ASouth’s Women’s Preview Deluxe

Wait, wait, what?! The notorious D3AtlanticSouth is now here to live up to his name and cover the Women’s portion of the Atlantic South region.  I’ve decided that Men’s was simply not enough for the love of the game.  This is going to be a learning experience for me.  I can’t say that I’m a true expert when it comes to the women’s circuit of DIII tennis, but I do know a good amount of the players and I’m going to give it my best shot.  If you notice errors in my writing or facts, please feel free to show me up in the comments section or on twitter.  I’m totally okay with that considering I’ve probably shown a lot of people up in my time as a blogger.  The way I’m going to do this article is go through every team with a short recap of last year, graduations, recruits, and what to expect for the upcoming year.  It’ll be interesting to see if I’m fairly accurate when it all comes down to it.  Let’s get to it.

Emory University Lady Eagles (is this really what I’m supposed to call them?)

Season Recap – Well, the Lady Eagles did their thang last year.  They won the National Championship behind probably the best player in the history of DIII Women’s Tennis, Gabby Clark.  They went 28-2 over the full season, which is pretty freaking sweet.  What made this so satisfying for the Eagles was that this was their first championship since 2006, and they were able to get it for their lone senior in the lineup (Clark).  They endured the terrible reign of the Williams dynasty and FINALLY got that national championship that all of them had been yearning for.  Now I’m not sure how good Williams is going to be this year, but Emory is sitting pretty right about now.  They have Coach Amy Bryant, who I just read is the first female to ever win a championship both as a player and a coach.  Kudos to you Coach Bryant!

Graduations – Well, the main person here that graduated is of course Gabby Clark.  The #1 player in the nation for a long time rode off into the sunset by winning the team championships and singles championship.  Clark had multiple singles titles on her resume and she will definitely be missed as Emory takes the courts again in 2015.  Other than Clark, no other graduates were active in the finals match against Amherst, so it looks like they won’t be losing any more impact players.  This is great news for them considering Clark is already a huge loss.

EDIT: I unfortunately missed the graduation of senior Brenna Kelly, who played #3 doubles throughout the NCAA tournament and happened to go 3-0 at that spot.  My bad….

Recruiting – Emory brings in the #1 DIII class in the nation with three 4-star players.  Julie Fowler will be staying in her hometown of Atlanta with her TRN ranking of #109.  Anna Fuhr of Richmond, VA, will bring her ranking of #167 to an already powerful lineup.  Bridget Harding of Northport, NY, will also bring her ranking of #155 to Atanta as well.  Not to mention, Emory has an international player in Anita Saforenka who’s probably pretty sweet considering she’s been playing at Bradenton for a while.  Her previous high rank was in the top 100 in 2011, so there’s no reason to believe she won’t be one of the top players on the team.

What to Expect – Emory is going to be loaded this year.  They bring back a stunning 10 of their potential 12 starters from the Championship match last year along with the 4 recruits I just mentioned.  If one of those recruits or Michelle Satterfield or Beatrice Rosen can step up and be a legitimate #1, this is a team that could go for the repeat this year.  Expect the depth of the Lady Eagles to pay off and continue to push this team forward.

Johns Hopkins Lady Jays

Recap – I think I might have the best region in DIII, right? Hopkins squared off against Emory in the semi-final last year, which was definitely a big win for the Hopkins program.  The Lady Jays have been on the rise for the past couple of years or so, propelled by strong recruiting classes in their youth movement.  This was a team that used to fall in the low single-digits or even the 10-20 range but has now moved up into the top 5.  Their whole starting lineup, both singles and doubles, will return for next year as well.  With that in mind, I’d expect for JHU to compete for the national title for sure and potentially win the whole thing if all the pieces fall in the right place.  That being said, there are a couple of teams that are still better than them at this time (Emory, Williams) and they’ll need some improvement from a couple individuals before making that championship run.

