Coach: Frank Barnes (14th year)
Location: Whitewater, WI
Preseason Rank: 26
Twitter Handle: @UWWTennis
Overview: While the other bloggers are sending emails to one another apologizing for slacking, I am here dominating my preview schedule with only two remaining (three if Greek backs out on Gustavus). I am in a crazy positive mood and I can’t figure it out because let’s be honest, that’s pretty unusual. It might be because after doing my due diligence and research on this Whitewater team, I am actually happy with the potential they have coming into the spring. Historically, Whitewater has always been a tough team to beat, but has never really made the jump into the top 25. With a schedule that I really like, they could do it this season. Now it won’t be easy and there will need to be a premier win with no bad losses to make it happen, but I am confident that Whitewater has a shot to finish in the top 20 this season. So you are saying there’s a chance?!? Yes Lloyd, I am. This team is very experienced and battle tested. With that, I expect good things coming from Whitewater.
Lineup Analysis:
#1 Singles – Jake Humphreys (Sr.) — Who doesn’t love Jake “from State Farm” Humphreys? When you talk about Whitewater tennis, you can’t do so without mentioning a Humphreys. That’s because Jake’s sister is also a stud. Humphreys is a multiple All-American honor winner and will be the anchor of this team. He is a fighter and a tough match for anyone. Being a little guy, Jake hits the ball with heavy penetrating topspin and is super quick on the baseline. This can pose problematic for all sorts of playing styles from opponents. Humphreys has never really been considered a national title contender and I wouldn’t put him there this season yet, but he is definitely someone who is just outside of that group. He is going to win the majority of the matches he plays this year and will be a key component in doubles as well. He was a quarterfinalist last season losing to Buxbaum.
#2 Singles — Michael Treis (Sr.) — There is no question that Michael “Obi” Treis has a whole lot of talent. Hopefully someone out there understands the reference with that nickname! The only question mark for Treis is his health. He went missing at the end of the season last year which I believe was an injury issue, but I am not positive on that. What he did do during the season is pull wins against the likes of Wootton (Tyler) and Bush (Wash U). Those are big names. He had just one hiccup in a loss to Stevens, but overall Treis is a top #2 in the country. He could easily put his name in the hat to qualify for nationals as a #2 singles player which is incredibly difficult to do. Just ask Sam Geier and Will Drougas. If Treis can stay healthy and play in the key matches, I again look for Whitewater to make some noise.
#3 Singles – Rithwik Raman (Jr.) – NOODLES! Raman might be my favorite nickname I have given although Josh “teach me how to” Dughi is a close second from Case Western. Anyways, Raman has always been a bit under the radar in my opinion. Last season he quietly dominated most of the schedule at #4 singles and even moved up a spot or two with success. He had two losses in April that were three setters to Jason Haugen from Wash U and David Liu from Chicago who are both guys that are highly regarded at the blog and in D3 tennis at their positions. If Raman can continue his success and bring a consistent performer at #3, I really like Whitewater’s chances to pull an upset.
#4 Singles – Grant Thompson (So.) – I can’t quite figure out where Thompson came from. I believe he is a sophomore transfer from Eastern Illinois because that is what tennisrecruiting says, but I am not sure he got any playing time while there. All I got was a team photo with “no longer on team” posted next to his name. I did dig up four match results for him which were all losses. Now that wouldn’t say much to me except that they were playing #1 singles against Big Ten and MAC opponents. Obviously he was in over his head playing that high in the lineup, but still something we can’t ignore. This is a huge pick up for Whitewater and really changes the team. He had a solid fall only losing to Brady Anderson (Coe’s #1) in a third set tiebreaker at ITAs. The guy is 6’5 as well which never hurts! I expect Thompson to be really good for Whitewater and potentially great. It cannot go understated how his arrival really changes things. I could see him potentially swapping spots with Raman as well.
