Standings

Standings

Place	School	W	L		Power Rank
1	Belmont Hill	8	0		1
1	Nobles	8	0		3
3	Milton	8	1		2
4	Rivers	6	1		6
5	St. Paul's	5	2		5
6	Roxbury Latin	6	3		4
7	BB&N	5	3		7
8	St. George's	4	3		8
9	St. Mark's	3	3		10
10	Groton	3	4		11
11	Governor's Academy	2	5		9
12	Middlesex	2	6		13
13	Thayer	1	7		12
14	Lawrence	0	7		16
14	Brooks	0	7		15
16	St. Sebastian's	0	8		14

Friday's Predictions

Friday's Predictions

(14) St. Sebastian's will beat (16) Lawrence Academy 12-3
Seb's should pick up its first win of the year in this match.

The Moment of Truth- Wednesday's Match Results

The Moment of Truth- Wednesday's Match Results

Of the results I've seen so far I'm still perfect but there are a lot of matches that haven't been reported yet.  If you have a score please post it in the comments below. Click here for my match predictions.

MAKEUP: (15) Brooks beat (11) Groton 10-5; I predicted an 11-4 loss
I definitely overlooked this match and this is a very good result for this Brooks squad.  This result will  make this weekends power rankings pretty interesting since Groton has wins over (12) Thayer and (13) St. Seb's.

(7) BB&N beat (12) Thayer Academy 13-2
Richie Robbie picked up Thayer's only points at number 1 singles.

(2) Milton Academy beat (4) Roxbury Latin 11-4; I predicted a 9-6 victory.
Milton swept the doubles and then took 1, 2, 3 and 6 singles.  I figured that this match would be a little bit closer than the final result because I didn't expect RL to lose both sets in 3rd and 6th singles.

(1) Belmont Hill beat (16) Lawrence Academy 15-0; I predicted a 15-0 victory.
I was kindof hoping Lawrence would pull off the upset in this match but I guess it wasn't meant to be.  Maybe it would've been more competitive if Belmont Hill hadn't gotten to play on their homecourts.

(3) Nobles beat (8) St. George's 11-4; I predicted a 12-3 victory.
Although I'm not sure if Nobles played all of their starters this appears to be a solid result by St. George's.

(13) Middlesex beat (14) St. Sebastian's 9-6; I predicted a 8-7 victory.

Brooks-Groton got rescheduled for Friday.

Rivers- St. Paul's got rescheduled.

Governor's-St. Mark's got rescheduled.

The ULTIMATE Showdown- Will I Be Considered the Greatest Match Picker of All Time?

The ULTIMATE Showdown- Will I Be Considered the Greatest Match Picker of All Time?

 Cam Woodsum (Me), BB&N

If you are going to read any of my prediction articles this is the one to read. Tomorrow has the most interesting match ups and it may be the most competitive day of the entire season.  You have the 2 vs. 4, 5 vs. 6, 9 vs. 10 and 13 vs. 14, in the life of a high school blogger what gets better than this.  You might ask why I put a picture of me at the top?  Simple, I'm something like 39 for 40 on the season picking matches and I need all the moral support that I can give myself because tomorrow will be my toughest day yet.  If I pick every match right then I might just retire and move to Vegas so that I can bet full-time.  I'm just saying...

Blogging from the hospital is about to become the next big thing. I don't mean to make this a super personal site but I wanted to mention that I had left hip surgery today at Children's Hospital and the surgery was a success.  If you're having hip problems Dr. Yen at Children's is the guy to see. Hip surgery is not an uncommon thing when it comes to tennis and it's become a more and more common and recognized injury.  If you're having hip problems feel free to email me because after this second surgery I feel like a certified hip expert.

If you haven't been on the site in a little while here are links to a few of my writeups:
Class A Bracketology
Class B Bracketology
Founders League Tennis vs. Independent School League Tennis Debate
MVP Update
Most Recent Power Rankings

Here are tomorrow's predictions:

(2) Milton Academy Tennis will beat (4) Roxbury Latin Tennis 9-6
I think that Milton is the definite favorite in this matchup and that they should have a clear advantage at 1st and 2nd Singles and Doubles.  I expect that Milton will get ahead early and stay ahead until the end.


(13) Middlesex Tennis will beat (14) St. Sebastian's Tennis 8-7
This was a really tough pick because both teams are winless (not counting Middlesex's win over Lawrence) and they have very few common opponents so far.  There really is no favorite and I'm split 50/50 over who will win it but I have to choose a winner so I'm taking Middlesex.  This could be a very tight match.


(9) Governor's Academy Tennis will beat (10) St. Mark's Tennis 9-6
This match could turn out to be a thriller because these two teams are pretty evenly matched. I think Governor's has a slight edge and I expect them to pull it out with Nate Collins leading the way.

(5) St. Paul's Tennis will beat (6) Rivers Tennis 9-6
Another very even match but St. Paul's definitely has the edge and although I expect this match to be very close, I would be shocked if Rivers wins this.

(7) BB&N Tennis vs. (12) Thayer Academy Tennis
The Jess Karol-Richie Robbie match at number 1 singles has the potential to be a very competitive match. No score because I don't predict BB&N scores anymore.

(1) Belmont Hill Tennis will beat (16) Lawrence Academy Tennis 15-0
If Lawrence were to win this it might be the biggest upset in ISL history in any sport.

(11) Groton Tennis will beat (15) Brooks Tennis 11-4
This is the first team that Brooks will play that's not ranked in the top ten.

