2016 Women’s Season Preview: #15 University of Chicago Maroons

I’m a little disappointed in you. Yes, you. After writing two season previews, I’ve received a whopping zero comments or emails. Maybe my analysis is just, just so good that there is nothing to comment on. Maybe worse – nobody is reading my articles. So, if you stumble across this post, feel free to comment, email, or Tweet me. After all, you don’t want to see me sad. Without further ado, the Maroons:

Head Coach: Jay Tee (4th Season)

Location: Chicago, IL

Preseason ITA Ranking: 15

Twitter Handle: @UChicagoTennis

Overview:  Let’s take a trip down memory lane. From 2009-2012, the Maroons were one of the most feared teams in D-III. Each of those seasons, Chicago made the NCAA final four, most notably taking 2nd in 2012. Since the golden era of Maroon tennis, Chicago hasn’t fallen off the map and continues rank among the top 15 teams in the country.

I don’t want to make it sound like it’s been completely dandy. Yes, Chicago has qualified for the NCAA tournament each of the past seven seasons, but last year had its ups and downs. The Maroons appeared to peak at ITA Indoors, taking 3rd place, before falling to every top 20 team on the schedule aside from Case. At the same time, Chicago never lost to a team outside the top 20. After finishing 4th at UAAs, they squeezed their way into the NCAA tournament before falling to Carnegie Mellon in the round of 16.

This season, Chicago brings in several highly touted recruits but also loses some starters, most notably All-American Megan Tang. After a successful fall campaign, with five singles players making the round of 16 at ITAs and one being the eventual champion, Chicago appears ready to compete with the top 10 in the country. Under the tutelage of the blog’s 2015 co-Coach of the Year Jay Tee, Chicago could surprise some people.

Key Losses: Megan Tang (No. 2 Singles/No. 1 Doubles), Sruthi Ramaswami (should be a senior but not on the roster (No. 6 singles/No. 3 Doubles)), Kelsey McGillis, Maggie Schumann

Key Additions: Rachel Kim (4-star), Kaela Bynoe (4-star), Katarina Stevanovich (3-star), Jenna Reisler (3-star), Jenna McKinney (3-star), Adrienne Travis (2-star)

Lineup Analysis

#1 Singles: Ariana Iranpour (So.) – It didn’t take long for Iranpour to assert herself as the top player on the Maroon lineup last season. She went 5-0 at No. 2, never losing more than 4 games in a set. After the promotion to the top spot, the freshman did more than hold her own, going 11-6. Keep in mind, Chicago had one of the toughest schedules in D-III, so the record was impressive. The freshman then took her success into the postseason by rolling into the NCAA singles quarterfinal before losing to eventual champion Eudice Chong. As a sophomore, the Maroon has already proven herself as one of the top players in D-III by taking fourth place at ITA Nationals. Expect big things from Iranpour.

#2 Singles: Rachel Kim (Fr.) – As the top-ranked prospect from the 2nd best recruiting class in 2015, expectations are high for Kim. If her fall results are a taste of what’s to come, Chicago’s No. 2 may be close to going undefeated this year. The stats back up this projection. In the Bradley Invite, against D-I teams, the freshman reached the A-Flight final before falling in three sets to Iranpour (Interestingly, Kim was the one seed and Iranpour was the two, but I can’t see the freshman overtaking the sophomore in the lineup). The following week, Kim surprised several people by besting Wash U’s No. 1 Rebecca Ho in the round of 16 at ITAs. Two big takeaways from this win – 1. The Maroon only allowed three games to the Bear. 2. Iranpour’s record against Ho last season was 0-4; for Kim to make light work of Ho is even more impressive. The fact is that Chicago has two No. 1 caliber players, and that should lead to a lot of wins at the top two spots.

#3 Singles: Jasmine Lee (So.) – While I envision Kaela Bynoe ending the season at No. 3, Lee will probably get the nod to start it off given last year’s solid results. As a freshman, Lee spent most season at No. 3 where she accumulated a 10-5 record. This fall, Lee made the B-Flight semis of the Bradley Invite. It’s a bit interesting/odd that Lee competed in the B-Flight since five of her teammates (Iranpour, Kim, Bynoe, Chen, Tang) participated in the A-Flight. I don’t know what to make of that, so I’ll just leave it up to the readers.

