What better way to spend a Friday night than writing an article I promised Northeast I’d have out today, but at least D3 tennis is live!! Shout out to Rochester for the big time upset over #26 RPI last night, and Regional NEC for pumping out a rapid reaction. Unfortunately, hail in Texas (that’s a thing?) robbed us of a Lewis & Clark vs Southwestern matchup, but the good news is there will be plenty more matches to get excited about over the next few months. Today we’ve got my final and favorite season preview as we take a look at some teams that fall just outside our Power Rankings, showing if you do something interesting (or play in the NESCAC, yes, I know I’m biased, get over it), we’ll cover you.
Hamilton
Team Overview: Historically, Hamilton has been a team that has been competing with Colby and Conn to try to stay out of the basement in the NESCAC. While Colby has solidified itself as a top-8 NESCAC team, Hamilton might not be far behind. With two large recruiting classes in a row, Coach Brisotti will be looking for his team to make strides in his first full year at the helm. Last year Hamilton played a challenging schedule, taking 6-3 or 5-4 losses to Nichols, Oberlin, Hope, Grinnell, Tufts and Ithaca. While we can play the “close-loss” game with a lot of teams, I think it holds a little weight here for Hamilton. The Continentals started four freshmen and one sophomore last year, and most of those guys were low 2 stars. Getting experience in close matches is really important and will hopefully pay dividends down the line.
Players to Watch: Max Zimmerman, Sam Farber, Tim Derby. The man known as Zim had a solid freshman campaign for the Continentals last year, finishing the year with back-to-back wins over Fung (Amherst) and Bartok (Tufts). Max has the highest UTR on the team, and I expect him to play either #1 or #2 this year. Junior Sam Farber has played #1 for Hamilton since his freshman year, but as expected, he had a tough year last year. Farber is a solid player that can contribute for a lot of teams, but is out of his element playing #1. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at #1 again this year to give Zim a good shot at #2. Tim Derby was a solid contributor last year, picking up a win over Oberlin and a surprising 3 set win over Princeton Carter (Wesleyan). Derby played a ton of tennis this summer, and if he remained as dedicated this offseason, I see him being a key player in the middle of Hamilton’s lineup.
Schedule Analysis: Not a ton of opportunities for Hamilton this year. Besides the typical NESCAC slate, their best matches are against Ithaca and Colorado College. The conference match against Trinity will be big if the Continentals want to get back into the regional rankings.
Expectations: This is an important year for Hamilton. They should beat Ithaca, Colorado College, Conn, and Trinity. Winning these four matches would position Hamilton to break into the national rankings in one or two more years with another good recruiting class. Losing to either Conn or Trinity would be a major setback and would leave the Continentals with a disappointing season.
Trinity
Team Overview: Trinity has historically been a top-25 team that is going through a transition period. Gone are the days of Dan Carpenter and Ford Traff, and this trend will continue this year as the Bants graduate their top two in Rex Glickman and Kyle Scheffers. The Bantams are reloading though, and bring in a five man recruiting class, highlighted by Ross Derose, Jack Harrington and Charlie Kilborn. Last year Trinity took care of Chapman, Vassar, Wheaton, Springfield, Coast Guard and Conn to keep itself in the regional rankings, but didn’t keep it competitive against any nationally ranked opponents. Unfortunately, last year’s #4 Scott Danforth is no longer on the roster, so Trinity will be tasked with replacing three of their top four guys this year.
Players to Watch: Ross Derose. Derose has the highest UTR on the team (10.47) and I assume he’ll play and take his lumps at #1 this year. The only Bant to win a match at the Wallach this fall, his point will be key against regional opponents this year. I expect Chris Bilicic and Granville Kaynor to play #2 and 3 behind Derose.
Expectations: Coach Shulman has put together a competitive schedule for Trinity this year. Trinity’s out-of-conference schedule includes matches against Babson (Power 6 of 63), Whittier (Power 6 of 63), Salisbury (Power 6 of 64), Cal Lu (Power 6 of 57), Coast Guard (Power 6 of 58) and Ithaca (Power 6 of 59). With a Power 6 of 56, Trinity will be the underdog in all of these matches, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Trinity lose to Conn, fall out of the regional rankings and finish last in the NESCAC.
