Sometimes, I take a break from my nationally ranked teams and give some love to the regionally ranked teams as well. Actually, I never do that. But, I am doing so today for the Colby Mules, given that our friend D3Regional has been extremely busy and asked me to take this preview. I graciously accepted really only because I like to make fun of Coach Cohen and Shaw Speer (just kidding). I’m happy to do this season preview for a team that is a huge supporter of the Blog and really leaves it all out there on the court. This will take a bit longer for me, given my lack of experience with Colby, but nothing some research and some long-time standing in DIII can’t help out with. Colby should be happy because the last team that I previewed for someone else was Gustavus, and look at the start that they’ve had. Anyways, time to get to the MULES.
Overview
Colby has been a team that has relatively been unknown throughout the existence of the Blog, but has recently come into our view with a few stud players that brought this team to new levels. Couple that with the hiring of Coach Jason Cohen, formerly of Juniata, and this team has consistently improved themselves year after year under his tutelage. This is a very excitable and eager team, but one that has been buried in the NESCAC under the usual powers until proven otherwise. As you’ll see later on, Colby is about to go through a pretty significant transition period given the loss of a couple of players, but one would hope that this is a team on the rise.
Coach: Jason Cohen, 4th Year
Location: Waterville, ME (don’t know where this is)
ITA Ranking: #33
Blog Power Ranking: #35
Team Twitter: @ColbyMensTennis, really good updates here, always diligent
Twitter Hashtag: #mulesmovetogether has been the most recent one, don’t ask me about the others
Key Additions:
Sumukh Pathi (3 Star, #260), Hans Hwang (2 Star, #417), Peter Messenger (2 Star, #575), Garrett Reiter (2 Star, #292)
Key Losses:
Carl Reid (1 singles, 1 doubles), Vlad Murad (2 singles, 1 doubles)
Lineup Analysis
#1 Singles, Sumukh Pathi, Freshman, UTR 11.51
With the departures of two of the best players in Colby history, there will be a lot of new blood in the Colby lineup. This starts at the top with Sumukh Pathi, who instantly takes over the #1 spot for the Mules and will be asked the tall task of having to play top dog against the rest of the NESCAC. The issue with me doing this preview is that I’m not that familiar with the intricacies of the NESCAC teams, but I will do my best. Pathi is going to have a tough year at #1. Most of the NE teams are throwing out 12+ UTRs at the top spot, but Pathi has a solid enough pedigree to make his regionally ranked opponents sweat a bit. Would be nice to see a year of development for Pathi at the top spot given the tough position he is in, but don’t expect too many signature wins from the young guy.
#2 Singles, Scott Altmeyer, Sophomore, UTR 11.26
The Princeton product is rumored to be back in full health after an injured fall, and could be a key to the season here for Colby. The Mules badly need to replace the talent of Reid and Murad, and Altmeyer is one of the key players to do so. He honestly could take over the #1 spot should Pathi struggle at the start, which he very well might. Altmeyer’s claim to fame last year was beating Kyle Wolfe in a super tiebreaker, and he’ll need to make that a routine thing if Colby is to achieve their lofty goals. Altmeyer is a player that could be on the rise – just needs some work.
#3 Singles, Garrett Reiter, Freshman, UTR 11.14
Reiter rounds out the last of the Colby players with an 11+ UTR, and there are rumors that blog favorite Shaw Speer might play this high in the lineup too. For now, I’ll go with the numbers, considering I’ve based this blog on historical data for as long as I’ve lived. One thing I like from Reiter – he played summer tournaments going into his freshman year. That’s already a sign of good things as I’ve seen far too many players tank the summer and totally get roundhouse punched by college. We don’t have too many results on Reiter unfortunately, but he did have a nice win over Caskin in straight sets at the Wallach Invitational. Reiter will be an important spot for the Mules, as they will experience a drop off in talent from here on out.
#4 Singles, Shaw Speer, Senior, UTR 10.57
Shaw is a true middle man, as there is even more drop off for the Mules after him in the #5 singles spot. Shaw certainly will never give up on a match or his team, for that matter, and that’s a quality in a leader that you want. His value to this team probably lies more in his leadership abilities this year given that the team is so young. Coach Cohen is surely relying on him to pass down a high-quality atmosphere to the young guys. If he picks up a few wins against regional schools at the #4 spot and maybe squeaks out an upset somewhere, that’s freaking gravy. Expect a ho-hum season from Speer at the #4 spot with not too many fireworks.
#5/#6 Singles, Hallal/Mendoza/McGuire/Messenger
#5 and #6 singles are going to be a battle for the Mules between these 4 guys and maybe even some more guys in the mix. All of them are hanging around a 10 UTR, which bodes well for the competitive spirits at practice, but not necessarily building my confidence at the bottom of the lineup. Best case scenario for the #5 and #6 spots is this – Coach Cohen finds one guy that really steps up out of the big group of Mules at the bottom that takes the #5 singles spot and runs with it. Whoever that may be, wins a few matches at #5. Right now, I see the Mules potentially giving away a couple of points at the bottom. Depth has never really been the Mules strong point and it certainly isn’t with the key departures they just suffered.
