I told you that we’d be back. It took a while. It took my colleagues to ridicule me and berate me until I barely had a will to live. But, I come back to you a stronger, more philosophical writer. I come back to you all with a deeper understanding of what it means to be a blogger. The summer is over now and what a summer it was. We’ve added no writers on the Men’s side, so you’ll be getting a heavy dosage of what you saw last year in terms of writing style and shit like that. But, you will be getting all new teams. All new contenders. All new busts. And all new disappointments. I’m just here to ridicule the disappointments. It makes me feel better about my own failures as a person. But seriously, you’ve already got this season underway. It’s up to us to give you the content you definitely deserve. Apologies for the delay, we’re about to rope-a-dope you into a freaking doozy of a year.
If you remember last year, we did a Season Kickoff in podcast version, as I visited our residential old guy Adam Van Zee and decided to do a podcast on a long drive to a football game in Indiana. It was very fun. Unfortunately, I am back to actually writing the kickoff this year. Either way, my jabs will permanently saved into the depths of the internet. Just the way I want them to be. So, let’s start with some site stuff, go into some questions for the season, and then look ahead to the future of the site and the year. Sounds good? Okay, you don’t have a fcking choice anyways.
Who is the Blog?
Most of you will know the answer to this question. We are a group of relatively anonymous people who blog about Division III Tennis. Call us what you want, but we give you the god damn content that you want and deserve. You may not agree with us all the time, despite most of what we write being based in facts and historical data, and that’s honestly okay. We do this because we want to. We do this because you want us to. And that’s really the end of the story. Something that will never change with this Blog is that it is for the players, the parents, the coaches, and the participants of Division III Tennis. I don’t know if we’ll ever become some joker soft-tossing site like our friends over in the ESPN offices (sorry Cam Daniels but you are soft now), but for now, we won’t. We try and tell it like it is. We try and add some humor to it, too. We also try and promote DIII Tennis because honestly, this sport deserves it. You players out there are pretty damn good at what you do. Same with you coaches, and parents. Hopefully, we are giving you content that you feel is up to your high standards. Either way, let’s make this a discussion. I know you’ll at least get a spirited response out of us. So, if you’re new around these parts, hop onto the bandwagon, because it’s already been a wild ride. We’re excited to have you. Now, that’s enough about this site for now. Let’s get to some tennis.
10 Burning Questions – Men’s Edition
Q: How will traditional powers face the losses of key seniors in their lineups?
A: Emory won the ship last year. They lost Jemison and Bouchet. Middlebury lost Cuba and Farrell. Bowdoin lost Urken and Jiang. That’s a lot of national powers losing some major national talent. But, it happens every year, and we always get different guys that come and replace them. That is not the question. Which teams will replace these guys with bonafide stars? It’s a hard question to answer and one that not many people will know until we get into mid March. The three schools mentioned above all brought in what seem to be really good, if not solid, recruiting classes. But the story is way longer than that. We’ve seen plenty of recruiting classes flop (not mentioning any names, yet) and unheralded recruits/transfers come from nowhere to change the arc of a whole season. It’s just way too hard to predict. What we do know, however, is that three of the top teams in the nation have lost some key players. So, does that mean…
Q: Is CMS the favorite to win it all?
A: To me, the answer is yes, and by a long shot. A team that just lost Julian Gordy (no offense to Julian, awesome player and dude), is bringing in multiple recruits, and has a ton of talented guys learning on the bench is going to be a really damn good team. We saw flashes of greatness from this Stags team last year but they did fall short. CMS will arguably return 2 of the top 4 players in the nation in Niko Parodi and Jack Katzman (my main dude Leo V. from Carleton #2). While they lose their #3 singles player, let’s remember that Gordy took an L in the National Championship. Let’s also remember that CMS has a line of like fifty talented players waiting to take that spot and make it their own. CMS will undoubtedly have to answer the age-old doubles question, where they lost 2 of the 3 spots to Emory last year, but you should probably have faith in Coach Settles. With a few moving parts and some key returners, CMS sits at the top of the power rankings right now, easy.
Q: How will teams that were absolute busts last year come back fresh?
