It’s time for another preview! Luckily for Chicago (and the other teams who I preview in the next couple weeks), I am on a two-week vacation, meaning my previews will be longer and better-researched (sorry Wash U and Case). Here we go…
Coach: Jay Tee, 5th Season
Location: Chicago, IL
Preseason ITA Ranking: 5
Blog Power Ranking: 2
Twitter Handle: @UChicagoTennis
Overview:
Chicago’s ascent throughout the past four years has been nothing short of remarkable. In November 2012, the Maroons entered the season unranked. By May 2013, they were #30. The next year, they finished at 17, followed by 6 in 2015, and 5 last season. Not coincidentally, Head Coach Jay Tee stepped into his current post in 2012, and has proven himself as one of the top coaches in the country (I know, I know…I’ve said this about all three coaches whose teams I’ve done previews of). This year, the Maroons look to continue their rise after an extremely strong fall season where, individually, they went 33-0 at ITAs before suffering their first loss. Things seem to look good for the Maroons so far, with all starters from last year returning, and a highly-ranked freshman class poised to make its mark, but after two straight Final Four appearances, can this be the season Chicago wins the coveted NCAA title?
Additions
Erik Kerrigan (#43), Ninan Kumar (#50), Tyler Raclin (#54), Jaird Meyer (#58), Nick Hamburger (#478)
Key Departures
None!
Lineup Analysis
#1-2 Singles
Nick Chua (Jr.): Chua stormed D3 his freshman year when we he won the singles title at the ITA Small College National Championships. While not a top 5 player in the country, the junior has been a consistently good #1, having qualified for NCAAs in both of his underclass years. What’s interesting is that he may not play #1 this season because of David Liu’s recent performances. Given the depth of Chicago’s singles lineup, #1 isn’t going to be a must-win spot for most matches. That being said, as a junior, Chua could make the leap from a good #1 to a top #1.
David Liu (Jr.): Much like Chicago’s ascent through the national rankings, David Liu went from playing, and going nearly undefeated, at #6 during his freshman campaign, to 6, 5, 4, 3, and finally 2 all last year. This season, after winning the ITA Regional Championships, I could definitely see Liu taking over the top spot. I was extremely impressed with Liu’s win over Branden Metzler in the semis of ITAs. At the same time, I think Chua’s playing style is better suited for #1 and Liu’s for #2. I don’t like making proclamations such as “he is going to be the best #2 in the country,” but I think Liu could do very well at 2, a position that has traditionally been a weakness for the Maroons.
#3-6 Singles (In no particular order)
Charlie Pei (So.): Pei’s fall season was strong, as he reached the quarters of ITAs before falling to the legendary Branden Metzler in three sets. Prior to facing off against the Kalamazoo star, Pei had a three-set win over teammate Luke Tsai. Last year, Pei also performed well at ITAs but had a rocky spring season, falling from #2 to #4. He posted some good wins, though, and held a 5-1 record at #4. Realistically, I think Pei stays at 4 or moves up to 3, but I don’t see much more movement than that, especially since he started in front of Peter Leung and Luke Tsai the entirety of last season. If he plays like he did in the fall, expect big things.
Sven Kranz (Sr.): Up until April of last season, Kranz seemed to be a weakness in Chicago’s lineup. At #2, he had a 3-2 record, and and at three, his record was 3-4. But in April and May, he came back with a vengeance at #4, beating Wash U’s Jeremy Bush (two times), going undefeated at UAAs, and besting Daniel Morkovine of CMS in the NCAA quarters. Unfortunately, his season ended with a bad injury suffered against Middlebury in the Final 4. While I’m uncertain about Kranz’s recovery/timetable (he didn’t play at ITAs), as the lone senior that could start in the singles lineup, he would be an instrumental piece for Chicago.
Peter Leung (Jr.): Leung had a fantastic ITA, reaching the final before losing to teammate David Liu. En route to the second place finish, Leung beat fellow junior Nick Chua 6-2, 6-2. Much like Pei, Leung had his ups and downs last season, falling from 3 in the lineup to 6. That said, he posted huge wins at NCAAs against CMS in the Elite 8 and Middlebury in the Final 4. Surprising to say, but Leung might not crack the starting lineup.
Luke Tsai (Jr.): Some of the bloggers call Luke Tsai the “giant killer.” After getting past a nightmare first-round matchup at ITAs over Wash U’s Jason Haugen, the junior advanced to the round of 16, falling to teammate Charlie Pei. Tsai’s season last year couldn’t have gone much better, only losing a total of 3 matches. At #6, he went undefeated, dropping a total 0 sets. Unfortunately, he’s another guy that’s on the cusp of the starting singles lineup.
Erik Kerrigan (Fr.): Now we get to the freshmen! Taking a look at the Greek’s freshmen to watch article from earlier this year, Kerrigan had a fantastic end to his junior career moving all the way up to 43 on TennisRecruiting.net and getting big-time wins against D-I commits at Boys Nationals. Like I always say when talking about freshmen, it’s hard to know what to expect. Kerrigan had a fine ITA, falling to Wash U’s John Carswell in three sets in the round of 16. Considering his ITA seeding of 9, the freshman might start at #3, ahead of Pei (whose ITA seed was 17).
