2016 Season Preview: #23 UT-Tyler

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Coach: Chris Bizot, 12th Year

Location: Tyler, Tx

Blog Power Ranking:23

Twitter Handle: @patriotstennis (d3west edit: one of the best on the Twittersphere)

Overview:

Coach Bizot and the UTTyler Patriots have given us, here at the blog, a plethora of topics to discuss in regards to D3 tennis over the past few years. The usual conversation has been encompassed around the transfers breaking into the national limelight and inflating this team’s national ranking. This year the conversation has taken an unexpected turn to an international aspect. “Will this team be the new NC Wesleyan?” Is this the new road that Coach Bizot and his staff will take over the next few years? The facts of not being in a big city and being a public school will always hang over the head of this Patriot program, so this new area of recruiting might be the only way for the Pats to break into the top echelon of D3 tennis.

The 2014-2015 season for the Pats was a step forward for Coach Bizot in his scheduling, travel and national level in-season competition. We ranked UTTyler between 20-25 in the Power rankings and this is exactly where the Pats ended the year. The surprise with this team came with their #1 teams, as Daniel Budd broke out to the national scene and as #oldmanwootton and Frankie Fischer had a dominant #1 doubles season. I will have to say that if the UTTyler Patriots continue to prepare, travel, and compete against the Top 15 teams in the country, as they did last year, this team will continue to be a tough out when it comes to the round of 32 or 16 at Nationals in May.

Lineup Analysis

Key Losses:

Harry Kelleher – #3 singles, #2 doubles – This Australian big man ended the year at #3 singles with only 4 losses and it will be tough to replace that kind of production.

Chris Wootton – #oldmanwooton – #2 singles, #1 doubles – The old man was a bit overmatched on the singles court but no one in the country can say that he did not deserve his end of year All-American honors on the doubles court. Replacing the attitude and edge of a player like #oldmanwootton will be tough to do for the 2015-2016 Pats.

So let’s get right to the crutch of the new conversation and take a look at the newly put together lineup for UTTyler. The lineup for UTTyler will be composed of international aspects from Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and England. UTTyler with have four international players and four American players to encompass the top 8 guys. The Pats will play 9 nationally ranked teams in the season, and 5 of those matches will be in San Antonio in the the warm weather. Advantage Pats??? We think so!

Singles

#1 – Daniel Budd – Sr. – 2015 All-American Singles – Last season began very slowly for Budd with 3 defeats in Walla Walla, but ended with a 2 month win streak to land him at D3 nationals. The emergence of this speedster with a “silky smooth” forehand was a huge surprise for all us national fans. This Top 20 player proved in the Fall ITA that he is here to stay and will be a Top 8 regional player again this year. Budd will have to stay on his game from start to finish in order to hang on to his #1 position to the new Brazilian. Predicted record in 9 nationally ranked matches – 4-5

#2 -Arthur Fagundes – Fr. – This Brazilian is by far the best Freshman recruit ever to step foot on the campus at UTTyler. Kudos to Bizot for landing Fagundes. This Brazilian began his career at UTTyler with a semi-final run in the ITA and a 3 set, 3 hour fight with Paxton Deuel. I predict Fagundes to be the best Freshman in the country this year. A loss or two will be inevitable for Arthur, but a Top 8 regional ranking and a national tournament appearance is in this Brazilian’s future. If Fagundes plays #2 all year he will go 8-1 nationally. If he jumps back and forth and trades out matches at #1 with Budd he will likely go 6-3 nationally.

These two guys are locked into the top 2 spots and it is very unlikely to see anyone else play these two spots nationally in the Spring. I have come up with a prediction of the next spots according to my evaluation after attending the Fall ITA and watching the other 6 guys play in San Antonio.

#3 – Pablo Gomez – Fr. As another one of Bizot’s international recruits, this Mexican player looks to be the most talented of all players on UTTyler’s team, but is a bit erratic and emotionally up and down. I watched Pablo split sets with Paxton Deuel and come very close to ending Paxton’s run in the Fall ITA. Pablo is a wild card and can beat any player in the country. He will be the reason that UTTyler wins or loses a close national match this year. Predicted record in 9 nationally ranked matches – 4-5

#4 – Joey Fischer – Jr. – Younger brother to All-American Frankie Fischer – Joey is a big hitting transfer that crushes the ball and is almost identical to the big Australian, Harry Kelleher, the Pats had last year. Joey will be a tough match for any player nationally and will have to show the same record that Kelleher had for the Pats to win their nationally ranked matches. Look for this Junior to be up and down as the year begins, but to really break out as May rolls around. Predicted record in 9 nationally ranked matches – 5-4

Look for Joey to play at the #3 position if Pablo struggles, but if Pablo is consistent and Joey can stay at #4 for the year, the Pats will be a tough out. These four guys have the talent to win at any level, but two of these guys are Freshman and one transfer and this mix does not bode well for consistency while playing at the highest level.

#5 and #6 – Jose McIntyre – Fr., Frankie Fischer – Sr., Jack Puckey – Sr., Ryan Elwood – So.

