Coach: Tommy Valentini, 8th Season
Location: St. Peter, Minnesota
Preseason ITA Ranking: 20
Blog Power Ranking: 20
Twitter Handle: @GACMensTennis
Overview
I’ve covered a lot of teams from the “central” side of the region, so I’m glad I get to break the monotony by previewing a team on the “midwest” side. First, a quick shout out to Gustavus legend Eric Butorac for showing the big boys that you can go to a D3 school and still compete at the pro level. How cool is it that Butorac and current Gustavus head coach Tommy Valentini were teammates? In fact, Butorac wrote a blog post about it for Universal Tennis: https://blog.universaltennis.com/2016/02/21/regret-and-the-ncaas/#more-230.
While the days of Gustavus’ NCAA runs are gone, the Gusties are consistently a top 20 team; last year was no exception. Winning the MIAC title and advancing to the NCAA round of 16, Coach Valentini’s young and inexperienced squad did quite well. This year, expectations are a little higher (although their preseason blog power ranking is the same as their ITA ranking). And after a strong fall season, Gustavus looks to jump over the NCAA Sweet 16 hurdle they’ve faced the past several years.
Additions
Michael O’Neil (465), Yassine Derbani (ITF Junior High of 1139 in 2015), Zeke Haugen, Kieran Townsend
Key Departures
Andres Saenz (#1 Doubles/#2 Singles), Mitch Elofson (#3 Doubles/#4 Singles)
Lineup Analysis
#1 Singles, Mohanad Al-Houni (Jr.), UTR 12.17: The junior had just about as good of a fall as one could imagine. Against DI competition at the Drake Invite, Mohanad advanced to the Flight 1 singles final, beating a Drake player with a UTR of 13.43 along the way. As I expected, he stormed past the field at ITA Regionals for the second straight year and had only one match go three sets. With a third place finish at the Oracle Cup, beating two solid freshmen, Mohanad has to be pleased with himself. Last year, we saw some streaky performances, but if the fall is any indication of things to come, Al-Houni is zoned in, and could make the jump from a good #1 to a top #1.
#2-3 Singles, Zach Ekstein (Jr.), UTR 11.51: Ekstein was a force at #3 last year, ending the season with a 14-3 record. More importantly, he posted solid wins against guys from top 25 teams, including UW-Whitewater, Case, and UT-Tyler. However, aside from Case, he struggled against opponents from top 10 teams, falling to guys from Chicago, Pomona, and Wash U. Unfortunately, Ekstein’s fall was rougher as he lost in the first round of ITAs. Nevertheless, I’m positive he’ll come back strong in the Spring. Patrick Whaling’s fall was stronger, but Ekstein has experience on his side, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at either the 2 or 3 spot.
#2-3 Singles, Patrick Whaling (So.), UTR 11.28: Where did Whaling come from?! Seriously, the guy didn’t play in too many matches last year; against good teams late in the season, he was at 6. My sense is that he worked extremely hard over the summer, and it has shown in his fall results. As a 16-seed at ITA Regionals, he upset Rithwik Raman (UW-Whitewater projected #1) and Coe stud Brady Anderson before falling in the final to Mohanad. Throughout the past few years, Gustavus has had a solid top 3, and with the development of Whaling, it looks like that will continue to be the case.
#4-5 Singles, Chase Johnson (So.), UTR 10.93: Things get a little trickier for Gustavus at 4, 5, and 6. Even from a UTR perspective, these guys will be fighting an uphill battle against top 20 competition. That said, although Johnson was in the #6 rotation last season, I think he’s a lock in the lineup this year, especially after a strong fall season where he defeated a player from Drake and advanced to the quarters of ITAs, upsetting the 6-seed, St. Thomas’s Luke Elifson in the round of 16. I project him at either 4 or 5, given that Entwistle didn’t play singles in the fall, but if Tommy is back to normal form, I see Chase at 5.
#4-5 Singles, Tommy Entwistle (Jr.), UTR 10.35: As I just mentioned, Entwistle only played doubles in the fall. He’s been nursing an elbow injury and had surgery in October. I’m hoping rehab is going well for him because the junior is promising, especially with a full year of starting experience under his belt, something half the guys in the projected lineup don’t have. At #5 last year, Tommy was good but had a tough time against guys from top 20 teams. Again, I think it was a great learning experience for him, and barring health concerns, I think he could have several wins against opponents from top 20 squads this seasons.
