10 Reactions to 2010 New England's

10 Reactions to 2010 New England's

1. Hopkins is unreal!
2. The NEPSAC should combine Class A and Class B because although Class A schools are bigger, they aren't as good.
3. Class C should be eliminated.  Congrats to Rivers on winning Class C but it is only 15 people smaller than BB&N.  Do classes go by size or ability??  There are about 12 schools in Class C and it's pointless to keep doing Class C Tournaments, plus I hate seeing Rivers wearing New England Champs jackets.
4. I did my homework and Nobles and St. Paul's didn't play New England's for different reasons.  I already ripped Nobles in an earlier post but they didn't play this year basically because they don't value the tournament.  I might add that Nobles has also never played in the tournament so they don't really know what they're missing.  From what I've gathered St. Paul's didn't play because the AD doesn't care about tennis.
5. Carl Reid took down the Brunswick #1 Sam King (who's also the FAA Champion) in an epic match on Saturday. 
6. Belmont Hill could've beaten Hotchkiss.
7. Did I already mention that Hopkins is unreal?
8. I don't understand how Ned Gallagher does the draws for New England's because on the PrepTennis website it says that "unseeded teams were assigned the remaining slots in the draw by random lot." I know for a fact though that teams are randomly assigned to the draw because in the past ten years (when the ISL has averaged four teams in the eight team Class B Draw) no two ISL teams have ever played each other in the first round.  With that being said, it's obvious that the guidelines which he has said he follows aren't being followed.  While I'm not accusing him of rigging draws, I wish that he was clear on how he actually makes the draws because it doesn't seem right to keep everyone in the dark.  I do want to point out that his team (Choate) got a bad draw and had to play the second seed, Deerfield, in the first round.
9. It's time for the ISL to play the 7-point format (with Super-tiebreakers) that we use for New England's
10. I picked all of the Class A and Class B matches correctly except for one, I did get the Hopkins "upset" of Brunswick though.

Nepsac Tennis Class B Final

Nepsac Tennis Class B Final

Sadly I wasn't at the match but luckily for me the Hopkins Athletic Website has a full writeup of the exciting showdown between Hopkins and Brunswick.
The writeup is taken from (http://www.hopkins.edu/athletics/detail.asp?newsid=621010&from=&teamid=9817&viewby=&monthabbr=&thisweek=&eventdate=&yearid=2009+-+2010&gamedate=5/16/10).


Also, just for the record I predicted all of the Class A and Class B Matches correctly in my Class A and Class B Previews.

"Hopkins Barely Bests Bruins 4--3 for New England Prep School Team Tennis Title

5/16/10

 With wins over Buckingham Browne & Nichols and Roxbury Latin on Saturday in the quarter final and semi final rounds of the New England Prep School "B" Team Championships, Hopkins prepared to square off Sunday afternoon against defending champion Brunswick School of Greenwich, Ct. Earlier in the season, Brunswick had defeated Hopkins to win the Fairchester Tennis League Team Championship in a tight 4--3 match.

Play began with the three doubles contests being played first. Coach Ewen played tenth graders Nolan Paige and Russell Einbinder at #1 doubles, and after an even beginning, Einbinder and Paige caught fire and began putting away volleys to win going away, 8--3. Then at #2 doubles, in what proved to be one of the most pivotal matches of the finals, Bobby Berkowitz and Brian Astrachan used quickness at the net and expert angles to overcome Brunswick's team of hard hitting John Brosens and Kyle Wolstencroft, 8--3. The #3 doubles contest was stopped with Brunswick's Sam King and Matt Shang leading Jerrod Dobkin and Michael Bartimer, 7--3. So Hopkins began by winning the one doubles point.

Attention then shifted to the six singles contests. Brunswick's Matt Mackin at #5 singles used a variety of sliced and hard shots to frustrate Hopkins' Jerrod Dobkin, and even the match at 1--1 with a 6--1, 6--3 victory. But then Hopkins' Nolan Paige at #1 singles soon got the lead back for Hopkins with a 6--3, 6--0 win over Brunswick's Sam King. The other matches began to take a longer time. Hopkins' Brian Astrachan at #4 singles was the next to finish, using penetrating ground strokes and sharp angles to defeat a mentally tough Kyle Wolstencroft, 6--3, 6--2. This put Hopkins in a 3--1 lead. But one can never count the determined Brunswick team out. Tri-captain Bobby Berkowitz at #2 overcame a shaky start to come back to win the second set, but then experienced leg cramps and came up short in a gallant effort by a 6--0, 4--6, 6--2 final outcome. Then Hopkins' Russell Einbinder, who had won the first set against a determined John Brosens, also suffered leg cramps after winning the first set and wound up, despite a valiant effort, on the short end of a 2--6, 6--4, 6--1 decision.