Connecticut College
Team Overview: Conn is a team that hasn’t changed much over the past five to ten years. Usually fighting it out with Hamilton to escape the NESCAC cellar, this should be an interesting year for Conn. Their new #1 is a junior (transfer?) from Spain, and Will Cannon is a solid player at #2, and I think this will be a better Conn team than the past three years. Last year was an odd year for the Camels as they gave Babson all they could handle in a 5-4 loss, beat Coast Guard and Ithaca, but lost 8-1 to Nichols and 7-2 to Hamilton. Conn graduated two starters in Ben Sachs and Patrick Farrell, and former #2 Charlie Williams is no longer on the roster.
Players to Watch: Guillermo Garcia Rincon, Will Cannon. Information on the newcomer from Caceras, Spain is scarce, and his UTR page hasn’t been active since 2016, but Guillermo went undefeated in limited action in singles this fall. It will be interesting to see what level he plays at this spring, as his play will be key for Conn’s performance this spring. Cannon has been a mainstay in the Camel’s lineup the past few years, and he had a nice win over Biswas (Tufts) last year. Cannon’s big serve and forehand make him a force on the doubles court, where I imagine he and Garcia Rincon will hold down the #1 spot.
Schedule Analysis: Conn is taking a Spring Break trip to Texas this year, where matches against Southwestern and McMurry are the highlights. Babson and Coast Guard are the key non-conference matches, and obviously the matches against Hamilton and Trinity are important as well. I think Southwestern has too much sauce for the Camels, but Conn should be able to handle McMurry. I like the Camels over Coast Guard, but I think Babson has the edge in doubles and in the middle of the lineup, and don’t think Conn can flip that match.
Expectations: In the short-term, wins over Coast Guard and Trinity should be enough to get Conn back into the regional rankings, but losses to Hamilton and Babson, coupled with inconsistent recruiting puts a cap on Conn’s ceiling.
Babson
Team Overview: Babson is a team that has had its ups and downs over the past few years, and is only a few years removed from a 5-4 loss to MIT in the NEWMAC finals and a regular season where Roberto Perez lost 7-6 in the third to Cauneac in another 5-4 loss. The MIT match is always circled on Babson’s calendar as it represents the best opportunity to jump into the national spotlight. Last year, Babson had an exceptionally average year, winning the matches they were supposed to, and losing the matches they were supposed to. This year will be interesting as they graduate only two guys, and (presumably) have a healthy Alberto De Mendiola.
Players to Watch: Alberto De Mendiola. The junior from Costa Rica has been an enigma since he stepped foot on Babson’s campus two years ago. He was the Northeast Rookie of the year and NEWMAC Player of the Year his freshman year, and he took wins over nationally ranked players in Carl Reid (Colby), Tyler Barr (MIT) and Nick Litsky (Vassar). However, De Mendiola is injury-prone, and as we saw last year, you can’t always count on him to be in the lineup. A Babson team without De Mendiola isn’t a huge threat, but a team with him can make some noise. Other players to watch out for are sophomore Andre Libnic, who took over the top spot last year when De Mendiola was injured, and Tyler Zhang. Zhang is a lefty freshman with a solid, grinding game, and he’ll be a tough out in the lower half of the lineup.
Schedule Analysis: Babo is taking a trip to California this year where they’ll play Whittier, Nichols, Bowdoin, Concordia (CA) before taking on Denison, in their biggest non-MIT match of the season. As it’s the 5th match in 7 days, fatigue will definitely play a factor, but Denison is coming off of matches against Tufts, Sewanee and Bowdoin. IF De Mendiola is health, I think this match is a 5-4 decision, but I think Big Red pulls it out. Babson also takes on Babson and Bates, and while Deis will be too strong this year, the Bates match represents another opportunity for Babson to get back into the national rankings, and I think they have a better shot beating Bates than Denison. A regular season match against MIT should show us if we need to be interested in the NEWMAC playoffs, or whether we can pencil MIT into a low 2 seed at NCAAs losing to Bowdoin.
Expectations: I’m excited about this Babson team and schedule. They are playing a ton of matches, and are only starting one senior (Brandon Rosenbluth). With two 3-stars and three 2-stars already committed for next year, Babson has a great opportunity to make a little noise this year, before making a lot of noise next year.
