Location: Hoboken, NJ
Coach: Steve Gachko (12th season)
ITA National Ranking: 22
ITA Regional Ranking: 9 (Northeast)
Blog Power Ranking: 36
Twitter Handle: @Ducks_Tennis
Hello all, another day another preview! I will be the first to admit that I was probably a little harsh on the Ducks in my kickoff article, however they let the rackets do the talking and proved me wrong. They had some pretty good fall results capped off with a run to the NE Regional ITA finals in doubles. While it was a weak region, the results are still legit. But as we all know, the fall and the spring are two completely different seasons, so it will be interesting to see if these results will carry over.
Best-Case Scenario: This year is a crucial year for Stevens, especially after losing two All Americans in Heinrich and Foran. With the schedule that Coach Gachko has put together, the Ducks definitely have plenty of chances to get some signature wins. A best-case scenario for them would be wins over most of the teams in the 20-40 range and one upset of a top 15 team in the regular season. The Ducks should then roll through their conference, qualifying for NCAAs, and then hope for a sweet 16 before bowing out to a NE regional powerhouse.
Worst-Case Scenario: The worst-case scenario is that the Ducks cannot overcome losing their best players. While they will still win their conference and make NCAAs, the regular season could get pretty dicey at times with 11, yes that’s right, 11 nationally ranked teams. A worst case scenario for the Ducks would be losses to several teams ranked below them, causing their ranking to fall into the 30-40 range.
Schedule Analysis: I love covering these teams in the 20-40 range because I feel like the coaches know the importance of scheduling and giving their teams opportunities to grow each year. As I mentioned earlier, Coach Gachko has managed to schedule 11 different teams ranked between 11-39. That’s just ridiculous. This schedule is full of great opportunities but is also going to put to the test the Ducks heart and stamina. See full schedule here.
Stevens begins their season in Virginia at the Mary Washington Invitational against some stiff competition, #27 Mary Washington, NC Wesleyan and #37 Sewanee. If I’m the Ducks, I want to come out of there with at least two, if not all three wins. This is going to be a tough feat, seeing as the Ducks have not beaten Mary Washington the past three years. Sewanee and NC Wesleyan are both on the upswing as well and will be very good teams (see my earlier season previews).
Next the Ducks take a trip up to Massachusetts to take on Babson and #30 Brandeis. The Beavers of Babson should give the Ducks a tough match, but I see Stevens pulling out the win. I have the Brandeis match highlighted on my list of matches to watch this year because it should be a very very good one. Last year the Ducks narrowly edged the Judges 5-4. Unfortunately, I think ‘Deis has a very good chance of dropping the gavel on the Ducks this year.
The Ducks will then fly south for Spring Break to take on the hardest stretch of their schedule. In five days they will play #15 Amherst, #23 UT Tyler, #14 Trinity, #11 Kenyon. My goodness. I would look for the Ducks to get their lone W against UT Tyler, and if they are playing very well and trending towards the best-case scenario, a win over Trinity. Realistically I see the Ducks coming out of this 1-3, but stranger things have happened! Prove me wrong boys.
After coming back, the Ducks will have 10 days to prepare for a match against #26 Swarthmore, which I see the Ducks coming in as the underdog. This match should be another very good one and a toss up between who will win. Stevens then has a couple of cupcake conference matches before taking on one of their bigger rivals, #21 Skidmore. The Ducks have had some tough close losses against the Thoroughbreds in the past and I’m afraid this year might be the same.
Stevens gets another break with conference matches before running into NYU, RPI, #12 Williams and #39 TCNJ, all within a week. I can see the Ducks taking three of the four matches, but the Ducks need to be very aware of RPI, who will probably be ranked by the time these teams match up. The Ducks finish their season with more conference matches and most likely a trip to NCAAs after blowing through their conference tournament.
Keys to Success: Find a way to get Heinrich another year of eligibility… All kidding aside, there are a few key factors that could really aid in the success of the Stevens program this year.
- Younger Players Stepping Up – The Ducks lost Heinrich, Foran and Drake, according to the latest roster, this past season and they did not pick up any new recruits. The Ducks
Matt Heinrich, Stevens’ all time career wins leader, leaves big shoes to fill. really need players to step up this season in order to fill the gaps left behind.
- Depth – The Ducks have always been strong at the top of their lineup, but lacked some depth when it came to the 4-6 singles and 3 doubles spots. In those 11 nationally ranked matches, the Ducks will need to get more Ws at these positions if they want to win. They players who were on the bench last year will more than likely get chances this year and their success will have an impact on this season.
- Seniors – The Ducks have 2 seniors on the team that will be crucial to the team’s results. Perich played mostly 1 doubles his freshman year and needs to make that same kind of impact to keep his team in the rankings. Feldman has had some good, as well as not so good singles results in his career. The senior will need to step up and have more consistent results this season to strengthen the Ducks’ singles depth and k.
Realistic Prediction: This is probably the hardest prediction of any of the teams I cover because they could go one way or the other so easily. Realistically I’m going to have the Ducks going 16-7 in the regular season with losses to Mary Washington, Brandeis, Amherst, Trinity, Kenyon, Skidmore and Williams. I know I picked Sewanee to beat Stevens in an earlier article, but I changed my mind. This should be a decent season for the Ducks, and I can definitely see them retaining a top 30 national ranking and making it to another NCAA Tournament.
That’s all for now folks! I appreciate any and all comments so feel free to leave one! I am also very excited for this Division 3 Tennis fantasy draft tomorrow, so if you have any suggestions on who to draft, reach out via twitter @D3RegASouth or email at d3regionalasouth@gmail.com. Until then, RegASouth out!