tl;dr: Kenyon will be led by a rotating triumvirate of Paolucci, Zalenski, and Diehl who have set their eyes past an NCAC Championship towards a deep NCAA run. Denison and Oberlin are nipping at their heels, but the eleven time defending champions are the Lords of NCAC Land until otherwise noted.
Let’s all take I-71 down from Cleveland, Ohio and check in on what’s happening in Gambier.
Kenyon has dominated over their NCAC contemporaries over the last decade-plus and have won eleven consecutive conference championships to prove it. Tack on sixteen straight trips to the NCAA tournament and thirteen consecutive seasons of finishing within the top 25 and you can start to see the pedigree of consistency that the Lords are bringing to the central region. Last year they started the year slowly highlighted (lowlighted – maybe) with an upset loss to Kalamazoo, but ended the year strong with another NCAC championship (as the two seed) and a close loss to Wash U in the Sweet 16.
They did avenge their early season loss to Kalamzoo with a 5-3 win at their NCAA Regional, but for the most part it was an average year for the Kenyon Lords: they did what they were expected to do. They did not qualify any individuals for the NCAA singles or doubles tournament, but that might be more indicative of the two (maybe three this year but more on that later) man rotation at 1 singles last year with Zalenski and Paolucci splitting time at the spot.
They graduated three seniors: Tristan Kaye (NCAA Doubles Champion with Geier and 3 Doubles/6 Singles Last Year), Mike Roberts (5/6 Singles and Bench Mob Captain), and Peter Dakich(Bench Mob Captain).
In effort to recoup their losses to graduation, Thielke has brought in five (per UTR) first years: Ohio native Bryan Yoshino (11.20), possible Malia Obama classmate Henry Wessel (10.24), Czech international Anatol Doroskevic (11.18), French international Mattias Mauviel (9.64), and Patrick Hudnut (8.86).
Quick Facts:
Location: Gambier, Ohio
Coach: Scott Thielke 
Assistant Coach: Alvin Cheng
ITA Ranking: 25
Regional Ranking: 5
BLOG Ranking: 23
Power 6: 68
Twitter: @Kenyon_Tennis / @KenyonSports / @KenyonMTEN / @IDK_WhichKenyon2Follow
Hashtag: #LordsontheProwl
2018 Spring Lineup Predictions:
First, I would like to preface this with the acknowledgement that Kenyon can and probably will use all three of Zalenski, Paolucci, and Diehl at any of these top three spots. I think that matchups and which of the three has the hottest hand at the time will determine how the top of the Kenyon lineup shakes out, but I think this is how they will look as they kickoff their season against Kalamazoo, UMW, and Sewanee.
1 Singles: Nicholas Paolucci (11.76) 
To start the year, I think that Kenyon will keep Paolucci up at 1. While Zalenski and Diehl are better off the ground than Paolucci, his booming serve will keep him in any match and gives Kenyon an opportunity at 1 in most matches. The upperclassman also makes sense at 1 early in the year because of the weather – with temperatures low and Jack Frost in the air it won’t hurt to have a booming server playing 1: especially indoors.
2 Singles: Jake Zalenski (11.79)
The reigning NCAC freshman of the year had a slow start to his sophomore fall, but I don’t think there’s much reason for alarm. Zalenski was an integral part of Kenyon’s post season success both in singles and doubles. Zalenski should be able to play with every two on Kenyon’s schedule and is poised to avenge his three Fall Denison losses this Spring. Led by excellent spot serving and a knack for hitting the right forehand at the right time, look for Zalenski to be a key cog in Kenyon’s overall success this year.
3 Singles: Austin Diehl (11.55)
The other freshman. Diehl was one of the more consistent points for Kenyon last year as he ground his opponents down at 4. While he looks like a right-handed Wade with a sunglasses dash of Krimbill; Diehl has a playing style all his own. I think that Diehl, on the back of a strong Fall, will jump Liu in the lineup despite the fact that Liu’s game may be more suited to the early season indoor conditions.