(2) Nobles Tennis will beat (8) St. George's Tennis 12-3
One of the few easy picks that I get to make, it should be an easy win for Nobles.

Power Rankings- Fifth Edition

Power Rankings- Fifth Edition

Sorry for the delay guys.  I've been perfecting the rankings.  Also, if you haven't subscribed to the blog via email enter your email above. You get automatic emails everytime I post something on the blog and it's easy to unsubscribe if you don't like it.

1. Belmont Hill School 7-0

Belmont Hill didn't drop a set this week and the only team left on their schedule that could dethrone Belmont Hill is Nobles but I'd say it's very unlikely that Nobles takes more than 5 sets against the Hill.  Belmont HIll looks like a lock for the New England Prep Tennis Class B Tournament.

2. Milton Academy  7-1

Milton also didn't drop a set this week and Andrew Lebovitz beat Richie Robbie 6-4, 6-0.  Milton could make some noise in the New England Class A Tennis Tournament.

3. Nobles School  7-0

Nobles had a solid week, highlighted by a convincing 13-2 win over BB&N.

4. Roxbury Latin School  6-2

Roxbury Latin picked up three wins this week and they have a HUGE showdown with Milton on Wednesday.  Look forward to a match breakdown late tonight.

5. St. Paul's School 5-2

St. Paul's has two very important matches coming up this week against 6th ranked Rivers and 7th ranked BB&N.  They need to win both matches to ensure that they get a birth in the Class B Tournament.

6. Rivers School  7-1

Rivers is having a very solid season this year.

7. BB&N  4-3

If BB&N beats St. Paul's this Saturday they may have a case to make New England's.

8. St. George's School  3-3

The St. George's-St. Mark's make up match should be very interesting.

9. Governor's Academy  2-5

Governor's dropped a tough 9-6 match to Rivers this past week.  They have an important match against St. Mark's on Wednesday.

10. St. Mark's School  3-3

St. Mark's has a key matchup with Governor's on Wednesday.

11. Groton School 3-4

Groton lost both matches this week and they should have a good match with Middlesex this Saturday.

12. Thayer Academy (14th last week) 1-6

I appreciate the Thayer website being fully updated.  Thayer will get another win this Saturday against Lawrence.

13. Middlesex School  (12th last week) 1-6

Wow. I'm impressed, last week my comment was for Middlesex to update its website and today all the scores were up-to-date.  Thank you Coach Palmer.  Middlesex picked up its first win against Lawrence Academy this past week.

14. St. Sebastian's School (13th last week) 0-7

St. Seb's should pick up its first win against either Middlesex on Wednesday or Lawrence on Friday.

15. Brooks School 0-7

Brooks should get its first win May 5th against Lawrence.

16.  Lawrence Academy 0-5

Lawrence finally got its first couple of sets this season against Middlesex.

New England Prep Tennis Class A Bracketology

New England Prep Tennis Class A Bracketology

I already covered Class B in an earlier post and here's my take on Class A.
For last year's Class A Tournament click here.

As I compiled this list it quickly became obvious how little depth there is in Class A.  While over the past decade Class A has often had the best team in New England (better than the Class B champ) the tournament has tended to be fairly weak in comparison with Class B.  It seems that almost every year there is a clear-cut Class A favorite while in Class B it's more of a toss up with a few comparable teams.  Class A is a much smaller division with less competition to get into the tournament.  Here's my list of teams.

1.  Hotckiss School

Hotchkiss is clearly the best team in Class A this year but they could be tested by Loomis and Deerfield.  They won the Kingswood tournament and have beaten every team they've played so far except Brunswick who beat them 7-0 in a scrimmage.

2. Deerfield Academy

Deerfield boasts wins over Loomis Chaffee and Phillips Andover.  They're undefeated but they finished the Kingswood Tournament in third place behind Hotchkiss and Hopkins.

3. Milton Academy

Milton's only test so far has been against Belmont HIll and they lost 11-4.  We will see how this team stacks up against the other Class A powers.  With Noah Bragg I think this team wins Class A's with ease.

4. Loomis Chaffee School

Other than a 4-3 loss to Deerfield, the reigning Class A champion is undefeated. 

5. Phillips Andover

This team lost in the New England Class A finals last year in a match that came down to the final set.  They aren't quite as strong after graduating Trey Meyer.

6.  Taft School

Taft has lost close matches to Andover, Loomis and Hotckiss.

7.  Choate Rosemary Hall

Choate probably won't make it out of the first round this year.

8.  Kingswood-Oxford School

The 8th team is a toss up because there are a lot of mediocre teams that could be put here.

Bubble Teams:

Phillips Exeter

Groton

Weekend Results

Weekend Results

Check out my predictions here.

BB&N beat St. Sebastian's 11-4
Conor Haughey won his singles match against Jess Karol at 1st Singles.

Non-League: Roxbury Latin beat Phillips Andover 4-3

Nobles beat Groton 15-0

Rivers beat Middlesex 11-4

Belmont Hill beat St. Mark's 14-1

Milton Academy beat Lawrence Academy 15-0

St. George's beat Brooks 13-2

I need scores! Comment Below.

This Weekend's Match Predictions

This Weekend's Match Predictions

Sorry for the late post it's been a busy day.  If you haven't checked out the MVP Update check it out.

