ACL BAG BRAWL PREVIEW: DOUBLES
I don’t know why, but I just love doubles. It brings a different dynamic to the table. I love watching partners celebrate each other’s big shots and talk through big moments in a match. The dynamics, as awesome as they are, present a challenge when trying to make selections. Below you will find each bracket broken down into sub sections. I do my best to “predict” who will win each sub section, and list who I think the final 4 teams will be. So let’s jump into it!
Bracket A:
Top Left:
Jamie Graham and Matt Guy sit on top of the standings, despite not having won a National….yet. I see this power team cruising to the quarterfinals where they meet an underrated team in Scott Schultz and Corey Morrison. Graham/Guy do what they do and advance to the semifinals.
Bottom Left:
The absolute must watch match of the first round has to be Ryan Windsor/Isidro Herrera vs Kyle Malone and Dalton McKlem. I am not sure how you bet against one of those two teams…but all Malone and McKlem do is win doubles matches….so for lack of anything else to say, I am going with them. I want to see how Wooten/Sorrells bounce back after an abysmal doubles performance at National number 2. Waiting for them in the 2nd round is one of two extremely talented all women teams. I am guessing it will be Finley/Peters. Wooten/Sorrells better be prepared….they were knocked to the losers bracket at the last National after losing to Cassidy/Hunter. Ultimately, I will say last time was a fluke and roll with Wooten/Sorrells to face off against Malone/McKlem.
Top Right:
Bracket A is just loaded with talent and this subsection is no different. I see the Texas Boys of Groce/Sims running through until they meet up with Modlin/Poythress. I think Modlin/Poythress have the more favorable draw of the two teams, but I am sticking with Sims/Groce..those two just mesh well together and find ways to win.
Bottom Right:
If Lester Price shows up, he and Rubin could make a run to face off vs Valdivia/Parent. I am a big fan of Parent/Valdivia as a doubles team. They play well together. They throw similar bags in singles…and they tend to be very successful. Valdivia is doing what he can to make himself a household name as he and parent cruise to the semifinals vs Groce/Sims.
Bracket B:
Top Left:
Jordan Camba/James Baldwin are still the team to beat here. They have several teams on the hunt like Ryan Smith/Eric Stowe (a 24 seed since they didn’t play doubles at National 1), and Power/Webb. Chad Webb and Jordan Power have beat several “big name” teams over the first two Nationals and they are just never an easy out. Wouldn’t shock me to see them face off against Camba/Baldwin.
Bottom Left:
The match I want to watch is the potential 2nd round match between McGuffin/Geary and Rockwell/Stout. Now if Rockwell holds his end of the bargain, this team could be very scary. They both fall just short in my singles preview, but I think they rise to the occasion and win over Geary/Mcguffin. Michael Dinges and Michael Lucas Jr are a nasty doubles team. They play well together and seem to feed off each other. In an epic match I see Lucas jr/Dinges edging out Rockwell/Stout.
Top Right:
Clemmer/Jones are the 2nd seed…how will they handle being the favorite in every match? Could a team like Dotson/Short (who had a nice run at the MidEast conference) take them down? In a battle of style, the 2nd round match-up (potentially) between Love/Perry and Vonch/Seals has Entertainment tonight all excited! I think in this bracket, experience matters….Dotson/Short vs Vonch/Seals
Bottom Right:
Kevin Allen /Tom Walter we had warned people about when we did a live draft with the KCC boys. They just don’t give you matches. You have to grind out wins against this team. I see Kevin and Tom lasting until the Quarterfinals where they meet the eventual sub section champs Kyle Hutley/Justin Lang!
Bracket C
Top Left:
This subsection is loaded with really good doubles teams. The obvious front runners, Hissner/Henderson, are leading the way. But don’t count out Tyler Cobb /Logan Virgilio, these two boys from Mississippi have been throwing well together, although they got a tough draw. If they make it past the Streaker family, then the winner of Kitchen/Hudson vs Harvey/Washington waits. Kitchen must be laughing about his luck. He will have to find Brandon Corwin to find out how he dealt with his shitty hands at both Nationals. When the Smoke settles, I want to be watching Hissner/Henderson vs Harvey/Washington.