#6-7 Singles, Yassine Derbani (Fr.), UTR 10.33 (96% Reliability): The Derbani name is familiar to D3 fans; Hamid Derbani is a starter on powerhouse Middlebury’s lineup. But, many forget that he has a younger brother that could make a contribution to the Gusties’ starting lineup. At this point, there’s not a lot to say about Yassine — his ITF Junior ranking high of 1139 is more than respectable, and he won two rounds at ITA but fell to the 12-seed from Luther, Kyle Appel. Until late last season, Coach Valentini rotated a bunch of guys at 6, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens again. Given fall results and seeding (Yassine was a 17-seed at ITAs), Derbani is one of the favorites for the last singles spot.
#6-7 Singles, T. Connor Shives (Jr.), UTR 10.75 (51% Reliability): Shives didn’t really see playing time last spring. However, the junior had a good fall, beating a DI player from Northern Illinois and advancing to the round of 16 at ITAs. At ITAs, he, like Debani, was a 17-seed, so a starting position is within reach.
Doubles
Gustavus has traditionally been an exceptionally strong doubles team. Although they lost two doubles starters to graduation, I don’t see this year being a step back. My projected lineup includes:
- Mohanad Al-Houni/Patrick Whaling: Al-Houni has played #1 doubles for a while now, and while Whaling is a newcomer to the lineup, the two made the semis of ITAs, with their loss coming to the eventual champions in a tiebreak.
- Tommy Entwistle/Zach Ekstein: An extremely streaky tandem that has a year under its belt. A match ain’t over till its over for these two, be it good or bad. Ekstein and Entwistle also made the semis of ITAs, and I think they will need to win many of their matches against top 20 teams for Gustavus to win against those opponents.
- David Hagberg/T. Connor Shives/Yassine Derbani: Shives and Derbani played with each other in the fall, but Hagberg was a monster for GAC at 3 last year. Perhaps he was studying abroad or nursing an injury in the fall, but I expect a lot out of him if he’s back in the Spring.
Schedule Summary/Analysis
Please find Gustavus’ schedule here: https://gustavus.edu/athletics/mt/schedule/.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: When you are in a conference that is not as competitive, your non-conference schedule is extremely important. My apologies to the other teams in the MIAC, but Gustavus is going to win the conference tournament and receive a Pool A spot to NCAAs. Coach Valentini has assured that his guys will be ready come NCAAs with this schedule.
The Gusties’ first two matches are against extremely tough opponents in Whitman and Pomona. Last year, given Gustavus’ inexperience, I wouldn’t have been looking forward to these contests, especially to start off the season, but I think they can come up with one win. If they post two victories, I would be ecstatic.
From that point on until Spring Break, the Gusties would have also faced ranked opponents in Kalamazoo, UW-Whitewater, and Coe. They should be favored to win each of those matches, but all three teams are sneaky good, and I’m looking at Coe specifically to give Gustavus a run for its money. In the NCAA Round of 32 last year, the Kohawks fell 5-2, but the box scores shows that it was a close match.
I’m excited about Gustavus’ Spring Break trip to Texas with matches against a Trinity team that might be down this year, a national contender in Middlebury, Southwestern, and UT-Tyler. They will inevitably head back to Minnesota with 1 loss, but if it’s only 1 loss, things are looking good.
The final ranked opponent before NCAAs will be Chicago on April 9th. The Gusties have faced the Maroons in the NCAA Sweet 16 the past two years, so could this be foreshadowing another Sweet 16 clash?
Overall, it’s a big positive that the Gusties face about 10 ranked non-conference opponents. While those matches will impact NCAA seeding, they at least won’t impact Gustavus’ chances of receiving an NCAA bid. Like I said, they are virtually a lock for a Pool A spot.
Conclusion
I seriously think the Gusties could surprise some people this season. They had an exceptionally strong fall, doubles looks to be in good shape, and they bring a formidable singles lineup. Plus, their head coach is super chill.
Stay tuned for my final season preview next week. I will be talking about a UW-Whitewater team that’s coming back from one of its best seasons in history!