2014 Season Preview: Kenyon

As the new guy for the blog, I figured I would show up my fellow writers and get my second preview out early!

Kenyon College

Coach: Scott Thielke

Location: Gambier, Ohio

2010 Ranking: #12

2011 Ranking: #7

2012 Ranking: #2

2013 Ranking: #5

Overview:

With the recent trend of Kenyon being upward, this could be a down year for the Lords. Now while a down year still should mean a Top 20 national ranking, Kenyon will be susceptible to losses against lower ranked teams as there is some uncertainty in the lineup. Heavy graduation to players they relied on is the main cause and a weak (by Kenyon’s standards) recruiting class will place many untested players in key roles in the lineup. The only thing that is known is Thielke finds a way to win year in and year out so the expectations to do the same should be there no matter who is playing.

Lineup Analysis

Key Losses: Paul Burgin (1 singles), C. J. Williams (4 singles) , Keven Ye (split time at 6 singles, 3 doubles), Josh Stiles

Key Additions: Pete Dakich, Nick Fiaschetti, Constantinos Alevizopoulos    

The loss of Paul Burgin at #1 singles is absolutely a massive hit to the Lords. He was a premier player in D-III and he is not the type of player you can easily replace. One would expect for Michael Razumovsky to step into the one slot. There is no doubt that his game is able to handle it as he was the national semi-finalist two years ago, but the big question is can his body hold up? This fall he sat out of the Kenyon Invite and then played the Kzoo ITA as the one seed, but lost in the second round. In both his matches he served underhanded so I am not sure what good it was having him play, but nevertheless, he has some nagging injuries that may be an issue. Another big question is where does sophomore Sam Geier land? My best guess would be either 2 or 3 singles. He hardly played at all in the lineup last year and only really played in the region’s ITA “B” draw which he won. This time around, he goes on and wins the “A” draw. While some may discredit his run because he didn’t have a tough road due to upsets, he did beat Sabada in the final and then turns around and beat the 1 seed Halpern from Emory two weeks later at nationals. He clearly has some game so he puts his name near the top with this lineup. Wade Heerboth will return from a semester abroad and likely play 3. The lefty always seems to pull out matches, albeit in 3 sets, but he is a proven winner. His only regular season loss at 3 last season was to Marino from CMS. The back half of the lineup is where things get a little dicey to say the least. It will be a combination of the following players: Jacob Huber (Jr.), Colin Haas (Jr), Tim Rosensteel (Jr), Tristan Kaye (So), Rob Turlington (So), Davis Thrakill (Jr), Nick Fiaschetti (Fr), Pete Dakich (Fr). Going 100% of what last year’s lineup looked like, I would give the early edge to Tim Rosensteel to play 4 singles and Jake Huber to play 5 singles. Colin Haas was seeded ahead of Rosensteel at ITAs so I wouldn’t be surprised if he were to play 6 or even above both Huber and Rosensteel, but he has yet to show any proof that he deserves to play above them as his results are not all that impressive. Kaye and Turlington also are formidable players. My guess is 4-6 singles will be a revolving door with whomever is hot at the time which Kenyon has a history of doing. Why Kevin Ye didn’t play 6 singles every match of the season after going a combined 6-0 at Indoor Nationals last year is beyond me. That included a 6-0, 6-0 win. Maybe he was only a good indoor player. Either way, it will be interesting to see the lineup come out come spring and also how often it changes. If anything, they have some depth to work with.

If the singles lineup was anything to go by, the doubles lineup is wide open. Anything I predict here merely is speculative as there isn’t much to go on. The Lords essentially lost one half of all three doubles teams to graduation with Burgin (1 dubs), Williams (2 dubs), and Ye (3 dubs). With Raz not playing doubles this fall, even those teams may not show much in terms of predictions for the spring. Heerboth and Turlington won last year’s ITA region so I could see that duo playing together again. Geier was predominantly a doubles player last season and you have to think that Raz will also be in the lineup. I would round it out with Rosensteel and Haas as they were together this fall as Kenyon’s highest seed.

Schedule Analysis

Kenyon’s schedule is usually well put together in terms of having a mixture of high ranking opponents, potential tough mid ranking teams, and then a few easy wins (mostly conference opponents. This year is no different. The first match of the season is against Chicago and I think this will set the tone for how Kenyon should measure success on the year. I think that the Lords will win this match, but expect it to be closer than one might think. The following weekend they have a tri-match against Whitewater and Earlham. Whitewater will give Kenyon a good sweat, but Kenyon is just too deep at the back of the lineup. Earlham came out of no where last year to beat Denison, but rumors indicate the team isn’t what it was as their coach departed.

National Indoors is where Kenyon made their name last season winning the whole thing. If early guesses to who will be there (Wash U, Kenyon, Emory, CLU, Hopkins, Cruz, Case, and Redlands) are correct and they go by the preseason rankings, Kenyon would draw Case Western in the first round. Kenyon barely skated by Case last year in the national tournament 5-4 and I would give Case the edge this season. This could go either way in all honesty. Case is dangerous against anyone because of their doubles. I see Kenyon as the 5^th best team at Indoors just behind Case Western (Wash U, Emory, and Hopkins being the others).

The Lords have some interesting opponents that follow including Sewanee, West Florida, Christopher Newport, and Georgia Gwinnett (who?). A tough tri match with Stevens and Swarthmore will be big matches for those teams to make a name for themselves, but they aren’t quite in Kenyon’s league yet even in a down year. The Emory Invite is still a question as to who all will be there, but one can assume it will be a group of good teams. A mid April match against Carnegie will be a battle until Kenyon should take the NCAC tournament with relative ease.

Don’t get me wrong. Kenyon is still a great team, but we have been spoiled the past few seasons. Unless Raz comes back in the spring 100% injury free, Geier keeps up his astronomical rise, and Heerboth and Huber have been playing a lot of tennis on their semester abroad, Kenyon may struggle. One thing is for sure, they have plenty of depth and it is hard to predict how good the untested players really are. If all of the stars align and the new guys show some strength, Kenyon still is a top 10 team, but for now the question marks remain.