Just a quick note, I'm no longer doing predictions for BB&N matches because I don't want to influence my own team.
Friday:

Belmont Hill will beat St. Mark's 14-1

St. George's will beat Brooks 13-2

Nobles will beat Groton 14-1

St. Paul's will beat Thayer 12-3

Saturday:

Roxbury Latin will beat Governor's Academy 11-4

Milton will beat Lawrence 15-0

Rivers will beat Middlesex 11-4

2nd Edition of Standings

2nd Edition of Standings

Place School W L Power Rank 1 Belmont Hill 6 0 1 1 Nobles 6 0 3 3 Milton 6 1 2 4 Rivers 5 1 6 5 Roxbury Latin 4 2 4 6 St. George's 3 2 8 6 Groton 3 2 11 6 St. Paul's 3 2 5 6 St. Mark's 3 2 10 10 BB&N 3 3 7 11 Governor's Academy 2 4 9 12 Middlesex 1 5 12 12 Thayer 1 5 14 14 Lawrence 0 4 16 15 Brooks 0 6 15 15 St. Sebastian's 0 6 13

MVP Race

MVP Race

A lot has changed since I last discussed the MVP Race. 

Basically Carl Reid is the clear cut MVP at this point in the season.  He played the first few matches at number 2, including the Thayer match when he would've played Richie Robbie.  Yanofsky played 1 for Bel Hill and split with Robbie.  Reid hasn't lost a set all season and he has signature wins over Andrew Lebovitz and Nate Collins.  If he goes the rest of the season at number 1 without dropping a set there is zero doubt in my mind that he's the most deserving player to get MVP even though he's a freshman.  My only concern is that even if he wins out that they will give MVP to a senior (probably Lebovitz) because the past four MVP Awards have all gone to seniors. 

Jill Rooney won the Girls' MVP as a middle schooler 3 years ago so clearly the Girls' coaches don't have a bias against underclassmen.  The reason why I'm afraid Reid won't get it though is because 2 years ago Tom Darling, a junior from Thayer was the strongest player in the league and yet the MVP award went to senior Alex Skinner of Brooks.  I make that statement with no intended disrespect to Skinner because he's an incredible player, there's no denying though that Darling didn't drop any sets and he beat Skinner.

If Carl doesn't win MVP it will either go to Andrew Lebovitz '10 of Milton or Nate Collins '10 of Governor's.  The loser of the Lebovitz-Collins match won't have a shot at MVP. 

Agree? Disagree? Think that I left someone out of the discussion? Comment Below.

Wednesday's Match Results

Wednesday's Match Results

There's an interesting discussion going on in the comments section of the ISL Tennis vs. Founders League Tennis article.  Feel free to add your voice in the discussion, I'm always looking for new opinions.

Click here to see my predictions for today's matches.
I'm perfect so far today. 30 for 31 on the season.

(3) Nobles beat (7) BB&N 13-2
This match was closer than what the score shows.
Cam Chapman and Jess Karol split sets.

Roxbury Latin beat St. George's 11-4

Middlesex beat Lawrence Academy 13-2

Rivers beat Governor's 9-6

Belmont Hill beat St. Sebastian's 15-0

St. Mark's beat Brooks 14-1

Milton Academy beat Thayer 15-0
Andrew Lebovitz beat Richie Robbie.


From Monday and Tuesday (predictions):
Nobles beat Brooks 14-1

Thayer beat Middlesex 8-7; I had Middlesex winning this match.

Governor's beat Lawrence Academy 15-0

Groton beat Lawrence 15-0

St. Paul's beat St. Sebastian's 13-2

Wednesday's Match Predicitions

Wednesday's Match Predicitions

Belmont Hill will beat St. Sebastian's

St. Mark's will beat Brooks School

Rivers will beat Governor's Academy

St. Paul's will beat Groton School

Middlesex will beat Lawrence

Milton will beat Thayer

Roxbury Latin will beat St. George's

Power Rankings- Fourth Edition

Power Rankings- Fourth Edition

1. Belmont Hill School 5-0

Belmont Hill is in the clear to win the ISL championship and maybe to have the ISL MVP in Carl Reid (more on that later).  Nobles is the only top 5 team that Bel Hill has left to play and it probably won't be very close.  The only real challenge that the Hill has left is winning New England's which looks like a longshot because Hopkins and Brunswick appear to be much better.

2. Milton Academy (3rd last week) 5-1

Milton is no longer in contention for the ISL title but they might be able to make a little bit of noise in Class A's.  They slid up ahead of Nobles because matchup wise I think that they will beat Nobles head to head.  They need to worry about the Roxbury Latin match coming up in a week and a half because RL's depth could lead to an upset.

3. Nobles School (2nd last week) 4-0

Nobles took care of business against RL, edging out an 8-7 victory.  This team looks like a lock for New England's but it's unlikely that they will pose any kind of threat to the title contenders.

4. Roxbury Latin School  3-2

RL's 8-7 loss to Nobles had to be devastating but they are still on course to make New England's with ease.  Their only test left is Milton Academy.

5. St. Paul's School 2-2

St. Paul's has important matches coming up against Rivers and BB&N.  They should be a lock for New England's after BB&N's loss to Rivers.

6. Rivers School (7th last week) 4-1

Rivers had a nice win over BB&N this past Saturday and they are probably favorites to win the very weak Class C tournament.  That link takes you to an article written by the Globe about the come from behind victory.

7. BB&N (6th last week) 3-2

The loss to Rivers knocks BB&N out of contention to make New England's unless BB&N beat St. Paul's and St. Paul's also loses to Rivers.  BB&N badly missed its number 2 and number 6 singles players in the loss to Rivers.

8. St. George's School  3-1

The St. George's-St. Mark's make up match should be very interesting. St. George's is pretty far from moving into the Top 7.

