Coach: Scott Thielke, 24th Season
Location: Gambier, Ohio
Preseason ITA Ranking: 11
Blog Power Ranking: 17
Twitter Handle: @CoachThielke, @Kenyon_Tennis
Overview
The Lords took the old saying, “It’s not how you start but how you finish” to heart last year. Up until the NCAA tournament, it looked like Kenyon was having its worst season in recent years, suffering losses to all top 20 teams they faced, including Chicago, UW-Whitewater, Emory, Pomona-Pitzer, Wash U, Trinity, and Carnegie Mellon. But that’s not what anybody will remember; their Sweet 16 match with Ohio foes Case will go down in D3 history. Squaring off against the Spartans away in Cleveland, the Lords faced a 2-1 deficit going into singles. I’ll spare you the details of all the singles matches, but just watch Sam Geier’s match point over CJ Krimbill to send Kenyon to the Elite 8:
Simply incredible! It still gives me goosebumps.
But that wasn’t the Lords’ final surprise of 2016. After qualifying for the NCAA doubles championships with the 3rd spot in the central region, Sam Geier and Tristan Kaye stormed through the field and garnered the national title.
Certainly, May 2016 was unforgettable for the Lords, but a lot of work needs to be done to emulate last year’s late season success and rise over the top 20 hurdle Kenyon faced most of the year.
Additions
Austin Diehl (#145), Jake Zalenski (#214), Patrick Hudnut (NR), Luis Platas (NR)
Key Departures
Sam Geier (#1 Doubles/#1 Singles), Robert Turlington (#2 Doubles/#3 Singles)
Lineup Analysis
#1 Singles, Michael Liu (Jr.), UTR 11.63: The Canadian more or less came out of nowhere last year and held his own at #2. While not a top 2, the leap he made between 2015 and 2016 is promising. Of course, transitioning to 1 is a tall order, and seeing that Liu didn’t compete in the fall (probably studying abroad) is slightly worrisome for that transition. However, there were the same question marks about Sam Geier playing at the top spot heading into last season. Hopefully, Liu is ready for the challenge.
#2 Singles, Nicholas Paolucci (So.), UTR 11.47: The young Italian stallion rode the hot hand late last year, ending his season on a 14-match winning streak (would have been 15, but Emory clinched just before Paolucci defeated Bouchet in the Elite 8)! It’s even more impressive when you realize that Nick started off the D3 dual season 0-6. I’m pretty excited about Paolucci’s ability to come up big when it counts, and I think he will be instrumental to Kenyon’s success this season.
#3-5 Singles
Jake Zalenski (Fr.), UTR 11.47: The freshman made a splash at ITA Regionals, winning the consolation bracket. Interestingly, Kenyon has historically done very well in the back draw, as Michael Liu ran through it last year and Mike Roberts the year before that. Realistically, I think Zalenski, Roberts, or Diehl can be slotted at 3, 4, or 5 in any order. Diehl had a direct win over Zalenski in the Kenyon Invitational, but of course, fall results mean nothing, and results of intra-team matches mean even less. One encouraging Zalenski attribute was his steady rise in rankings throughout juniors. Looking at TennisRecruiting.net, he had a year high of 425 in 2013, 295 in 2014, 244 in 2015, and 214 in 2016. It looks like the talent and work ethic are there; now, it’s up to Zalenski to get the results come January.
Mike Roberts (Sr.), UTR 11.43: Much like Paolucci, Roberts’ early season woes did not haunt him for long as he ended the year on a 15-match winning streak (sorry, Case fans, Dughi’s match with Roberts went unfinished)! There is potential for Mike to be the only senior in the singles lineup, and he seems like the type of guy that can guide the youngins. The only cause for concern is that the senior has been battling injuries, which is why he only played doubles in the fall. If he’s healthy and plays around the same spot in the lineup as last year, I’m expecting big things.
Austin Diehl (Fr.), UTR 11.34: Diehl, like fellow freshman Zalenski, had a great showing at ITA Regionals. Despite falling to projected Wash U #1 John Carswell in the opening round, the Lord won three straight back draw matches, dropping a total of 2 games, before losing to Jason Haugen (Wash U) in the consolation semifinal. Out of the freshmen, Diehl was the best-ranked recruit, and it looks like he was consistently a 4-star throughout high school. Toward the bottom of Kenyon’s lineup, the freshman could be sneaky dangerous.
