Bowdoin College
Quick Facts:
Location: Brunswick, ME
Coach: Hobie Holbach, 8th year
2012 National/Regional Ranking:#9/#3
2013 National/Regional Ranking: #6/#4
2014 National/Regional Ranking: #6/#3
2015 Preseason National/Regional Ranking: #6/#3
Twitter handles: @BowdoinWTennis & @BowdoinTennis, but both hardly used
Intro:
This is my third preview of the year and as I do the research for each team, I’m finding so far that teams don’t do a whole lot of moving in terms of rankings (at least so far for the teams that I’ve previewed). All three teams have been in the same range of rankings for the past 4 years. Here is where I want to pose a question to our Readers: what’s your opinion – do you think it’s the raw skill level of the players on a team that determines a team’s rankings, therefore recruiting is super important, or do you think it’s the culture of the team, as in average players start to excel on a team where excellence is expected? Or something in between or something more complicated or something different? Please comment in the comments section below with your thoughts! There is probably no one right answer, but would love to hear your thoughts based on your unique experiences on a team or what you’ve seen!
OK, let’s get to Bowdoin. Bowdoin has been solid these past few years, and similar to Middlebury, they are either 3rd or 4th in the NESCAC, which means that they are either 3rd or 4th in the region. Last year they made it to the Final 8, and fell to Williams 0-5. They did this with depth and different people stepping up in the lineup, as they were the only team to make it to the Final 8 that did not have any players competing in the NCAA Individuals Singles or Doubles Tournament. Here is what they did against ranked teams last year:
beat #23 Case 6-3
beat #30 Vassar 7-2
beat #8 WashU 8-1
lost to #5 CMS 4-5
lost to #9 Pomona 4-5
beat #28 Denison 9-0
beat #19 Redlands 8-1
beat #29 Whitman 9-0
beat #18 Trinity 8-1, 5-0 (NESCACs)
beat #16 Tufts 7-2
beat #25 Brandeis 5-3
lost to #3 Amherst 3-6
lost to #1 Emory 4-5
beat #37 Bates 8-1
beat #10 Middlebury 5-4, 5-2 (NCAAs)
lost to #2 Williams 2-7, 3-5 (NESCACs), 0-5 (NCAAs)
So, I think they had a pretty good year last year. I’m sure they would like to take back the two 4-5 losses to CMS and Pomona, but they bounced back nicely for the rest of the trip with routine wins. The 4-5 loss to the eventual national champions Emory tells me that they are not afraid to go after it. I think one of the reasons that they are so battle tested is that Coach Hobie puts together a BRUTAL schedule for them. You really learn how to stay even keeled through wins and losses when you play a schedule like that. Looking at this year’s schedule, I see during their California spring break trip that they have 2 FOUR MATCH stretches with a day of rest in between. And all but one are against ranked teams! And the one is not a gimmee either (against Trinity of Texas, a team that is on their way up!) And it’s not like they have a lot of people on their roster (they have 9 players). Bowdoin has had notoriously small rosters these past few years. I can see this kind of scheduling working both ways – either it toughens the team up and by the time NESCAC Championships comes along, they are game ready, or they get an untimely injury or two, and can’t catch up. Let’s hope for the former!
Lineup Analysis:
Lost Lewis (1st doubles, 5th singles) and Winingham (2nd doubles, 3rd singles) to graduation.
Added freshmen Trinka, Alini, and Francis. This is a very young team! Of the 9 players on the roster, there is only 1 junior (Cheng) and 1 senior (Chow), which means the future is bright for the Polar Bears but will the two upperclasswomen be able to be effective leaders and instill a sense of urgency that only upperclasswomen can?
#1 Singles: Likhanskaia (9.22), sophomore
Likhanskaia has been in and out of the lineup. Last year as a freshman she had an impressive run to the quarterfinals of the ITA, but then did not play in their own invitational and then reappeared in the spring at #3 singles before reclaiming the #1 spot by the end of the spring. This past fall she did not play (abroad??) but she appears on the roster so I’m assuming she is going to play. In any case, the Polar Bears will need her at the top spot in order to have a similar season to last year.
#2 Singles: Cheng (9.44), junior
Cheng filled in more than admirably at the top spot last year while Likhanskaia made her way up. Cheng’s game is very consistent but Likhanskaia can add a bit more variety to her game at #1. Cheng eventually played #2 singles and #3 doubles.
