If you’ve missed out everything that’s been happening on the blog, you’ve missed out on a lot. We went straight torpedo mode this December, pushing out 7 previews in the past 7 days and even got a little cameo article from D3Central aka AVZ, who is looking to get involved a bit more this year. Call him an underutilized part of our team. Anyways, I’m going to use this portion of the article to get you guys a bit hyped for the new things we’re bringing to the blog this year. They require your participation and I’ll be making sure the other bloggers make some noise about it in their previews. Remember, we are doing a “This Week in Highlights” article beginning this year. This will feature the top plays from the past week in one article, most likely in concurrence with the Player of the Week article. During the offseason, send us your best videos! We’ll compile them all and post them at some point on the blog!! Seriously guys, you guys Snapchat that person you’re interested in all the time. Send some sick practice vids to us and we’ll get them up on the site. Hell, you can even take a video of D3Regional at the gym pumping 350 on the bench for 6 reps for all I care. JUST DO IT. Other than that, for those of you looking for interviews – Central will be heading up all of that, so please feel free to reach out to him about that stuff. Okay, enough blog work… you’re all here for the CMU Preview.
Overview
Throughout my years of covering the CMU Tartans (still will always be a pretty absurd mascot), they have experienced ups, downs, and everything in between. Last year was no different, as a great regular season ended in heartbreak as they lost at home to the Hopkins Jays in the Sweet 16. Despite always being in the national conversation, CMU has not made an Elite 8 since 2010. That’s seven years ago, folks. We shall see if a young team can end that quarterfinal drought this year.
Coach: Andrew Girard, 14th season
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Current ITA Ranking: #7
Blog Power Ranking: #8
Twitter Handle: @cmutennis, probably one of the most consistent and up to date twitters in the game, bruh.
Team Hashtag: #BreakingPlaid, also one of the best hashtags in the game
Key Additions
Michael Rozenvasser (#63), Mark Prettyman (#160), Nick Calzolano (#310), Hudson Graf (#242), Robert Levin (#259)
Key Departures
Abhishek Alla (#1 Singles, #3 Doubles), Yuvraj Kumar (#6 Singles, #3 Doubles)
Lineup Analysis
#1 Singles, Michael Rozenvasser
It is not often that you get to preview the #1 and #4 players in the nation in back to back previews, but here we are. Rozenvasser took the DIII field by storm, placing 4th overall at Fall Nationals before meeting the red-hot Aman Manji of Emory. The tall lefty came into the year as a top 75 player on Tennis Recruiting, so you knew he had the goods. But you didn’t know the goods were this good. I’m hoping that Rozenvasser keeps his dedication throughout the offseason, because the spring season is about to get way harder than an ITA and an 8 person tournament. CMU needs a stud at the top to make the Elite 8 this year.
#2 Singles, Daniel Levine
Mr. Levine was one of my favorite players to watch last year. His baselining style is a nice refresher in a world of grinders and he certainly isn’t afraid to go after his shots. He made the Round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament last year, losing to Metzler (fact check), and he is slated to be one of the best #2s in the nation this year. I hope he gets another crack at Jemison, because those two are going to be going at it year after year. An above average season from Levine is going to be assumed and necessary for the Tartans this year.
#3 Singles, Chaz Downing
I slated Chaz in here even though he didn’t play all Fall. This is where CMU starts seeing question marks, because they really need Chaz to slot in here. Not sure where he was in the fall but he was a really good #3 singles player at the end of last year, giving Manji a battle and beating a few very solid players. The youth movement in CMU has been served and Downing is one of the keys to CMU’s season. He’s versatile and maybe the coaches slot him lower in the lineup so he can shake off the rust. Remember, Chaz is injury prone, so who knows where he’ll be come springtime.
#4 Singles, Kenny Zheng, Senior
Zheng is the big reason why Downing is so important. Zheng has shown no propensity to hold down the #3 spot with confidence, but seems to perform significantly better at the #4. The Tartans want to slot him here and this is where he will be. His solid game suits the bottom of the lineup a bit better. The Tartans will rely heavily on Zheng and Wadwani’s senior leadership at the bottom to come through in big matches.
