Hello People!!! I am very excited to come on board as your D3 Northeast Women’s region blogger! My counterparts D3Central Women’s and D3West Women’s have done a phenomenal job of previewing their regions, so I have a tough act to follow!! Anyway, I’ve been reading the D3 men’s blog for a few years now, and had wondered if there would be enough interest to have a women’s side as well. Well the time has come, and I am very eager to be a part of it. Without further ado, here is a general preview of the region’s teams; I used some broad categories to outline my thoughts.
Graduation
In my opinion, the 2010 recruiting class (the players that graduated this past spring) was an exceptionally phenomenal group. Not only did they bring a lot in the skill and experience departments, they also for the most part did a great job in the leadership department.
Hands down the team that is hit hardest by graduation is Amherst. They had an incredible run to the NCAA Finals this past spring, where they lost to Emory, who were just a superior team. Anyway, they are going to lose their #1 (Brewer), #2 (Devlin), #3 (Newman), and #5 (Pangalos) singles players. On top of that their #1 and #2 doubles consisted of those four players above, and Brewer/Devlin at #1 was incredible, as they hardly ever lost a match. They were also 3 time NCAA Doubles Champions and Devlin captured the crown 4 years in a row! Read that again because that is simply INCREDIBLE.
Other teams hit hard (but not nearly as hard) by graduation are Skidmore (graduated #1 (Ford) , #2 (Hirsch), #5 (Plevinsky), #6 (Baird)) and Trinity (graduated #3 (Mavune-Maphisa), #4 (Cherna), #5 (Gerber), #6 (Gagne)).
It will be interesting to see how all these teams recover, especially Amherst. Amherst has been #1 or #2 in the region for a while now. Will Middlebury (my early pick for NESCAC Champions) or Bowdoin be able to finally overtake them, or will they stay in their spot simply because they are AMHERST?? As for Skidmore, will Vassar finally be able to be tops in the Liberty League again? And finally, for Trinity, will they slip enough for another team (Wesleyan??) to take the sixth and final spot in the NESCAC Championships??
Recruiting
On the other end of graduation is recruiting. Tennisrecruiting.net has ranked D3 recruiting classes for the past 5 years and it’s a really fun way to see the classes coming in. Of course, it does not account for the development as well as the maturation that happens during the college years but it’s still good info. Williams has the top ranked recruiting class in the region (#2 nationally) and they will need it to stay on top, as they lose their #1 (Shoemaker) and #2 (Elkins). Here are the national recruiting class rankings of some top teams in the region, as well as recruiting class rankings from the past 4 years:
Team (2014, 2013, 2012, 2011)
Williams (#2, #9, #1, #2)
Wesleyan (#3, NR, NR, NR)
MIT (#8, #5, #6, #7)
Skidmore (#9, NR, NR, RV)
Tufts (#11, #10, NR, #9)
Vassar (#12, #15, #20, #20)
Bowdoin (#17, #4, #5, #6)
Brandeis (#22, NR, NR, #17)
Conn (#23, NR, NR, NR)
Wellesley (#24, #19, RV, #11)
Amherst (#25, #8, #4, NR)
Middlebury (NR, #3, #3, #12)
Trinity (NR, NR, #14, NR)
Wesleyan has really stepped it up in the recruiting department. Babson, although not listed because they didn’t update the tennisrecruiting.net website, also appears to have gotten some good freshmen, looking at the matches that they have already played.
Surprise Notes: Middlebury has NO RECRUITS and Amherst has ONE RECRUIT?? REALLY?!?! I took a quick look at their rosters; Midd does appear to have zero freshmen, while Amherst’s 2014-15 roster is not up yet. Middlebury pretty much has the same team as last year so they look good, but Amherst’s lineup will be very different!!
Again, all fun facts, but let’s let the rackets do the talking, as they say!
On the Rise
There are several teams that appear to be on the rise. Two of them are Bowdoin and Middlebury. WHAT!?!?!, you say, they are already at #3/#6 and #4/#10 regionally/nationally, respectively!! But I say – for many many years they have been behind Williams and Amherst, stuck at #3 and #4 in the region, stuck in semifinal-land of the NESCACs. I believe this year things will shake up a bit at the top and these 2 teams will have a shot at #2 or even #1. These are big moves!
MIT and Skidmore are also teams on the rise. They were stuck in the 20s for a few years but made a move all the way up to #13 and #16 nationally last year and they don’t appear to be looking back. Wesleyan will also be a very dangerous team to play this year. They may have the top freshman in the region (nation?) in Eudice Wong Chong, along with four 3-stars in the freshman class alone. Look for them to make the NESCAC Championships for the first time in awhile/ever.
Three regional teams that appear to be on the rise are Saint Lawrence (SLU), Babson, and Hamilton. SLU has had respectable semifinal finishes in the Liberty League for the past few years but last year they took a major step forward by giving Vassar a 4-5 scare in the regular season. Can they take one more step into the finals of the Liberty League this year? Babson looks like they have the personnel to challenge for a spot in their conference (NEWMAC) championship finals. And last but not least, Hamilton, who is in the brutal NESCAC, had a historic year last year as they set a record for most wins in a season, and they beat a fellow NESCAC team for the first time since 2004. Hopefully they are not satisfied and will look to set a higher standard this coming year.
Tops
Perennial powerhouse Williams gets my pick for top team in the region. Sure, they have lost Shoemaker and Elkins to graduation, but they have a strong returning group of players as well as a 4-woman recruiting class ranked #2 in the country. They have also been NCAA Champions for 3 of the last 4 years, and that kind of experience is invaluable. I’m sure the team is hungry to get back to the winner’s podium after finishing in 3rd place this past year.
Matches to Watch for This Fall
I know most of the big team matches happen in the spring, but here are some matches to watch for this fall (mostly involving NEWMAC teams because for whatever reason they play their conference in the fall):
9/7 Wellesley @ Williams
9/13 Wellesley @ MIT
9/23 Babson @ MIT
10/2 Tufts @ Babson
10/4 Babson @ Wellesley
10/8 MIT @ Tufts
10/10 Babson @ Bates (always a barnburner but maybe not so much this year)
10/11 Williams @ Amherst
10/25-10/26 NEWMAC Conference Championships
And some big individual tournaments:
9/13-9/14 Morehouse Invitational @ Williams
9/26-9/28 ITAs @ Williams
10/3-10/5 Midd Invitational
10/17-10/19 Bowdoin Invitational and NEWITTs
Let me know if I missed any!!
Final Thoughts
This is a really exciting year for D3 NE Women’s tennis in that there will be a lot of freshmen, and there will be a lot of movement in every area of the rankings. The freshmen are definitely the wildcards, and they will have to help fill the very large void filled by the class of 2014. The current seniors and juniors will also have to take on new leadership roles to help guide their teams.
Well, I hope you enjoyed my first blog post. I’m really excited to see what will transpire as we go through the fall season.