2016 Season Preview: #5 Emory Eagles

CLICHÉ TIME!!! Time to save the best for last and I will be previewing your favorite team, the Emory Eagles. Sidenote: Couldn’t you see Johnny Football playing for Emory?  Totally the right personality.  All kidding aside, I’m super pumped to be doing the Emory preview because this team basically represents my only chance at a national championship this year.  Hopkins and CMU, you are afterthoughts until you actually make a Final 4.  Shout-out to the Blogger Group chat, which has reeled off 100+ messages in a row to some phones (D3NE) while he dilly dallies and wastes his life away.  Central doesn’t really have group message capabilities on his Moto Razr so he really brings down our number a little bit. Anyways, I’m tired and I want to at least get through the overview of this Eagles preview so let’s do it.

Coach: John Browning, 17^th Season

Location: Atlanta, GA

Preseason Ranking: #5

Blog Power Ranking: #6

Twitter Handle: @EUTennis – very good twitter for any of Rafe Mosetick’s accomplishments, but other than that pretty non-existent

Overview

If you had a stock map of the Emory Eagles, it would be much like Apple’s on Wall Street.  It’s always been a high-roller, but the trends in recent years have not been kind to them.  Emory was a perennial top 4 team until Chris Goodwin and Co. graduated, in which they have failed to make the Final 4 in each of the past 3 years.  The Guru mentioned that this team has lost to teams like Trinity TX, CMU, Hopkins, and Kenyon in the past three years.  In the previous 10 years, they lost to these teams a total of 0 times.  This isn’t your mom and dad’s Emory team, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous.  I think this year has the chance to be better than the previous 3, now that they’ve rid themselves of one of their potential chemistry problems and also brought in a huge recruit.  Coach Browning always seems to find a way to get this team playing the right teams at the right time and he is a guy who is seriously consistent.  Say what you want about the man, but there aren’t many with better resumes than Browning.  I’m on the Emory bandwagon this year (like that’s changed) and you will see why later on.

Key Additions – Jonathan Jemison (4 Star Recruit), Adrien Bouchet (4 star recruit), James Spaulding (4 star recruit), Andrew Harrington (transfer)

Key Losses – Alex Ruderman (#1 Singles, #1 Doubles), Eric Halpern (#2 Singles, #2 Doubles), Ian Wagner (#1 Doubles, #4 Singles), Brian Kowalski (none)

Lineup Overview

#1 Singles, Rafe Mosetick – I’m trying to cut down on the Rafe Mosetick references because we simply get so many of them on the interwebs.  I was looking at billboards in NYC the other day and I could have sworn that a huge picture of Rafe’s yelling face was featured for an Under Armour commercial there. Through my gritted teeth, the amount of publicity Mr. Mosetick has gotten is very well deserved, as this pint-sized human continues to show why it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog (CLICHÉ ALERT).  Mosetick has been dreaming of this day since he came to Emory his freshman year and culminated with him going undefeated in dual matches at #3 singles last year.  It’s finally his time to shine and he has already started well, making the finals of Small College Nationals.  No one really expected him to win, other than myself and notorious UAA homer ASouth Women’s.  Well, here he is ranked as the #2 player in the nation.  Rafe is being somewhat overlooked by those who love Krimbill and Skyler Butts, but his fight puts him in the definite top 3 players in the country.

#2 Singles, Jonathan Jemison – The skinny freshman Jonathan Jemison is next in line.  It remains to be seen whether or not Jemison can handle the top of the lineup, but his initial results look promising.  He was able to make the finals of the ITA beating some tough players.  Jemison, however, is a freshman, and we know how that goes most of the time.  There’s a difference playing in the confines of his own region against his teammates and playing a dual match against Wash U in the Orlando heat.  Now, he’s had a great junior career and his summer was really, really promising.  Jemison has the most upside of almost any freshman in DIII this year (other than maybe Charlie Pei) and I am expecting huge things out of the young man.

