ONE MORE TIME. I am on my last season preview of the year and I could not be more excited. Way too many people finished their season previews before me, including my Atlantic South counterpart on the Women’s side. That’s quite embarrassing considering I only actually cover 5 teams and my job here is to organize the craziness before injecting more craziness into it. It’s quite an easy job and I let D3NE do the coordinating, so kudos to him. Appreciate it. He even sets up a calendar for all of us. I can barely keep up with my Microsoft Outlook at work and they actually pay me to do that. By the way, if you’re offended by anything that happened in the CMU Season Preview, like a meme or something, I… don’t really care. Live it up a little. We’re all adults here. And that’s that.
Moving on to the real stuff. It’s almost INDOORS time and that means it’s a perfect time to preview the ultimate INDOORS team, the Emory Eagles. Why do you think Indoors is one of my favorite tournaments? Well, one reason is because Emory is very good at this tournament. With multiple Indoors championships and runner-ups over the years (more championships), Indoors oftentimes shows us what kind of Eagles team we are getting that year. This year will be no different. But, I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s go to some fast facts first before getting into the meat and potatoes.
Overview
My blogging and playing career has not seen Emory ever fall out of the top 10 and rarely has seen them fall out of the top 5. This is a testament to the recruits they bring in, the development that they promote, and the coaching that they receive. When you think of championships, you oftentimes think of Emory. While that may be changing a bit with the emergence of other perennial powers, Emory is still always going to be a threat. And that will not change this year, for sure. Emory is blessed with some definite senior leadership this year as well as an infusion of talent at the bottom of the lineup. Things are looking up for this Eagles team and we could be looking at one of the, if not the only, national championship favorites this year. That was bad grammar but it’s okay. Let’s get to the details. You all know a ton about Emory anyways.
Coach: John Browning, xx Season. Still love that Coach Browning did a podcast with us two years ago. Kudos to you, Coach Browning.
Location: Atlanta, GA
Current ITA Ranking: #4
Current Power Ranking: #2
Twitter Handle: @EUTennis, sometimes updates, sometimes doesn’t. Not sure about this year
Team Hashtag: #FIGHT
Key Additions
Andrew Esses (#105, 4 Star), Sahil Raina (#167, 4 Star), Antonio Mora (#73, 4 Star)
Key Losses
Scott Rubinstein (#1 Doubles, #6 Singles), Andrew Harrington (#5 Singles), Alec Josepher (#4-7 Singles, #2-4 Doubles), Max Renke (#2 Doubles sometimes), David Omsky (Twitter guy and sometimes #3 Doubles)
Lineup Analysis
#1 Singles, Jonathan Jemison, Senior, UTR 12.91
This is Jonathan Jemison’s world, we’re just all living in it. The silent but deadly senior (his father might be a different story, haha) has had one of the more successful careers in DIII since I dubbed him “the best freshman of the year and it’s not that close.” He’s lived up to the Emory standard and will hope to continue that trend into this year. With a championship under his belt, he will be part of the senior leadership team for the Eagles that has their eyes on the prize once again. Jemison is consistent – you will rarely find him having an awful day. You can certainly beat him off the ground if you’re playing well, but you have to be playing damn well. A great #1 singles player has little letdowns and JJ is that guy.
#2 Singles, Hayden Cassone, Sophomore, UTR 11.81
The brash sophomore sits in at #2 singles. If you’re playing Cassone, you certainly have a lot on your hands. Hayden brings the fire and will not let up throughout the match. He’s different than Jemison in that he has a bit more of a powerful game, but potentially a little bit less consistent. Cassone started off at the #4 spot last year before moving all the way up to #2 and that experience should prove valuable for him this year. He’s really one of those guys that could be playing #1. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw him up there once in a while for Coach Browning. An essential lock for Nationals at the end of the year, Cassone will be one to watch this year…. even if you’d rather look away.
#3 Singles, Adrien Bouchet, Senior, UTR 12.17
Gone are the days in which I pick against Bouchet. If you look throughout Adrien’s career, he’s been one of Emory’s most consistent performers and will continue to do so this year. There was a period in which he struggled in his sophomore year but honestly, there’s not much to worry about. With powerful groundstrokes and a very underrated net game, Bouchet is the full package at #3 singles and will be a favorite in most if not all of his matches. Add to the fact that he’s a senior and you’re looking at the best #3 singles player in the nation.
#4 Singles, Antonio Mora, Freshman, UTR 12.17
You want newbies? Emory will give you some newbies. Emory’s got an interesting mix of senior leadership at the top of the lineup and then freshman talent at the bottom of the lineup. I assume most of the guys from #5-9 are interchangeable, so we might not see the youth movement all year at the bottom, but it’s fun while it lasts. Mora, however, probably doesn’t have to worry about his spot. The guy is a straight up baller with a strong UTR. This past weekend, he ____ Georgia Gwinnett. Not bad, rookie. I’m interested to see how Mora and the other freshmen hold up against the recruiting class of Chicago, as always. Usually I bet Emory in those situations. Now, I’m rich.