Botton Left:
Haydon/Dennis vs Pitcher/Allen…in the first round….wow. Pitcher/Allen had to do this last National…it makes it for a tough road, but if you can win early, you can get hot and make a run. The winner of that match faces off against (I am assuming) Harbaugh/Corwin. The winner of that match, in my opinion, will win this sub section.
Top Right:
Despite being reigning champs, Bret Guy and Erick Davis come in as a two seed. I am currently at a point where I just cannot comfortably select another team when they face off against Davis/partner. Erick Davis has 4 ACL doubles wins (1 national, 3 open events) with 4 different partners. He IS the best doubles player in the world currently..so I have them firmly locked into the Semi finals
Bottom Right:
Lopez and Zazueta Jr have been the surprise team in doubles to this point in the season. They play really well together and again, are one of those teams that just finds ways to win. Sarah Cassidy and Kaylee Hunter is a duo no one really wants to play right now. After knocking off Wooten/Sorrells last National, the girls seemed at home playing and only fell just short. I am going to give Justin Stranger and Tony Smith one more chance….There is too much talent to have shitty performances. I am banking on them showing up this time and battling it out with Lopez/Zazueta jr
Bracket D:
Top Left:
This is a sneaky tough sub section. You have the number 1 seed, Bernacet/Gustafson who are the first glance favorites, but there are three other teams I see that could easily make a deep run. A first round match-up between Schermerhorn/Singleton and Speas/Beamer will make for excellent entertainment. I hate that one of these teams will have an early entry to the loser’s bracket, but I see the loser of this match making noise regardless. Schermerhorn/Singleton have that verteran moxie about them, but Speas/Beamer remind me of a “poor man’s” Malone/McKlem. I think Beamer/Speas are poised to make some noise and squeak past the Michigan studs. Jimmy Youmans/Storm Hogg set up a match between Beamer/Speas. Storm Hogg is playing well and is coming off a Singles win at his most recent event. This Match-up is a complete toss-up to me, but I’ll go with Youmans/Hogg to advance to play against Bernacet/Gustafson
Bottom Left:
Derek Fateiger/Leslie McIver play well together, but lose their match against the ever consistent Ferreira/Habiban. I think Corley/Fuetez are set up nicely to do some damage. They are both playing well recently and often times with confidence comes success. Rarely do the same teams consistently make really deep runs, so let’s shake things up. Corley/Fuentez pull off the upset and advance to the semifinals against Bernacet/Gustafson
Top Right:
A match-up the casual fan might look past is the one between Smith/Burich and Sutton/Morse. I think Sutton and Morse could have made a really deep run, had they been in the Bottom Left sub section, but unfortunately, a first round win lands them the chance to play Burchfield/King. Ultimately the Robot and DK are too much for everyone to handle, but Ryder/Pressley do all they can.
Bottom Right:
This sub section screams for a big time match-up between Grinderslev/Baton and Glasscock/Doss. The boys from Texas, Grinderslev and Batson are scary good. Batson now has a solid performance at a National under his belt. If Grinderslev stays hot all weekend, I believe they are a top 8 team all day. They set up a Semifinals Match against Burchfield/King (a MUST see match)
How it breaks down:
Semifinals: Bracket A
· Guy/Graham over Malone/McKlem
· Parent/Valdivia over Groce/Sims
Semifinals: Bracket B
· Camba/Baldwin over Lucas Jr/ Dinges
· Dotson/Short over Vonch/Seals
Semifinals: Bracket C:
· Hissner/Henderson over Pitcher/Allen
· Davis/Guy over Stranger/Smith
Semifinals: bracket D:
· Bernacet/Gustafson over Corley/Fuetez
· Burchfield/King over Grinderslev/Batson
Final 4:
Bracket A: Guy/Graham
Bracket B: Camba/Baldwin
Bracket C: Davis/Guy
Bracket D: Burchfield/King
