Greetings, dear readers. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is D3RegionalNEC, and I’m your new writer focused on providing coverage for the Northeast and Central Region’s regionally ranked teams. Don’t see your favorite team discussed below? Have some beef with something I said? Wondering what I had for breakfast? Always feel free to drop me an email at d3regionalnec@gmail.com. Oh, and follow me on twitter @D3RegionalNEC. It’s rough tweeting to an audience of only 67.
Anyway, below are my initial thoughts on a whole smattering of Northeast and Central teams. More in depth analysis will follow as time goes on, but I wanted to get this out now that ITA season is upon us and some of my teams have already gotten started out in soggy Kalamazoo.
RPI
Key Losses: Sherman Uyeno (#2 SIngles, #1 Doubles), Alain Gonzalez (#3 Singles, #2 Doubles), Graham Harris (#2 Doubles), McKinley Grimes (#1 Singles, #1 Doubles)
Player to watch: Tristan Wise, junior
Quick Thoughts: RPI had a rough time of it last year, losing some key players and falling 7-2 to St. Lawrence in April. While they managed to beat SLU in the Liberty League tournament, it was still an underwhelming year for the Engineers. Their four freshmen are going to need to contribute, but what’s just as important is how veteran Tristan Wise does. I expect him to be in the #1-3 range for singles and probably playing #1 doubles, but just as important is going to be how he and senior Stephen Baxter lead this team off the court. If things come together, this team could beat Skidmore for the Liberty League, but I could also see a year of rebuilding if everyone’s not ready to step up right away.
NYU
Key Losses: Sidd Thangirala (#1 Singles, #1 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Umberto Setter, senior
Quick Thoughts: The Violets are a pretty unique team. They have one of the least ideal court situations in all of college tennis, and they play a tiny schedule compared to their peers. That said, given the school’s reputation, they continue to bring in solid players. This year their roster lists five freshman, most notably 3-star Vishal Walia. While big serving Sidd Thangirala will be missed, I think NYU has enough talent to replace him nicely. Watch for Umberto Setter, who transferred from a solid D-1 program in East Tennessee State last year, to have a very nice year at the top of the lineup after missing most of last spring with an injury. I’m also expecting a big year out of senior and blog favorite Matt DeMichiel, who cleaned up down at #5 and should be tough to beat even up at #3.
TCNJ
Key Losses: Pierce Cooper (#1 Singles, #1 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Jack August, senior
Quick Thoughts: I like to think of TCNJ as kind of like the UCSC of the East Coast. They get into NCAAs every year via Pool B, they’re a state school, and they are clearly somewhat limited by their financial situation. Even still, Coach Dicheck manages to produce consistently respectable teams and develop some great players, like Pierce Cooper, who had a great junior year before falling off a bit this past spring. Because Cooper wasn’t as lights out as a senior, I think his loss won’t be as painful as it could have been, and with two 3-star freshman, I think the Lions could put together a nice season that sees them maintain their top 40 ITA ranking and potentially move up a few spots. This is a team that plays good doubles, competes at every position, and generally just doesn’t beat themselves, characteristics that account for why they are consistently solid year after year.
Rochester
Key Losses: Ben Shapiro (#2 Singles, #2 Doubles), Ian Baranowski (#3 Singles, #3 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Masaru Fujimaki, sophomore
Quick Thoughts: After getting into the national rankings a few years ago, Rochester has kind of stayed stagnant in that 40-50 range, though they took a step backwards last year with their early season loss to Ithaca, which was underratedly awful considering they weren’t missing any players. The ‘Jackets brought in a bunch of international kids this year so it’s pretty tough to predict how well they’ll be able to replace Shapiro and Baranowski, who were both solid but never exceptional. Sophomore Masaru Fujimaki had an up and down freshman year but has the potential to be a very good #1. Last year he took down Anderson (Coe), Litsky (Vassar), and Thangirala (NYU) twice, and I expect some even bigger results this year, though they’ll probably be mixed in with some surprising losses. I see Rochester being at about the same level as they were last year, which unfortunately looks like it might be year seven in a row of eight place in the UAA, as NYU looks to have improved.
