NEPSAC Class A Tennis Tournament Breakdown

NEPSAC Class A Tennis Tournament Breakdown

Click here to see the NEPSAC Class B Tournament Breakdown.

Check out the Nepsac Draws at http://www.preptennis.org/netc10.htm

Before I get started I wanted to point out that I went 8 for 8 predicting the Class A field, too bad I wasn't as successful with Class B.  The number next to each team is its Class A Rank (in my opinion).

First Round Matchups
TOP HALF
(1st Seed, 1) Hotchkiss School vs. (5) Phillips Academy
Phillips should be no match for this Hotchkiss team.  Hotchkiss beat Deerfield 7-0, Deerfield beat Phillips 5-2, enough said.  Hotchkiss rolls to an easy 4-0 victory.

(2) Milton Academy vs. (6) Taft School
I thought that Milton would pick up the second seed and they kind of got screwed over because they got placed on the same side of the draw as Hotchkiss.  I'm not sure whether the unseeded teams are placed randomly or manually but either way Milton has a right to be upset.  I should've gotten a vote on the committee.  Anyway, Milton should edge out Taft in this match but it could be close.  Prediction: Milton 5, Taft 2.

BOTTOM HALF
(4) Loomis Chaffee School vs. (8) Cheshire Academy
Loomis beat Choate 5-2, Choate beat Cheshire 5-2, Loomis will beat Cheshire 5-2.  Cheshire has a very strong 1, 2 punch in Beck Bond '11 and Michael Rosengren '11 but Loomis has too much depth for this squad. Loomis 5, Cheshire 2.

(2nd Seed, 3) Deerfield Academy vs. (7) Choate Rosemary Hall
Deerfield beat Choate 5-2 two weeks ago; they do it again on Saturday.  Prediction: Deerfield 5, Choate 2.

Semi-Finals
(1st Seed) Hotchkiss School vs. (2) Milton Academy
These are the two best Class A teams and it will probably be a battle.  I think that Milton will be able to take the doubles point but I'm not sure that they can pull out 3 singles matches.  The depth of Hotchkiss will probably overwhelm the Stags on Saturday.  Sorry Milton, I like Hotchkiss to win it 4-2 (one match unfinished)

(2nd Seed) Deerfield Academy vs. (4) Loomis Chaffee School
Last time these "two bitter rivals" played Deerfield eked out a 4-3 victory but it was very tight.  Deerfield took the doubles point when third doubles won 9-7 and they got two singles points in third-setters (one in a tiebreaker).  I like Loomis to upset Deerfield 4-3 although it could really go either way.

Finals
(1st Seed) Hotchkiss School vs. (4) Loomis Chaffee School
It's no secret that Hotchkiss beat Deerfield 7-0 and Loomis lost to Deerfield 4-3.  Hotchkiss cruises in this final to a 4-0 victory, preventing Loomis from repeating.

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

Go Celtics! 

New Power Rankings! (Seventh Edition)

New Power Rankings! (Seventh Edition)

 Click here for the Previous Power Rankings.  And just a quick note, if you click on a school in the power rankings list it will take you to the respective school's team page.

The Power Rankings are a weekly strength assessment of each team and generally speaking the rankings are used for the basis of predictions for the coming week as upsets rarely seem to happen.

1. Belmont Hill School (Previously: 1)

Belmont Hill pulled out a tough 8-7 victory over Nobles to essentially claim the ISL title and possibly a number 2 seed in the Class B Tournament.

2. Nobles School (3)

Although Nobles lost to Belmont Hill, they slide up one spot in the rankings because it was a much more competitive match than the Milton-Belmont Hill one.  Nobles had a convincing win over St. Paul's on Saturday 10-5.

3. Milton Academy (2)

After Milton's wins over Andover and Exeter, it looks like they might have a good enough resume to pick up the second seed in the Class A Tournament.  On the other hand, it's been a tough week publicity week for Milton after the Controversial Quotes Post.

4. Roxbury Latin School (4)

Other than New England's, Roxbury Latin only has easy matches remaining on its schedule.