Doubles
To be honest, I haven’t seen enough of Colby’s doubles to pass judgment on them. Their best team of Pathi/Speer got a rough draw at the ITA and they haven’t really shown much since. Colby will obviously struggle in doubles against some of the best teams in the NESCAC, but from a regional perspective (which I admit is new to me), they could presumably put together two solid teams at the top. Who they are and how they perform, however, is a mystery that the future only knows.
Schedule Analysis
http://www.gocolbymules.com/sports/mten/2017-18/schedule
You can view the schedule above, and as always with my style of preview, we will go through some important matches but not get into predictions, because that’s dumb. Key matches on the schedule are below.
- Start the season with Hamilton, Middlebury, and Colby-Sawyer
- Texas Spring Break vs. Texas Lutheran, Southwestern, Pacific, and Texas Tyler
- NESCAC play with Trinity CT, Conn, Bates, and Tufts
I’ve really only outlined the matches where Colby has a chance to win in the above, except Middlebury which I just added in there. Colby starts off the season quietly and should be able to notch wins against both Hamilton and Colby-Sawyer to give them a little confidence boost going into Spring Break, which will be extremely important. Spring Break presents them with a few opportunities, but also a few must wins. They have to beat Texas Lutheran and Southwestern, who has struggled a bit this season. Southwestern will be a close match and playing on the road will make this tougher. Colby should cruise in the middle of the lineup but the top and bottom, as well as doubles will be key. They can’t lose their focus here. Colby will also be favored against Pacific before rumbling with UT-Tyler in a match where they are heavy underdogs. Not expecting an upset there.
Onto NESCAC play, where there are some MASSIVE matches that could really send Colby into a great season. They are heavy underdogs against Tufts and of course, the rest of the NESCAC (Amherst, Midd, Bowdoin, Wes, Williams), but the matches to circle are the usual suspects. Bates presents their greatest opportunity to move up in the rankings, where they will have a fighters chance against the Bobcats. They’ll need to overcome deficiencies at the bottom of the lineup to win this one, given that Rosen is a beast at the top for Bates. Doubles, of course, will be of utmost importance. Colby will also have to stave off an upset bid from Trinity CT, who could sneak up on the Mules if they aren’t careful. All in all, their season will really be defined by a few matches, and especially the Bates match.
ASouth’s 3 Keys to Success
We’ll see if I can come up with 3 keys to success here, given that I am out of my element. If I can’t, be happy you got this in depth preview anyways.
- Leadership – I mentioned this in Shaw Speer’s little blurb, but it’s going to be extremely important that the senior leaders on this team keep this team focused. Freshmen rarely understand the plight it is to be a senior on a team, where you’ll be potentially playing your last competitive tennis matches of your life. It’s a big deal, and until you feel it, you don’t really know. It’s important for the elder Mules to convey how important matches like the one vs Bates are for their legacies.
- #AltSpring – Cryptocurrency joke here, and kudos to anyone that understands it. Anyways, Altmeyer (projected #2 singles, #2 doubles) will be under the microscope. Pathi is going to have a rough time at #1, and Altmeyer needs to make a sophomore JUMP to really hold his own at #2, OR send Pathi down to #2 singles. If Altmeyer takes over the top spot, this could change the direction of Colby’s season right there.
- ColbyCoachCohen – We talk a lot about coaches on the blog, but we usually only talk about the top tier of coaches. Coach Cohen is a guy with a really solid background trying to work his way into the tier of coaches that are even mentioned with regularity on the Blog. That’s not because he’s a bad coach, simply because everyone has to start their career somewhere. Take a look at Adam Van Zee of Earlham, for example. Haha. Anyways, now that Coach Cohen has been at Colby for almost 4 years now, it’s time for the program to start looking like the program that he envisioned. What does he want them to embody? Every team will somewhat take over their coaching and leadership, and if they don’t, there will be a disconnect between the players and the coach. Not good. Call this a transition year for Coach Cohen because it’ll be interesting to see how his team handles significant losses in talent. That’s what really defines a program, not just the talent that you bring in.
Conclusion
I think I’m finally done with season previews after this, and I’m pretty sure this is the last one to go out. Thank the freaking Lord. Anyways, looking forward to Colby’s season. It’s really interesting to see the microcosms of the lower-ranked teams – although they aren’t playing for championships, there are little wins here and there that turn into big accomplishments for these players. It’s been a pleasure to cover this team and I will definitely have my eye out for Colby results in the future. Feel free to comment below or ask me questions on twitter, which Shaw Speer will absolutely do. ASouth, OUT.