#6 Singles
Peter Hazlett, (Jr.), UTR 10.49: Hazlett is the type of player I greatly admire. The guy doesn’t really get playing time his freshman and sophomore years yet sticks with it and now has a good chance of cracking the starting lineup. Hazlett’s fall was formidable; he went the distance with Shouta Fukamachi (Ohio Wesleyan), Ninan Kumar (Chicago), and Dane Paulsen (Wheaton). While all three matches ended in losses for the Lord, good things seem to be on the horizon. Don’t be surprised if Hazlett cracks the lineup.
Tristan Kaye (Sr.), UTR 10.51: The senior has experience on his side. His return to the courts last year was more than admirable after an illness sidelined him in 2015. Although better-known for his doubles after winning the national title last year, I think there is a good chance the senior starts at #6.
Doubles
I’ll get into this more in my keys to success, but doubles needs to be strong for Kenyon this year. While no pair went far in the main draw of ITA Regionals, two teams — blog favorite Ben Gelfand and Alex Rieger as well as Austin Diehl and Mike Roberts — advanced to the consolation final. There are several doubles combinations I could see, and here’s a preliminary guess:
- Tristan Kaye/Michael Liu: Kaye played 1 last year, and his partner Geier graduated, while Liu played two with Turlington, who also graduated.
- Nicholas Paolucci/Mike Roberts: This combo had an 8-2 record at #3 and 2-0 record at #2 last season. Seems like a good tandem at 2.
- Peter Hazlett/Jake Zalenski: These two were the highest seed for Kenyon at ITAs.
Only one of these teams (Hazlett/Zalenski) played together at ITAs, so my prediction could be totally off. Regardless, I could see any three doubles teams Coach Thielke puts out there do very well.
Schedule Summary/Analysis
Please find Kenyon’s schedule here: http://athletics.kenyon.edu/schedule.aspx?path=mten&.
I absolutely LOVE this schedule. If you are a team in a conference that isn’t the most competitive, it’s imperative to schedule tough non-conference matches, and that’s exactly what Coach Thielke has done.
Kenyon goes up against a tough Wash U squad in the first round of ITA Indoors and could surprise some with a victory. In the next round, the Lords square off against Pomona-Pitzer or Chicago. Finally, they will play Emory, Trinity, Case, or Carnegie Mellon on Sunday.
The Lords head to the great city of Orlando, Florida for Spring Break against four top 25 teams. I think, realistically, they will win three of their four matches. I’m pretty high on Amherst, so that’s the one loss I’m penciling, but at the same time, Trinity (TX) and UT-Tyler are both strong teams that would have a lot of outdoors experience heading into their matches against Kenyon.
Their last non-conference matches include Case, Lewis & Clark, and Carnegie Mellon. In all, Kenyon would have faced close to 10 nationally ranked opponents before heading into the NCAC tournament. That preparation is absolutely critical for success at NCAAs.
Keys to Success
Appreciate the Process: The UTR of Kenyon’s projected #1, Michael Liu, is 11.63, lower than many #6s of top 10 teams. Of course, UTRs do not determine results, but Kenyon is starting at a worse spot than many other nationally renowned teams. With that, they might face some early season losses, and that’s ok! You have the facilities and coaches to develop into a top 10 team, but trust the process. Don’t hang your heads down if you don’t have a great showing at ITA Indoors. Just remember what happened last year at NCAAs.
Doubles: Along those lines of having lower UTRs, the Lords will have to rely on strong doubles in order to beat top 15 teams. Last year, doubles was a bit of a weakness: Kenyon was 15-9 at #1, 13-11 at #2, and 11-13 at #3. Without studs Geier and Turlington in singles, doubles is that more important.
Conclusion
Many people are saying that Kenyon will have a down year. However, despite losing one of the top players in the country, the Lords bring a strong freshman class, a veteran core, and an experienced coach in hopes of returning to the Elite 8. With the growing strength of the top 10, I’m not sure if Kenyon will emulate last year’s quarterfinal appearance. That said, if there is anything we’ve learned from Kenyon historically, it’s that you should never count them out. In the words of the great Jeanne, “Go LORDS!!!”
Heard there might be a big alumni match in April. Watch out.