#4 Singles: Kaela Bynoe (Fr.) – Ah, another freshman! We know how much confidence Coach Tee has in his freshmen (just look at the 2015 men’s team). At this point, there isn’t much to say about Bynoe since she lost in the Bradley Invite to Iranpour and in the round of 16 of ITAs to the 3rd seed. But, as a 4-star, top 175 recruit, she could do very well at No. 4 (or No. 3).

#5 Singles: Tiffany Chen (Jr.) – If you look at last year’s results, Chen should be penciled in at No. 4 because held the spot most of the season. However, with the confidence Coach Tee exudes in his freshmen, and this year’s ITA seeding, I’m projecting the junior to play No. 5 consistently. That said, Chen had a solid fall, taking Case’s No. 1 Nithya Kanagasegar to three sets at ITAs. Unfortunately, her loss to the Spartan came in the round of 32. But, with her experience, Chen is somebody the Maroons will look at to get key wins under stressful situations.

#6 Singles: Lucy Tang (Sr.) – Lucy Tang is projected to be the lone senior in a lineup filled with underclassmen. Thus, her role goes far beyond the court. If she is able to bring this group together and help turn some of the losses from last year into wins, Chicago is going to be in a great position. Last season, Tang’s playing time was somewhat limited, but she held a 6-2 record at No. 5. Her results from the fall indicate that she should be a staple in the lineup. Most notably, Tang defeated Case’s projected No. 3 Taylor Sweeney in the ITA round of 16. On and off the court, Tang will be instrumental to Chicago’s success.

Others: Stephanie Lee (Sr.)/Katarina Stevanovich (Fr.)/Courtney Warren (So.) – Lee, Stevanovich, and Warren have the best chances out of the rest of the roster to crack the lineup. Lee and Warren both saw time in singles last season, while Stevanovich had a solid fall, defeating Denison’s projected No. 2 Courtney Brown at ITAs en route to a round of 16 finish.

Doubles – As strong as the Maroon lineup is looking in singles, doubles appears to be a work in progress. None of Chicago’s tandems made it past the quarterfinals of ITAs. That’s fine for a top 20 team but slightly concerning for a top 10 team. Doubles was a weakness for Chicago last year, but I can see some mixing and matching throughout their early contests in order to develop a solid lineup. It’s worth mentioning that Megan Tang and Iranpour qualified for NCAAs in doubles last year so expect the return of Iranpour at the top spot. While it’s difficult to predict pairings, Warren, Chen, and Lucy Tang had significant experience last year. Along with them, I expect Kim and Bynoe to start.

Schedule Analysis

http://athletics.uchicago.edu/sports/wten/2015-16/schedule

The schedule online doesn’t appear to be complete. Even so, there are several takeaways. Chicago starts off its season with three D-I matches, and if you know anything about me (which you don’t), I’m a big fan D-III/D-I contests. After those matches, Chicago should easily defeat a rebuilding DePauw team and Kalamazoo.

For the first time since at least 2010, Chicago will not be a part of ITA Indoors. While they might be disappointed by this, I think it will turn out in their favor. Like I said in my overview, Chicago appeared to peak at Indoors last year, so even though it would have been nice to compete against the top teams, they probably won’t be playing their best tennis until after February. Plus, if the Maroons’ final schedule turns out to be similar to last year’s, they’ll be competing against powerhouses all season long.

I expect Chicago to play several top 15 teams in their spring break trip to California. But, since those matches aren’t online yet, it’s pointless to try analyzing them. What I do know is that the Maroons will be tested at the Midwest Invite in March. With teams like Case, Denison, and Wash U present, if Chicago finishes the weekend unscathed, expect to see a lot of success come late April and May.

If you’re hoping to see a Chicago-Case and/or Chicago-Wash U match at the Midwest Invite but it doesn’t happen, don’t worry! The following weekend the Maroons host both the Spartans and the Bears. Although Chicago had a 5-4 loss early last year to the Spartans, they came back with two 8-1 wins later in the year. I’m expecting the Maroons to easily handle Case. Against Wash U, Chicago went 1-3 in 2015, so they will look to take revenge on their UAA rivals.

The Maroons could be seeded anywhere from 2-4 at UAAs; at this point, Emory appears to be the top dog. In 2015, four UAA teams qualified for NCAAs, but that might not be case this season. If Chicago wants to ensure a bid, third place or better is a must.

