WHITMAN MISSIONARIES
Location: Walla Walla, WA
Coach: John Hein (4th year)
Final 2013 rank: 16
Final 2012 rank: 28
Finished Fall: #16 in Nation & #5 in West
Entered Spring: #16 in Nation & #5 in West
Finished Season: #27 in Nation & #5 in West
Finished Fall: #29 in Nation & #5 in West
Courtney Lawless: #4 in West
Courtney & Morgan Lawless: #3 in West
One quick thing that I want to note before the “meat” of my preview, I want to say that my Previews, as well as everyone else here on the Blog I am sure, are meant to both inform and inspire readers. Inform on current lineups and matchup predictions, inspire, to say what “could” happen. I want to be proven wrong. The underdogs should use predictions that are against their team (ex: a loss) and take them as motivation to get the upset win.
First up: a quick recap of last season:
Being in a conference with slight weaker opponents, Whitman finishing at #29 is not absurd by any means. They face an uphill battle schedule wise because they have to host and travel to every conference foe. That takes up a lot of tennis time and money. Every year, they do get their Spring break trip to face off against other nationally ranked teams. 2014 was a “bite off more than you can chew” type deal because Amherst, Bowdoin and Pomona were all on the docket. Tough ones for a team that isn’t used to such caliber of play, and these matches (mainly 9-0 defeats) were sandwiched by a 6-3 loss to Denison. The only other nationally ranked foes were that of CMS (in Hawaii) and La Verne (at Whitman). While the CMS match was closer than expected, the Athenas sough revenge in the NCAA Second Round. On first glance, I thought the La Verne match was an all out war and I am surprised that it was as close as it appeared. Once I really thought about it though, this was early in 2014, before a major Leopard breakthrough. The situation might be different in 2015. The lasting highlight for the Missionaries in 2014 was a NWC Conference victory and a first round nail-biting 5-4 win over University Texas-Tyler in the opening round.
Key Departures:
Hannah Palkowitz – The senior mainly played in-conference matches in 2014 with a respectable showing. She was versatile according to position and had her best results with Jenna Dobrin in doubles
Moving to the 2014-2015 season…
ITA’s
Not much more to say without repeating myself except: LAWLESS
Schedule Analysis (by month): http://athletics.whitman.edu/schedule.aspx?path=wten
Overall, a schedule suited for the #29 ranked team in the country. Only a couple of ranked matches with half of those being against teams below them.
February: #38 Whittier, #39 University of Texas-Tyler
#38 Whittier is the fifth-match on for the Missionaries following a few conference match-ups. In addition, this match begins the Whitman Winter Classic. Whittier, one of my favorite squads, has the potential to do damage this weekend. Against Whitman, I am seeing a tight battle ending in 5-4 favor to the hosts. While I say this, I do want to say that an upset is not out of the question here. The Missionaries barely squeaked by Texas-Tyler last year and I think Whittier is a bit strong. Potential upset alert! Speaking of Texas-Tyler, the #39 ranked team in the nation arrives in Washington-state looking to prove their ranking especially after such a near upset last year at NCAAs. This one will once again be tight. I am calling a repeat of history here. 5-4 to Whitman.
March: major matches: #6 Bowdoin, #15 La Verne, #30 Vassar, #19 Redlands
March will be the toughest month for the ladies of Whitman. Starting off with #6 Bowdoin is by no means an easy transition. This entire stretch of matches will be played in Claremont at a neutral site, thus taking away any home court advantage for either squad. I think that Bowdoin is simply too solid for the Whitman lineup and will take this match 9-0. #15 La Verne, a team who I reviewed earlier this week, might have a weaker season this year after losing a few players to graduation. However, I will stand with my earlier prediction and say 6-3 La Verne. #30 Vassar will be the closest test for the Missionary lineup. Kate Christensen, the first-year star from Vassar looks to be solid following a strong finish at Small College Nationals. I also have a gut feeling that the Vassar lineup will be balls tough and looking for a good win during their Cali trip. This match ends at 5-4 Vassar. The last match on this Cali trek will be at #19 Redlands. As I said in that respective preview, the Lawless twins are a force, but the rest of the Whitman lineup does not have the same credentials. 6-3 Redlands.
