Welcome back to another great season of West region DIII tennis coverage! Here, as always, to provide snarky and poorly researched analysis of our wonderful region is yours truly. If anyone out there is interested in taking up my mantle, please DM me on Twitter or e-mail me at d3tennisguy@gmail.com. On to the preview!
Coach: Russell McMindes, 8th Season
Location: San Antonio, TX
Preseason Ranking: #14
BLOG Power Ranking: #12
Twitter Handle: @TUtennis, one of the originals and a consistent provider of solid, no-nonsense score updates
Team Hashtag: #FTB #fortheboys, the team twitter hashtag that started it all
Overview:
Looking at the results from the 2016 season, I was initially flabbergasted as to how the Tigers ended up ranked as low as 14th in the country after beating Pomona-Pitzer, Wash U, and Kenyon without losing to anyone ranked lower than 10th (Wesleyan). Then, I remembered that the 2016 season was separated into two distinct teams: Trinity w/ Krull and Trinity w/o Krull. The Trinity Tigers are now exiting the Deuell/Krull era and wandering into uncharted territory. The good news is that they have a ton of solid players on their roster, and they are sure to be one of the deeper teams in the country. The potentially upsetting news is that they don’t really have anyone on their roster who has proven that they can win at the top of the singles lineup. They’ll need senior Chas Mayer to step up big time at the top of the lineup if they want to get back to the Elite Eight because DIII tennis is getting deeper and deeper, and the Tigers can’t afford to be losing at the top 2 singles positions every time out.
Key Additions:
Jordan Pitts (#125), Paul Bhatia (#226), McKenna Fujitani (#293)
Key Departures:
Paxton Deuel, Adam Krull, Eliot Guin (all three are all-Americans)
Lineup Analysis:
#1 Singles: Chas Mayer (Sr.) – After filling in admirably at #2 last season after Krull’s departure, Mayer figures to step into the top singles spot this season. He had a nice fall tournament, advancing to the finals in the Southwest before losing to UTT’s Fagundes in straight sets. Mayer is a guy who has consistently improved every year for Trinity, and I hope for their sake that he has made another leap in the offseason, because previous results indicate that he’s not really ready for #1 singles.
#2 Singles: Wilson Lambeth (So.) – This lanky sophomore spent last season at #3 where he was overmatched amongst the upper echelons of DIII tennis (nine DIII losses, all to teams ranked in the top 20 against just one win over a top 20 team). Nevertheless, he came into the SW ITA as the top ranked Tiger and advanced to the quarters before falling to Southwestern freshman Alexis Dimanche in three tight sets. Again, history indicates that he’s not ready to succeed at #2, but Trinity has always relied on good development
#3 Singles: Jordan Pitts (Fr.) – It’s hard to say just how good Jordan Pitts is at this point in his career. He entered the Fall ITA as the 3rd ranked Tiger in the draw and cruised to the quarters before getting crushed by Fagundes (but everyone was crushed by Fagundes that weekend). He’s a top-150 recruit and by all accounts a dynamic player, but it’s hard to say how he’ll do in the top half of the lineup against top DIII competition.
#4 Singles: Clayton Niess (Sr.) – Niess had a really rough 2016 season in singles as he was dealing with various injuries virtually the whole time. He looked good in the Fall, forcing UTT’s Hadlich to three sets in the third round. He has had success at the #4 spot in the past, and the Tigers will need the senior back and healthy.
#5 Singles: McKenna Fujitani (Fr.) – Fujitani was a bit of a pleasant surprise for the Tigers this fall, as he came through qualifying to make it all the way to the Semifinals of the Fall ITA. Along the way, he benefitted from Matt Tyer’s debilitating injury. It was a solid result for the freshman, and his consistent game will mesh well with the #5 position.
#6 Singles: Matt Tyer (Jr.) – Tyer’s first season with Trinity was a little bit of a mixed bag. Mainly, he was good at doubles and less good at singles. After starting off the season with eight consecutive singles losses, he finished stronger. He would benefit from being dropped in the singles lineup from mostly #4 to #6.
This is obviously by no means a definitive singles lineup. In particular, sophomore Tilden Oliver and freshman Paul Bhatia figure to be in the mix.
Doubles: It’s always tough to predict what a team’s doubles lineup will look like in the fall, but the Tigers have several good options. Tyer and Lambeth won the SW ITA and advanced to the finals of Small College Nationals before falling to Emory’s team (remember Tyer and Krull won the tournament the previous year). That team figures to be a very solid #1. Niess and Mayer have a lot of experience together and would be a good #2. After that, the Tigers have an embarrassment of riches for the #3 spot. If they can find a couple that meshes, they will be successful.
Schedule Analysis:
You can read it for yourselves, so I’ll just hit the highlights:
- New early season match with Tyler should help both teams figure out exactly where they stand
- They’re playing Indoors as they always do, where their doubles will be put to the test early against a potential national championship favorite in Emory.
- They’re forgoing the traditional SoCal trip for matches in Florida against Kenyon and Stevens, followed by a unique road match against Amherst.
- They have an unusually strong slate of home matches against Midd, CMS, Gustavus, and Emory (assuming they show up this year).
- They finish with the second annual iteration of the NW/SW trio against Whitman and Tyler, this time in Tyler.
Long story short, they’ve got about a dozen matches with ranked teams to cement their national championship position and hopefully earn themselves a favorable regional before they win the SCAC again. If they can get themselves in the top 10, they’ll probably get a good regional and a favorable draw into the Elite Eight. If not, they can expect another trip to Atlanta and a tough Sweet Sixteen match against Emory (the third of the season).
Conclusion:
With so many questions regarding their lineup and many up-and-coming DIII teams with more experience, it’s hard to be too optimistic about Trinity’s prospects. Their seasoned veterans have a history of injury problems, and one poorly-timed injury could completely derail their season. Despite great coaching and development, it’s hard to see how they’ll find themselves in the top 10 at the end of the year. I see them staying ahead of their comparable contemporaries (strong, geographically isolated programs) Tyler, Whitman, and Gustavus. Unless McMindes has another big transfer up his sleeve, however, it seems like they’ll be behind the 8-ball against top competition with regards to the top of their singles lineup, and it’s hard to see them winning many of those matches. With a lot of unknowns, the February 4th match against an improved UT-Tyler team will be an early indication of where this team is at this year. Here’s to hoping they put it together #ForTheBoys.
– Pitts is a fabulous ball striker. Beautiful strokes, but is sometimes up & down.
– Fujitani’s hat is way cooler than Kroot’s hair & his game will have baseline bashers (with UTRs of 11 & below) with steam coming out of their ears.
– Liam Crawley (who you didn’t mention) & Bhatia are both talented and could see a lot of play at the bottom of the line up.
Watch for Liam Crawley to make a BIG move into top 4 singles territory for the Tigers. Don’t see Paul Bhatia breaking in this year – TU is too deep.
FYI, Trinity U does NOT play UT Tyler at the indoor quad at ACU. Its a misprint on the schedule posted on their website as they are scheduled to play Tyler Junior College. Your first bullet point is not valid.
The TU Tigers will not see UT Tyler until they travel to Tyler, Texas to play the TRIO with Whitman.
that’s kind of a bummer. thanks for the correction!
Strong team that has tremendous upside in my opinion with some young guys who are eager to prove themselves, but realistically speaking I think their losses will be too much for the team to overcome this year. I personally see them getting the sausage from Emory 3 times this year
Stalker Out!