Wellesley
Quick Facts:
Location: Wellesley, MA
Coach: Brian Kuscher, 6th year
2012 National/Regional Ranking: #19/#7
2013 National/Regional Ranking: #-/#19
2014 National/Regional Ranking: #28/#10
2015 Preseason National/Regional Ranking: #24/#10
Twitter handle: @Wellesleytennis
Intro:
Hello readers! First of all, wasn’t the Men’s DIII Indoors super exciting!?!?!?! ALL of the matches were either a 6-3 or a 5-4. That’s really amazing, if you think about it! I can’t wait for the Women’s DIII Indoors to start this coming weekend!!! In any case, it’s time for my last two season previews of the season! I’ll be bringing you Seven Sisters rivals Wellesley College and Vassar College this week! First up is the Wellesley Blue. Wellesley has consistently been in the national rankings for many years (with the exception of 2013). Recently they have fallen a bit as they check in at #24 this year. Their recent high was #11 in 2008. Wellesley competes in the NEWMAC Conference. This conference is a mixed bag, with Babson (#13) and MIT (#14) also in the national rankings, but the other teams are on the weak side, as they are not even in the regional rankings. Wellesley also competes in the Seven Sisters conference, which means that they play a weekend tournament in the spring with other conference members for the Seven Sisters Championships. The format of the tournament strays from the regular format, in that they play two doubles and 3 singles, not repeating.
Wellesley generally does well in the NEWMAC tournament, having won it a number of times but struggling to do so in the recent past with the resurgence of MIT and the rise of Babson this year. Wellesley last won the tournament in 2011. They fell to Babson, the eventual champions, in the semifinals this year. As far as Pool C goes, they have an outside chance if they can beat #16 Tufts AND Tufts knocks off a few of their higher ranked opponents. My feeling is that Tufts will knock off #15 LaVerne (3/19 TUFTS VS. LAVERNE!!!!!!) but they won’t be able to win any other matches over opponents ranked above them (they did beat Babson 6-3 but then they lost to MIT 4-5), and therefore not giving Wellesley a lot of room.
Lineup Analysis:
Wellesley lost Tada (#6 singles, #3 doubles) to graduation, and added Hsu (#4 singles, #2 doubles), Olson (#3 doubles), and Wu. Their middle of the lineup is good but they need to strengthen their top and really work on their depth if they want to get some wins over teams ranked above them.
#1 Singles: Lee, (7.77), senior
Lone senior Sojung Lee has been a constant in the Wellesley lineup since her freshman year. She has climbed her way to the #1 spot. A strong server and a fairly hard hitter, if she wants to beat some of her higher ranked opponents in her final season, she needs to work on her consistency. She’s also been a great doubles player as she and Chen qualified for the NCAA doubles tournament last year. Lee is currently ranked #24 in the region.
#2 Singles: Stojkovic, (6.66), sophomore
Stojkovic has shown some improvement this year as she was a solid #2 for Wellesley (she played #3 last year).
#3 Singles: Chen, (6.63), sophomore
A somewhat streaky player, Chen can play great points with just about anyone but also can fall behind in a match fast. If she can improve her consistency a bit, she’ll be a weapon. Qualified for the NCAA doubles tournament with Lee last year.
#4 Singles: Hsu, (6.70), freshman
Wellesley’s top freshman, Hsu has had a good season so far at the #4 spot.
#5 Singles: Stone, (4.00), sophomore
Wellesley’s lineup takes a little bit of a dip at the #5 spot. They can beat most of the unranked teams but will struggle against the ranked teams.
#6 Singles: Kostikina, (5.49), sophomore
Somewhat of an enigma, Kostikina has had up and down results.
#1 Doubles: Lee/Chen – #13 ranked team in the region
#2 Doubles: Stojkovic/Hsu – #15 ranked team in the region
#3 Doubles: Olson/Kostikina
Schedule Analysis/Pool C:
Here is Wellesley’s Schedule:
http://wellesleyblue.com/sports/wten/2014-15/schedule
9/7 lost to #2 Williams 0-9
9/13 lost to #14 MIT 1-8
10/4 beat #13 Babson 5-4
10/25 lost to #13 Babson 1-5
3/23 v #27 UWW
3/24 v Colby
4/2 v #37 Bates
4/3 v #25 Brandeis
4/11-4/12 Seven Sisters Tournament at Smith College
4/17 v #16 Tufts
4/18 v Stonehill
Wellesley had a decent fall, as they somehow pulled off a 5-4 win over #13 Babson during the regular season. Those two teams played again in the NEWMAC tournament and this time Babson took the match 5-1. Wellesley also had lopsided losses to #2 Williams (0-9) and #14 MIT (1-8) in the fall.
As Wellesley plays most of its matches in the fall, they have a somewhat limited spring schedule, compared to other teams. They start the season off with their Spring Break trip to Orlando in which they face #27 UWW in what should prove to be a fairly close matchup. Then they play Colby, in which Wellesley should get the win. Upon their return to Massachusetts, they’ll face two quality opponents in #37 Bates and #25 Brandeis. Bates looks to be a bit stronger at the top 3 positions, and the bottom 3 spots should be battle. I think it will come down to who is ahead in the doubles. Then the very next day they will have another close match in #25 Brandeis. Even with Brandeis’ depth woes, Brandeis appears to be just a bit stronger at every position, IF they are healthy. Then they will play in the Seven Sisters tournament, in which they are the defending champions. You never know, with the strange no-repeating lineup format, but I think this year Vassar will beat Wellesley in the finals of the tournament, as they are stronger at almost every position in the lineup. Then Wellesley plays their all important match against Tufts. If Wellesley wants ANY chance at Pool C, they will have to get wins over UWW, Bates, and Brandeis, AND get a win over Tufts. This will be tough, as Tufts appears to be a stronger team than last year. But this is Wellesley’s chance at a Pool C spot.
Wellesley Keys to Success:
#1. The Tufts match on 4/17. Again, this is an outside chance but if they want a Pool C spot, they will have to get wins over their other ranked opponents (UWW, Bates, Brandeis), AND get the win over Tufts. A tall order, but anything can happen.
#2. Have a strong recruiting class for next year in order to give the lineup a bit more pop at the top and a bit more depth. Especially with Lee graduating, they could use one superstar player at the top to at least keep people in their current spots. They could also use some depth at the bottom of the lineup.
ALSO – we have an “interview with a coach” scheduled for the middle of March (to be posted on TRN), and are currently taking volunteers. If you are interested, please email me at d3northeastwomens@gmail.com
Well, there you go, I hope you enjoyed reading!!!!
D3NEW