9. Governor's Academy  (10th last week) 1-3

Watch out, this is a strong Governor's team.

10. St. Mark's School  (9th last week) 2-2

St. Mark's needed Chris Bassett in the match against BB&N.  This team desperately needs to beat St. George's.

11. Groton School (12th last week) 2-2

 This has been a disappointing year so far for Groton but the win against St. Seb's might get them back on track.

12. Middlesex School (14th last week)  0-4

Please update your website.

13. St. Sebastian's School 0-4

The arrows have yet to win.

14. Thayer Academy (11th last week) 0-4

It's very annoying that Thayer doesn't update their website.  I have no idea if they beat Middlesex.

15. Brooks School 0-4

Brooks should get its first win May 5th against Lawrence.

16.  Lawrence Academy 0-2

Lawrence hasn't won a set yet.

Today's Match Results

Today's Match Results

Click here if you haven't read my predictions yet.
Check the power rankings here.  New power rankings tomorrow.

Friday: Milton Academy beat St. Sebastian's 15-0.

Belmont Hill beat Milton Academy 11-4; I predicted a 9-6 victory.

Roxbury Latin beat Groton 15-0; I predicted a 14-1 victory.

Rivers beat BB&N 8-7; I predicted a 9-6 victory.
BB&N was missing its number 2 and number 6.

Nobles beat Brooks 14-1.

St. Paul's-St. Sebastian's got rained out.

Governor's-Lawrence got rained out.

St. George's-St. Mark's got rained out.

Check for the power rankings tomorrow.

Match Pick 'Em for Tomorrow

Match Pick 'Em for Tomorrow

I'm 18 for 18 so far this season picking matches.  Think you can beat me? Tell me which matches I'm going to get wrong in the comment section below.  Now that I'm on a roll I'm not stopping pick 'em anytime soon.  Totally inappropriate for high school sports but I should be making betting lines for these matches. Without further ado here are my picks.  Click here for the full Milton-Belmont Hill preview.

(2) Nobles will beat (15) Brooks 15-0
This is kindof a no-brainer. Brooks is getting slaughtered with a tough schedule to start the year. 5 top 7 teams in a row! Yikes!

(10) Governor's Academy will beat (16) Lawrence 15-0
This Governor's team might be the strongest squad they've had in the past five years and Lawrence is still looking for their first set this year.

(4) Roxbury Latin will beat (12) Groton 14-1
RL will bounce back with a win in this match.  This isn't a Groton squad that should challenge them this year.

Upset Alert: (14) Middlesex will beat (11) Thayer 9-6
This is a really tough match to pick because both teams are winless but I like Middlesex here because they got six sets against St. Mark's and they got 4 and 3 points off Nobles and Milton, respectively. 

(8) St. George's will beat (9) St. Mark's 10-5
This one could go either way but St. George's is the stronger team in my mind.  I was impressed by St. George's destruction of Governor's 11-4.

(5) St. Paul's will beat (13) St. Sebastian's 13-2
I like St. Seb's at 1 singles and St. Paul's at every other position.

Upset Alert: (7) Rivers will beat (6) BB&N 9-6
I'm not going to say much about this one because it's my own team, but this is my prediction.

Click here for the Milton-Belmont Hill Preview.

Milton Academy-Belmont Hill Preview

Milton Academy-Belmont Hill Preview

This should be a great match tomorrow and I wish that I could make it.  Belmont Hill is hosting the match on their courts which gives them a definite edge although Milton Academy has indoor courts to train on.

In doubles I think that Belmont Hill will take two of the sets and Milton Academy will either snag 1 or 2 doubles.  The number 1 singles match will showcase two of the best players in the league in Andrew Lebovitz and Carl Reid.  I'm expecting a split in this match because it's such a close match up.  At number 2 singles although Pete Yanofsky has a huge serve I think that Matt Lebovitz will steal one of the sets for a split.  Jack Welch of Belmont Hill should win 3rd singles pretty easily over J. Chill and 4th singles will likely go to Milton Academy's Anthony Blake.  I think Belmont Hill's Bashiru Akinfolarin will win 5th singles and 6th singles will be a split.  I definitely think that Belmont Hill will win this match (Sorry Andrew) but if Noah were playing I'd be picking Milton Academy hands down.  Belmont Hill's big servers should do well on their fast courts tomorrow. 

After tallying everything up my predicted score is a 9-6 win by Belmont Hill.

Do you agree or disagree with me? I want to hear it from the Milton kids, I won't take offense.  Write your comment below.

Standings

Standings

Sorry to everyone who has been waiting for me to post this.  Just a quick note, someone commented on the Class B Rankings asking me if I would write about Class A which I will, if there's something that you want me to write about or something that I missed just write a quick comment and I'll get on it.

Place	School	W	L		Power Rank
1	Belmont Hill	4	0		1
1	Milton Academy	4	0		2
1	Nobles	4	0		3
4	BB&N	3	1		6
4	Rivers	3	1		7
4	St. George's	3	1		8
7	Roxbury Latin	2	2		4
7	St. Paul's	2	2		5
7	St. Mark's	2	2		9
7	Groton School	2	1		12
11	Governor's Academy	1	3		10
12	Thayer Academy	0	4		11
12	St. Sebastian's	0	3		13
12	Middlesex School	0	4		14
12	Brooks School	0	4		15
12	Lawrence Academy	0	2		16

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

Today's Match Results

Today's Match Results

 So I'm officially challenging anyone who thinks that they can beat me in pick'em to either comment with all of their predictions for Saturday or send me an email because I'm feeling pretty confident right now.  I picked all 8 matches correctly making me 18 for 18 on the season.  My score predictions were on average 1.5 points off.