5. St. Paul's School (5)

St. Paul's had a big win over Rivers on Friday by a score of 9-6.  The loss to Nobles won't matter on Selection Day when the Class B Tournament is determined because St. Paul's will be safely in.

6. Rivers School  (7)

Rivers is on pace to have its best record in the past half-decade.

7. St. George's School (8)

St. George's has a big match versus BB&N this Wednesday.

8. St. Mark's School (10)

St. Mark's beat Thayer this past week and they have a showdown with St. Seb's on Wednesday.

9. Middlesex School  (11)

Middlesex has a tough stretch coming up with matches against RL and Belmont Hill; they picked up a big win versus BB&N on Saturday.

10. Thayer Academy (12)

Thayer has the potential to pick up another win versus maybe Collins-less Governor's on Wednesday.

11. Brooks School (13)

Brooks has winnable matches this week against Middlesex, Thayer, and St. Seb's.

12. Groton School (14)

Groton beat BB&N on Wednesday but they have a tough schedule down the stretch.

13. St. Sebastian's School (15)

St. Seb's had a big win against Governor's on Friday.

14. BB&N (7)

BB&N had a rough week and badly missed a few starters in both matches.  After consecutive lopsided losses to St. Paul's, Groton and Middlesex, BB&N has slipped all the way to 14th in the power rankings.

15. Governor's Academy (9)

With Nate Collins injured this team seems to have lost its fire as Governor's dropped matches to St. Seb's, St. Paul's and St. Mark's this past week.

16.  Lawrence Academy (16)

Lawrence has won 2 sets in 11 matches this season for an average of .18 Sets Per Match.  I think I just created a new statistic right there, that could be my legacy.  I'm trying to write the most out of a "bad situation" because I haven't done much coverage of this team all year besides saying that if Lawrence had beaten Belmont Hill it would've been the biggest upset in ISL Sports History.

NEPSAC Class A Prep Tennis Rankings

NEPSAC Class A Prep Tennis Rankings

UPDATED NEPSAC Class A Prep Tennis Rankings

I didn't realize until just now that Cheshire Academy is a Class A team so I just added them in as the number 8 team into the tournament.

Click here for the previous NEPSAC Class A Tennis Rankings.

1. Hotchkiss School Tennis (previously: 1)

Hotchkiss remains atop my Class A rankings and will likely be the number 1 seed in the NEPSAC Tournament. They've pretty much cleaned up except for a 7-0 (scrimmage) loss to Brunswick and a tight 4-3 win against Class B opponent Cheshire Academy.  Hotchkiss is the cream of the crop from the Founders League.  Hotchkiss is by far the best Class A team.

2. Milton Academy Tennis (3)

Milton won a very close match against Phillips Academy- Andover this past week and is likely to get the 2nd seed in the NEPSAC Tournament.  Milton will have its hands full if it plays Hotchkiss but it could potentially pull an upset off.

3. Deerfield Academy Tennis (2)

Deerfield had a slightly more convincing win (than Milton) over Phillips Academy (5-2 instead of 4-2) but it's unlikely that the committee gives both seeds to Founders teams in my opinion.

4. Loomis Chaffee School Tennis (4)

Loomis sits comfortably at the fourth position. They've beaten everyone except Deerfield and it was only a 4-3 loss.  They don't play Hotchkiss until after NEPSACs.

5. Phillips Academy- Andover Tennis (5)

Phillips has close losses to Milton, Deerfield and (Class B) Roxbury Latin.  This squad beat Taft 4-3 at the beginning of the season.

6. Taft School Tennis (6)

Taft has close losses to Hotchkiss (5-2), Phillips (4-3), and Loomis (4-3).

7. Choate Rosemary Hall Tennis (7)

Choate has pulled out a lot of close matches this year but they are likely to get crushed by any team they face first round.

8. Cheshire Academy Tennis (Unranked)

I messed up, I thought that Cheshire was Class B.  Although they are ranked 8th I think that this is the only team that could possibly beat Hotchkiss in the Class A Tournament.  The only reason this team isn't ranked higher is that it lost to Choate 5-2.

As you can tell not much has changed since the last time I did the rankings. Stay tuned because I'll do a full breakdown of the bracket when it comes out.

Did I leave anyone out? Comment below.