University of La Verne Leopards
Location: La Verne, CA
Coach: Yolanda Duron (6th season)
Final 2013 rank: 28
Final 2012 rank: NR
Finished Fall: #28 in Nation & #7 in West
Started Spring: #14 in Nation (cut rank in half) & #4 in West
Finished Spring: #14 in Nation & #3 in West
Andrea Madrigal: #1 in West
Bridget Etchegaray: #25 in West
Laina Matsuda/Bridget Etchegaray: #7 in West
Key Losses:
Jeanette Losaria – A solid #2 player for the Leopards for two seasons after transferring, Losaria was a strong team player and leader for the squad. Wins of Pomona (twice), Redlands, CMS and Mary Washington lead for a strong final year in Singles. In Doubles, she held down the #1 spot with Laina Matsuda and had wins over Pomona, Brandeis, WashU, Redlands and Tufts.
Allison Montcrief- A solid competitor in the middle of the Leopard lineup, Montcrief had a respectable final season going about .500 across both disciplines. While she may not have been the stud #1 player, she grinded in the lower spots and provided a solid performance when called upon.
First up: a quick recap of last season:
La Verne had a banner season in 2014. Big wins over Whitman and Brandeis started the year before the stride began. Mary Washington, Tufts, Denison, Redlands and Pomona all fell to the Leopards. They also nearly took down WashU, which would have stabilized them near the Top 10. A near loss to CMS in the SCIAC Championship showed just how strong the Leopards can be. This win could have really pushed La Verne into the Top 10. A trip to NCAAs soon followed but Pomona sought revenge from SCIACs and took down La Verne 5-2.
Moving to the 2014-2015 season…
ITAs was the lone event for La Verne in the Fall and had some decent results. I won’t keep singing the praises of the Madrigal-Ward match but I will say that the remainder of the La Verne squad had some good and some bad results. Laina Matsuda and Bridget Etchegaray brought home the most promising result on the doubles side of things with a Semifinal finish.
List of Results:
Singles:
Andrea Madrigal: Finalist –WC into Small College Nationals/All-American Status
Bridget Etchegaray: Quarterfinals
Laina Matsuda: Round of 16
Janae Chinn: Second Round
Valerie Lezin: First Round
Areli Martinez: First Round
Doubles:
Matsuda/Etchegaray: Semifinals
Madrigal/Chinn: Second Round
Lezin/Martinez: First Round
Schedule Analysis (by month): http://www.leopardathletics.com/sports/wten/2014-15/schedule
First, I just want to say that unless this schedule changes, La Verne is playing this season WAY TOO SAFE. Only 3 matches versus top 20 ranked teams (actually 4, but one is going to drop out) and the rest versus lower ranked squads. Coach Duron should try and get a team like Bowdoin or Carnegie in their like she did last year with the near upset of WashU.
February: #25 Brandeis
The Leopards get their campaign (versus Nationally ranked squads) started with the 25th ranked Brandeis Judges. Personally, I thought about pulling for the ‘Deis here but depth is their issue on the ladies side. I see Carley Cooke having an all out war with Madrigal and Haley Cohen crushing balls over Matsuda. After that, I have no idea what will happen. Brandeis will look to put this match in the “W” column after two battles with Chapman and Redlands earlier in the week but I do not see that happening. I think the Judges will take one or two doubles and just one singles in a 6-3 defeat to the Leopards for the second straight year. Another fun fact to note, nearly all of the winners from last years contest for the Judges have since graduated.