April: Northwest Conference Dual Matches & Tournament
Interesting choice by the powers-at-be who made the schedule for the Missionaries. They play a good chunk of their conference battles in April, just before the tournament. While that is smart in theory, I wonder will it really prepare them for NCAAs? Lewis & Clark is the lone team in April that could give some resistance to Whitman. I am still really impressed by how they performed at ITAs in the Fall and I am predicting a Whitman L&C Northwest Conference final that leans 6-3 to the Missionaries.
May: NCAA Team and Individual Tournaments
Sticking with the same plan as before, not touching NCAAs. However, I do see Courtney Lawless and potentially, the Lawless twins making the Individual event. The entire squad making the team event is HIGHLY likely in my opinion.
Proposed Lineup Analysis:
#1 Doubles: Courtney & Morgan Lawless?
The twins of Lawless captured their second-straight ITA PNW Regional Doubles title with a victory over a duo from Lewis & Clark earning them a bid into Small College Nationals. Unfortunately, seeing as the West coast is clearly superior to the rest, the West and PNW regions must face off in the “feed-in” round every year. This means one match between the respective singles and doubles champs to decide who gets into the “Main Draw” of 8 regional champs. While I feel that this match should really be up to random, what can you do? This fall, the twins fell to Southwick/Lutz of Trinity (TX) in three sets.
ITA PNW Champs. All-Americans. Pretty good deal to me.
One thing to note: Last season, the Lawless twins won ITAs, then split up. Courtney’s partner, Maddy Webster has returned from abroad (I am assuming). While Morgan’s partner has varied. Will they stick together? Time will tell.
#2 Doubles: Erin Bell & Katrina Allick
I have a feeling like Allick was abroad during the Fall but I assume that this pairing will reunite in a few weeks time. The pair mainly played #2 last season and crafted some wins against CMS, Denison and La Verne.
#3 Doubles: Maddy Webster & Allie Wallin
Alright, so after my research, calling the Whitman doubles lineup ahead of time is kind of a tough one. The Lawless twins won ITAs in 2013, then split up for the Spring, then reunite and win ITAs again. So will they split up again???!! I don’t know. That being said, I am putting both players who played with a twin, here at #3. Webster played with Courtney and Wallin with Morgan.
#1 Singles: Courtney Lawless
Arguably, one of the best players in the West region when healthy. Big wins for Courtney in 2014 were over Caroline Ward of CMS, the #1s from Denison and UT-Tyler as well as Sammy Chao of Pomona.
#2 Singles: Jenna Dobrin
Dobrin stepped up for the Missionaries in 2014 and played #2 for a good portion of the year. A big win over UT-Tyler helped push the squad into the second round of NCAAs and I think a year of experience under her belt will only call for greater things in 2015.
#3 Singles: Morgan Lawless
I assume that injuries brought Morgan’s singles campaign to a halt in 2014 so I am going to have her in #3 to start 2015 behind Dobrin. Because of such injuries, I cannot write much here but I look for her to have some strong showings in this spot.
#4 Singles: Katrina Allick
Allick was all over the map in the Whitman 2014 lineup. She won nearly all of her in-conference matches, but fell in the non-conference matches. The latter, will be the most important in 2015 as Whitman looks to maintain their ranking inside the Top 30.
#5 Singles: Erin Bell
In only her second season of eligibility, Bell looks to improve on an ok 2014 where she won a handful of matches including one over La Verne. Bell did play a good portion of her matches in #3 but she lost some of those and I do feel that Allick can jump over her based on record. Obviously, I am not on the Whitman squad and I cannot speak to what is going on there, just my observation.
#6 Singles: Maddy Webster
Webster will take over the number 6 spot following a small campaign in the position in 2014. Due to graduation, Webster will see more action this year and could provide much needed help in the bottom of the Whitman lineup should she be able to use her doubles success and translate it to the singles court.
Alrighty y’all! That is all for now. Next week, look out for my Preview of #9 Pomona-Pitzer!
Cheers,
D3WW