Ithaca
Key Losses: Chris Hayes (#2 Singles, #2 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Minos Stavrakas, freshman
Quick Thoughts: The Bombers opened their spring last year with a surprising win over Rochester to get into the Northeast rankings, but they couldn’t really back it up, falling to TCNJ and Hobart. Michael Gardiner looked promising in the fall, but ended up appearing a bit above his punching weight at #1. The addition of Minos Stavrakas from Greece should help, as moving Gardiner down to #2 should help him, and from the look of it I think Stavrakas will compete well at the top spot. He already won the A Flight of the St. Lawrence Fall Classic and beat Courtney Murphy from Wilkes (former 4-star junior) this past weekend. I’ll be very interested to see how he does at ITAs, where I imagine he’ll get a top 8 seed. Ithaca is still far away from challenging Stevens in the Empire 8 (side note: Ithaca is joining the Liberty League, I believe effective next year), but it’s not unrealistic for the Bombers to sneak into the top 20 in the Northeast rankings.
Hobart
Key Losses: None
Player to watch: Jonah Salita, sophomore
Quick Thoughts: Though not initially on my list of teams for coverage, I think the Statesmen are going to continue their slow ascent this year and should break into the Northeast rankings. Jonah Salita competed pretty well at #1 last year, Michael Rusk can be a very tricky player in the middle of the lineup, and freshman Alan Dubrovsky could have an impact as well. I’ve always felt Hobart could and should be better than they’ve been, so hopefully this is the year they start to make some bigger strides closer to their potential.
Denison
Key Losses: Jackson O’Gorman Bean (#3 Singles, #1 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Kevin Brown, sophomore
Quick Thoughts: Last year saw Denison jump back ahead of DePauw for the right to play Kenyon in the NCAC final, though it’s been since 2006 that the Big Red actually made it past the Lords. Could this be the year Denison overcomes the NCAC powerhouse? Maybe. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Coach Burling brought in any freshmen for the fall that are going to have a big impact right away, and the loss of Jackson O’Gorman Bean is not a small one. He and Kevin Brown were NCAA doubles alternates, and he was always a guy who, on the right day, could challenge anyone in the middle of the lineup (as evidenced by his 6-1, 6-4 win over Sven Kranz of Chicago last year.) Look for Kevin Brown to put together a strong season at the top of the lineup and make a good case for NCAAs. Beyond that, I don’t see Denison moving much from their mid 30s ranking.
DePauw
Key Losses: Alec Kaczkowski (#3 Singles, #1 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Dan Rodefeld, senior
Quick Thoughts: DePauw and Denison have some striking similarities this year. Both lost a mid lineup singles guy who played good doubles, don’t appear to have big recruiting classes, have strong #1’s that have legit shots at NCAAs, and of course both will be trying to take down Kenyon in the NCAC. Depauw carries a big roster and has seven seniors this year, a fact that should never be overlooked. DePauw had some close losses last year and generally plays good doubles, a key to most upsets. I actually think the Tigers have a decent shot at taking the NCAC this year. Rodefeld will compete well at #1, and I think the Tigers have the depth to push a team like Kenyon. Am I predicting DePauw to make NCAAs? I wouldn’t go that far yet, but the NCAC tournament should be quite intriguing this year.
