The people asked for the Whitewater preview so ask and you shall receive. I know the Warhawk nation may not be thrilled with my opinion, but I speak my unbiased truth.
University of Wisconsin at Whitewater
Coach: Frank Barnes, 12th season
Location: Whitewater, WI
2010 Ranking: NR
2011 Ranking: #21
2012 Ranking: #29
2013 Ranking: #24
Overview: I am going to apologize in advance to the harshness that may come off from this preview of Wisconsin Whitewater. A lot of the analysis of these teams comes from last season’s performance as well as their fall results. The fact of the matter is, Whitewater has an easy ITA. With the fall of Gustavus, sweeping their ITA region with both singles and doubles champions isn’t what it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good players in this region, so you don’t exactly walk through the draw without any problems, but there just isn’t anyone that is a dominant player or team. The results down in Florida (8th in singles and 7th in doubles) solidify this point. With heavy graduation to their depth and a weak recruiting class, Whitewater may have some issues this season.
Lineup Analysis
Key Losses: Andy McGlashen (3 singles, 2 doubles), Andrew Bayless (5 singles, 2 doubles), Mitch Osbourne (6 singles, 1 doubles)
Key Additions: Marty Beck, Justin Bowman
1 Singles: Ben Shklyar had a breakout season last year. He had some huge wins against #1 singles players from across the country so his bid to nationals was well deserved. However, you have got to be alarmed with how his fall went at ITAs. Yes he won the doubles so props there, but in singles he barely slipped by Coe’s 6 player from last year in three sets and lost to a kid from Carroll who is just a solid in region competitor. I had high expectations for Shklyar, but he didn’t deliver. Hopefully he can find last year’s form again this spring.
2 Singles: Jake Humpheys. Where Shkylar disappointed, Humpheys had to have been the biggest surprise of the fall. Playing at 4 last season, he was reliable to get a win for his team, but I don’t think anyone would have seen him winning his ITA. He played behind both McGlashen (graduated) and Balkin as well as Shklyar so he may play 3, but I could see him sticking at 2 to try and keep his ranking. He did take out Sprinkel from Coe along the way at ITAs, but again, he is not a dominant force on the national level.
3 Singles: Bryan Balkin. Balkin has to be a bit of a let down as well with his fall. His loss to Coe’s 2 from last season at ITA’s is a disappointment. Looking at last season’s results, he didn’t do well at the second slot against any of the national opposition. Whitewater won a lot of their matches with the depth they had. Balkin was the weakest spot last season.
4 Singles: Brian Klein. This is where graduation is going to hurt Whitewater the most. With McGlashen at 3, Andrew Bayless at 5 and Mitch Osbourne at 6, they had the depth to really compete with anyone. A lot of their wins from last season came from here (example Chicago), and now they will be rather weak. Klein didn’t play in any matches of note last season, but his three set loss to Sprinkle is somewhat promising.
5 Singles: Rithwik Rajshekwar Ramen. If this kid doesn’t have the biggest opportunity for sweet nicknames, I don’t know who does. I think with the last name of Ramen, you have to go with Noodles since it is a college cuisine masterpiece. He is a bit of an unknown for now, but I think he may be somewhat of a surprise. I don’t have a ton to go on here, but he competed well in all his fall matches against good competition.
6 Singles: Bisbee/Beck/Laktash. Lack of depth continues to be a theme at the 6 spot. Neither of the freshman seemed to impress with Beck being the better of the two. I would give the edge to one of the three guys listed, but whomever it is, they will have a tough time against the schedule they play.
As far as doubles is concerned, Shklyar and Balkin should play one after their ITA win. A combination of Humphreys, Klein, Ramen, Lacktash, and Etman should make up two and three, but I don’t have much faith in doubles being a strong point for this team with all the question marks in the depth category.
Schedule Analysis
The good news for Whitewater is they are an independent school. With that, they should not have too much of a worry of getting into nationals again. The bad news is they aren’t the same caliber of team that they were last year. They continue to play a tough schedule and it may be a tall task for these players to step up and continue the ascent to the Top 20.
They don’t exactly give the new guys in the lineup much chance to start off on a good foot. The Warhawks first four matches of the season are against Northern Illinois (D1), Wash U, UW-Green Bay (D1), and Kenyon. They won’t fair well against those teams. They then play Earlham the same day immediately following Kenyon. A fresh Earlham (they play Kenyon late in the day) may have a shot against Whitewater if they aren’t ready for them and tired from the morning match. The very next day will be a Kalamazoo team at KZOO. Now I know Kzoo isn’t the team of old, but playing two tough matches on Saturday in Ohio and then driving up to Kzoo the following day (5 hour trip by bus) to take on a tough regional opponent is never easy. This weekend could be one that will make or break the season even early in the schedule. Ultimately I think the Warhawks will win both, but they may be closer than some may expect.
An “off” weekend comes with the Warhawk Invite with the only opponent worth mentioning is Wheaton. After that comes Chicago, Gustavus, and a tri match against Carthage/Luther that will be another test. The spring trip is pretty light with only Depauw being a tough match. Both of these teams have had recruiting issues, but develop players nicely. The end of the season is pretty weak with only Carleton and Coe being tests. As I mentioned, they still should make an appearance at the National tourney in May. Thank goodness for being an independent school.
Overall, Whitewater was becoming a dangerous team against anyone the past few seasons. However, with heavy graduation and a sub-par recruiting class, they take a large step backwards. I would be surprised if they end the season in the Top 30 unless they can avoid a loss to any of the following teams: Earlham, Kzoo, Chicago, Gustavus, Carthage, Luther, Depauw, and Coe. In my opinion, they have to beat all of those teams to keep the ranking they had from last season. I hope they prove me wrong, but I think they fall to at least 2 of the above teams (Chicago and Gustavus).