A: We were all so excited. We really were. But when there are teams with unexpected success, there are also teams with unexpected failures. It’s why they call it a competition. If you asked each and every team if they felt last year fell short of their expectations, you’d probably get 30 teams to raise their hands. If you asked the bloggers, you’d get a ton of mud-slinging vitriol for underperforming teams mostly coming from my mouth. So, for the teams that really faltered last year – teams such as Carnegie Mellon, Whitman, Pomona, RPI, and Swarthmore…. How do you respond? New blood brings new blood, but some teams have struggled to change their blood type. We have some coaches in new places (Swat, CMU to a degree) trying to find their footing and really make their mark. It will be a process. We have some teams that have been here (PP, Whitman), that maybe just needed a reset year. And we have RPI, a team that surprised everyone with a Liberty League Championship just the year prior, do a complete 180 in 2019 and fall back into the norm. Each of these teams had their own set of problems. That’s okay. I have problems too (case in point, I’m writing this at 1AM), but I try and deal with em the best I can. Will these teams bounce back, or will the momentum continue downwards for them?
Q: Will Brandeis respond to a devastating year end decision and the loss of the Head Coach that got them there?
A: The Blog was extremely pro-Brandeis last year. The Blog is actually almost always pro-Brandeis, to be quite honest. But last year, that was something. The Judges got shafted at the end of the year when it came to NCAA selection because we have very non-sensical processes when it comes to team selection. But, the past is the past, and we left that behind yesterday. In the present, the Judges have had to replace the Blog-voted Coach of the Year Ben Lamanna (I don’t care who the ITA picked). They replaced him with Coach Pauri of Wheaton, who I have no real opinions about at this time. Trust me, I will have a strong opinion in the first three weeks of the season. I will definitely express that I am skeptical, but more because Coach Lammana has such big shoes to fill that even the most qualified new coach would be able to fill. Brandeis touts team chemistry and unity, which is a natural thing. It will be interesting to see how that translates to how they perform this year. I don’t have many doubts about the talent, I have doubts about the leadership. And that’s just natural.
Q: How many Pool C spots will there be?
A: Rumor has it that there will be more Pool C spots this year on both the Men’s and Women’s side due to a ratio/team number change. That would be music to all of our collective ears, of course. Some have told me that there actually might be as many as SEVEN Pool C spots, which would be absolutely massive. One of the things to consider is that the CAC, which houses Mary Washington and Christopher Newport, is now under seven teams, which in theory should take away their AQ bid. Does this mean they become independents? Does that not occur for another year? Wow, I wish someone with knowledge behind all of this would be able to answer in the comment section…
Q: Will Chicago ever win it all?
A: Chicago has established itself as one of the best 4 teams in the country, year in and year out. This is given at this point. However, Coach Tee and the Maroons have never won the Big Dance in his career, despite a ton of talent and regular season success. Winning a championship is harder than you think, so it’s not like this is a blemish on Tee’s resume. But, you have to think that there’s got to be a year where the Maroons come through. Is this the year? Chicago loses a key senior in Charlie Pei (amongst some others) and will be “led” by seniors Erik Kerrigan and Ninan Kumar this year. Is that a recipe for success or disaster? With rumors flying around the Chicago program right now, will that impact the Men’s team this year? So many questions, just one team. The most dramatic season of the Bachelor yet. Will they find love?
Q: Any “mid-majors” to love this year?
A: About 2-3 years ago, the trend in DIII seemed to be moving to heavily recruited teams that had big bases of talent. It almost seemed like we would forget “mid-major” teams, as I like to call them, in a couple of years. Some examples are Kenyon, Trinity TX, GAC, and Mary Washington. None of these schools come from the power conferences and ALL finished in the top 20 last year. Kenyon led the pack at #11. All four of these teams outperformed expectations last year in my eyes. Kenyon brings back the double whammy senior duo of Austin Diehl and Jake Zalenski. The Lords best-case scenario is probably a top 10 finish given all the graduations amongst the other teams. Trinity TX has built a base of solid Texas players once again. And with GAC, who knows, you might see four 2-stars in the top of the lineup mashing high-level recruits like potatoes.
Q: Will there be a shake-up in the PNW?
A: Long has Whitman resided at the top of the PNW conference, with Coach Northam (and CHB) leading the way. Last year, things got a little bit closer between Whitman and their hated rival, George Fox. As of today, they are separated by just 1 point on Power 6 in UTR. While we know that those points are to be taken with a grain of salt, one loss by Whitman might just mean the difference. I would rather not play George Fox in a road match, especially one that could determine whether or not you might go to NCAAs. Whitman is still considered the favorite going into this year, but I would be far from surprised if they were dethroned. After all, the historical trends state that this is true. Historical trends are sexy.
Q: Who’s coaching the Williams team?
A: We all know the shocking events that happened last year when Coach Greenberg of the Ephs went haywire at a dual match. It is unknown if Greenberg will coach this year, and word around town is that he is not currently practicing with the team. I will not comment on his rumored scenarios out of respect for his actual life, but this should be quite interesting. If Greenberg were to not coach, what would that mean for a team that just lost a couple seniors and now has to play without their longtime coach? WIlliams is a team I am down on this year.