Stevens
Team Overview: Stevens is a team that I expected to fade from the national spotlight after losing one of the top players in D3 in Matt Heinrich a few years ago, but the Ducks have stuck around! Danny Polk and Will Persson led the team to a big win over NYU last year to put the Ducks at #36 in the country. But with those two graduating, a tough year was expected in Hoboken…until they sent a doubles team to the finals at ITAs (lost in 3), and freshman Marc Feliu Gomez made a nice run in the singles draw and will take over the top spot! As always, Stevens has a packed schedule with plenty of opportunities and a team of freshmen and sophomores ready to take it on.
Players to Watch: Marc Feliu Gomez. The freshman from Barcelona had himself a nice fall, beating Andrew Imrie at ITAs before falling to Vishal Walia in three. I don’t have much to go on other than that, but he and sophomore Bryan Szayna beat a really solid team in JT Wynne and Travis Leaf on their way to the doubles finals. Stevens has players with UTRs a little over 10 at the rest of its spots, which means they will remain competitive against teams in the 30-50 range, but if Feliu Gomez can step up at the top spot, Stevens will be in a much better position.
Schedule Analysis / Expectations: A beast of a schedule put together by Coach Gachko this year gives Stevens a lot of opportunities to hold onto its national ranking. The Ducks start their spring season next week with the Mary Washington Invitational, playing Sewanee, Kenyon, and Mary Washington. This is a tough opening stretch to the season, and while I’m sure the team will be excited to pull an upset, I’d be very surprised if they left Fredericksburg with a win. Next up is a tricky match against an experienced Haverford team. This is a toss-up match, as Haverford has a solid #1 in senior Josh Moskovitz, and a bunch of solid juniors behind him, and I think I have to go with the experience on this one and lean towards Haverford. A spring break trip to Orlando will provide a much easier schedule, as they play Hamline, Goucher, St. Lawrence, Grinnell, and LUTHER. The Luther and Grinnell matches will be the most competitive, so it’s nice to see them at the end of the trip, where the Ducks will have gained some confidence playing at Sanlando Park. Highlighted matches after the trip include Rochester, Skidmore, Hobart, NYU and TCNJ. I think a 2-3 record is a reasonable expectation for Stevens in these matches and doing so should keep them in the rankings. Stevens will blow through the Empire 8 again on its way to NCAAs for the millionth year in a row. Stevens has a 3-star committed already for next year, and with such a young team, they will continue to remain relevant for the next few years.
BONUS PREVIEWS
Yes, we all know tennis is a team sport, but while the following teams don’t have the talent to compete on a regular basis, they both have players with national aspirations, and they did enough this fall to gain some press.
Hamline
Hamline competes in the MIAC with Gustavus and Carleton, and last year they finished last, going 0-9 in conference last year. So why are we talking about them? Jake Trondson! This fall, the junior ran through the Gustavus ITA, beating Patrick Whaling (Gustavus) in the semis, before taking out Leo Vithoontien 7-5 7-6(9) in the finals, becoming the first All-American in Hamline’s history. While he dropped his first two matches at nationals, he beat Joshua Bode in his third match, to finish 7th and come into the spring ranked #11 in the country and #2 in the region. Now the question is, can he qualify for nationals in the spring? Hamline doesn’t play a super challenging schedule, and matches against Gustavus, Stevens and Springfield are the only places where I could see Trondson slipping up. If he wins out, I don’t see how he’s kept out of nationals. If he loses once, Hamline will need to finish in the top 5 in the MIAC so Trondson can get another chance against Gustavus to punch his ticket. An interesting story to watch!
Concordia(TX)
Concordia competes in the American Southwest Conference, where UT-Tyler dominated before moving to DII. Freshman Joshua Bode used his silky one-hander to run through the Southwest ITA, beating Hunter Bajoit (Southwestern) in the semis, Jordan Pitts (Trinity TX) in the finals, and then Will Leach in the play-in match en route to an 8th place finish at the ITA Cup. He is currently 4th in the region, and 12th in the country. Concordia’s matches against Southwestern and Trinity (TX) this spring will be massive in Bode’s quest towards nationals. Win both and he pretty much guarantees himself a spot. Any other result will leave things to chance, but regardless, it was a great fall from the freshman and I hope we see more of him in the years to come.
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for sticking with me through this wall of text! Going through these previews for the first time has made me realize how much effort and energy the more experienced bloggers have put in over the years; it isn’t easy and certainly isn’t our day job, so shout out to those guys for pumping these out over the years, and let’s get ready for some match previews and in-season articles! As always, drop a comment below or on Twitter and lets talk tennis!
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central preview incoming?