Washington & Lee Generals
Coach: Dave Detwiler (16th season)
Location: Lexington, VA
Blog Power Ranking: #32
Twitter Handle: The men don’t look to have a Twitter handle unless I am missing something (which I definitely could be). The athletics department Twitter account is @WLUGenerals
Overview:
Yes, even I will admit that I have been slacking a lot lately on the blog front. Things have been really busy in my life, between the holidays, a couple of business trips, and a vacation thrown in there. However, I’m now back and better than ever, and ready to attack some season previews!
This week, I turn to Washington & Lee, a traditional powerhouse (they won the NCAA title in 1988) but a school that has fallen into the 30-40 range the past few seasons, losing to Sewanee last season. They are currently down at #8 in the Atlantic South, behind Swarthmore and Sewanee. However, they are bringing in a couple three-star recruits, and only losing one starter, so it looks like they are on an upswing. Let’s break down the Generals!
Key Additions:
Perry Clements (3-star from TX), Zack Ely (3-star from CT)
Key Losses:
Christopher Hu (#2 singles, #1 doubles)
Lineup Analysis:
Singles:
#1 singles: Michael Holt (senior): Holt is an experienced senior who has played pretty much between #1 and #3 during his first three years, ultimately settling in at that #1 spot in the middle of last year. Although he had mixed results early on the year, he did have some really excellent wins, including Robert Kjellberg (NCW), Luke Trinka (Bowdoin), Zain Ali (Tufts), and Abhishek Alla (CMU). He won’t be the best #1 in the country and definitely not the most consistent, but Holt has firepower and should be a solid player at the top of the Generals’ lineup.
#2 singles: Jordan Krasner (junior): Krasner, similar to Holt, is a player who has a lot of experience playing in the lineup. Also similar to Holt, he’s a really strong player who has had inconsistent results in previous years. For instance, last year he beat Kyle Wolfe (Bowdoin) and Kunal Wadwani (CMU) but lost to Mark Fallati (Swarthmore) and Fabio Pereira (NCW). If the Generals are going to take a step forward in the Atlantic South, Krasner is going to have to get some big wins. I’m thinking he’s abroad this fall because it doesn’t look like he played in ITA’s, but I’m assuming he’ll be back and ready to go for the spring.
#3 singles: Perry Clements (freshman): After Holt and Krasner, there are a bunch of question marks. Clements is a talented freshman from Texas, and I’m guessing he’ll play around #3/4 this spring. He won a couple matches this fall at the UMW Kickoff, but then lost to Eric Hurwitz from Mary Wash in the first round of ITAs (#5/6 last year for UMW). Clements is obviously a huge wild card, and could go anywhere from being a strong #3 to a big liability at that spot. Ultimately, I’m guessing he’ll fall somewhere in the middle, with some good wins but also a few bad losses. Yes I know that I’m not going out on a limb at all, but I’m a realistic guy!
#4 singles: Ethan Markman (sophomore): Markman also bounced around a bunch his freshman year for the Generals, playing between #3 and #6 last year. He started out well, winning 0 and 0 at #5 against Chiraag Shetty of Christopher Newport, but ultimately lost 6 straight matches to end the season, 5 of those being in straight sets against ranked teams. If I had to guess, I would pick him at #4, but the Generals do have options, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him play lower, or even be completely out of the lineup.
#5/6 singles: Will Bannister (jr) / Zack Ely (fr) / Thomas Johnson (sr): Who the heck knows what will happen with the #5 and #6 spots for the Generals. Bannister had a weak season last year, but he started more than Johnson or Joe Siami, going 3-11 playing between #3 and #5 for the most part. The freshman Zack Ely is a good recruit, and I’m guessing he will get playing time, but it’s tough to predict how he will do after a straight set loss to Steven Boslet at ITAs (#2 last year from Christopher Newport). Johnson doesn’t have much experience as a starter either. Ultimately, I would guess that these three will each get their chances, and ultimately Ely and Bannister will settle in at the #5 and #6 spots.
Doubles:
Doubles is always tough to predict, but here are the three teams that the Generals threw out there at ITAs. Holt/Johnson and Bannister/Siami each won a match at ITAs, and the freshman duo Clements/Ely lost in the first round. Last year, the Generals really struggled in doubles against some of the higher ranked schools, losing at least 2 of 3 (or getting swept) against CMU, Sewanee, Tufts, Wesleyan, Bowdoin, and NC Wesleyan. Those are some solid schools, but against Sewanee and NC Wesleyan especially, the Generals will have to play better in doubles if they hope to turn around some of those losses. Anyways, here are the doubles teams that the Generals had at ITAs, ranked according to my humble opinion:
#1 doubles: Holt / Johnson
#2 doubles: Bannister/ Joe Siami (senior)
#3 doubles: Clements / Ely
Schedule Analysis:
The Generals play in a weak conference so they will make NCAAs pretty much by default, although last year they sat about half their team against Roanoke and almost lost (they won 6-3 in the third at #6 to win 5-4). It really comes down to the non-conference matches for the Generals, specifically the matches they play against the #4, #5, #6, #7, and #9 teams in the Atlantic South (W&L is #8). Last year, they lost to Mary Washington, NC Wesleyan, Sewanee, and Swarthmore (#4-7), and beat Christopher Newport (#9), hence their fitting #8 ranking. The Generals actually have a very strong Atlantic South schedule, as they will also play the #1-3 teams, Emory, CMU, and Johns Hopkins, but they should keep their focus on that #5 spot. Mary Washington is significantly stronger than W&L, as they beat them convincingly 9-0 last year, but they can definitely compete with NC Wes, Swat, and Sewanee if they improve from last year. Swarthmore is looking like the most talented team of this group, and I ultimately think they will end up #5, but W&L can definitely compete with them. If all things break right, W&L will get revenge on Swarthmore and Sewanee, take out NC Wes, get a routine win over Christopher Newport, and will compete well with the top 4 teams. The worst-case scenario is that they lose all of these matches, including a match against CNU that they should definitely win. Realistically, I think the Generals have an excellent shot at getting revenge on Sewanee and jumping over them in the rankings, and the regular season finale match against NC Wesleyan will be a pivotal match in the rankings. The Generals should be about the same team as last year, slightly worse at the top with the loss of Hu but with slightly better overall depth with two solid recruits. Overall, I don’t expect anything crazy from the Generals, but they should have a consistent season, and I could see them moving up a spot or so in our power rankings to ultimately finish at #31 or staying at #32.