This left the match--and the outcome of the New England Team Championship--in the hands of the #6 singles players--Michael Bartimer of Hopkins and Matt Shang of Brunswick. Michael had won the first set by greater steadiness from the baseline, but then Matt began to become more aggressive and held on to win the second set. But this time it was the Brunswick's player's turn to suffer leg cramps as the third set began. Michael promptly forged ahead to a 4--1 lead in the final set, only to see that lead evaporate as Matt courageously used aggressive forehands to even the set at 4--4. Then, in what seemed to be two interminably long deuce games with extended rallies, Michael finally prevailed on the second match point as Shang slid a backhand approach wide into the doubles alley.

This Hopkins team made history, winning the New England Prep School Team Championship for the first time ever, and doing so in the midst of Hopkins' 350th anniversary as a school. Congratulations to the entire Hopkins boys varsity tennis team on their epic accomplishment in 2010!

With best regards,

William L. Ewen"

To see the full Class B Draw go to http://preptennis.org/netc10.htm.


Check out the Class A Finals Writeup.

New England Class B Results

New England Class B Results

Class B First Round

You can find the Class B Preview here if you missed it.

(1) Brunswick beat Tabor
I didn't hear what the score was or any details but after watching Brunswick play I can't imagine it was too close.


Belmont Hill beat Moses Brown 4-0
As expected Bel Hill cruised to victory in this one.

Roxbury Latin beat Berkshire
Not sure what happened.

Hopkins beat BB&N 6-1
 Hopkins was very impressive in their dominant victory.  Nolan Paige and Bobby Berkowitz didn't play singles but I know that Nolan played in the second match and that he's going to play in the match Sunday. I'm not sure whether Bobby is planning on playing the match Sunday.


Class B Second Round


(1) Brunswick beat Belmont Hill 4-1

Brunswick took the doubles point to start the match and apparently they put Sam King '10 (their 1st singles player) at 3rd doubles which I didn't even know was legal because it's a stacking red flag.   Anyway, since the match was at Harvard I was able to make it back from Connecticut in time to watch the singles.  Brunswick dominated the singles early, taking 5 of the 6 first sets in convincing fashion.  The crowd had a lot more Bel Hill supporters but Brunswick stayed very pumped up throughout the singles and they were a lot more emotional and vocal than the Belmont Hill players.  The fourth singles match finished first with a 6-0, 6-0 win for Brunswick. The sole highlight of the fourth singles match up for Belmont Hill was when Nick Tierney pegged the Brunswick player in the chest late in the second set, much to the delight of the Bel Hill fan section.

Brunswick then won sixth singles to bring the overall score to 3-0.  Belmont Hill looked like it might come back when Carl Reid '13 was able to close out his match against Sam King '10 7-5. 6-2 in what was a very physical battle.  Most of the time it was Carl Reid dictating play and attacking the net while Sam King sat on the baseline pounding ground strokes and chasing down volleys.

With the match score at 3-1, Belmont Hill remained in survival mode as Peter Yanofsky '10 was able to win a second set tiebreak at second singles after dropping the first set.  A few minutes later it was Bashiru Akinfolarin '10 who pulled out a second set tiebreak at fifth singles for Belmont Hill to send his match into a third set as well.  In the third set at second singles Peter Yanofsky '10 of Belmont Hill nearly broke back receiving at 2-4 but ultimately he wasn't able to and he was broken serving at 2-5 to end the match and the postseason for Belmont Hill.  The third singles and fifth singles third sets had just started when the match finished.

It was a very competitive match but in the end Brunswick had too much depth for the Senior-heavy Belmont Hill squad.


(2) Hopkins beat Roxbury Latin 4-0

Preview of the Class B Final


(1) Brunswick at (2) Hopkins
It was hard to do the last prediction since I hadn't seen either team play but after today I think that I have a better idea of what's going to happen.  If both teams use the same doubles lineups I envison Hopkins winning easily at first doubles and Brunswick cleaning up at third doubles.  Hopkins has an edge at second doubles but it should be a tight match.

