2017 Season Preview: #2 Emory Eagles

I was supposed to be the first one out with a preview, but as always, I slacked off and ended up being the 2nd to get out an article.  Brandeis was the first preview to go out and now we get a little bit more exciting with the #1 Power Ranked Emory Eagles #FIGHT.  Anyways, the blog is back with a vengeance and even though Emory is in finals week apparently, I’m still writing.  Assistant coaching has been treating me well.  Much easier than finals!  All I need to do is shoot the shit with Ian Wagner and Chris Goodwin and my life is basically all set.  Okay, Rafe OUT, ASouth IN.  This Emory preview awaits all of you Wednesday readers at your boring day jobs.

Coach: John Browning, Life

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Preseason Ranking: #3

Blog Power Ranking: #1 BOYS AND GIRLS

Twitter Handle: @EUTennis, under new management is actually a pretty damn good twitter handle

Team Hashtag: #FIGHT

Overview:

They hate us cuz they ain’t us.  For the second year in a row, I’ve power ranked the Eagles at the top spot in the preseason rankings, because of two reasons.  First one being that I am a huge homer, second one being that they should be ranked up here.  We’ll get to the second reason later.  Anyways, this team headed up by Mr. John Browning will always be a staple in the top 8, and usually the top 3-5 no matter the year.  Ever since I started blogging, Emory has struggled a bit by their standards, especially considering they haven’t won a championship since 2012.  That just so happens to be the year that I started blogging.  Maybe they should change John Browning’s picture on the website.  The Eagles used to be able to cruise through seasons just using their talent, but now that DIII has gotten way deeper, that is no longer the case.  As Emory learned last year, they need to work from start to finish – or a surprise team might blindside them at NCAAs.

Key Additions:

Rex Serituk (#148), Henry Shepard (#216), Daniel Shleimovich (#163), Hassan Kenawi (#104)

Key Departures:

RAFE MOSETICK (#1 Singles, #2 Doubles, Team Captain), March Zheng (heart and soul)

Lineup Analysis:

#1 Singles, Aman Manji

Wowza.  Aman Manji has gone from player not even cracking the Emory lineup (D3West will tell you this was a travesty) to the #1 player in the nation in about three years,  Manji is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, meaning he’s definitely one of the nicest Emory guys you’ll ever meet.  Just kidding, Eagles.  Manji brings a smooth ground stroke game with an all around feel to the court.  The dude is mentally unstoppable.  He had a stellar year at #3 singles last year and looks to be all the part at the top spot.  

#2 Singles, Jonathan Jemison

The best freshman last year and it was not even close.  Jemison had two dual match losses all year last year (Maasen, PP & Fojtasek, Case) and had way more wins.  He is an absolute beast from the baseline and really wears the opponent down with rock solid ground strokes.  Jemison has the fire to play #1 singles (and certainly has the parental confidence to do so as well) but will slot in at his normal position unless Manji struggles.  The two could be pretty interchangeable this year and I expect Emory to take one of these matches in EVERY dual match.

#3 Singles, Rex Serituk

Welcome, freshman.  There seems to be a ton of hype around the freshman phenom named Rex.  Someone photoshop this dude on the trailer for Jurassic World, right next to Chris Pratt.  Serituk went jurassic at the Grizzly Open and let’s not forget that he made the semifinals of the ITA tournament and giving Jemison a run for his money.  I believe the Eagles have three players that can play #1 singles, with Serituk being the guy that makes us all forget Rafe Mosetick even existed.

#4 Singles, Adrien Bouchet Bouchet Bouchet

I had a little bit of a comment tussle with Mr. Bouchet last year, but that doesn’t mean the dude can’t ball.  Bouchet had a freaking amazing year at #4 singles last year and really was one of the keys to the Eagles success.  Bouchet had one loss at #4 singles last year.  Count it, one loss.  That was to Louis Stuerke.  You can’t argue the fact that Bouchet is going to be a top 3 #4 singles player this year.  He made easy work of Jerry Jiang, Kenny Zheng, and Jeremy Bush in succession last year during UAA/NCAAs.   If Serituk does truly earn that #3 spot, we find ourselves in the same position as last year – where the heck are you going to win matches against this team?

#5 Singles, Josh Goodman/Hassan Kenawi

I’m a bit unsure of what’s going to happen at the bottom of the lineup for the Eagles – but they’ll only get better or stay the same as last year.  Goodman was one of the best #5 singles players last year and he will continue to play at #5… unless Hassan Kenawi (not listed on TRN) makes a big step into the lineup.  Kenawi was a top 125 recruit – that’s higher than his buddy Rex.  Goodman is going to have a spot in this lineup as three years of great play will give you some leeway.  But the senior can’t rest, because the young gun Kenawi is going to play a bit too.

