2018 Season Preview: #23 Texas-Tyler Patriots

As season preview season (see what I did there?) comes to an end, there is still some unfinished business that needs to be taken care of. Let’s not forget about the Texas-Tyler Patriots and what could be a wildly successful season from this Texas team. I’ll go more into depth on why I used the word “successful”, but things are looking very promising for first year coach, Adam Cohen’s, squad. The Patriots have a large team and a lot of talent this year, expect them to come out firing this season and prove to the DIII world that they are a team to reckon with.

They had a fantastic fall campaign, where winning the regional sent both Fagundes and the team of Fagundes/Gomez to Nationals. Not only did the Patriots win both of the singles and doubles draws, but they absolutely dominated the field in which Vinicio Hadlich was able to make it to the singles final (before being taken out by teammate Fagundes) and the team of Rodriguez/Hidalgo were able to make it to the doubles final (before being taken out by teammates Fagundes/Gomez). This fall regional definitely showed the DIII tennis community that Texas-Tyler may be the Texas team of the future and roster depth is far from an issue for Cohen.

Overview:

The Patriots had a solid season last year, finishing 19-8 and winning their ASC conference tournament once again (their fourth straight). Winning their conference rewarded them with a pool-A bid into Nationals, where they eventually lost to CMS in the first round. The Patriots started last year taking care of business against many fellow Texas teams, before heading down to Orlando where they took out Stevens and Kenyon, before losing to Amherst in a tight 6-3 battle. Towards the end of March and the beginning of April, Texas-Tyler had opportunities to really cement themselves as a top 15 team on a national scale. However, losses to Middlebury, Trinity(TX), Whitman, and Gustavus made it very hard for the Patriots to consider their 2017 season a “success”, and as a result, they now find themselves ranked #23 in the country and #6 in the west region. They weren’t able to be victorious in any of these marquee matches, however, expect them to use their talent and depth this year to maybe pull one of those matches their way against a top national team and begin their ascent into the top 15.  

Coach: Adam Cohen, 1st season

Location: Tyler, TX

Preseason Ranking: 23

Blog Power Ranking: 15

Key Additions: Jose Currea (UTR 10.71)

Key Losses: Joey Fischer (#5 singles, #2 doubles)

Lineup Analysis:

#1. Arthur Fagundes, Junior, UTR 12.29

Fagundes, to most everybody in the DIII tennis world, is the clear cut #1 for the Patriots. He was able to win his fall tournament with such ease, dropping a mere 9 games in 6 matches (That is absolute one-way traffic!!). He, however, wasn’t able to perform as the way he wanted to at Nationals, where he was lost all three matches and finished 8th.

Dating back to last fall, he is currently on a five match losing skid with a major upset a couple weeks ago to Hunt of Hardin Simmons (a match that will surely affect his regional ranking). Expect him to find his game and turn things around being a solid #1 once again for the Patriots. He’ll have a ton of tough matches this spring, but if he is able to play solid tennis against some of the best in the country, he could be a consistent point for his team.

#2. Vinicio Hadlich, Junior, UTR 11.28

Hadlich has been at the top of the lineup his first couple years at Texas-Tyler. This past fall, he was able to make a run to the finals of the ITA before losing to teammate, Fagundes, 6-2, 6-1. I see him playing #2 once again this year where he hopes to bring as many wins as he can to his squad. He had mediocre results last spring at this position, where he lost to a number of key players including Dimanche (Southwestern), Jivkov (Whitman), Derbani (Middlebury), and Lambeth (Trinity(TX)). These are all huge matches for Texas-Tyler and he wasn’t able to win one set against the above players. Let’s hope Hadlich will replicate his fall play and bring in more wins at the #2 spot.

#3. Daniel Rodriguez, Sophomore, UTR 11.68

Rodriguez is another very solid player and based off UTR and last years results, could surely propel himself ahead of Hadlich and into the #2 position. As a freshman last spring, he was able to take out Friedman (Whitman), Whaling (Gustavus), a big win against Van Der Geest (Middlebury), and Gideon (Southwestern). He really did not lose many matches at this

position and I’m quite surprised based off last spring’s results, we don’t see him playing right behind Fagundes. Besides a couple losses to Pitts (Trinity(TX)) and Macey (CMS), he had a near perfect spring campaign last year, let’s hope he brings the same energy and talent ahead of this season!

#4. Gabriel Hidalgo, Sophomore, UTR 11.20

Hidalgo had a great win this fall by taking out Lambeth of Trinity(TX) in the Texas regional. He has been slotted at #4 so far this spring where he took care of business against Fields of Hardin-Simmons and providing the lone win in doubles with Rodriguez at #2 doubles against St. Edwards. He went 8-1 last spring playing up and down the lineup, but a bulk of his wins came around #4/5. He ended last season at #6, his lone loss of the season coming to Foster of Whitman. He should be able to succeed at this position and add to the Patriot’s depth by hopefully bringing in a lot of key wins in the middle of the lineup (in both singles and doubles).