Recruiting – Well, Hopkins followed suit with the Men’s team and brings in another great recruiting class in the DIII nation.  This class is ranked #5 in DIII with a 4-star in Megumi Chen (#134 in the nation) heading the class.  They add some depth (not like they need it) with a couple of three stars that I’m sure they hope will challenge for the bottom spots in the lineup at the very least.  Look for Coach Woodring to continue his formula by getting those young players in the lineup as much as possible, hoping to find a gem like Amanda Austi, who finished #7 in the nation last year.

What to Expect – Well, Hopkins really can’t complain with a 4^th place finish but I know they are hoping for more.  Thing is, Hopkins is placed solidly in the second tier of teams behind Emory and Williams.  Like I said earlier in the article, they need to find some huge improvements from a couple players to start challenging for the championship.  These girls got pushed around at the bottom of the lineup last year against Williams, and they need some more depth to really be considered great.  I suspect that Hopkins will have a status quo year and potentially move out of the top 4, likely to the 5-8 range.

Carnegie Mellon Lady Tartans

Season Recap – Much like Men’s, Carnegie rounds out the true top 3 in the Atlantic South.  CMU finished #7 in the nation last year, which seems to be where they end up almost every year.  I’m not totally sure if Carnegie has made the Final 4, but I don’t believe they have in the history of their program.  They ran into an Amherst team last year that was just too deep for them, as Amherst took three bottom of the lineup singles spots and the two bottom doubles spots.  Overall, it was a regular season for the Lady Tartans at the end of it all.

Graduations – CMU really has one big graduation, by the name of Katie Cecil.  Cecil ended the year at #2 singles last year as well as well as in the top spot in doubles.  I’m unable to click on Cecil’s page on Tennis Recruiting, so I don’t know how high of a recruit she was supposed to be, but I took a look back and it looks like she was a transfer during her sophomore year.  Other than that, the Lady Tartans will be looking at no other major graduations.

Recruiting – CMU once again will be bringing in a top 10 Women’s class according to DIII, and they definitely need it.  They need a couple people that can man those middle lineup spots.  Coach Girard has brought in one 4-star and three 3-stars to the team in the hope of doing so.  In an unexpected turn of events, they have a 3-star who actually was ranked a bit higher than their 4 star.  This all smells like middle of the lineup depth to me.

What to Expect – Unlike their Men’s counterpart, this team seems to be the symbol of consistency.  They always make it to the Elite 8 and they always seem to fizzle out against an elite team.  While that’s nothing to complain about, I don’t believe they’ll go any further this year.

Washington and Lee Lady Generals

Season Recap – What a fall it has been for the Washington and Lee program.  This team used to be a top 2 team, and they even held the #1 spot for a brief time period a few years ago.  This past year, they ended up being ranked #19 in the nation, which is definitely a disappointment for this program.  Despite winning their conference, they were unable to reach the final 8 (not even close, actually) and will look to get back to their successful ways this year.

Graduations – The Lady Generals only have one major graduation, which seems to be a theme throughout Women’s tennis overall.  That one graduation is Chelsea Mixon, who actually came in as a 1 star back in 2010 but moved up to #3 singles by the end of her senior year.  Great job to Chelsea in what was definitely a good career.  Washington and Lee also lost Claire Cahill, who played #2 doubles and was a consistent doubles player throughout the year.

Recruiting – The problem the past few years with Washington and Lee has been recruiting.  After bringing in the #1 class in 2011, which makes up most of their starting lineup at the moment, they have really faded in terms of young talent.  Look at the past three years and you don’t really see any huge impact players.  Depth is great, but stars are always the name of the game!  This year, they’ll be seeing more of the same.  They only have one 2 star coming onto the team this year and two unrated players who are really unknowns to me.  We’ll see how this goes.

What to Expect – At this point, I just don’t see Washington and Lee moving up unless one of these freshmen becomes an impact player.  I’m talking like a nice #3 or #4, but hey, it’s happened before (see Chelsea Mixon).  With great facilities and a senior led team with their 2011 recruiting class, this is a team that probably wouldn’t surprise me if they moved forward a little.  I’d like to say they’ll take down some of these teams ahead of us that are losing some steam and get back in the top 15.