In singles, Nolan Paige '12 should win easily against Sam King '10 at the top spot and the second singles could go either way.  When these two teams played a few weeks ago the second singles point went to Brunswick when Russell Einbinder '12 defaulted at 2-2 in the third set.  I think that whether Bobby Berkowitz '10 plays singles for Hopkins or not, the singles will split 3-3 and whoever gets the doubles point will come out victorious.  I'm tempted to take Brunswick 4-3 because their competitiveness and team spirit is pretty intense but I think that Hopkins will find a way to pull the match out 4-3. Final Prediction: Hopkins will upset Brunswick 4-3 and prevent them from winning a third straight New England Title.

NEPSAC Class B Tennis Tournament Breakdown

NEPSAC Class B Tennis Tournament Breakdown

Click here to see the NEPSAC Class A Tennis Tournament Breakdown.
Check out the Nepsac draws at http://www.preptennis.org/netc10.htm

Before I get into the tournament match ups and predictions I want to dedicate a quick paragraph to the selection process.  Somehow I managed to only predict 5 of the 8 tournament teams when I did my Class B Bracketology and I'm pretty sure it's because St. Paul's and Nobles declined bids to go to New England's.  While I'm happy that BB&N made it into the field I can't understand why Nobles keeps refusing to play New England's.  With all due respect, why would you even bother to play the regular season if you have no interest in playing in the playoffs? Why does Nobles even bother to field a team if they don't want to compete when it matters most?  Is it that they're afraid of losing?

I'm not positive but these past two years may have been Nobles' only good tennis teams ever and for some reason they're afraid to play with the big boys.  Last year I remember that Nobles would have gotten the 2nd seed but they didn't play because they had "things to do" and they "wanted to rest for the Milton match."  That's a bunch of shenanigans.  Why play at all?  I'm sure I'm going to get an email explanation after this post but like they said in Wedding Crashers, Rule #76 "No Excuses Play Like A Champion."

I have no idea why St. Paul's is playing but this is the first time since I started playing high school tennis that they've declined a bid.  Baffling stuff. Berkshire wasn't on my radar at all and they've only dropped 2 matches all season: to Hotchkiss and Taft (both 7-0).  BB&N and Tabor made the tournament for the second straight year because of the withdrawals of St. Paul's and Nobles.

First Round Matchups

TOP HALF

(1st Seed, 1) Brunswick School vs. (9) Tabor Academy

In a rematch of last year's semi-final, Tabor should be no match for this undefeated Brunswick squad.  Brunswick takes this match 4-0.

(3) Belmont Hill School vs. (8) Moses Brown School

This might be Moses Brown's first appearance in ten years or so but Belmont Hill will prove to be far too strong.  Belmont Hill cruises to a 4-0 win.

BOTTOM HALF

(5) Roxbury Latin vs. (Unranked) Berkshire School

Roxbury Latin beat Andover 4-3, Andover beat Taft 4-3, Taft beat Berkshire 7-0.  This should be an easy win for RL 4-0.

(2nd Seed, 2) Hopkins School vs. (Unranked) Buckingham Browne & Nichols School

Hopkins only loss this season came against Brunswick and they aren't going to be tested until the finals; Hopkins wins 4-0.

Semi-Finals

(1st Seed) Brunswick School vs. (3) Belmont Hill School

The most interesting matchup should be the 1st singles battle between Carl Reid '13 (Belmont Hill) and Sam King '10 (Brunswick) but other than that I think that the FAA's best team will dominate the ISL Champion.  I'm predicting a 4-0 victory for Brunswick.

(2nd Seed) Hopkins School vs. (5) Roxbury Latin School

Hopkins has way too much fire power for Roxbury Latin and they should roll to a 4-0 victory, setting up a rematch of last year's final with Brunswick.

Finals

(1st Seed) Brunswick School vs. (2nd Seed) Hopkins School

Brunswick has won the last two Class B Championships so they have a chance to three-peat on Sunday against a Hopkins team that they've beaten 4-3 three times in the past two years (if I'm not mistaken).  Considering how ridiculously close their last match up was I expect nothing less than a 4-3 result in the final.  The New England's match should prove to be very different from the regular season match though because New England's is a 6 singles, 3 doubles format instead of the standard FAA League 4 singles, 3 doubles format where ten players have to play.  It's kind of a battle between USTA Connecticut versus USTA New York players because from what I can tell most of Brunswick's players are ranked in the Eastern Section.  I like Hopkins to reverse the fortunes and win this one 4-3, too bad it's in CT (at Hoplkins) because I'd love to watch this showdown.  If you haven't read the writeup about the Hopkins-Brunswick regular season match, it's worth reading.