(6) BB&N beat (10) Governor's 8-7; I predicted a 12-3 victory.
This was a very close match that ended up coming down to the final set at number 2 singles.  Governor's has a much stronger squad this year then I expected.

(3) Milton Academy beat (14) Middlesex 12-3; I predicted a 14-1 victory.
Milton was missing their fourth singles player.

(8) St. George's beat (13) St. Sebastian's 10-5; I predicted a 9-6 victory.

For the big one, (2) Nobles beat (4) Roxbury Latin and the score was 8-7; I predicted the score correctly.
Ryan Sullivan played in this match and Nobles took 1 and 2 doubles while Roxbury Latin took number 3. 1st and 2nd singles both split and then Camden Smith beat Cam Ferguson at 3rd singles.  At fourth singles J.B. Gough beat Will Shames then RL won 5th singles and Nobles won 6th singles.  Basically the singles was even and the doubles decided the match. Click here to see the full match preview.

Just wanted to point out that in a 7-point system the match would be undecided because the first and second singles matches would have to play third sets.  Nobles would've been up 3-2.  It's a shame we play the way we do.

(9) St. Mark's beat (16) Lawrence Academy 15-0; I predicted the right score.

(1) Belmont Hill beat (5) St. Paul's 12-3; I predicted an 11-4 victory.

(7) Rivers beat (15) Brooks 15-0; I predicted a 12-3 victory.

(12) Groton beat (11) Thayer 10-5; I predicted a 9-6 victory.

Check out my Blog Post on BBNVoice.org

Check out my Blog Post on BBNVoice.org

I just did a guest post on BBNVoice.org about the ISL vs. Founders League debate.  In case you missed it, click here to see the blog post I did on this site about my facebook argument about the Independent School League vs. Founders League Debate

Other Match Predictions

Other Match Predictions

For my other match predictions, I'm still undefeated (10 for 10) on my match predictions this season so the best of luck to me so that I can keep my streak going. I'm a little bit worried I picked the Groton and St. George's matches wrong but we'll see.

(1) Belmont Hill will beat (5) St. Paul's 11-4
I'm not expecting this match to be too close and I'm very confident that Belmont Hill will win so I don't think it needs a match breakdown.

(6) BB&N will beat (10) Governor's 12-3
Nate Collins should pick up 2 points at number 1 and Governor's will probably steal 1 or 2 other points.

(7) Rivers will beat (15) Brooks 12-3

(3) Milton will beat (14) Middlesex 14-1

Upset Alert: (12) Groton will beat (11) Thayer 9-6

(9) St. Mark's will beat (16) Lawrence 15-0

(8) St. George's will beat (13) St. Sebastian's 9-6

Click here to see the Roxbury Latin vs. Nobles Preview.

(2) Nobles vs. (4) Roxbury Latin Preview

(2) Nobles vs. (4) Roxbury Latin Preview

There are some key matches tomorrow and I will try to post live updates or immediate results. For my match predictions in the key matches I use tennisrecruiting.net to compare players and predict winners for each match.

Anthony Laurencio-Twymer, Nobles

(4) Roxbury Latin vs. (2) Nobles

For starters I'm assuming that Ryan Sullivan isn't playing although I don't know for sure. I think that Roxbury Latin will win number 2 doubles and I like Nobles to win at number 1 doubles. 3rd doubles has me a little bit stumped because I don't know too much about the Roxbury Latin players but I think I'm going to give the edge to Nobles.

In singles I'm confident that Cam Chapman from Nobles will take both sets at number 1. At number 2, I envision Cam Ferguson and Anthony Laurencio-Twymer splitting sets. 3rd Singles should be tight as well although Nobles has an experience advantage because Will Shames is a senior and J.B. Gough is a freshman but I'm guessing a split. At fourth singles it's another toss-up because Camden Smith and Perry Hart both have very similar tennisrecruiting rankings. I"m predicting another split in this match. At 5th singles it should be another close match but I like Justin Chapman from Nobles to take both sets and at 6th singles I think Will Samuels, the 8th grader from Nobles, should win both sets fairly easily.

My predicted score is that Nobles will win 11-4 (if Ryan Sullivan doesn't play) although there are a lot of matches that could go either way so that score could fluctuate a bit. If Ryan plays then my predicted score is 8-7 Nobles. Stay tuned this could be very close!

Click here to see my other match predictions.

Should we add a super tiebreaker instead of just playing two sets?

Should we add a super tiebreaker instead of just playing two sets?

Thanks to everyone for voting in the poll. The polls show that this topic is a major issue, especially since 71% of the readers (according to the poll) are current players in the league and 86% of the voters thought that we should add a superbreaker.  There are no ties in tennis and there's no reason that we can't add a third set tiebreaker that would add five minutes to the match.  My proposal to the league is that we switch to the 7 point Division 1 College Tennis format, which is also used in the NEPSAC tournament and by other New England private schools.

There are a lot of problems with the current system. The purpose of not playing a third set and playing no-ad is mainly to save time.  The problem is that not playing a third set (tiebreaker) only saves five minutes! I won't bother to argue no-ad because that's a bigger yet less important issue.  A third set super tiebreaker is a widely recognized way to decide a match and it's sometimes even used in USTA National Championships.  I know that this topic has been discussed before in coaches meetings but have the coaches ever polled players before? I just did and the results were very conclusive.  The players don't like the current system and it needs to be addressed.  I have no power in the league other than my voice in this blog but I hope that by the time I graduate, we will have changed the system.  For supertiebreaker rules click here.

