Not gonna lie, it feels good to be in the ASouth. I don’t have too many previews to do (4, to be exact), I have a few national title contenders, and I get some time off to do cool things like write for Tennis Recruiting. That’s not a bad deal at all. Whether you like it or not, I’m back to where I belong, and that’s writing about ASouth teams and being really optimistic for them despite not great results the past few years. I realize this preview is a bit late. I blame this on Johns Hopkins inability to get a schedule out, FIFA 15, and the fantasy football playoffs. Even though I lost to D3NE in one of my leagues. Anyways, it’s time to get to this Carnegie Mellon preview. They were the second top ranked team in my region to get a schedule out, so they get the benefit of getting my second preview!
Coach: Andrew Girard, 12th Season
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Preseason Ranking: #9
Twitter Handle: @cmutennis (one of the best accounts on the circuit!)
Overview
Carnegie Mellon has always been a strange school to cover. They are undoubtedly blessed with a ton of talent, a decent location on the East Coast, and a great academic program to offer. However, that has not always translated into success, as they have definitely had their ups and downs throughout my years of covering the ASouth. They’ve had two breakout years in their history. One of them was back in 2010 (I think?) when they made the Elite 8. The other one happens to be just last year, when they placed 2nd in the UAA championships, beat Emory, and reached a high of #5 in the National Rankings. The difference between the two years is that this year, they have lost zero contributing players from last year’s squad. That’s right, zero. The knock on CMU is that they oftentimes are unable to play to their talent, whether that be due to academia, weather, jobs, etc. Only those that go to the school can give you an answer to that. With the loss of no one from last year to this year, common sense would tell us that this team is primed for a step forward. Whether that projection comes to pass, however, is the real question. CMU’s calling card last year was singles, singles, singles. Despite being down in more than half their matches after doubles, they were able to win a ton of them by throttling teams in singles. To take the next step, this team is going to need an improvement in doubles with a similar effort in singles.
Lineup Analysis
#1 Singles, Abhishek Alla – Last year’s fall ITA champion has held down the #1 spot for the Tartans ever since, with much success. Despite falling from his #1 ranking, he still was a rock solid #1 option that should be favored to win in every match except against the very best. Even then, those matches would be looked at as a toss-up. As many of you know, Alla brings potentially the best groundstrokes in the business. His strange pure flat shots mixed with a variety of other shots keep an opponent on their toes and sometimes standing still as a shot flies past them. Despite having a downright weak serve, Alla gets it done with the other aspects of his game. Expect another big year from the junior.
#2 Singles, Christian Heaney-Secord – CHS was out of action for the fall season of this year, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have high hopes for this senior’s swan song. A former #1 player for this team, CHS and his big serve and forehand have settled in nicely at the #2 spot. If the big guy can improve on his record last year and win a couple of those really big matches (i.e. Drougas in the Sweet 16), the Tartans have a lot to look forward to. If he doesn’t, their year could fizzle out in a similar fashion to last.
#3 Singles, Will Duncan – Duncan is another senior that the Tartans will really lean on this year to get big wins. Good news for the Tartans is that Duncan has a history of doing just that. Last year, he beat Mosetick of Emory in the UAA, Klawitter in the Sweet 16, and Hudson of Pomona in a big Stag-Hen match. Duncan is as fiery as they come in DIII and I expect even more of that for his senior year. I had actually thought he might get displaced by the up and coming Kirkov, but Duncan has earned his right with a really good fall and will be holding down #3 for the spring. If there’s anyone the Tartans want in a 4-4 match, it’s probably Will Duncan.
#4 Singles, Kiril Kirkov – Fun stat on the sophomore – Kirkov only lost 3 times in dual matches last year, all of them coming in 3 sets. One of them was to Michael Solimano who is absolutely ridiculous. Kirkov also won 12 of his last 13 sets to end the year, culminating in a straight set win over Derek Reinbold of Case. Despite all of that success, Kirkov will be slated in the #4 spot, equivalent to last year. I haven’t seen him play all that much, but clearly the guy is consistent. Kiril struggled a bit in the fall ITA based on my expectations, but the individual tournament is a bit different than the dual match circuit. With most players moving up, having Kirkov stay in a spot where he had overwhelming success last year is a big win.
#5 Singles, Kenny Zheng – Zheng is the second sophomore in the lineup, and somehow he had a better year than Kirkov last year. Zheng did not lose a dual match at #5 up until the end of the year. I’m not sure if he fizzled out or was just injured, but Zheng ended the year with three straight losses after a year of undefeated play at #5. The question here is not whether Zheng has the talent to win, but whether he has the stamina and body to keep up with the grueling dual match schedule. When fresh, Zheng is a top 2 #5 player. CMU hopes to keep him that way, as they will be counting on their wheelhouse spots to get them the tough points against top 10 teams.
#6 Singles, Kunal Wadwani – The third sophomore in the lineup is Wadwani, who was a surprise entry into the CMU lineup last year and actually kept his spot all the way through. Wadwani had a very solid season at #6 but it looked like he was unable to beat some of the top players in the game at his spot. This fall he was able to take a set from the eventual ITA champion Michael Buxbaum so the arrow is pointing up for this young player. If he can continue that momentum and become a top 5 player at his position, the Tartans have an extremely deep lineup that can compete at literally every spot.