Q: Which teams and players are most likely to complain about Blog Coverage?
A: Something that happens every year, whether we like it or not, is the constant complaining about various Blog coverage. Since the days of LoveD3Tennis, the Blog has been an up and down experience depending on which teams you were on. Last year, teams like Pomona, RPI, and others took a lot of hate based on their performances. I remember the days when Matt Heinrich would complain about me saying he wasn’t a bonafide #1. Or how about when that commenter said that “Tufts finna win a natty?” While they have Sorkin, they ain’t winning a natty. Anyways, just because this is a paragraph, complain away. I guess our job has begun again and we are always willing to take complaints, unless they are so bad I want to throw you out of a window.
What to Expect from the Blog
Same old shit, man. We’ll have articles, podcasts, interviews, games, contests, and a lot of towel-whipping banter between the writers. We’ll be your go-to for scores on Twitter, talks about the everlasting Ariana Grande vs. Taylor Swift debate (team Ari, btw), and try and keep this site fresh with the things that YOU want to talk about. Unless you want to talk about D3Northeast’s weekend plans. We’ll be bored to sleep in about five seconds.
Additionally, I know that we got a TON of donations to the site over the last half of the year last year. This was mainly due to our site being totally decimated by people’s love for canine friends. I am happy to say that the donations you all have generously made are in the process of being used. We have D3WomensAnalyst and D3Regional (mostly Women’s Analyst) working hard until next Spring to try and get a new interface that money CAN buy. Stay tuned with this part of the update and you will be fine. Makes sense, right?
Conclusion
This article made me hella tired at work and now I have to actually do some work. Not the best scenario, but I’ve seen worse. Thank god for Kanye West’s old music otherwise you might not get this article for another 4 days. I’ll see you soon for a Mary Wash ITA Preview in the coming days. The Blog is officially back (well, I am. The others have been back for like three weeks but I am old now). And with that, I leave you. ASouth, OUT.
Let’s never forget that Kenyon consistently rolled/rolls Austin Diehl and Zalenski at three doubles and have consistently gotten away with it. Will this be the year someone who loses 5-4 to Kenyon finally calls them out on it? Literally seen their number 1 team lose matches at 8-2 and 8-1 against average teams and Diehl and Zalenski completely murk people at 3. Tired of this.
Great review! From my Central point of view, I predict that Chicago will never win it all. Chicago runs on a quarterly system, while the rest of the schools are on semesters. NCAA’s always occur when Chicago is still in class with finals still weeks away. All of the other schools have already finished and their players are free to just focus on tennis. Chicago players miss a week of school right before finals and are expected to play their best tennis at the same time. It’s an extremely difficult and stressful position for Chicago players.
Can you explain that to the women’s team at Stanford?
Haha you got me there! Shin, Higuchi, Lord and Gordon are beasts!
You just absolutely love to see it #theblogisback
Welcome back ASouth. Lot’s of good stuff here. As an avid supporter of the Judges, UAA, Midwest players and DIII Tennis (yes, even Wash U)…in that order, a big thanks to the blog and the work you all do. The new women’s bloggers are doing great work. I’ll keep telling folks about the blog, but I wish you found more ways to let folks know about your work.
Regarding leadership doubts for the Judges…put that to bed. Leadership is on point. Coach Pandian is taking on the new gig quite thoughtfully. Coach Schultz with a year behind him in Waltham plus a little adversity, is more than an Asst. …one could argue Co-Head (commenter’s opinion only). Ben was great, but I believe the Pandian/Shultz are a stronger combo and the Judges will be better for it. It all happened for a reason – I believe that reason is improvement.
The new recruits fit the chemistry and the loss of Lamanna only brought the team(s) closer together. Few key losses on the men’s side, plus a stronger coaching duo means a continued upward trend by year’s end. It’s a building year for the women but they will overperform because of culture and coaching.
Not sure if you are right about the Judges and the loss of Lamanna. So far this year they have under performed. At the Middlebury Invite they had won doubles the previous 2 years (and other singles flights) under Lamanna, and this year no crown. At the ITA last year the Judges made the semi’s in doubles, and this year did not go that far. In singles most of the players performed worse then the place they were seeded, and lower than the blogs expectations. The VERDICT is not in but it appears the loss of the long term coach may have a deep impact on the team and perhaps the chemistry just is not there. Time will only tell, but it appears the Judges are back to a 20-25 team rather than the success they had last year.
Performance in two events, doesn’t show a trend. Change takes a bit of time to settle in but I like the foundation. I prefer the long-view. Let’s discuss in May 2020.
@ HIM IN MAY