Conclusion

As you can probably tell, I think this is an emerging Maroon team. Normally, youth and inexperience are a recipe for disaster, but I’m confident in this team given Coach Tee’s success with the 2015 men’s squad. Expect the Maroons to take second or third at UAAs, make the quarterfinals of NCAAs, and finish the season in the top 10. With three four-stars coming in next season, the Maroons are inching their way back to national championship contention.

8 thoughts on “2016 Women’s Season Preview: #15 University of Chicago Maroons

  1. fjieordfjkn

    It looks like the Chicago women (and the men) had their first match this weekend. Looking at the lineup, I was struck by the fact that each women’s doubles team was simply a down-the-lineup pairing of two singles players: 1 dubs was 1 and 2 singles, 2 dubs was 3 and 4 singles, and so forth. It worked against CSU—D1, so less of a focus on just one doubles point—but I agree that doubles is something to keep working on to be competitive with the teams they need to beat to break into the top 10.

    Am I reading into this too much? Did you see them play? Do each of the players’ singles games simply translate into doubles lineups so linearly and directly?

    1. D3NE Womens

      Good observation, yes I noticed that too, but I wasn’t too surprised. It’s not too surprising to put the far and away best players (Iranpour and Kim) together. That’s what they did last year with Iranpour and M. Tang and had relative success even though I wouldn’t call either of them ‘doubles specialists.’ Also, Chicago has THREE freshmen in their starting lineup so it also makes sense to have them pair up with a non-freshman, which may have coincided with the down-the-lineup pairings. (Although I was a little surprised not to see Warren or L. Tang out there?) I do think the women’s game translates more into a linear doubles lineup than the men. I didn’t watch the match – did anyone watch the match out there? Did they play both back?
      By the way, thanks for all your comments and questions. I love it. More people need to step up and ask/comment away!

      1. Hdisldmmal

        I didn’t see the match, but your comment made me think of the NCAA final a few years back between Chicago and Williams. The full championship match video I think is still somewhere on the NCAA website, but I remember watching lots of 2 at the baseline doubles.

        Chicago and Wesleyan are sounding like pretty similar teams: dominant top of the singles lineups with some interesting possibilities for doubles.

        1. D3NE Womens

          Oh yes, I forgot about that (interesting doubles combinations with 2 dominant players)! I don’t think Chicago is AS dominant at the top 2 spots as Wesleyan is (Chicago’s top 2 have a UTR of about 9; Wesleyan’s top 2 have a UTR between 10 and 11!), but it does open up some possibilities against certain opponents!

  2. Name

    What’re the UTRs of the lineup? That seems to be one way of theoretically pitting Chicago against the NESCAC and SCIAC.

    What else, beyond your implicit mention of doubles, do you think Chicago needs to do in order to more than squeak into NCAAs?

    1. D3TennisGreek

      Great questions! Here are the UTRs:
      Ariana Iranpour 8.93
      Rachel Kim 9.14
      Jasmine Lee 7.58
      Kaela Bynoe 8.34
      Tiffany Chen 7.85
      Lucy Tang 7.55
      Courtney Warren 6.56
      Stephanie Lee 6.91 (70% Reliability)
      Katarina Stevanovich 7.13 (70% Reliability)

      In order to convincingly make NCAAs, Chicago needs to capitalize at the top and bottom of the singles lineup. Iranpour and Kim hit a big ball and have already had a lot of success, so they should be as close to a lock as you can get. Of course, as I mention a lot in my articles, wins aren’t guaranteed at the top singles spot because of the caliber of players. But with a year of experience under her belt, it will be important for Iranpour to step up in big situations. Chicago has solid depth, so they can’t and frankly shouldn’t be losing many matches at 5 and 6.

      I also think seeding at UAAs is going to be critical. Chicago wants to avoid the 4-seed because that will mean a match up with Emory in the semis, leading them to the third place match and the potential of a fourth place finish.

  3. Idoc

    Love your articles. They are insightful and generate lots of excitement for the up coming season. I never comment because, well, why point out the obvious.? As for Chicago, sometimes I find it hard to know how good they are because they are never really tested by their competition. I mean, if they were in the NESCAC would they even make the top six for the conference tournament?

    1. D3TennisGreek

      Thank you so much for the kind words! It looks like the Maroons are facing Tufts during their California Spring Break trip, so that will be a very good indicator. I agree that in the past couple years Chicago wouldn’t stack well with NESCAC teams, but like I said, Chicago is a team on the rise and would definitely be among the top six NESCAC teams.

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