I really can't understand why we haven't changed the system yet because I've never heard of any other tennis match being "decided" by two sets.  Every other league in New England (as far as I know) plays full 2 out of 3 sets in singles, I'm not suggesting a third set though, I want a superbreaker that takes only five minutes. My proposed system would be a 7 point format with each singles match worth 1 point and only one overall doubles point.  I'm very interested to here what my readers and what coaches have to say so either email me or comment below.  Also, I ask the players to encourage their coaches to read this so that we can create more buzz about changing the rules.

Third Edition of the Power Rankings!

Third Edition of the Power Rankings!

 1. Belmont Hill School 3-0

Belmont Hill looks very solid all around and Carl Reid has been playing well, sliding into the number 1 spot for the time being. Belmont Hill should win easily against St. Paul's this Wednesday, more on that later.

2. Nobles School 3-0

 Nobles has had an easy schedule so far but their match Wednesday against Roxbury Latin should be their first test.

3. Milton Academy (4th last week) 3-0

Milton won't be tested for another week when they play Belmont Hill but so far against pretty easy competition they've dominated.

4. Roxbury Latin School (3rd last week) 2-1

Roxbury Latin faces its fourth straight top six team this Wednesday (Nobles) and it's a must-win if they want to remain in the hunt for the ISL championship.  Interesting that RL plays almost all the good teams at the start of the season. RL needs Ryan Sullivan to recover from injury quickly before the season slips away.

5. St. Paul's School 2-1

St. Paul's needs a win against Belmont Hill this Wednesday or else they don't have any shot of winning ISL's.  Their number 1 singles player, Jamie Raffini, is hurt and hasn't played all season.

6. BB&N 2-1

BB&N has looked pretty solid and they will probably finish the season in the sixth slot unless they can upset St. Paul's.  

7. Rivers School 2-1

Rivers close victory against St. Mark's scared me a little bit considering BB&N won against St. Mark's 13-2 a few days later. I'm really looking forward to the Rivers-BB&N match this coming Saturday.

8. St. George's School (10th last week) 2-1

St. George's has started off the season well and it should be an interesting match against St. Seb's this Wednesday.

9. St. Mark's School (11th last week) 1-2

St. Mark's has looked fairly strong other than their lopsided defeat at the hands of BB&N.

10. Governor's Academy (12th last week) 1-2

I'm a bit surprised they didn't get a set against Belmont Hill but I was impressed by their win over Groton.

11. Thayer Academy (9th last week) 0-3

Thayer has started off 0-3 and they need to beat St. Seb's on Wednesday unless they want to fall further in the rankings.

12. Groton School (8th last week) 1-1

 This has been a disappointing year so far for Groton but the win against St. Seb's might get them back on track.

13. St. Sebastian's School (14th last week) 0-2

A win against Groton would've been huge.

14. Middlesex School (13th last week) 0-3

Middlesex is still looking for its first win.

15. Brooks School 0-3

This team should move up the ranks a few spots this season.

16.  Lawrence Academy 0-1

Lawrence lost its first match this Saturday 15-0.

Todays Results

Todays Results

 Just wanted to point out that I went 8 for 8 on match predictions.

RL beat St. Paul's 9-6
This match was definitely closer than I expected but I'm impressed that RL was able to win without Sullivan.  They really need him back in the lineup if they want a chance to beat Milton and Nobles.

Milton beat Brooks 15-0
Straightforward win for Milton.

Belmont Hill beat Governor's 15-0
Carl Reid played number 1 singles and beat Nate Collins.  Just wanted to point out that the Boston Globe printed the score as Governor's 15- Belmont Hill 0 in the newspaper.

Nobles beat Middlesex 11-4
I figured that Nobles would take this by more, I'm not sure whether Middlesex played exceptionally well or if Nobles rested players.

St. George's beat Lawrence 15-0

BB&N beat St. Mark's 13-2
Easy win for the Knights.

Groton beat St. Sebastian's 8-7
I had a feeling this would be a close match but I didn't realize St. Seb's would have match points in the deciding tiebreak only to lose. That's real close. Good match either way.

Rivers beat Thayer 13-2

St pauls 2, roxbury latin 1

St pauls 2, roxbury latin 1

St. paul's is up 2-1 after the doubles. I still think that roxbury latin will win the match comfortably but im a bit surprised by the start. check back for more updates.

The Site Just Hit 2000 Page Loads!

The Site Just Hit 2000 Page Loads!

Thanks for all the support guys.

Just so everyone knows all revenue generated from the site (ads) will be donated to tenacity so please continue to read the blog.

St. Paul's vs. Roxbury Latin Tennis Match and other predictions

St. Paul's vs. Roxbury Latin Tennis Match and other predictions

(5) St. Paul's and (3) Roxbury Latin have a match tomorrow in what will be St. Paul's first test of the season.  I haven't heard too much about the St. Paul's team except that I know there number 1 singles player Jamie Raffini hasn't played this season because of injury.  Roxbury Latin has already had a few tests this season while St. Paul's has recorded two easy wins.  I think that Roxbury Latin will take the match 12-3.

For my other predictions tomorrow:
I think that BB&N will beat St. Mark's 11-4.

(1) Belmont Hill will beat (12) Governor's 13-2

(4) Milton will beat (15) Brooks 14-1

(10) St. George's will beat (16) Lawrence 15-0

(2) Nobles will beat (13) Middlesex 14-1

(7) Rivers will beat (9) Thayer 11-4

(8) Groton will beat (14) St. Sebastian's 9-6

Is the ISL or Founders League Better at Tennis?