#5 Singles, Vayum Arora
Another sophomore in the lineup as CMU reaps the benefits of its super strong recruiting class last year. If Downing can’t play, Arora will move into the #4 singles spot, where he was an average player there. At #5, he’s a top 8 player for sure. It’s important that he builds on last year’s momentum as he’s already a top doubles player despite being so young. Arora fits the bill of a #5 player – loud, gets his dudes pumped up, and has some big shots. Should be an exciting year for the young gun.
#6 Singles, Kunal Wadwani, Senior
The walking hospital last year, Wadwani is looking at a comeback year. We are two years removed from Wadwani making the All-Blog team as a #5 singles player and we don’t know what to expect this year. Will we get the broken down player we got last year or a senior leader coming back for his final season? Time will tell.
Doubles
After a semi-disappointing result in singles prior to Rozenvasser, CMU actually had their doubles performance at ITAs to fall back on. Levine/Arora are a bonafide #1 team, meaning Rozenvasser can team with someone at #2 (most likely Zheng). They have a ton of talent to make a #3 team, so I don’t know who it will be, but they should at least be decent. Doubles might be a strong point for the Tartans if they play their cards right.
Schedule Analysis
http://athletics.cmu.edu/sports/mten/2016-17/schedule
It’s like I’m having a bad case of deja vu. This is almost the same exact schedule as last year, complete with the same start of the season at Indoors. CMU will begin with what should be their biggest match of the season against Case Western, at Case Western. This will determine who has the leg up for Pool C seeding and more importantly, UAA seeding. This winner will also get a shot at Chicago/Wash U in the third place match, assuming Emory beats them. It’s pretty big time. CMU actually lost to Case last year at Indoors, so this will potentially be a revenge match. Should be very interesting.
After Indoors, CMU will travel out to California where they will play a bunch of smaller teams and then the big kahuna, CMS on their home courts. Last year, I put an alert for everyone that the Tartans would challenge the Stags, and they did. Expect the same this year if Downing is at 100%. This should be a match that has the potential to guarantee CMU a Pool C spot. I don’t expect them to win, but it will be close.
Finishing off the year, it’ll be the usual suspects – UMW, Hopkins, Kenyon, and W&L. CMU is the favorite in three of the four matches and Hopkins will be the important one. Not going to predict anything now, but CMU will bolster it’s Pool C resume with some good matches at the end of the year. Overall, this is a well-made schedule as I mentioned it was last year. By avoiding the NESCAC yet again, CMU is putting it’s faith in the UAA and their regular season prowess. Not a bad way to go about things. With the additional Pool C spot, CMU should make the tournament as the 5th or 6th entry.
D3ASouth’s 3 Keys to Success
- Health – This is a key for everyone, but really a key for the Tartans. They have a long standing run of having key guys injured. Last year it was Wadwani, the year before Kirkov, the year before someone else, and many more before that. They also seem to get quite a bit of nagging injuries throughout the year. Chaz Downing is the guy to watch this year as he’s already missed fall season play, presumably with an injury. The Tartans need to survive the year without any major hits.
- Young Experience – The freshmen are going to need to grow up fast. The starting lineup above will not be able to stay in tact for every big match of the year, so you know that some bench player is going to need to step up. Combined with that, they have Rozenvasser at the top of the lineup, where I’m sure he will take his lumps in dual matches. They’ll have a freshman or sophomore at 4 spots in the singles lineup and probably 4 doubles lineup spots. It’s tough to win as a young team – even the young Williams team featuring Meyer, Sun, and Chow didn’t win all THAT much. Can CMU buck the trend?
- PLAYOFFS?! – It’s self explanatory and I say it every year. Show up in the big matches. CMU has yet to answer that call in the playoffs since 2010. For some of the seniors, I’m sure the NCAA Tournament can’t come fast enough. Last go at it for you guys!
Conclusion
I’m getting through the dog days of winter with some nice previews on my best teams. I can’t wait until I have to preview like Washington & Lee when its 6 degrees out in February. Maybe I’ll just do it on a snowboarding trip. Anyways, CMU is an intriguing team this year. They actually might be the youngest team in the top 8 right now (just saying that off of knowledge, no research) and that is pretty cool to me. High ceiling but high chances to mess up. #BreakingPlaid. ASouth, OUT.