#5. Pablo Gomez, Junior, UTR 10.89

Gomez enters his junior year as a Patriot with a lot of past success and experience playing in the lineup. Last spring, he simply wasn’t able to capture any marquee wins against the likes of Whitman, Middlebury, and Trinity(TX); however against teams the Patriots are expected to beat, Gomez is a consistent point at this part of the lineup. He was able to beat Hollingsworth of Hardin-Simmons a couple weeks back, before retiring in the middle of the second set to St. Edwards. Let’s hope he is healthy enough to play and compete at #5 for the Patriots this year. He is also able to play some serious doubles and we saw how dangerous the duo of Fagundes/Gomez is this past fall. Gomez will play a ton of tennis this spring, both at the top of the doubles lineup and at a critical part of the singles lineup (#5), let’s hope he brings his A-game this spring as the Patriots need him for some key points.  

#6. Jose Currea, Freshman, 10.71

Freshman alert! Not a whole lot to go off of for Currea, but he was able to beat Gutierrez of Hardin-Simmons before losing the closest singles match of the day to St. Edwards 10-8 in the third set TB. The Patriots would love to have Currea be a consistent point at the bottom of the lineup and be a solid anchor at the bottom of the singles lineup. If he is able to be a solid #6 for the Patriots, that will only add to the amount of talent and depth we know the Patriots possess.

Schedule Analysis:

Well, we could start off by saying that the Patriots really don’t play a ton of matches at home! This coming spring, we’ll see Tyler traveling to Orlando, Jackson Mississippi, San Antonio, St. Louis, and hopefully Claremont come May. They start their February with a few home matches against teams they should take care of business in. Southwestern will be a very interesting match to see how strong/weak each of these two teams are this season and if Southwestern, later on in conference play, could take out the defending Trinity(TX) champs. They then head east to Orlando where they will play against RPI, Rochester, and Franklin and Marshall among other teams (6 matches in 3 days will be a big test for the Patriots). A big match against Millsaps in Jackson will be accompanied by a trip to San Antonio against Kalamazoo and Texas rival, Trinity(TX). Now, can Tyler beat Trinity(TX)? Yes absolutely. We have seen so far this season the lackluster performances put on by the Tigers and the lack of depth they have this season. That, paired with the fact that the Patriots absolutely steamrolled the fall ITA (taking out Tigers along the way) was enough foreshadowing for me that there may be a change of tide in the Texas tennis landscape. I’ll actually go out on a limb here and say that Texas-Tyler is heavily favored against Trinity(TX) this year, but hey, anything can happen on any given day! Later in April, they’ll travel north to St. Louis where they will take on Wash U. and DePauw. The match against Wash U. will be a huge match for national implications, as the Bears are a perennial top 8 team and once again look very strong this year. The final portion of their season starts with what might be the most important matches for the Patriots during their season. The Patriots are looking to dominate their conference tournament and receive a pool-A bid into Nationals. I don’t see many teams in the ASC competing with the likes of Texas-Tyler, but if there is a team that could pull off the upset, it would have to be Texas-Dallas. I’d give the Patriots a 97.5% chance of winning their conference and receiving a birth into Nationals once again.

Doubles Analysis:

Not only were the Patriots able to dominate the singles draw this past fall, they also took command of the doubles draw with an all-Tyler doubles final, with Fagundes/Gomez taking out Rodriguez/Hidalgo in the final. I expect Fagundes/Gomez to take the top spot in the doubles lineup for the spring, especially after their fall dominance. Behind them will be Rodriguez/Hadlich, the only point against St. Edwards coming from this doubles team as they were able to win at #2, 8-5. We know the talent

Fagundes/Gomez possess, if the team of Rodriguez/Hadlich are able to play some inspiring doubles and be a consistent point, expect the Patriots to head into singles with a lead most of the time. At #3 doubles, it seems that Hadlich/McIntyre got the nod. Each have had doubles experience and I expect them to out-talent many of the teams they play at this position. If the Patriots are able to sync on the doubles court, they can make some serious noise, considering the depth and talent they possess on the singles front. Doubles will be key if they see themselves taking out Wash U. and coming close with the likes of Whitman/CMS/etc. once nationals rolls around in May.

Final Thoughts:

I’ve heard through the grapevine that Texas-Tyler may be moving to DII next year? If that’s the case, it seems that the Patriots are playing with house money this year and may want to disrupt the Texas and West region landscape before they bid farewell. The biggest thing with Texas-Tyler is their focus and intensity as it may very well be their last chance to beat Trinity(TX) and claim Texas supremacy. If the fall performance put on by the Patriots wasn’t enough, it sure gives us a lot of foreshadow into the depth and talent the Patriots possess. I expect them to have a fantastic year and surprise us with some close results against top teams. The match against Trinity(TX) wil have a lot of historical purpose and we all look forward to that match in late march! Those are all my thoughts on UTT! The blog has a busy week ahead as Indoors are fast approaching! Check the blog routinely for new articles, indoor predictions, and some match forecasts!! Ciao.