#3 Singles, Aman Manji – I guess sometimes D3West is right.  Two years ago, he told us in the blogger email thread that Aman would eventually become a top contributor for the Eagles.  He broke into the lineup last year at #6 before moving up and notching some big wins against top teams.  It looks like he’s continued to work because he’s now projected at #3 for the Eagles this year.  While I am high on Manji and his work ethic, I must say that he is a question mark at #3 at this very moment.  He played well at the bottom of the lineup last year and had a solid ITA, but kind of like in Jemison’s paragraph, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s going to be uber-successful at his new position. Manji is this lineup’s true wild card and could be a huge part of their season.

#4 Singles, James Spaulding/Adrien Bouchet/Alec Josepher – Why do I have a three-headed monster here at #4 instead of just one player?  Because I’ve heard some rumors out of Atlanta that Coach Browning is deciding between these three to be at #4 singles.  All of them have talent, with Spaulding and Bouchet being freshmen. All three made the round of 16 in their ITA.  Josepher actually ended up making the quarterfinals, taking out projected #2 Eric Roddy of Sewanee.  Bouchet lost to Manji in a pretty comfortable match, while Spaulding lost in three sets to Brokakis of NC Wesleyan.  So, you have a lot of talent here with not a lot of data.  I think this position sets up the bottom of the lineup well but the Eagles might have some struggles at this spot all year round. ASOUTH EDIT: My guess here is that Spaulding is going to take this spot.  Dude has a big game and a lot of potential to blow some dudes out of the water.

#5 Singles, Andrew Harrington – The D1 transfer Harrington has been a mystery this offseason as there has been a commenter that called him out as “not that good.”  In my opinion, Harrington’s probably pretty damn good for a #4-5 singles player.  As I mentioned in one of my comments, he took out Avery Schober in the ITA in three sets.  Let’s remember that Avery Schober is an All-American.  I don’t want to hear any crap about how this kid can’t succeed.  If he plays at the bottom of the lineup, he will be a force.  And that’s exactly where Coach Browning will slot him.  Look for a big year out of Harrington.

#6 Singles, Josh Goodman – While many people may not agree with the way he handles himself on court, not many can complain about this junior’s results.  Goodman really came on strong at the end of the year last year, with a big win over Luke Tsai of Chicago as well as a split set loss against Johnny Wu of Wash U.  Goodman is a gamer who started the year with question marks at Indoor Nationals and ended the year as a consistent point-getter at the bottom of the lineup. At #6, he’ll be one of the best #6s in the country for sure.  He took Sebastian Sikh to three sets at ITA and will continue that momentum and fight throughout the season.  Goodman is one of the epitomes of an Emory player and will flourish in the Coach Browning system.

Doubles – Doubles, doubles, doubles. Coach Browning has always had a way with creating an optimal doubles lineup for winning; however you want to interpret that.  Emory has a lot of doubles players that aren’t playing in singles (David Omsky, Scott Rubenstein) and also have a top team in Rafe Mosetick and Jemison.  They will most likely play #2 or #3 doubles, which will put them at an advantage at that spot the whole year.  They’re not a #1 doubles team and that will allow Emory to place them lower in the lineup where their grittiness can take over.  The rest of the lineup will be in question.  #1 doubles is going to be a struggle as they don’t have a true top dog in doubles like a Buxbaum or a Krull or something. What I would suggest is to put Rafe/Jemison at #2 doubles and put together a Rubenstein/Manji team at #3 where they can definitely have success.  That lineup gives them the best chance to get 2-1 leads against pretty much any team. With a 2-1 lead, I can’t see this team being out of any match.

The Schedule – Key Matches and More

Here’s the Emory schedule:

http://emoryathletics.com/sports/mten/2015-16/schedule

Emory has a doozy of a schedule to start the year.  This is a bit different than their schedule last year, where they really relied on Indoors to get them signature wins and didn’t participate in much else.  They will of course start this year with Indoor Nationals, where they should be pretty thankful for their blessings. They start with Kenyon, who might be the worst or second worst team in the tournament. That’s not terrible considering the competition, but they could be playing… Trinity TX in the first round.  After that will be either Pomona/CMU, who are both strong teams but they can be beaten.  I expect Emory to make the finals of Indoors, which would be considered a success.  They’d move up to #2-4 in the nation depending on who they play.  Good times.