Jose McIntyre rounds off the most talented Freshman recruiting class that Bizot has ever compiled. A solid player with plenty of upside, Jose should fit in great at 5 or 6 because of his ability to play any game style needed to win.

Frankie Fischer is coming off an incredible All-American doubles season but a lackluster performance on the singles court. Frank struggled at #4 last year trying to grind out points with the more talented players. He had a bad loss in the Fall ITA and will most likely be a doubles specialist for this year’s UTTyler team. If Frankie can regain his serve and volley prowess on the singles court, look for him to play #6 and either win 2 and 2 or lose 2 and 2.

Jack Puckey ended his mediocre 2015 season with a huge win against Pomona-Pitzer at team regionals. Jack is a grinder and could use his big match experience to get a couple of wins for the Pats this year. Jack struggled in the fall and gave me no reason to think he will make an impact in 2016. Yet, being a Senior, we might see experience outweigh youth and Jack claim his spot at #6 and never relinquish.

Ryan Elwood had few wins at #5 for the Pats last year and ended his sophomore season by getting drummed at regionals. His Fall ITA performance was ok at best and a split set win against Trinity’s #10 player showed that he has taken a step back and will not be a likely option for Bizot in the top 6.

Doubles: The strength of this UTTyler Patriot team will be on the doubles court. The loss of #oldmanwootton will hurt, but the three Freshman are all just as good at doubles as their current All-American, Frankie Fischer. The Pats #4 doubles team made the finals of the ITA and the Freshman showed they could be better on the doubles court than almost anyone in the region. Look for Bizot and the Pats to change their fortunes this year by winning 2 out of 3 doubles matches in their national matches. Predicted record in 9 nationally ranked matches to win at least 2 out of 3 doubles matches – 6. This is a huge number for any team. Analytics say that over 65% of teams win, when they go up 2-1 in doubles or better.

Schedule Analysis:

Here is the Pats Schedule

The Pats begin play on February 7 and have 9 matches before their California trip. We will find out very little except the lineup for the Pats in these matches. Their spring break begins with the Stag-Hen. UTTyler will be the #8 seed and play the defending national champions (CMS) first round. Look for the Pats to keep the doubles close but get overwhelmed by experience and talent in singles. They will play the loser of Kenyon and Trinity next. The assumption will be Kenyon and UTTyler in the afternoon match on Friday. This is where we will find out what the Pats have for the Spring. I expect a 5-4 match with Kenyon and the Pats to get their signature win. The next morning will be a matchup with most likely Case or Gustavus. I predict another win for these young Pats. That being said, the trap match will be at Redlands on the next Tuesday. If the Pats want to be a legitimate Top 15 team they must win at Redlands. After all that Freshman on Freshman action, a close 5-4 win leaves the Pats at 3-1 nationally coming out of California. A few weeks off at home with minimal competition gets UTTyler to the first big weekend in San Antonio against the Gusties and Wash-U. The match against Gustavus should be a win because the Pats will be rested and the Gusties will be tired. Wash U will be a tough match the next day and after the 5-4 loss a year ago, the Bears will not take the Pats lightly. Two weeks later will be the Trinity, Emory, Whitman weekend in San Antonio. At this point in the season, I do not think any of these results will matter because losing to Trinity and Emory will be status quo while Whitman and UTTyler will play each other again in the round of 32 in California in Regionals. Yes, that’s right, I just predicted a Pomona-Pitzer less regional tournament because it will be CMS v. UCSC and UTTyler v. Whitman. WOW!!!!! That’s bold.

Conclusion:

This will be one of the best years UTTyler has ever had nationally. They will win 5 out 9 national matches and be a team that no one wants to face. By the time regionals rolls around, the Pats will be ready to play rematches against Whitman and CMS. The end of a good season and the reemergence of the Pats into the Top 15 will put Bizot in the conversation for Coach of the Year (D3West edit: he should be in that conversation every year). This team will be an emotional roller coaster to watch, but fun. I am looking forward to the seeing the coaching x-factor since Bizot retained #oldmanwootton on his staff, and watching the newbies try to stake their claim nationally. If Bizot repeats his recruiting success for a second year, this team will be on its way to staying in the Top 15. Do not sleep on these Pats. I believe they are very similar to the 2014 Case Western team that used their doubles and top lineup guys to break into the Top 10 nationally.

I’ve consumed the Kool-Aid on these Pat freshmen, and I don’t mind the ridicule. Go ahead, I can take it.

Texas Fanatic Out, mic drop!!!!

 

6 thoughts on “2016 Season Preview: #23 UT-Tyler

  1. Non

    Correction Harry only lost 3 matchs in the spring 🙂

  2. TennisFan

    are you going to be able to get to do all the ranked west teams?

    1. D3West

      All the ranked west teams are done except Cal Lu and CMS, I believe

      1. TennisFan

        What about Whittier and Chapman? Isn’t Whittier 39 and Chapman 38?

        1. D3West

          Chapman is 38 and Pacific is 40. I believe those two previews will be done by our regional writer. Thanks for pointing that out.

  3. D3AtlanticSouth

    Wins against Kenyon, Gustavus, Redlands, and Whitman?

    #KoolAidAlert

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