Women’s Fall Kickoff: Fresh Faces on the Scene

Well, well, well, boys and girls we are back! After a summer hiatus filled with sun, sand and wishing I was as good as Coco Gauff, the Blog (at least the women’s side of things) is back! ASW kicked things off with her interview of D3 tennis alum, Leah Bush, and even though spring is still a ways away, we’re here with a lil’ blogger preview on our incoming freshmen. 

ALSO! We’re proud to announce our newest addition to the team – a new Central blogger! She’s chimed in here to give us some serious insight to the fresh faces we’re going to be seeing on some of our Central teams, and she is absolute fire! 

Also, I know we’ve missed out on covering the West region teams in this article, but West is very busy and will be bringing you all the West content your hearts could desire next weekend after the Fall Scramble! And I also know West would want me to mention that in addition to CMS’ two incoming players, they also slyly nabbed NE stud, Devon Wolfe as a transfer. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the Athenas with such a large roster (16 strong!!!). Anyways, much to discuss and look forward to in another article.

Rundown by school

#1 Wesleyan: Let’s start with our reigning natty champs. Wesleyan doesn’t look to be slowing down as they head into the 2019-2020 season. Coach Fried has stacked his roster with FIVE incoming 4-stars (and before I get lectured, yes, I know stars on Tennis Recruiting aren’t anything, but they are very useful for us to use as a benchmark), all with UTRs over 8.6. Plus, by only losing Vicky Yu from the starting lineup of the National Champion team, the Cards are looking to be in tip-top shape again this year. Do I sense a repeat??

#3 Emory: We’ve come to know the Eagles as a constant presence at the top of the D3 rankings, and by the looks of their incoming class, nothing’s going to change in the near future. With three new four stars added to last year’s young lineup and the graduation of only one senior, I sense that there is going to be some stiff competition to crack the lineup this year. Which means that Emory is going to be as tough as ever.  

#4 Middlebury: Another team that only graduated one senior from last year’s lineup, Midd brings on a solid freshman squad of three – all with UTRs in the mid-to-high 8s. We all know i (NEW) was so high on the Panthers last year, and with their super-stacked senior class leading them, I can guarantee they’re coming back hungry for more. But this article is about the freshmen, so, back to them. I think it’ll be hard to crack into the lineup, but all three will be in the hunt to claim some of those spots. Keep in mind, they are the future of Midd, so any and all match experience they can get will be crucial to buoying the team in the years to come.

#6 Amherst: Similar to Midd, Amherst’s “superstar” class are finally seniors, and they only graduated two from last year’s lineup. This year, the Mammoths welcome Calista Sha as their sole recruit. She’s a 4-star from New York, and was ranked just around 100 in the juniors. I think Sha will absolutely be a mainstay in the Amherst lineup from the get go, and will help the Mammoths continue their rise. 

#7 CMU: CMU coming in hot with the second top recruit in D3 this year. They bring in Kritika Chhabra (UTR 9.90) from India, along with four other top juniors (all with UTRs over 8.2) to comprise one of the best recruiting classes CMU has seen in awhile. With some added strength at the top of the lineup, this might be the year that CMU breaks through in the Elite Eight and make their first ever NCAA semifinals. 

#8 Chicago:  After a tough season last year, where the Maroons lost 6 players from their lineup, they are entering 2019-20 with a rejuvenated team. They have 5 recruits, with Perene Wang leading the group with a 9.52 UTR. They also have a very experienced player in Claudia Ng from Hong Kong joining their team, who has Fed Cup and WTA experiences. 

#9 MIT: The Engineers are looking to continue their strong finish from last season, as they bring in a power-packed freshman class. They also bring in 5 recruits, 4 of which are 4-stars with UTRs over (almost) 9.0! Is this the year MIT enters the fold and is in the thick of the hunt for a national title? 

#14 Kenyon:  Coach Thielke has traveled the world for his 2 new recruits, with Catriona MacIntosh (7.48) coming from Scotland and Erika Pontillo (7.11) from Venezuela. Last year was the best season since 2002 for Kenyon, and with junior Erica Oku returning, their climb in the ranks should continue. 

#20 Washington-St. Louis:  I’m excited for the WashU Bears to come out fighting strong this coming year. They suffered last year with the graduation of their team leader Grace Deering, however the incoming group of 4 freshmen should bring them some great competitors. Leslie Ligier and Angela Huang are leading the freshmen class with >8.6 UTRs. 

#26 Denison: We see what you’re doing Coach Scott…..doubles is important! Big Red tennis had their shining moment in doubles at NCAAs last spring, making it to the Elite 8. Freshman Sydney Cianciola (8.12) is OH state double’s champion, and will strengthen their team even more in both singles and doubles. 

#27 Carleton: The Knights have 2 incoming freshman, Lingyu Wei from China and Alisa Makatasaria from NY, with both UTRs around 8, so they are poised to help the team climb the ranks. Last year Carleton secured their first trip to the NCAA Championships since 2014, and with 4 new freshmen added to the team, it should be an interesting year for them. 

NR Babson: This is a team that doesn’t usually get a lot of buzz, but let me tell you, we are buzzing about them this year, as they bring in the top D3 recruit – Ana Makatsaria from Georgia (the country, not the state). Now, we don’t know a ton about her, she does have a whopping 10.92 UTR, which is pretty damn impressive. She’s joined by 4 other players, who I’m sure are hoping to boost the Beaver’s into the rankings.

Well that’s all we’ve got for you, folks! We’re so excited fall season (albeit short) is here, and we hope you are too! 

Yours always, NEW

One thought on “Women’s Fall Kickoff: Fresh Faces on the Scene

  1. Kevin Cornwall

    You skipped over number 22 Vassar. With three 3 star recruits this year, they have more depth in their lineup then they have had in years.

Leave a Comment