Coe
Key Losses: Riley Galbraith (#2 Singles, #1 Doubles), Ryan Hickman (#4 Singles, #1-2 Doubles), Zach Decker (#4-6 Singles, #2-3 Doubles), Mark Kroll (#2-3 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Brady Anderson, junior
Quick Thoughts: The Kohawks are one of the many Central region teams that carries a huge roster, plays a ton of matches, and usually has a misleadingly high winning percentage. Last year, though, they beefed up their schedule a bit and firmly entrenched themselves in the top 40, thanks in part to a great year from Brady Anderson at the top of the lineup. I’m expecting an even better year out of Anderson, who has already improved a lot in college. This, obviously, is great news for Coe. However, the losses of Riley Galbraith and Ryan Hickman are huge. Galbraith went a bit under the radar but had a great season at #2 with wins over Stuerke (Case), Farrell (DePauw), Paulsen (Wheaton), and Jump (Carthage). I’m frankly not sure Anderson is going to have the talent behind him to maintain their ITA ranking of 35. Look for them to be right on the cusp of the top 40 this season.
Kalamazoo
Key Losses: Robert Hudson (#2 Singles, #2 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Brandon Metzler, senior
Quick Thoughts: The Hornets are coming off one of their best seasons in a while, highlighted by Brandon Metzler’s run to the finals of the NCAA singles tournament, capturing the hearts and minds of the D3 tennis world. If nothing else, Kzoo will have plenty of folks rooting for them this year after those awesome few days in May. I’m pretty excited for 2017 for this team, because while Robert Hudson was a nice #2 last year, the Hornets bring in 3-star Noah Karoub and 2-stars Daniel Henry and Zachary Ray, who all could play a role in helping Kalamazoo extend their MIAA title streak to 79(!). Metzler went 31-3 last season, and there’s no reason to expect him to not be one of the best players in the country. Last year this team lost 5-4 to UWW and Denison, two results that could absolutely be reversed this season. It will partly depend on what their schedule looks like, but Kalamazoo could potentially get themselves into the top 30 if things fall right.
Oberlin
Key Losses: Callan Louis (#3 Singles, #1 Doubles), Brandon McKenna (#3 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Michael Drougas, junior
Quick Thoughts: The Yeomen clung to their #40 ranking last year thanks to a tight win over NYU in April, but never were able to move up due to close losses to UWW, DePauw, Pacific, and Denison. Oberlin has put together good schedules the past few years and has had their chances, but their progress has been slower than some (D3Central among them) had hoped. That said, this is a team that is still heading in the right direction and this could very well be the year things start to come together. After bursting on the scene at ITAs as a freshman, Michael Drougas had a tougher sophomore year, losing a number of tight matches. I still think the talent is there, and a resurgent junior season is in store for him. I’ll be looking for him at the top of the Yeoman lineup competing well and leading this squad to another year of improvement, with a small but nonzero chance of surprising everyone and winning the NCAC. At the very least, they’ll give Denison, DePauw, and Kenyon something to think about.
Carleton
Key Losses: Christian Nagy (#2-5 Singles, #1 Doubles), Erik Johnson (#1-3 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Aaron Goodman, sophomore
Quick Thoughts: Carleton always seems to fly a bit under the radar, as their location makes it tough for them to put together as good a schedule as I’m sure they might like. The Knights finished last year sitting at 13 in the Central Region rankings, and unfortunately it’s going to be tough for them to move much past that. An early season win against Carthage would be huge to help keep them where they are, but unless they shock the world and beat the kings of the MIAC in Gustavus, Carleton is probably going to remain more or less stagnant. They’re definitely much stronger than most of the MIAC, but Gustavus is still far stronger. Given Carleton’s academic prowess and the fact that they seem like a fun team (check out @CarletonTennis on twitter to see what I mean), I could absolutely see them start to close the gap with the Gusties. Keep an eye on Aaron Goodman this year, as he went 15-2 as a freshman at #4-6 singles. Kevin Mei is also one to watch, as he finished last season ranked 21st in the Central.
