This Week in West: The Wayward Sons

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Whitman, Trinity, and Tyler. Part of it is because they’re all basically building programs on an island. For a long time, Whitman’s closest ranked opponent was 850 miles away, and their second closest was another 300 miles or so. Trinity and Tyler have always had each other (in that they are a mere 5 hour drive apart), but in terms of DIII tennis, they basically exist in a vacuum. For that reason, their programs have always had a unique charm. All three of these teams are having rough seasons. Trinity’s season started off promising enough, but they had a lackluster Spring Break and now seem to have lost their most consistent point producer for a career in Adam Krull (I hope I’m wrong about that, but I believe I have good information). Whitman had one very good result over spring break, but missed two great opportunities and recently lost their first conference match in ten years. Tyler is having the worst season of the three of them, as they have lost four consecutive 5-4 matches to ranked teams. Now they’re all playing each other in a weekend. Statistically, one of these teams has to have a good weekend.

Side-note: I could have sworn Emory was supposed to make the trip to this weekend. Can someone explain what happened to that?

Friday April 15

#14 Trinity vs. #24 UT-Tyler

I’ve never felt so simultaneously hopeful and hopeless about a team’s prospects. This is Tyler’s best chance to beat their cross-state rivals in at least 8 years. For the first time, they have the depth to hang with the Tigers, and they’re meeting them in their most vulnerable state. At the same time, I don’t know if the Pats have it in them, emotionally, to win this match. Their seniors are laying a collective stinkbomb, and you can only rely so much on freshman talent:

#1 Dubs: Deuel/Tyer (Trinity) vs. Fischer/Fagundes (Tyler) – After a rough start at Indoors, all Tyer has done on the doubles court is win matches, no matter the partner. I have no reason to believe Tyler will win this match. 8-4 Trinity

#2 Dubs: Mayer/Niess (Trinity) vs. Budd/McIntyre (Tyler) – This will be the swing match where Tyler’s senior needs to come up big. Mayer and Niess have a lot of experience together and I think they’ll come through. 9-8 Trinity.

#3 Dubs: Guin/Lambeth (Trinity) vs. J.Fischer/Gomez (Tyler) – I’m in a difficult position because I think Guin and Lambeth are a better doubles team, but I also don’t think Tyler will be swept. I think the youngins keep the Pats in here with an upset win. 9-7 Tyler.

#1 Singles: Deuel (Trinity) vs. Fagundes (Tyler) – Fagundes has some good wins at #2, but he has yet to show that he’s a top-tier #1 singles player. Deuel is playing well in his senior year, and he’ll get the win. 7-6, 6-2

#2 Singles: Mayer (Trinity) vs. Budd (Tyler) – Budd is due for a big win, and he has a history of winning against Trinity. 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 Tyler.

#3 Singles: Lambeth (Trinity) vs. J. Fischer (Tyler) – In a battle of promising youngins, I’m leaning towards Lambeth. Fischer has put himself in a position to win a lot of big wins, but he hasn’t really come through. Lambeth also has a propensity for long matches, but he wins about half of them. Lambeth wins 6-4, 6-7, 6-2.

#4 Singles: Tyer (Trinity) vs. Gomez (Tyler) – Gomez has had an impressive freshman campaign, but Tyler is really rounding into form on his home courts. I gotta go with my #1 draft pick to win in two close sets. Tyer 7-5, 6-3.

#5 Singles: Niess (Trinity) vs. McIntyre (Tyler) – Niess has been battling his body this year, and McIntyre has been having a great year. If he’s 100%, I go with Nemo, but I don’t think he’s really been at 100% all year, and McIntyre will make him grind. Mac 7-6, 7-5

#6 Singles: Guin (Trinity) vs. Elwood (Tyler) – There are really like 3 different players from both teams who could slot in at the #6 spot, so I’m not going to say anything specific. I’ll take Tyler in a 10-pointer just because that’s the way the season has been going for the Pats.

Overall: Trintiy deals Tyler another crushing 5-4 defeat.

Saturday April 16

#19 Whitman vs. #24 UT-Tyler

Due to injuries, illness, and erratic play, Coach Northam has been fiddling with his lineup over the past couple weeks, so I’m not going to give a match-by-match preview. This match represents Tyler’s last chance to pick up a ranked win on the season, and I think they’re going to get it. At full strength, I think Whitman wins this match, but they’re not at full strength. Friedman hasn’t played in a while, and Hewlin was out last weekend. Locklear has been struggling since Spring Break, and their depth is hit-or-miss. I don’t think a beat-up team is going to fly across two timezones and win either of these matches. If they are, Hewlin and Ho are going to need to play big (Hewlin is quietly having a great year). I see Tyler taking a 2-1 lead with wins at 2 and 3 doubles before eventually winning 6-3 by taking 2, 3, 4, and 6 singles. I think Hewlin and Ho will win their singles matches, but it won’t be enough, as the Pats are much more desperate for a win, and the Squirrels are riding the strugglebus.

Sunday April 17

#14 Trinity vs. #19 Whitman

More of the same: if Whitman were at full strength and playing well, they could win this match and move themselves back into the top 15, but I think they’re too beat up to pull it off. Whitman has the depth to take advantage of TU, but the Tigers are so tough on their home courts, and Whitman would really need a doubles lead. I like the Tigers to take a 2-1 lead (at least) with wins at 1 and 3. After that, I think they take over in singles with wins at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 for a 7-2 victory. If Whitman does have it’s full squad, I think they can win at both 5 and 6 with a combo of Ho/Carter, but those guys are going to be sliding up in the lineup where Tyer and Lambeth will overwhelm them. I’m really looking forward to the #1 match between Deuel and Hewlin. In the best-case scenario, this could swing a 4-4 match, but I don’t think Whitman has enough in the tank at the moment to keep this match close. Right now, they just need to focus on working hard and getting healthy for their conference tournament. If they’re not careful, they’ll be missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade as well.

A Word to Coaches

I don’t often get on my soap box (that’s a lie), but as a blogger, I have a unique platform to get words out there and read by a large tennis community. Right now, I want to use that opportunity to speak directly to the coaches out there in readerland:

In DIII, we are blessed to have a bunch of transformative coaches leading their teams. All three teams in this post are lead by coaches whose players would walk through walls for. Personally, I owe a lot of who I am today to two coaches in my life who helped me grow up. For teenagers and college students, the tennis court is a place where all of life’s conflicts can play out. Though coaches don’t get much explicit training, they are responsible for guiding us players through important transitions. Without the right coach, we can develop some pretty maladaptive coping strategies. Oftentimes, I feel that coaches don’t really know how important they are to their players.

I recently had a friend move back to his home city to find that his childhood coach had moved. They had spent time on the court together at least weekly throughout high school. This coach was a friend, a role model, and, in some ways, a father figure for my friend. Coming back from break, my friend was looking forward to catching up with his coach over a hit, but found out that he had moved to another state without a call, a text, or an e-mail. My friend was devastated. I know this goes without saying to the coaches reading this blog, but, coaches, please never do this. Never underestimate the effect you have on your players’ lives. Take your responsibility as a coach seriously, because you might just save a life without realizing it.