Ninan Kumar (Fr.): Just like Kerrigan, Kumar was a 9-seed at ITAs and fell to Wash U’s Johnny Wu in the round of 16. Judging by results, Kerrigan might start in front of Kumar, but as a consistent top-50 recruit throughout high school, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kumar at 4 or 5, even ahead of Pei.
Jaird Meyer (Fr.): I’m not sure how many times this has happened in the history of D3, but there is a good chance that 5-star freshman Jaird Meyer doesn’t start. The rookie didn’t compete at ITAs, but since he’s a 5-star, I felt obligated to mention him.
Tyler Raclin (Fr.): I think Raclin is the least likely out of this group to getting a starting singles spot. Like Meyer, he didn’t compete at ITAs in singles (though he won doubles), but was a highly-ranked recruit.
Doubles
Doubles has traditionally been Chicago’s Achilles heel. That said, three Maroon doubles teams advanced to this year’s ITA regional final semifinals; the one pair that didn’t was last year’s #1 of Chua/DLiu. The #4 team coming in of Raclin/Max Hawkins ended up winning ITAs, taking down freshmen teammates Kerrigan/Kumar in the final. Raclin and Hawkins also had impressive results at the ITA Oracle Cup, with their one loss coming in a super breaker. All four doubles teams could see time in the lineup, but here is my projection:
- Hawkins/Raclin
- Kerrigan/Kumar
- Chua/DLiu
It might seem odd to put last year’s top pair at 3, but they didn’t have the best spring season, and the other doubles teams seem promising. Also of note is that Peter Leung/Charlie Pei were the most consistent doubles players for Chicago last year, so don’t be surprised if you see them in the lineup again. Throughout the past couple years, Coach Tee has put faith in freshmen, though.
Schedule Summary/Analysis
Please find Chicago’s schedule here: http://athletics.uchicago.edu/sports/mten/2016-17/schedule.
As D3RegionalNEC mentioned in his preview for Coe, the Maroons begin their season squaring off against the Kohawks on January 28th (although it is not listed on Chicago’s schedule). The two things I’ll be looking for in this match are 1. what lineup Chicago comes out with and 2. how Nick Chua or David Liu fair against Coe star Brady Anderson.
Two regionally-ranked matches against Denison and DePauw provide good preparation the week before ITA Indoors. At Indoors, Chicago goes up against a sneaky-good Pomona team in a match that has Pool C implications. I’m not going to try to figure out who Chicago will play in Days 2 and 3…
In mid-March, Chicago takes its Spring Break trip to California, which is always a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing in the sense that it strengthens Chicago’s schedule and helps come NCAA selections. It’s a curse in the sense that Chicago is on the quarter system, so Spring Break falls the week after finals. I’m uncertain if the Maroons will be in top form; that said, I do like how Colby and Tufts are scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, and there is a day off on Wednesday before Chicago faces CMS and Williams Thursday and Friday.
All three matches in April before UAAs are big. On the 8th, the Maroons face a tough Gustavus Adolphus squad, and then they go up against UW-Whitewater and Wash U the next weekend in Missouri. That Wash U match is definitely going to impact seeding for UAAs.
Keys to Success
“Marathon not a sprint” mentality: The season is very long, and as we’ve seen the past two years from Chicago, they had ups and downs before finishing on a high note. Sure, some people are expecting the Maroons to win almost all, if not all, of their matches this year, but I don’t think they’ll run the table. I actually think the lofty expectations for Chicago last season hurt them at times. Don’t get down if you have a bad loss. Work hard, so you can have great performances when it really matters: UAAs and NCAAs (if they qualify).
Work Hard: This goes right along with my previous point. We, the bloggers, have chatted a lot about schools with academically rigorous cultures like MIT, Cal Tech, Carnegie, and Chicago. I’m not going to lie to you: I have no idea how hard any of those schools are. What I do know is that it is important to have a good balance of academics and tennis, and to make the most out of all your practices. Also, with depth on Chicago’s side, almost everyone in the starting lineup is replaceable, so that should provide extra incentive to work hard.
On-Court Coaching: There’s no denying the incredible job Coach Tee has done with Chicago, but it seems like championship winning coaches are a little more subdued on the court. Someone once told me the best way to give advice to players on the court is the “sandwich method.” Basically, give them a quick compliment, provide constructive feedback, and end with another compliment. If you are calm, your players will be calmer and better focused as well. If the coach is nervous, the players will also be nervous.
Bring Some Energy: The Chicago team used to be known as the bad boys of D3, and while they’ve completely changed the culture, they/the bench seems a bit quiet. Pump up your teammates and be loud.
Conclusion
The Maroons are an exciting team with great potential. The class that many claim changed the program around is now in its junior year and can provide necessary leadership for the rest of the squad. Although I was trying to be funny in my kickoff article a few months ago and predicted a national title for the Maroons, I’m not going to make some crazy prediction now. Chicago is a very strong team and could do big things this year.