is now incredibly significant.

For Chicago, I don't even know what to say, really... here's a tweet from one of Whitewater's players:

@d3tennis at 6 singles..The guy swore at the uww player.. Walked off the court at 2 0. Proceeded to break a racket and swear at his coach.


This is the second time something like this has happened in the last two calendar years. I have a hard time imagining someone just walking out on their teammates like that, but it happened. They think they can beat anyone just because they are insanely talented, but tennis has a lot to do with desire, which I guess is something Chicago just doesn't have. I guess they enjoy their crappy reputation, but it's not helping them at all. We'll see what they do at Indoors, I guess. Somehow, I doubt they'll beat Wash U again.


Incidentally, I had a horrible weekend, prediction-wise... again. But I'm gonna keep trying. I'm new at this. The original D3 is all-wise and all-powerful, picking Whitman and W-W, but even he is having a hard time keeping up with all these upsets (Case and Zoo). Fun times to follow DIII tennis.


Formatting issues, I'll fix them later

Weekend Preview: February 18th-19th

Weekend Preview #2

Mary Washington's University Tennis Center, the site of last year's Indoors, hosts a slightly less exciting quad this weekend

Saturday


Washington & Lee @ #13 John's Hopkins

Washington & Lee beat Christopher Newport 5-4 over the weekend (in a match that went unnoticed by me), but that doesn't mean that they're ready to compete with the Blue Jays. Still, I'm interested in this match to see which of Hopkins' 39 freshmen will be playing in the starting lineup. I'll take Hop, 9-0, on their home courts, as they try to start off the season on the right foot, and strike some fear into the hearts of their opponents.

#19 Case Western @ #16 Depauw

This is the match of the weekend--at least in terms of NCAA tournament implications. Case had an extremely disappointing weekend, but it was pointed out to me that winning 2 out of 3 doubles against NCW looks a little better in light of the Bishops' victory over Kenyon. A loss would be devastating for Depauw, but it would essentially end Case's chances of making NCAAs. There's definitely a lot on the line for such an early season match. I'm tempted to take Case because they've already played some intense matches, but I think Depauw is slightly underrated, and, in the words of G.W. Bush, "Fool me once, shame on-- shame on you. Fool me-- you can't get fooled again." I'm gonna go with Depauw, 6-3.

Sunday


#11 Chicago vs. #21 Wisconsin-Whitewater

In my season preview of Whitewater, I said they had no chance to win this one. Then I saw the Maroon's box score against Kalamazoo this weekend, and I was reminded that they lost 2 of 3 doubles to Grinnell. I was hoping for Chicago's sake that their new coach would have instilled a little discipline into them, but I can see that they still like to mess around. If they're not serious, Whitewater could surprise them, but I still think they will do enough to get the W this time. I'll take Chicago, 6-3.

Mary Washington Quad


I wouldn't be surprised if none of these teams make it out of the weekend unbeaten, but I think that Mary Washington has the best chance. These four teams are probably more even than anyone would have anticipated when they scheduled it, and it reminds me of a best-of-five match between Nadal and Djokovic (not in level of tennis): even when one of them is clearly playing better than the other, it never ends in three sets. The losing player always has enough pride and grit to pull out at least one set, and it's so easy for the other to get complacent with the lead. That's how I see this weekend playing out.

In the Saturday morning matches, Mary Washington will come out excited and fresh for their first big match of the season and gut out a 6-3 win over Kalamazoo. Whoever wins the doubles will win the afternoon match between Whitman and Rhodes, but after Whitman's performance last weekend, I think they will come out energized and take advantage of Rhodes' lack of match toughness. Probably 5-4 either way in that one

In the afternoon matches, Mary Washington will take care of business with its biggest crowd of the weekend (I just don't see many college students showing up for those weekend morning matches). Rhodes has a shot at this one if they come out angry, but I don't think their lineup matches up well with MWU. Probably 7-2 again for MWU. Kalamazoo will be sick of losing close matches by the time the afternoon rolls around, and Whitman will either feel nervous about backing up their results or overly-confident. I think the Hornets win 2 of 3 doubles, and Whitman won't be able to recover in singles. 6-3 Kalamazoo.

In the Sunday matches, I just think MWU is better than Whitman, especially on their home courts. I also think Whitman will struggle their second day in the Eastern time zone. 6-3 MWU. In the final match, I think Rhodes will come out like an angry bear and beat 'Zoo. This prediction is more about heart than anything about these two teams' lineups. The Lynx will be determined not to leave Fredericksburg without a win.

Obviously, with teams this close is skill level, it could go any way, but I think it's likely that the end result will look something like:

MWU 3-0
Rhodes 1-2
Whitman 1-2
Kalamazoo 1-2

Season Preview #16: Depauw

#16 Depauw

General Discussion


Depauw sort of flew under the radar last year. They played a strong schedule, and had some good wins (CMU and Rhodes), but they somehow didn't garner much attention. Hopefully, the Tigers can make some waves this year, as they return 5 out of 6 players, and bring in a solid recruiting class. The story for Depauw this year is their switch from the SCAC to the NCAC. That probably saves their athletic department a lot of money in travel expenses, but in tennis terms, it just means that Depauw has gone from being Trinity's little brother to being Kenyon's little brother. Still, the Tigers have the ability to win both to win the conference or to make the tournament through Pool C.

Where They'll Win


Outside of their match against Denison, Depauw played really solid doubles last year. They swept Chicago, and took two out of three against Rhodes, CMU, Luther, and Gustavus. They also played Emory, Trinity, and Wash U extremely close in doubles, and it was probably their inability to take #1 doubles against Trinity that cost them the conference tournament. Look for doubles to be strong for them again, as they have the option to keep two of their doubles team, and their #1 singles player from last year, Rardon, could make a good doubles team with anyone. Unfortunately, their three doubles teams were the only positions that produced consistently for them, and they had trouble finding wins across their singles lineup.

Where They'll Lose


Though the Tigers' singles lineup was somewhat inconsistent overall last year, their depth was particularly problematic. They lost 5 and 6 in almost all of their matches against ranked teams last year (neither the 5 or 6 finished in their match against CMU). They graduated Schouweiler, who was rock solid for them last year, and might have brought in one start-ready freshman. Their ability to win deep in the lineup will probably depend on how the returning bench players have developed. I'm sure some of their players have improved a lot, but I don't think Depauw is as deep as any of the teams in the top 15, which is what could hold them back from winning conference or Pool C.

Schedule Analysis


The Tigers start their D3 season in two weekend when they play Case, followed by CMU and Luther the following weekend. The other big matches on their schedule are Wisconsin-Whitewater, Emory, Wash U, and a potential conference championship match with Kenyon. I have to say that this schedule doesn't give them much of a chance to make Pool C. The only teams they play that are ranked ahead of them are Emory, Wash U, and maybe Kenyon. They have basically no chance to beat either Emory or Wash U, and if they beat Kenyon, they will make Pool A anyways. And that's all that I have to say about that.

Prediction


Like last year, Depauw's whole season is basically going to be decided by one match against Kenyon that will decide whether or not the will make the tournament. I predict that they'll get a couple wins against ranked teams like Case and Denison, but I think they will get upset by either CMU or W-W. I think they will come really close against Kenyon, but in the end, I think they'll lose either 5-4 or 6-3 and finish the year in the 18-22 range.