Is the ISL or Founders League Better at Tennis?

Basically I've been having a facebook argument with the number one from Hotchkiss about whether the ISL or Founders League is better at tennis.  I really need my fans to comment on this one or join in on the facebook argument. Check it out. I edited the posts a bit for content.

ISL is a joke, founder's teams have won new englands past 2 years. get past weak andover then come over here to western New england to take on the real men

Yesterday at 11:10pm

Cam Woodsum

wow you're really saying that after the ISL has won 7 of the past 9 Class A championships and 6 of the past 11 Class B Championships. Maybe you've won a few in the past few years but we've been dominating you for the past decade
isltennis.com

Yesterday at 11:29pm ·

2008 champs- Hotchkiss
2009 champs- Loomis (whose 1 loss of the season was Hotchkiss)

new englands last year- hotchkiss deerfield loomis choate taft andover groton milton ( 4 founders teams, 2 ISL) 

18 hours ago

Cam Woodsum

bro we only have 2 class a teams and they were both in it! Plus although the schools in Class B are smaller it is a significantly more competitive tournament with teams that are almost always stronger than the Class A champ with the exception of the Milton dynasty because they would've beaten anyone.

Matt let me add also:
2007 champs- milton
2006- milton... See More
2005 milton
2004 milton
2003 milton
2002 groton
2001 milton

Keep it Real.

16 hours ago ·

Did I win the argument? You tell me in the comments section below. Here's the full argument.

Belmont Hill- Roxbury Latin Tennis Match Review

Belmont Hill- Roxbury Latin Tennis Match Review

So I just spoke with one of the players and it sounds as if the match was a bit closer than the score indicated.  Belmont Hill won 10-5 but Roxbury Latin lost some close matches.  Belmont Hill swept the doubles as expected but 2nd doubles had a final score of 9-7.  Ryan Sullivan, the number 2 for RL, didn't play because of a back injury so the entire lineup had to slide up one spot.  Belmont Hill won 2, 3, and 5 singles and Roxbury Latin won 1 and 4.  6th singles split sets and Belmont Hill won the second set after having already clinched.  Belmont  Hill didn't clinch until later in the match so even though the doubles was lopsided the match stayed close for awhile. That's all I have to say about that match.

I'm working on transferring the blog to a real domain instead of just hosting it on blogspot and look for previews of the weekend matches tomorrow.

Upcoming Posts

Upcoming Posts

Here's what to expect for the upcoming 7 days or so.

Thursday- Belmont Hill-Roxbury Latin match review
Friday- I will post a match preview for the St. Paul's-Roxbury Latin match.
Saturday-Match Results
Sunday-New power rankings
Monday- New Standings
Tuesday- Roxbury Latin-Nobles preview and Belmont Hill-St. Paul's preview

Also I'm going to write an article discussing whether the ISL should add a super tiebreaker to decide the third set. I'm looking to interview coaches about this topic so coaches please email me.

Results from Today

Results from Today

Carl Reid, Belmont Hill

Belmont Hill beat Roxbury Latin 10-5
This was a big win for Belmont Hill but it should be noted that Ryan Sullivan, the number 2 for RL, did not play because of an injury.  I actually didn't expect Roxbury Latin to keep the match this close without Ryan but now I'm wondering what might have happened if Ryan had played.  I don't have too much info on this match right now but I will post a full write-up either tomorrow or on friday because this match deserves some publicity.  For those of you who didn't read my preview of this match, I just want to point out that as I predicted Belmont Hill swept the doubles and I was only one point off from predicting the exact score (I predicted a 9-6 finish).

Jess Karol, BB&N

BB&N beat Brooks 13-2
The doubles was competitive in this match but the singles play by BB&N was a bit too strong for Brooks today.  3 and 5 singles both split sets. It was a beautiful day to play outdoors even though the wind was a bit strong.

Milton beat St. George's 14-1

Governor's beat Groton 9-6
WOW! Okay this match definitely just messed up my power rankings. If you look at my rankings I had Groton at number 8 and Governor's just moved down to number 12 after a loss to St. George's (11-4).  Either this was a fluke or I overestimated Groton this year. Groton has been anywhere from 5th to 8th in the league for the past five years or so If my memory is correct and they must be having a serious down year.  I don't mean to downplay the significance of this win for Governor's because they have been struggling for the past few years and maybe they are making a small push into the middle of the ISL.  I guess my power rankings aren't perfect.


Rivers beat St. Mark's 9-6
I'm a little bit surprised by how close this match score is because I figured that Rivers would have won this match handily.  I'm pretty sure that Rivers has a fairly solid team so it must be that St. Mark's has improved since last year. Maybe someone on the Rivers or St. Mark's team could comment and let me know what happened.


Nobles beat Thayer 12-3
Robbie won 1 singles and 1 double for Thayer.

St. Paul's beat Middlesex 13-2
St. Paul's split at 2 singles and lost 1 doubles.

Roxbury Latin vs. Belmont Hill

Roxbury Latin vs. Belmont Hill

 Update: I'm a little surprised by the poll. But interested at the same time. If you voted for Roxbury Latin write a quick comment explaining your stance.