Check back on Saturday and Sunday for Live Coverage and Match Write ups.

NEPSAC Class B Tennis Tournament Outlook

NEPSAC Class B Tennis Tournament Outlook

I just realized that Cheshire Academy is a Class A School, I'm an idiot. Anyway here are my new rankings, click here for the Old Class B Rankings, I didn't bother to take Cheshire out of the old rankings.

1. Brunswick School
Brunswick beat Hopkins 4-3 this past week, this result will give Brunswick the number 1 seed for the Class B Tournament.  Hopkins is the only team that can stop Brunswick from three-peating.

2. Hopkins School
I'm a little bit surprised that Hopkins lost to Brunswick but there's no reason why Hopkins shouldn't be able to beat Brunswick in NEPSACs.  I'm concerned that the committee is going to give the second seed to an ISL team (Belmont Hill) when Hopkins is a MUCH stronger team than Bel Hill.

3. Belmont Hill School
As much as I want an ISL school to win New England's there's really no chance that Bel Hill will beat either Hopkins or Brunswick.  Best case scenario is that Belmont Hill gets the second seed and the tournament committee puts Hopkins and Brunswick on the same side of the draw allowing Bel Hill to sneak to the finals and lose.  Realistically I really don't see this team winning more than one match.

4. Nobles & Greenough School
If Nobles is able to avoid Hopkins and Brunswick first round they could win a match.

5. Roxbury Latin School
I'm guessing that RL will probably draw either Hopkins or Brunswick.

6. St. Paul's School
Unless given an easy draw this team will probably bow out first round.

7. King Low Heyward Thomas School
King should pick up the FAA's third birth into the tournament.

8. Moses Brown School
This 8th spot is a real toss up and its annoying that the Moses Brown Athletic Website doesn't have any scores posted but this team isn't bad.

Teams on the bubble:

Tabor Academy
Tabor has a win and a loss versus Moses Brown but what could kill their tournament hopes is a lopsided 9-4 loss to BB&N.

Green Farms Academy
Green Farms has a 4-3 loss to King but if the tournament committee elects to take a 4th FAA team then Green Farms could sneak in.

New England Class B Bracketology

New England Class B Bracketology

If the Nepsac tournament started tomorrow these would be my 8 teams in the tournament.  Check out the Class A Bracketology.

1.  Hopkins
Hopkins is unbelievable.  They have Nolan Paige (ranked top 5 in NE), Bobby Berkowitz (top 20), Russell Einbinder (top 10), Brian Astrachan (top 10), Jerrod Dobkin (top 50) and Michael Bartimer.  Talk about a stacked lineup.  They have a match with Brunswick this week who actually beat them last year and I'm very interested to see what happens.  This might be one of the best teams to ever play in the NEPSAC (assuming they beat Brunswick). The founders league is strong this year.

2.  Brunswick
This team has won Class B's two years in a row so I must be crazy not to have them at number 1 right?  Well when you look at how good Hopkins is it's hard to pick anyone else. I'm not sure who Brunswick graduated although I do know that Sam King plays number one for them.

3.  Belmont Hill
Belmont Hill is a very strong team and probably the best ISL team, as shown by the power rankings, but if Brunswick and Hopkins are healthy I honestly think that this team has zero shot at winning and I mean that with all due respect.  Belmont Hill's strength is their depth and their abundance of good players. Against Hopkins I think that they would lose all top 5 matches in straight sets.

4.  Cheshire Academy
Cheshire has a really good 1, 2 punch in Beck Bond and Michael Rosengren (both top 15 in NE I think). Beyond that I'm not quite sure how good they are but these two could definitely carry them to some big wins.

5.  Nobles
This team is good but do they have a shot in New Englands? Not really just because of how good the field is this year.

6.  Roxbury Latin
This isn't RL's year to win it.

7. St. Paul's
St. Paul's will probably get in unless they lose to BB&N but they are unlikely to make it out of the first round.

8. King School
Don't know much about this school and I don't know who will end up filling this 8 spot because it will probably be a CT school unless BB&N sneaks in here.

Teams on the outside:
BB&N
Williston Northampton
Green Farms
Westminster