#6 Andrew Harrington/Hassan Kenawi

More realistically, this is where Kenawi will slot in.  Harrington was arguably the weakest link in the Eagles starting lineup last year.  While that isn’t saying much, Harrington had a penchant for going three sets and winning matches in super tiebreakers.  That could happen again, but Kenawi can easily overtake the transfer and give Coach Browning some more young blood at the bottom of the lineup.

Doubles

I don’t do many doubles previews, but Emory will  have solid doubles this year.  We’re talking about a team that took a 2-1 lead on Bowdoin last year.  They have more talent than most and this really is a question of what teams work best together.  I hear the loss of March Zheng was a big hit to team chemistry, but chemistry be damned.  Look for Browning to pull his patented doubles strategy of securing a point at #2 doubles with some strong baseliners.  Maybe Manji will be there?

Schedule Analysis:

http://emoryathletics.com/sports/mten/2016-17/schedule

I believe that this schedule may be missing a few random matches on it, but it has basically everything we need.  I can see what Coach Browning did here as he puts some more marquee matchups on the schedule in tournament like format versus last year.  As always, Emory will begin with Indoor Nationals where they will obliterate Trinity TX before taking on the winner of CMU/Case.  CMU gave them a run for their money last year and the Tartans have Rozenvasser, but that team is probably too young and too CMU to challenge the Eagles this year.  The real test is going to be the finals, where Emory will most likely play Chicago, aka #2 in the power rankings.  Win or lose, as long as this one is close, it’s a good thing for the Eagles.  They need their guys to get experience playing these matches, especially against the veteran team of Chicago.  

Moving to the next part of the schedule, we get the freshmen team of Amherst coming to town, where Emory has not lost at home in probably 10 years.  I am so looking forward to this match and it might be one of the matches of the year if Amherst pulls it together.  Maybe home court won’t matter to the Jeffs, but I doubt it.  I love the fact that Emory gets a match against a top contender at home.  It sure beats traveling and hell, maybe I can watch it.  After Amherst, Emory goes to the Texas Quad (shoutout to Love D3Tennis) to play CMS, Trinity TX (again), and MIDDLEBURY. I’m stoked for these matches.  Emory is basically going to play all the top teams in the nation this year between their schedule and the UAA.  They are leaving no rock left unturned…. Except Bowdoin.  Heh.  Funny how that works out.  

Emory will then finish off with Sewanee and the UAA Tournament.  That makes another date with Wash U or Chicago and probably CMU as well.  If Emory fails in the NCAA Tournament this year, don’t blame it on their schedule.

D3ASouth’s 3 Keys to Success

1. Staying Humble – A problem with teams that have a ton of talent sometimes comes down to team chemistry.  They have four guys that could probably play #1 on other top 10 teams.  They have guys that aren’t playing that have been solid contributors for their careers.  There will be a LOT of competition for spots in this lineup, but this Eagles team needs to make sure that they don’t let it get to their heads.  Trust your coach and play where you’re put.  Trust me, winning a team championship feels way better than doing anything individually.  It will be interesting to see how Coach Browning manages a young but possibly super talented championship contender.
2. Weakest Link – The saying goes: “You are only as strong as your weakest link.”  Last year, that happened to be the #6 singles spot and maybe the #3 doubles spot.  That came into play against Bowdoin last year.  Emory has got the goods, it’s just that the end of the season shows so much variability.  They need to have an all around sick team to win the championship or just hope that the formula falls in their favor.  The addition of Kewani should help the bottom of the lineup big time.
3. The loss of March Zheng
4. Follow The Lead – The Eagles felt the pain of a heartbreaking loss last year in the NCAA Tournament.  A few of them remember it.  A few of them don’t.  When we get back to the tournament, the freshmen will need to follow the lead of Manji, Jemison, Goodman, and others on how bad they want that trophy.  Hell, it even helps that Rafe is assistant coaching.  You know that he’s going to be animated.  Standing up to that pressure will be a huge part in whether or not the Eagles can shake the demon of last year.  I wonder if Browning will choose experience at NCAAs over youth… it should be interesting.

Conclusion

Ah, that felt good to get done.  And it feels good to start with my best team too.  We’re looking to capitalize on the sudden uptick in Emory comments on the blog by posting their preview on our first day of previews.  Emory is going to be a force to be reckoned with – they have the players, the schedule, the coaching (presumably) and the desire, with or without March Zheng.  Maybe they win this one for their fallen captain/assistant coach, Mr. Mosetick.  And with that, we move on.  ASouth, #FIGHT.