Doubles – As I mentioned earlier, doubles is going to be hella important for the Tartans as they try to make the Elite 8 for the first time in a long time. As always, it’s really tough to speculate what the teams are going to be, especially with CHS missing for the fall. Last year, Duncan/HS were a very good #1 team, notching some huge victories especially in the UAA and NCAAs. However, a newcomer I have not mentioned is Jack Kasbeer, aka CMU’s Prodigal Son. Kasbeer presumably took half a semester off from the team (or school, not confirmed) last year after a very good fall ITA. He’s now back and currently paired with Duncan as a strong #2 team. I would expect him to be slotted in at #2 or #3 doubles. The other team to watch is that of senior Beisswanger/junior Kumar, who surprised the ASouth and made the finals of their Fall ITA, coming within games of beating reigning champions Buxbaum/Walsh. If that team can play at a #1 level all year, we may be looking at a team that could beat anyone on a given day.
The Schedule – Key Matches
CMU always plays a gauntlet of a schedule, which is a testament to Coach Girard and his likability around DIII (or maybe they just like playing CMU, heh). I will have the calendar on our NEW CALENDAR FEATURE (!!!) very soon, so please feel free to check it out when you can. I digress. CMU will begin their spring season back at Indoors, where they will get Emory. Emory will be hungry for a rematch after that UAA loss last year, so CMU better be ready for a slugfest. Overall, I won’t do a speculation until we get closer, but if CMU finishes anywhere from #1-4 in the tournament they will be happy. #5 is status quo, and anything below is a disappointment.
Carnegie’s Spring Break trip is the team’s second huge event, where they will play the usual Pomona, Bowdoin, Trinity TX, and Sewanee. They will not be in the Stag-Hen like last year, so it’s extremely important for them to beat PP and Bowdoin to keep their ranking in the top 10. With a new goal this year, anything less is again, a disappointment. Trinity TX will be a good test of their skills and how far they’ve come and this is definitely a match I have circled on my calendar. CMU will continue on with more top 10 matches on the East Coast. They will play Johns Hopkins, Case Western, and Mary Wash at home, and travel to Kenyon for their annual rivalry match with the Lords. Again, I won’t speculate on wins but that Case match is going to be huge for seeding in the UAA tournament.
Speaking of which, the UAA tournament will be the final step in the Tartans season. Seeding is ever important as every team will want to avoid the #4-#5 matchup that is destined to be a showdown of two top 15 teams. Lose the 4-5 matchup and you have an outside chance of not making the tournament at all. Win it and you get the #1 seed in the second round, with a date with another top 10 team in the next match. Not to mention, it all happens in the hot and humid Altamonte Springs, FL. Man, the UAA tournament is going to be poppin’ this year. CMU has the schedule of a top 8 team. Will they be able to capitalize and snatch a #1 seed in NCAAs?
D3Atlantic South’s 5 Keys to Carnegie Mellon’s Season
- Doubles elevates from a weakness – I mentioned this before, but doubles is the key cog in CMU’s season this year. This was a team that was down to the likes of Bowdoin, PP, Wash U, Case, and others last year before singles bailed them out. That takes its toll on the players throughout the year. Who knows, maybe Zheng wouldn’t have been gassed by the end of the year. If they take 2 out of 3 doubles from Wash U, Emory, Hopkins, is there any reason to believe their singles can’t take 3 spots? No way, and that’s why doubles is the #1 key to their season.
- A Top 5 Mindset – What happens to a lot of teams that have a breakthrough is they get complacent with their placement and regress back to a ranking they were used to in previous years. This is a huge part of CMU’s potential success this year. They are still a young team, and one that may not understand how important it is to stay somewhere once you get there. Teams like Wash U, Emory, Amherst have all been there and done that. They have a thing called lasting power. CMU needs to find that mentality and that formula that keeps them moving forward and not accepting the same outcome. With a good group of seniors and impressionable young players, this could be a big step for the program.
- How does senior CHS come back from injury? – One of the big questions for CMU is that of Christian Heaney-Secord. He has never been a model of consistency, but he has shown flashes of top level play. For example, he won a round in NCAAs last year and played Krimbill extremely tough next round. I believe he was facing some back issues at the end of last year as well. If he can shake off the injuries and the rust, being a top #2 is not out of the question. If he can’t, moving everyone up a slot could put CMU in some precarious positions, as we saw in their 5-4 loss to Amherst this fall.
- Avoiding the Sophomore Slump – CMU’s freshmen (Zheng, Kirkov, Wadwani) had huge years last year. There’s no doubt about the talent, but CMU is hoping they can keep that momentum going. Anything less than last year is a step back considering they will most likely be slotted at the same positions. Also, can we get some doubles contributions from these guys for God’s sake? None of these guys made an impact in doubles last year. The bottom of the lineup and doubles will be keys for the Tartan season and it looks like the sophomores will have full control over that.
- Are Beisswanger and Kumar the real deal in doubles? – After a roller coaster ride last year from this veteran team, Beisswanger/Kumar went nuts on the ASouth draw this past fall. We’ve seen players who do well in ITAs become legit top players/teams. We’ve also seen the exact opposite, where teams are proven to be flashes in the pan. If this team is the real deal, I can’t tell you how much of a boost that is for the CMU team this year. Having two legitimate #1 teams (Duncan/CHS the other one) with potentially Kasbeer/(insert name) at #3 would be a formidable lineup.
Conclusion
This is a huge year for CMU. It actually could be the only year they really challenge for a top 4 ranking, as they will be graduating three big players this year. To go on top of that, their freshmen, particularly Edward Ang, have made no impact so far (in fact, they’ve been utterly disappointing). Can CMU take the next step, or will they be left out of the top 8 conversation once again? Oh, and thank you to Coach Girard and the CMU team for having an outstanding twitter account that provides second by second scores.