#5 Singles – Zane Navratil (So.) — As a freshman, Zane “the pharmacist” Navratil had high expectations and was asked to do a lot playing mostly #3 last season. I think that was a bit much for someone with little experience, but brighter pastures are on the way. If Navratil plays #5, he is going to find quite a bit of success. He didn’t have a bad year, he just didn’t beat anyone from the bigger team names. At #5 and with a year of college tennis under his belt, Zane could be someone who the Warhawks call a lock against many teams. For clarification sake, I nicknamed him the pharmacist because I think his last name sounds like an allergy medication to me.
#6 Singles – Matt Bisbee (Sr.) — Matt “Busy” Bisbee is another senior whose experience will come in handy as the season progresses. He featured in quite a few matches last season at the back of the lineup, but wasn’t terribly successful. I would say this is probably Whitewater’s weakest spots, but he also won’t go down easy. I am not sure the job is his locked up as there are many other players on the team that could unseat him (Schnarr, Gordan, Zurowski, Butler, etc), but you have to go with the senior here.
Doubles — Doubles has always been a strong point for Whitewater over the last few years and this season shouldn’t be any different. I think the addition of Thompson will off set the loss of Shkylar who was important for doubles. Humphreys will be paired together with Treis and they are legit contenders to win it all. Yes there are other teams plenty ahead of them, but I have no doubt saying they will qualify for nationals and with that, anyone can win when it comes to doubles. If two doubles is Noodles and Thompson then they will also be a force. Right now third doubles could be weaker, but it’s too early to say and I don’t know who might find themselves playing there. They will be disciplined no doubt and that can take you a long way.
Schedule Analysis
http://www.uwwsports.com/schedule.aspx?path=mten&
Rarely do I look at a schedule for a team and think, wow this is a great schedule, but that is exactly what I see when I look at the docket for Whitewater. It is full of opportunity with only one or two matches in there that could trip them up and make them take a step backwards. In typical Whitewater fashion, they start off against a couple of scholarship programs which I could argue is a positive or negative. They will get good competition, but might hurt the early season confidence a bit.
Opportunity #1 lies in the match against Kenyon. I wrote about Kenyon yesterday and said this match could be big, but now that I look at the lineup for the Warhawks even closer, this match is HUGE. Now Kenyon is still favored in my opinion and will have the edge at 6 singles and 3 doubles. But after that, Whitewater could make things really interesting if they were to win the other two doubles. I like Humphreys over Geier in a really great match and Treis over Turlington in an equally tight match. If those two were to turn out on the Whitewater side, I could easily see Raman, Thompson, or Navratil getting a win to make 5. I am disappointed to say that I just looked at my calendar to see if I could make it up to Chicago to see this match, but unfortunately I work which is rare for a Saturday. Needless to say I will be glued to twitter that day.
The next big match would be Gustavus as Kalamazoo shouldn’t be a problem. Gustavus will be a strength vs strength match up and I see the Gusties slightly better which means you have to pick them to edge out the Warhawks. It could be really close though and another opportunity for Whitewater to pick up that premier win.
My biggest concern for Whitewater lies in Spring Break. It is not because they play teams that are better than them, but it’s because if my memory serves me correctly, spring break has not been the kindest to them in the past. They play Carleton, Allegheny, Oberlin, and Depauw in that order to get things started. None of these teams should challenge them, but they do get better each day and the Depauw match could be tight. This is the biggest trap match of the season and would absolutely ruin any early success. So I urge the players to save the fun until after this match is over and you can celebrate a victory which hopefully will cap an already successful spring.
Depending on how well they do early will determine their fate at Nationals, but if they could manage a 2 seed somewhere they would be sitting really pretty to get that Top 20 ranking by June.
Conclusion
So there you have it folks, I officially wrote a positive preview about a team in the Central. It is a rarity these days and why I left Chicago as my last preview. But in terms of Whitewater they have all the tools necessary to take the giant step into the top 20. Experience, a few studs at the top, solid depth, and doubles discipline are things I would want if I were putting a team together and Whitewater has it. If they can stay healthy and on the court, I see a lot of good things coming from them this season and I sure wouldn’t want to play them. Kenyon you are officially on upset alert!