March: major matches: #38 Whittier, #30 Vassar, #29 Whitman, #16 Tufts & #5 CMS
As March rolls on in, this is when most teams really “beef up” their schedules. Not La Verne. They played the “we are still ranked outside of the Top 15” mentality with a “safe” schedule. I am sorry to be harsh, but I can’t understand it. First up, #38 Whittier. Ahhh the Poets, I really like the Poets. (Look for me Preview for them in the near future) Unfortuantely, I can’t see them pulling out a monumental upset. 7-2 La Verne. #30 Vassar coming in next could make for an interesting encounter. Vassar’s #1 Kate Christensen took down Andrea Madrigal at Small College Nationals. I am feeling like she will continue this trend and take a big win out in Cali. Moving down the lineup, La Verne will take a couple of the mid-lineup matches after winning doubs 2-1. However, I am pulling the big upset here guys…5-4 Vassar with the decider being at #3 Singles. Why this spot? Simply put, Bridget Etchegaray will have the biggest jump on the squad from #5 to #3 and I think Vassar is a solid squad who can fight. Their schedule is what La Verne’s should be and I think they will snag a major scalp. The rebound match for the Leopards is #29 Whitman. Unlike that of Vassar, I do not see Whitman having the same drive as their East Coast counterparts. Courtney Lawless will always be a force at #1 but Madrigal took her down once and will do it again. After that, look for veterans to take spots 2-4 in singles and then 2-3 in Doubles. 6-3 La Verne. Next up, #16 Tufts. Last season, La Verne took this match in what was probably the second biggest win of 2014 (besides Pomona). 2015 brings some new freshman to Tufts and a few losses to La Verne. This will make the difference here at I do not see anyone being able to replace Jeannette Losaria at #2. Match 6-3 to the Jumbos. The final match of March will be #5 CMS. Well, like I said in the Preview for CMS. Madrigal and Caroline Ward played a war with tennis balls in the West Regional Final of the ITA. While I see Ward defeating Madrigal (again) in three sets. This and maybe one other match (Matsuda or Etchegaray) will be close. The rest go in the favor of CMS. 8-1 to the Athenas.
April: #19 Redlands, #9 Pomona-Pitzer
The contest between La Verne and Redlands could define the 2015 Spring season for both squads. I am keeping with everything I said in my Redlands post, winner is the #3 seed in the SCIAC – 6-3 La Verne with some three sets marathons. #9 Pomona will be a fun West Coast match. If ITA’s are any preview, Pomona is a force to be reckoned with once again and I see this match to highlight their return to he upper echelon of D3 tennis. 7-2 Pomona.
May: SCIAC Tournament, NCAA Team and Individual Tournaments
Once again, not touching NCAAs but I do not see La Verne making it this year. I am actually going to amend my note from the CMS post and say that La Verne will actually fall to Pomona in the semis 5-4. Why the change of heart? I took a deeper dive into the La Verne lineup and felt that I should make that change.
Proposed Lineup Analysis:
#1 Doubles: Laina Matsuda/Bridget Etchegaray
This pairing made its 2014-2015 debut at ITAs in the Final and finished with a strong Semifinal finish before losing to eventual champs Ward/Kuosman of CMS. Matsuda can bring the experience of playing line 1 with Etchegaray will have athleticism and her own experience. Look out for these two this Spring!
#2 Doubles: Andrea Madrigal/Janae Chinn
This new pairing reached the second round of ITAs in their first outing. Madrigal is not the strongest on the doubles court and Chinn will be seeing her first dual match experience. Not 100% sure how this pairing will pan out moving forward.
#3 Doubles: Lauren Torres/Ariel Martinez?
I can’t call much on this pair as I am not sure who will partner Torres this season. Torres herself entered last Spring late in the year but had a monumental win over Pomona.
#1 Singles: Andrea Madrigal
No doubt about it. Madrigal is a solid #1 with a big year ahead of her especially after a 6th place finish at Small College Nationals. This year, I see her having strong success especially in big matches like CMS. Look for an NCAA bid in May!
#2 Singles: Laina Matsuda
Matsuda is a solid veteran in the Leopard lineup and did play some matches at 2 in 2014. A huge win for Matsuda was that over Katie Kuosman of CMS and another over Pomona. I see big things for Matsuda at 2 this year.
#3 Singles: Bridget Etchegaray
The second Etchegaray sister that I profile is Bridget! She had a solid ITA tournament in both singles and doubs this fall. She reached the Round of 16 in Singles before losing to a Pomona player. Last season in the 5-6 range, she had some solid wins. This year, I see her having wins and losses at #3 but ultimately putting in a solid season.
#4 Singles: Janae Chinn
Chinn arrives at La Verne for the Spring with limited match experience. I put her above Torres because of her win at ITAs and her results with Madrigal in the Fall. Let’s see what 2015 can bring for the newbie!
#5 Singles: Lauren Torres
Torres has some match experience under her belt and does have a solid win over CMS to her name. She remains in the same position as last season.
#6 Singles: ???
All of the players who could play this spot (per the La Verne Roster online) have had little match experience. This line is really a toss up!
Get pumped everyone!! The season begins in just a few weeks!! Stay tuned for my Preview of #29 Whitman later this week!!
Cheers,
D3WW