2016 Women’s Season Preview: #21 Vassar Brewers

Location: Poughkeepsie, NY

Head Coach: Kathy Campbell, 38th year!!!!!

Twitter Handle: @brewin_vcwt

2013 National Ranking: #26
2014 National Ranking: #29
2015 National Ranking: #21
2016 Pre-Season National Ranking: #21

Intro:
Vassar had a good season last year, knocking off some teams ranked above them at the time (LaVerne and Whitman) during a successful Spring Break trip, and giving Skidmore a run for their money in the Liberty Leagues. With a couple of big graduations and some juniors missing, I’m afraid this year Vassar will take a very big fall, potentially falling out of the national rankings altogether. For the past few years they have been a strong second in the Liberty League, but that’s far from a guarantee this year. SLU, William Smith, and RPI will all be challenging for a place in the LL finals against Skidmore, and it should make for some very competitive matches.

Lineup Analysis:

Let’s take a look at my projected lineups for Coach Campbell’s Brewers. The Brewers lost 2 phenomenal players to graduation in Samantha Schapiro and Ava Sadeghi. Not only were they good players who won a lot of points for the team, but more importantly, they were the heart and soul of the team and the team will have to fill a big void this year. All the juniors also seem to be missing (abroad?) so the Brewers are definitely in an uphill battle this year!

UTR Power6 Rating (the sum of the supposed top 6 players on a team): 36

#1 Singles: Kate Christensen, sophomore, 7.76
Christensen had a phenomenal freshman campaign, winning the ITA regional and qualifying for Small College Nationals (and coming in 4th in the country), being named Rookie and Player of the Year for Liberty League, and overall being a force to be reckoned with at the top spot for the Brewers. Her sophomore year is off to a rocky start, as she stands at a rough 4-5, and seems extremely vulnerable at #1. But the Brewers don’t have a whole lot of options at #1, so Christensen will have to take her lumps and use the matches as a learning experience. She is a feisty player and I know she will find a way to put up a good fight against any player she faces.

As for the rest of the lineup, I did not see these players play in matches last year other than against much weaker teams. They will get a lot of playing experience this year! It will be largely up to the two seniors, Van Noy and Stauffer, to provide much needed leadership, positivity, and perspective (and it will be very much needed!) throughout the season. If they can get through this season the right way, they can be a better team for it next year.

#2 Singles: Courtney Geiss, sophomore, 6.12

#3 Singles: Kelsey Van Noy, senior, 5.92

#4 Singles: Morgan Fitzgerald, sophomore, 6.36

#5 Singles: Morgane Flournoy, freshman, 5.38

#6 Singles: Lauren Stauffer, senior, 4.00

Schedule Analysis:

Here’s Vassar’s schedule: http://www.vassarathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=wten

2/13 at Army
2/20 at Muhlenberg
2/27 at RIT
2/28 at SLU
3/5 SUNY New Paltz
3/13 at CLU
3/14 v Washington College
3/15 at #34 Chapman
3/17 v #3 Amherst
3/18 v #22 Whitman
4/2 #16 Skidmore
4/9-4/10 Seven Sisters
4/16 #9 MIT
4/23 William Smith
4/30 at RPI
5/7-5/8 Liberty Leagues

I actually like this schedule. They do play some Top 30 out of conference teams in Amherst, Whitman, and MIT, in which they will most likely get wiped clean, but I can see how you would want to keep them on your schedule for future years when you get a little stronger. They start the season off against D1 Army, in which Army (UTR Power6 = 53) should make quick work of the Brewers. Next they have the Muhlenberg Mules (UTR Power6 = 30). The Mules’ claim to fame last year was that they found themselves down 0-3 to Swat after three routine doubles matches and then managed to come back and sweep the singles for a 6-3 win. The Brewers, however, should win this match pretty handily. They should also get an easy win against their first Liberty League foe, RIT (UTR Power6 = 20). They should have their hands full with the next LL opponent, SLU (UTR Power6 = 34). This will be an exciting matchup for sure and an important one for the conference tournament seeding. Basically, no one wants to be the 4th seed, as that team will have to face Skidmore in the semifinals. Then they face SUNY New Paltz (UTR Power6 = 29), another team they *should* be able to beat, before they go on their Spring Break Trip to SoCal. They start off in what should be a very competitive match with CLU (UTR Power6 = 36). I’m going to give the nod to CLU, since they would have played about a half a dozen outdoor matches before coming into this match and this will most likely be Vassar’s first outdoor match. Washington College will be yet another close match with the team coming in at a UTR Power6 of 38. Then they face 3 ranked teams in 4 days in Chapman, Amherst, and Whitman. I don’t think they have a chance against Amherst but they do have a fighting chance against Chapman (UTR Power6 = 38) and Whitman (UTR Power6 = 39). What Vassar lacks is experience and a little more strength in the middle of the lineup but if they fight they give themselves a chance in those two matches. If Vassar can come out of spring break with 2 wins, I’d say the trip was a success.
They come back to campus to play Skidmore, but this year Skidmore will be too strong for the Brewers. Next is the Seven Sisters tournament, in which Vassar and Wellesley have had a good rivalry. This year, Wellesley should win the tournament without too much trouble. Vassar should come in a comfortable second, although Mt. Holyoke (UTR Power6 = 31) might try to change that. Then they host MIT (UTR Power6 = 49), in which the visitors should come away with an easy win, before they have their huge conference matches with William Smith (UTR Power6 = 34) and RPI (UTR Power6 = 32). RPI looks to be in danger of being the 4th seeded team going into the LL tournament, as they are just a little bit weaker than Vassar and William Smith at each spot. But anything can happen during conference tournaments!

D3NEW’s 3 Keys to Vassar’s Season:

#1. Keep it positive. The team is not going to see the same success as it has for a number of years. But it’s an important year, maybe more important than the previous ones because if they can keep it positive this year, they will be better off for it next year.
#2. Stay healthy. I only see 7 players on the roster, so they cannot afford to have more than 1 player out at any one time. Every player becomes very important.
#3. Lots of close matches to fight for – SLU, CLU, William Smith, RPI. These are critical matches for the season and it’s important that the team be ready as can be for them! Three of them are for conference seeding, which is going to be tight at #2, #3, and #4.

A big shoutout to the Virtual Matchups feature on Universaltennis.com!!!

Over and out,

NEW