Grinnell
Key Losses: Beau Bressler, Bryson Cale, Sam Catanzaro, Tracy Johnson, Caleb Kumar, Dylan Murphy, C.J. Ray, Ameer Shujjah (Grinnell changed their lineup too much to say what positions these guys played)
Player to Watch: Jose Coloma, sophomore
Quick Thoughts: Grinnell should once again win the Midwest Conference and qualify for NCAAs, and perhaps even win a round, as they did last year, before bowing out to one of the nation’s elite teams. For the regular season, Grinnell’s tentative schedule looks smaller than last year’s, when they played 36 dual matches (including postseason). There are going to be a lot of comfortable wins in there with a bunch of different guys getting the chance to play, but one match that jumps out as being big in terms of Central Region ranking implications is against Wheaton. They edged out the Thunder 5-4 last year, but I expect Wheaton to be fairly improved this year and reverse that result. The Pioneers are probably going to be at about the same level they were last year, but with some team’s around them rising, I think a fall in the rankings a few places is likely in 2017.
Wabash
Key Losses: None
Player to Watch: William Reifeis, junior
Quick Thoughts: Wabash’s season was highlighted last year with a surprising 5-4 win over Denison, though it ended with a disappointing sixth place finish in the NCAC after a loss to Allegheny. The Little Giants play great doubles relative to their overall level, and I’d love to see William Reifeis and Michael Makio put together another solid season after finishing last year ranked 9th in the Central with a 21-10 record, beating teams from UWW, Redlands, Oberlin 2x, CNU, Caltech, and Carthage. For the team as a whole, their doubles always gives them some upset potential, but I’m not sure they have the singles depth to find five points against any top 40 teams. They ended last year at 15 in the Central ITA Rankings, and while I could see them move up to maybe 12 or 13, that’s probably about as far as they’ll get this year.
Carthage
Key Losses: Alex Boomgarden (#1 Singles, #2 Doubles), Alex Feruzzi (#6 Singles), Ryan Jump (#2 Singles, #2 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Herman Abban, junior
Quick Thoughts: The Redmen already have a dual match under their belts this fall after taking on Chicago on Tuesday, where they turned some heads with wins at #1 singles and doubles and tight matches at #2 and #3 singles. While Carthage should take some positives from the match, keep in mind Chicago was a few days removed from a trip to Europe and that Carthage won two total games at #4, 5 and 6 singles combined. Carthage is losing two big contributors in Boomgarden and Jump, and I think their absence will really be felt in singles, as it looks like Carthage has their work cut out for them at the bottom of the lineup. In doubles, the Jaworski brothers are both solid, as is Chris Conley. The CCIW is going to be very interesting this year between the Redmen and Wheaton, and I expect a couple battles, especially in the conference tournament with the Pool A bid on the line. It’s still many months away, but that’s got 5-4 written all over it, with a very fun potential match between Ancona and Carthage’s transfer Herman Abban, who is from Ghana and, as D3Regional put ever so eloquently, “He’s Ghana be good.” Seriously though, he’s a major unknown but could very well be in the conversation for individual nationals. A good run at ITAs next week would certainly be a big help for him, as Carthage’s low strength of schedule will do him no favors.
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Key Losses: Matt Conrad (#5 Singles, #3 Doubles)
Player to Watch: Cam Metzger, junior
Quick Thoughts: Started this article with the Engineers, and now here we are with the Fightin’ Engineers. Rose-Hulman is fortunate to be in the HCAC, where they are leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the conference, ensuring them a spot at NCAAs in May. They found themselves all the way up at number 12 in the Central ITA rankings last spring, thanks to their 9-0 thumping of Wabash. Losing only one starter shouldn’t hurt too bad, but I’ll be interested to see if anyone really makes any big strides this year. Cam Metzger’s win over Wash U’s Kratky was pretty big, but it was never really backed up by him or anyone else (which is why it sticks out so much). Nothing about the 2017 version of Rose-Hulman makes me think they’re going to be significantly better than the 2016 version, unless some guys worked their tails off this summer. Until proven otherwise, I’m predicting an extremely average season for RHIT (is this acronym a thing that people use?)
So there you have it, my first article. I promise they won’t all be this long. Thanks for reading and here’s to a great season of Division III tennis for all players, coaches, fans, and of course, bloggers!