#3 Singles: Stalder (7.73), sophomore
Played #4 singles and #2 doubles last year.
#4 Singles: Trinka (7.93), freshman
#5 Singles: Silitch (7.07), sophomore
Played #6 singles last year.
#6 Singles: Alini (7.29), freshman/Chow (6.73), senior/Giffenig (7.70), sophomore
#1 Doubles: Chow/Trinka
Reached the finals of the ITA Regional and then got to go to ITA Small College nationals due to the winners (Curran/Pylypiv) opting out – Williams had a dual match v Amherst that same weekend. Chow/Trinka capitalized on the opportunity and went on to knock off the #1 pair from Emory and earn All American honors.
#2 Doubles: Likhanskaia/Cheng
#3 Doubles: Silitch/Giffenig
Schedule Analysis/Pool C:
Here is Bowdoin’s schedule:
Schedule: http://athletics.bowdoin.edu/sports/wten/2014-15/schedule
3/9 vs. Trinity (TX) @ Claremont, CA
3/10 vs. #34 Wesleyan (CT) @ Claremont, CA
3/11 vs. #8 WashU @ Palm Springs, CA
3/12 vs. #1 Emory @ Palm Springs, CA
3/15 at #9 Pomona-Pitzer
3/16 vs. #29 Whitman @ TBA
3/17 at #19 Redlands
3/18 vs. #18 Trinity (CT) @ TBA
4/4 #14 MIT
4/8 #37 Bates
4/11 at #3 Amherst
4/12 at Hamilton
vs. #17 Skidmore @ Hamilton
4/19 #10 Middlebury
4/23 #16 Tufts
4/25 at #2 Williams
5/1-5/3 NESCACs at Midd
As I said above, this is a brutal schedule especially their EIGHT(!) matches during their California trip. They start with two up and coming teams in Trinity (TX) and Wesleyan. I think Wesleyan will put up a good fight at the top of the lineup but Bowdoin should take both matches handily. WashU should be a great match, close, but I’ll give Bowdoin the edge. I don’t think the Emory match will be as close as it was last year, Emory with the win. I think Bowdoin will avenge their 4-5 loss against Pomona, although Pomona seems to have several strong freshmen. Then they finish off the trip with Whitman, Redlands, and Trinity. I don’t think any of those teams alone can give Bowdoin much competition, but these matches will depend on how Bowdoin feels after having played so much tennis already. They should be able to come back to Brunswick with a record of 7-1. MIT will put up a fight with their depth and doubles, but I’m giving Bowdoin the win in that match. They should get routine wins against Bates and Hamilton. Skidmore and Tufts will be tough matches but I think Bowdoin will take those as well. Amherst should be an interesting match, as Amherst is a different team this year (they lost almost everyone to graduation). I’m giving Amherst the edge, but not by much. This match is Bowdoin’s chance to move up. Middlebury is going to be a heck of a match, as they always compete hard against each other. And finally, I think the freshmen of Williams will be too strong for Bowdoin as well. As for the NESCAC Tournament, the seeding will all depend on how they do against Amherst. If they can manage to beat them in the regular season they don’t have to face Williams until the finals. They should have no problems making the NCAA Tournament via Pool C as a top 10 team in the country.
Bowdoin Keys to Success:
#1. Likhanskaia – Joulia Likhanskaia will be heavily relied upon to play against the best of them at the #1 spot. She has the game to do it, and this is the year that she needs to establish herself as an everyday #1. She has a team full of capable players behind her, so she doesn’t need to win every match, but it does help to have a strong and consistent #1 to be at the front.
#2. No injuries!! With their full schedule Coach Hobie needs to make sure he manages his players’ playing time. Hard to do, since there aren’t really a lot of matches where he can give his starting lineup a rest. But they’ve handled it well in the past!!!
#3 Keep the grit! Also with this kind of schedule you can’t help but be a gritty team that learns how to bounce from situation to situation.
Well, there you go, I hope you enjoyed reading!!!!
D3NEW
In my opinion, recruiting is is the most important factor. Teams like Emory just seem to reload every year. That said, winning and team culture has a lot to do with recruiting well. In my experience, especially when it comes to DIII women, the girls practice MUCH more as juniors than they do in college. It is rare for a player to get better in college. If a 3 star recruit performs above expectation in college it most likely that her ranking was artificially low for some reason such as it was too expensive for her to travel to national tournaments. Kudos to the coach who can recognize that.