#5 Singles, Andrew Esses, Freshman, UTR 12.01
Finally, some new blood! Andrew Esses will be slotting in at #5 singles for the Eagles and will bring a bit of the unknown to the Emory lineup. With a strong performance at Fall Nationals as well as a xx loss to Georgia Gwinnett this past weekend, I think it’s safe to say that Esses will be one of the top #5 singles players in the nation. That’s a theme for the Eagles this year if you haven’t noticed. I don’t have much to go on when it comes to Esses’s game style, so I’ll just have to watch this weekend at Indoor Nationals. Damn Emory kids aren’t giving me insider information anymore and I can’t make trips to Atlanta at my leisure. Esses will be good though, don’t worry.
#6 Singles, Sahil Raina, Freshman, UTR XX/James Spaulding, Senior, UTR 11.29
Expect a couple of different people at this spot, but mainly the freshman Raina or the senior Spaulding depending on what matches are to be played. Want to be scared of this Emory team? This is the same James Spaulding that played #3 singles at Indoors just last year (or was it the year before? I’m getting too old for this sh*t). Now, that same guy has another year of experience and is moving down in the lineup (still a beast in doubles, though). Either way, Browning has the ability to go with fresh legs and play the matchups assuming Raina is not a tall, big serving, senior like Spaulding. My guess is that he probably isn’t. I am looking forward to seeing how Coach Browning plays this one as well as his depth on the bench with guys like Will Wanner and Rex Serituk.
Doubles
Doubles for the Eagles this year is looking, well, pretty stacked. Jemison/Bouchet will team up at #1, creating a team of top returning players with a ton of talent off the ground. Spaulding/Wanner combine for some All American credentials as the #2 team, and then we finish off with Cassone/Mora at the bottom. All three teams are scary and honestly, could have the talent to be #1 teams. Let’s just say I’m very bullish on Emory’s doubles this year – Indoors will be telling if that bullish feeling is correct.
Schedule Analysis
Peep the schedule here:
http://www.emoryathletics.com/sports/mten/2018-19/schedule
I’m running out of time to continue this preview because I have like 3 more Indoors articles to write and format, so I will keep this short. Emory has an awesome schedule this year. Browning does a great job despite being stuck in one corner of the U.S. that not many teams go to. Emory has the following big matches on the schedule:
- Indoor Nationals @ Case Western (Whitman, GAC, Chicago most likely)
- Wesleyan @ Orlando, FL
- Williams @ CMS
- Johns Hopkins @ Emory
- Middlebury @ Midd
- UAAs @ Orlando, FL
Browning has always created Emory schedule’s that don’t beat down his team to a pulp. You’ll notice they only have one match in California despite them probably going there for a week. Dare I say it, but maybe Browning values a fun trip more than important matches! With a team like Emory, he can afford that because he can be quite positive that this team won’t suffer a devastating loss that they won’t have to climb out of. And this year is no different. With potential matches with 6 top 10 teams, Emory really only needs to win 3 of them to feel like they are all set for the year. What will probably happen is that they win 5 of them at the very least.
ASouth’s 3 Keys to Success
Manage the Expectations – Obviously, the expectations for this Emory team are sky high. This is a potential championship team. What I really mean, however, is the expectations of the players. A problem that some of these teams have is making everyone happy on the team with playing time. It’s like having 5 Odell Beckham Jr’s on the same team. They want the ball and there might not be enough to go around. Coach Browning has done a pretty good job of this in the past, so I am not too worried. A championship should be enough for most players, but hey, we’re dealing with 21 year olds here. Who knows what they’ll do.
Swagger Like Us – Emory is known for being the bad boys of DIII. Now, they’ve definitely lightened up as of late and have definitely become more sportsmanlike (which is fcking fantastic btw), but what makes Emory who they are is their attitude. They will punch you in the mouth and step over you like AI did to Tyronn Lue back in the day. With so much talent going around in DIII these days (Chicago, Middlebury, CMS), what makes the Eagles different is who they are. And that’s something that honestly, I don’t think should ever change.
All-American Status – Emory has always been good at singles. When they have struggled in the past, they have struggled on the doubles court. As I mentioned this year, the doubles on this team could be one of the best in the business. It has been a while since I’ve been able to say that about an Emory team. If this doubles lineup is as good as I think they could be – this is a championship team. Count it.
Conclusion
Yeah, not much else. #FIGHT ASouth, OUT.
Spaulding played 4 singles but it was two years ago I believe…
Damn. They are strong.