NCAA week! Oh wait, its not until next week. Genius move starting it on a Monday right? Ok, while I understand why it works that way, it makes it difficult for people to go watch the team portion when things are most exciting. Anyways, to kick things off, I thought it would be cool to compare the coaches of each team and then give my rankings of them. Note: Information was gotten from the school’s website so if there are errors, blame them and not me!
Paul Settles
Claremont Mudd Scripps (CMS): 12th Season
In his eleven seasons, Coach Settles has established the CMS Stags Tennis program as one of the very elite in Division III collegiate tennis. On the national level, CMS is coming off two straight NCAA Division III Team Championship finals appearances and has finished ranked in the top five in nine of eleven seasons under Settles’ leadership. These two finals appearances are extremely impressive, but also deceiving. Two years ago, they were the favorites, but lost a key player due to injury and still almost won it losing 5-4 to Williams. Last year they were again the favorites, but lost to a senior laden Amherst team. Again, the Stags will enter the tourney as the overwhelming favorite. This year could be different because these guys have been there and are seniors hoping to close our their careers finally living up to the hype. While Settles may not seem intense, I can guarantee he wants a national championship more than anyone. As the top seed, CMS has the easiest road to the final which could help them in the end.
Todd Doebler
Amherst: 1st Season
Don’t let Todd Doebler’s one year at Amherst blind you from what kind of coach he is. He has an extensive resume mainly at big time division 1 schools like TCU, Penn State, Notre Dame, and Pepperdine. He also has experience at small D3 schools like Colorado College and Connecticut College. The D1 experience in itself proves that he knows how to coach high level tennis players in big time matches. I am not going to sit here and try to convince you all that playing for a D3 national championship is as difficult as playing in huge Big 12 conference matches, but something can be said for a guy who has some trophy’s in his trophy case. I am a bit alarmed at Amherst’s loss to Williams in the NESCAC semi-finals so it will be interesting to see how mentally prepared his team is for the pressure on the big stage. What we do know is Amherst has more than enough talent to take the title home. An equally as talented Chicago team is up first in what I hope to be a war.
Bob Hansen
Middlebury: 4th Season
The man, the myth, the legend that is Bob Hansen finds himself back in familiar territory of competing for a national championship. Hansen was the creator of the UC-Santa Cruz tennis program and has an impressive resume while in California. Hansen led the Slugs to seven NCAA Championships (1989, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2009), appearing in the finals 13 of the last 24 years. Hansen’s players have won 10 NCAA doubles titles and five NCAA singles titles. Under Hansen’s direction, the UCSC tennis program produced 117 All-Americans. Now at Middlebury, Hansen has progressed each season reaching the Elite 8 in 2013 and the final four last season. He will look to continue the upward trend and at least reach the final if not win the whole darn thing. Hansen is known for great doubles play and with that any of his teams have a chance to win it. A rematch of last year’s third place match with Trinity is up first and I fully expect it to be a great one. There are no easy matches in Cincy so they will need to bring it to win the whole thing.
John Browning
Emory: 16th Season
John Browning is the fourth person in NCAA history, for any division, to win a national team championship as a coach and player. He did the former with Emory University in 2003, the first in school history, and the latter with Santa Cruz in 1989. In each his 15 seasons at Emory, Browning’s teams have advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals while finishing in the top-five in the national rankings on 13 occasions.
Browning has three national championships to his credit, the first coming in 2003, then 2006, and 2012. I will be completely honest with you and say I had no clue that Browning has NEVER missed the Elite 8 while at Emory. That is crazy impressive. Browning and Emory aren’t the most liked opponents out there, but no one likes a winner and that is what Emory is. There is no doubt that he will have his guys loud and ready to play with familiar foe Wash U in the first round. They have won the first two meetings this year, but the second was a barn burner.
Russell McMindes
Trinity TX: 6th Season
While relatively young, Coach McMindes has proven that he is capable of taking his team to the pinnacle of D3 tennis. This is his third straight elite 8 appearance and fifth in the last six years. Last year, Trinity took 3rd upsetting Wash U and Middlebury along the way. This result along with the Indoor National title this spring only shows that McMindes has the goods to bring home a title. His teams emulate their coach and conduct themselves with the highest form of class which makes them a joy to follow. On the court, they are solid doubles players with depth and a couple studs at the top. While the road to the championship is going to be rough, Trinity can do it. The rematch with Middlebury might come down to doubles as they are evenly matched up and down the lineup.
Chuck Willenborg
Johns Hopkins: 10th Season
Prior to Willenborg’s arrival, the men’s team had never been ranked nationally or ranked higher than 16th in the Atlantic South region. Now they are a staple in the top 15 of the national rankings. Hopkins has been to the Sweet 16 quite a few times while only breaking into the Elite 8 two years previous to this year (2012 and 2014). The 2012 team pushed eventual National Champion Emory 5-4 in the quarterfinal match. Under Willenborg’s tutelage, there is no doubt Hopkins has grown as a program, but they still have struggled to utilize all the talent they have to reach the final 4. Last weekend’s win at Kenyon was huge to reach a second consecutive Elite 8, but the bad news is they will play heavy favorite CMS. Hopefully they can use the 2012 result as a motivation and know an upset it possible.
Roger Follmer
Wash U: 14th Season
Roger Follmer guided Washington University in St. Louis to the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis National Championship in 2008. Before last year, he had taken the Bears to six straight Final Fours. In 2008, the year they won it, the Bears didn’t even win their conference championship as Emory took that title. This goes to show that Coach Follmer knows how to get his teams ready to play when May rolls around. I wouldn’t call last season a let down because Trinity TX broke through defeating the Bears. This year has been sub par in Wash U standards which is stupid to say since they are in the top 8, but with no conference championship or National Indoors championship, Wash U has a lot to prove this tournament. They will face off against Emory in the first round for the third time this year. Both earlier losses were tough, but don’t sleep on the Bears giving Emory all they have. I fully believe that Coach Follmer could get anyone psyched to play hard for him as his passion comes out of his pores.
Jay Tee
Chicago: 3rd Year
What Coach Tee has done with this Chicago program has been impressive. A team widely known for it’s underwhelming results with tons of talent, the Maroons have turned a corner because of their leadership. They also have changed their reputation from not the greatest sportsman to a model program on and off the court. Coach Tee earned his first Elite 8 appearance this year and should go in thinking they have nothing to lose as the rest is icing on the cake. They take on a tough Amherst team who can equal Chicago in terms of talent as well as have a inexperienced coach. If Coach Tee can keep his players loose, they can provide a huge upset and potentially even make it to the final. I have seen him on the sidelines pacing and sweating bullets so my advice would be to relax and enjoy the ride. You have a great team with low expectations since you are so new to the dance. That can make for a dangerous opponent and I am sure Amherst knows this.
Rankings (who would I want leading my team to a championship)
8. Chuck Willenborg (can’t get over the Elite 8 hump)
7. Todd Doebler (needs big time results)
6. Jay Tee (too new to the game)
5. Russell McMindes (First National Indoors Title this year)
4. Paul Settles (Back to back finals appearances)
3. Roger Follmer (1 National Championship, 6 Final Fours)
2. John Browning (Hasn’t missed an Elite 8 and 3 National Championships)
1. Bob Hansen (7 National Championships. Enough Said!)
There you have it! My rankings are based off of their resume’s and pedigree as results are the most telling.I welcome any comments about the above coaches as they deserve all the credit in getting their teams to where they are now. Keep them positive folks as I don’t want to take away from the achievements. Looking forward to the tourney!