Emory then travels out West where they will play in the Stag Hen Tournament.  Again, it looks like they might have a good draw (how does he do it?!) where they play Case in the first round and potentially Pomona in the second round.  Does this mean another final, maybe this time against CMS?  Most likely.  Emory is really stacking the deck with tournaments and giving themselves the opportunity to beat some top ranked teams.  That’s what you can ask for in a schedule.  I’m not going to make predictions about the Stag-Hen, but if they make the finals that can be considered a success as well.

Coming back from Cali, they’ll take on some regional opponents such as Johns Hopkins and Mary Washington.  Neither should present a challenge to them unless they don’t come to play on those days.  Luckily for them, they don’t play Hopkins on their home courts.  Again, I don’t see either team having the firepower to take Emory out in both doubles and singles.

Last but not least comes the UAA tournament.  The UAA is one of my favorite tournaments of year by far and Emory is a big reason for that. This year, Emory will probably end up with the #2 seed meaning they’ll play Wash U or CMU depending on how those teams perform. By this point in time, Emory should have a lockdown on a Pool C spot so they really should just be gunning for the UAA championship.  It’s most likely going to be against Chicago and they have to get there first.  This will be an interesting tournament for seeding as well.  Emory holds serve and gets 1^st or 2^nd, and they get a high #1 seed and most likely a team like Whitman as their #2 seed.  That’s a big change from a team like Hopkins, potentially. Emory will then go into the NCAA tournament hoping to break their Final 4 drought.

D3 Atlantic South’s 3 Keys to Emory’s Season

1. The Emory Jem – Will Jonathan “The Gem” Jemison be the revelation that some of us think he is? ASW picked him in the SECOND ROUND of the fantasy draft, which is downright crazy. But, he could prove everyone wrong and become one of the best #2s in the country. He’s highly rated on Universal Tennis, which is never a bad thing.  If Jemison can channel his inner Rafe and become a true grind it out player at #2, get ready for teams to falter against Emory.  Their bottom of the lineup is so strong that if they can take 2 out of 3 at the top three they can beat almost any team.  Jemison is the key to that as I see Manji being a middle of the road player.
2. Doubles Specialists – Emory simply doesn’t have many doubles players. They have a singles doubles team in Mosetick/Jemison, who they will slot low in the lineup to get some wins. The rest of the team needs to step up, especially doubles specialists David Omsky and Scott Rubenstein.  Those guys have the potential to turn this season into a giant success if they can put strangleholds on the doubles lineup.  I have mixed feelings about both of these players’ work ethic, so we shall see what the season holds.  Doubles could be the difference this year between the Final 4 and another Elite 8 loss.
3. Follow the Lead – I truly believe that last year didn’t go as planned because of some attitudes on the team that didn’t mesh well. While some may say it was Emory being Emory, you never really heard that about the Pottish/Goodwin teams. Those teams won without the drama that came with last year’s Emory team.  This year, they have a new leader in Rafe Mosetick, who will be tested not only as a player but as a senior captain.  A lot comes with the position and not everyone is ready for it.  If the team can follow Rafe’s lead and become a workmanlike but in-your-face type team, this team can reach new heights.  If this team becomes a batch of individuals, you’ll see them out in the quarterfinals.  Which will it be?

Conclusion

Ah, Emory.  One of DIII’s favorite teams to debate and watch. This year will be a show with a famed DIII player at the top of the helm and a stacked schedule with a ton of good matches.  I can’t wait to see these guys at Indoors this year (and what uniforms they bring out).  Seriously, what uniforms are they gonna bring out?  I might need a new Twitter icon with the new Emory uniform if they’re fire.  Oh, and are they going to go with the mohawks again this year?  I personally would love to see the Emory team in all Man-Buns, but that’s just a dream. Okay, let’s get this article out before Rafe goes crazy on me for not getting it out before the weekend. ASouth, OUT.