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4 Singles: Michael Liu (11.32)
One uncharacteristic loss won’t define Liu’s senior season. A non-factor his first year, Liu has developed into a strong player for the Lords and has shored up the middle these past two years. As the highest playing of seven (per UTR) seniors, look for Liu to be a spark plug of noise and energy as he maintains his spot as the glue to the middle of the Lord’s lineup.
5 Singles: Weston Noall (11.17)
Like Paolucci but lefty. Noall was called upon numerous times to be Kenyon’s bookend: strong starts via 1 Doubles and strong finishes courtesy of being one of the last singles players on the court. The senior will surely follow his Large (and for those in the back – LARGE, similar to big or huge) serve and slap-happy style to at least: one clinch, one upset win, one upset loss, and eighteen balls lost from being hit out of the court this year.
6 Singles: Bryan Yoshino (11.20)
Kenyon has been very successful with first years over the past decade, but Zalenski was the first Lord to win the Newcomer of the Year award in quite some time. Yoshino, a practitioner of the one-handed backhand, the most aesthetic of shots, will be aiming to get a purple streak going for the Newcomer Award. Yoshino might be the most talented player after the top five, but the transition to college tennis isn’t always so simple- look for Smith or Rieger to get playing time here and don’t count out any of the other six freshmen.
Next Men Up: Max Smith (10.53)
& Alex Rieger (10.20)
These are two seniors who have experience in the lineup and will be expected to be ready at a moment’s notice. I’m eyeing these two as the next viable options in the singles lineup.
Schedule Analysis:
http://athletics.kenyon.edu/schedule.aspx?path=mten
One of the narratives of the Kenyon postseason last year was their two seed in the NCAC conference tournament. Reflective of the logistical rules of the tournament, Kenyon was given then two seed on the basis of a similar opponent comparison to Depauw – who they did not play last year. 
To remedy that issue, Thielke has the majority of the NCAC on the schedule this year, and it’d be a long-shot bet to go against Kenyon garnering the one seed this year: they are eleven time defending champions.
Kenyon starts their season off at the beginning of February with a triple header weekend featuring matches with: Kalamazoo, UMW, and Sewanee. This weekend will give us a good idea on whether Kenyon is poised to jump back into the top 20 or not, but their results however polarizing will be tempered because of their knack for slow starts. After a weekend against teams ranked by the Blog at 24, 26, and 28
, Kenyon gets their first opportunity to flex against NCAC competition, but the most intriguing story of this weekend featuring Wabash and Depauw is: what is Depauw tennis going to look like in 2018 and will they fall behind the likes of Denison, Oberlin, and even Wabash this year. Following those NCAC matches, their next big opportunities are in Florida against a pair of NE schools: Stevens and Rochester.
At the end of March, Kenyon will see their biggest tests; they will play at Swarthmore 
and then follow it up with a match against Amherst 
(will be interesting to compare results against Case vs. Amherst if we don’t get that match this year). April brings forth more NCAC play and will give us an idea of how legitimate Denison and Oberlin’s chances at dethroning the Lords at conferences.
The last big match before the NCAC tournament will be at CMU
. A match that has historically been one of the best of the year, every year. CMU will be looking to solidify their Pool C resume at this point, while also prepping for UAAs, and Kenyon will be aiming to up their NCAA seeding and prepare for the NCAC tournament with the best possible competition.
That’s about it for Kenyon’s Season Preview. As always if you have any comments, questions, or concerns comment below or tweet me/email me @newd3central/newd3central@gmail.com. We’re less than two months away from the 2018 season kicking off!
Look for more season previews, the upcoming Fantasy Draft, and various articles outside the lines to be up on the site over the next couple weeks.
– newD3Central
Yoshino played #1 doubles with Diehl against University of Northerstern Ohio.