University of the South Lady Tigers

Recap – Last year, the Lady Tigers continued their upswing by making another NCAA tournament, eventually losing to Washington and Lee in the third round of the tournament.  They topped out at #20 on the year, which I’m sure the team is very proud about.  This is a team that was unranked and not even on the radar a few years ago.  I’m sure the Men’s team is looking at them envying their rise in the ranks.

Graduations – Again, one major graduation!  That is of Mary Taylor Tepper (great name), who was a dual purpose player as she held down the #4 singles spot as well as the #2 doubles spot.  Tepper is another great feel-good story in Women’s, as she came in as an unheralded recruit and really started to shift the Sewanee team into the top 30.  Congratulations on a great career and hopefully the Tigers keep it up!

Recruiting – Sewanee is bringing in another decent recruiting class that is ranked in the top 20 in the nation.  With a three star and a two star along with an international wild card in Clementina Davila, this is a class that could really make or break this team this year.  One thing I’ve noticed in women’s is that the freshmen really do play a big part.  When a team finds a diamond in the rough, that’s extremely valuable to the team’s success that year.  This is a class that could have that breakthrough.

What to Expect – It’s so tough with Women’s because I do believe there is a lot more variance on this side of the sport.  Sewanee is a team on the rise with a growing culture, so let’s say they move up a few spots with some added depth from the recruiting class and some improvement from their top players.  Maybe a top 15 finish, but I’d say more like a 17.

University of Mary Washington Lady Eagles

Recap – Another year, another CAC Championship for the girls of Mary Washington.  This has won the CAC for the past 11 years and they continue to excel under the coaching of Coach Catullo, who took over in 2005.  Mary Washington continues to chug along in the mid to late teens or early twenties in the rankings, which sounds a lot like the Mary Washington Men’s team.  Last year was no different as they made the 3^rd round of the NCAA tournament and ended up losing to eventual 4^th place finisher Johns Hopkins.  A tough draw for a solid team, but they certainly got their money’s worth (what money) with a Sweet 16 appearance.

Graduations – Uh oh.  Mary Washington will be hit hard with their obligatory one graduation, as it will be Lindsay Raulston, who ended the year ranked #20 in the nation.  She ended the year on a great note, winning the first set against Austi of Hopkins.  Unfortunately, that is all for Raulston as she moves on to bigger and better things.  Other than that, Mary Wash will not be losing any other impact players in their lineup.

Recruiting – UMW will be getting a very sneaky 3-star recruit in Hannah Jabusch, who ended the year ranked #235 in the nation according to tennis recruiting.  We’ve seen plenty of players of this caliber make a big dent in the lineup, so I expect Jabusch to definitely play and potentially be at the top of the lineup depending on her drive.  UMW really needs a boost after losing Raulston, Jabusch could be that person.

What to Expect – Duhhhh, a CAC Championship!  The Lady Eagles will win their 12^th CAC in a row this year and will unfortunately be placed in Hopkins region in NCAAs after finishing around where they are now.  They might actualize at a ranking in the #20-25 range, which is a dip from last year but not a disappointing season by any means.

The Rest of the Pack

Methodist College – This is a team that really needs to up its recruiting potential to reach the top 30.  Unfortunately this year, I just don’t see it happening.

Franklin & Marshall, Salisbury, and Berry – Three gritty teams who have been on the rise, but will also need some major improvements from players to reach the top 30.

Well, Tennis Recruiting just died on me so I guess that’s a sign from God.  It’s been a pleasure previewing some of the best teams in the ASouth and I’m really excited to cover both Men’s and Women’s this year in DIII Tennis.  One thing I did notice was that the top 3 teams are the same as Men’s, so hooray to those programs and I hope you guys visit the blog together from now on.  Let’s get collaborative!  Anyways, it’s about time for me to stop pretending I’m doing work, and as you all know… ASouth, OUT.