           I've been looking forward to this match since the schedule first came out. This is a VERY important match for both squads because the loser will essentially be out of title contention. After reviewing the lineups for both teams this is how it breaks down in my opinion.   Every year since I've been in the league Belmont Hill has dominated in doubles and this year is no different,, they have a bunch of big servers and athletic players so they should win 1 and 2 doubles fairly easily.  At 3 doubles I think that the match will be somewhat close but Belmont Hill should pull that one out too.  It's possible though that RL did not play to their potential against BB&N on the fast indoor courts but if they don't raise their game then "the Hill" should start out 3-0 going into singles.
         In singles Peter Yanofsky and Carl Defranco will square off at number 1.  On paper this should be a very even match because on TennisRecruiting they are both around 600 in their respective classes.  I'm predicting a split in this match although I almost took Carl to take both sets because Pete's serve won't be quite as effective outdoors.  At second singles Belmont Hill has a distinct advantage because I'm not sure whether Ryan Sullivan will be fully healthy for the match and because Carl Reid is a phenom. In the third singles slot I expect it to be another toss-up because although Jack Welch is the more experienced player, Cam Ferguson has a very comparable TennisRecruiting ranking.  I envision a split in this match with Jack possibly taking both.  At fourth singles Nick Tierney and J.B. Gough will have a good match and I'm really not sure who to take because Nick doesn't really play tournaments so it's hard to judge how well he will be playing this year, I'm going with my gut and predicting Gough will take both sets. At fifth singles I think Bashiru Akinfolarin will win both sets over Perry Hart and at sixth singles I think that it could go either way and I'm predicting a split.
        So after the tally and all of my match-by-match predictions my final predicted score is Belmont Hill 9, Roxbury Latin 6.  There are a lot of variables and really anything could happen but I'm fairly confident that Belmont Hill will win. We shall see though. I'm hoping to do live updates on the match via the twitter account which has a feed on the left side of the page but I'm going to need a RL or Belmont Hill player to text me score updates every now and then. Someone step up! Good luck to both teams.

New Power Rankings

New Power Rankings

You (my readers) spoke and I listened so here are the new rankings. If you have any suggestions for the site email me or write on the facebook fan group wall because I am very open to criticism and to improving the site.

Whether you agree, disagree or downright don't care, I want to hear your opinion! Comment below.

1. Belmont Hill

Belmont Hill is my early favorite to win the ISL because of its addition of freshman Carl Reid and its depth. Dawson Luke '09 is the only player who graduated last year so the team should be stronger than it was last year. I expect Carl to play somewhere in the top 3 alongside Peter Yanofsky and John Welch. Belmont Hill should expect some strong competition from defending champion Milton Academy as well as Roxbury Latin and Nobles. The strength of Belmont Hill's 1-4 should be way too much for the other teams in the ISL.

2. Nobles

The Nobles squad definitely has some replacing to do after losing its number 1, 2 and 4 to graduation. The addition of Cam Chapman who could potentially play number 1 or 2 and Will Samuels who should dominate towards the bottom of the lineup may be enough to replace the graduating seniors. I’m not sure how Nobles will match up with Milton and Roxbury Latin but both matches should be very close. Captain Will Shames ’10 is one of the only upperclassmen on this young team.

3. Roxbury Latin

I watched the BB&N-RL match on Saturday and RL won handily 13-2 but the score didn't reflect how close many of the sets were.  RL wasn't unbelievable but they were solid at every position and their depth could potentially threaten Milton and Nobles.

4. Milton

Before I found out that Noah Bragg would not be playing this year I had Milton picked as the overwhelming favorite to win the league. While Milton returns its numbers 2,4,5 and 6, the question is whether it can fill the holes left by Noah and Will Hunnewell. Milton has a strong 1-4 and they should clean up at 1 and 2 doubles but 5 and 6 singles is a real question mark this year. Milton's first test will be against Belmont Hill on April 17th. The biggest achilles heel for this team will probably be its depth.

5. St. Paul's

I'm not sure how strong St. Paul's will be this year but they are one of the most consistent teams in the league and they tend to have good depth every year. Returning a strong 1,2 duo in Raffini ’10 and Bartlett ‘11, and always boasting a deep squad, expect St. Paul's to have another successful season.

6. BB&N

 BB&N should have a very competitive match against Rivers in two weeks with a fair amount on the line. The Knights dropped a tough match against Roxbury Latin where they lost a lot of very close sets.

7. Rivers

Rivers returns T.J. Moor and Cal Louis and should have a strong squad this season. Rivers dropped its first match against Milton 14-1.

8. Groton

Groton graduated its number 1 and 2 probably will be somewhere in the middle of the league. Groton could move up as high as sixth or possibly fifth but it will unlikely finish higher than that.

9. Thayer

Thayer graduated league MVP Tom Darling and the squad continues to get weaker since its 2006 New England Class B Championship. Richie Robbie '11 should have a successful season at number 1.

10. St. George's (12th last week)

St. George's graduated its number 1 and I think it's number 2 was a senior as well.  St. George's moved up after beating Governor's 11-4.

11. St. Mark's

St. Mark's returns number 1 Chris Bassett '10 and looks to improve upon last year. St. Mark's started the season with a solid win against Middlesex.

12. Governor's (10th last week)

Governor's will once again be led by Nate Collins '10 who has been playing at the number 1 spot since his freshman year. He is an early MVP candidate who needs players to win towards the end of the lineup for Governor's to improve on last season.

13. Middlesex

Middlesex was young last year and they should be stronger now that there players have had time to improve.

14. St. Sebastian's

Conor Haughey leads this St. Sebastian's team that hopes to improve on last year.

15. Brooks

Since Alex Skinner left, this squad hasn't been too strong.

16.  Lawrence

Lawrence looks to improve upon its disappointing season last year.