Maybe it was watching Kenin & Coco last week, maybe it was some motivation from ASW, maybe it was that the season has technically already started, but something got me out of hibernation to write y’all some way-too-late west region season previews. We’ve been dormant for a while, and after my super-positive spiel about the Blog not dying of course we’ve not done anything since then so the guilt is kicking in. If all y’all are picking up your rackets again, we at the Blog need to be picking up our pens. Or at the very least powering through our carpal tunnel to get you the content you crave.
Anyway, here are some sneak peeks at the top West region teams this year!
CMS Athenas
Preseason ITA Ranking (National): #2
2019 Season Record: 27-2; NCAA finalists
New Faces: Justine Leong, Devon Wolfe, Anna Kern, Gabby Lee
Have Gone Places: Jessie Cruz
Sometimes life just isn’t fair, like when your sister gets all the best Christmas presents from grandma and then won’t stop making Tik Toks that rub it in your face. No, I’m not salty, why do you ask? After a year where the Athenas came one set away from consecutive national championships, they’ve lost no starters, added Justine Leong who might be the best player in DIII already, and stolen Devon Wolfe from Bowdoin where she played #3 singles last year. Oh, and last year they had both the NCAA doubles champions and finalists.
While this year’s team will certainly miss J Crew, it seems like the Athenas have more than reloaded this year and as a fan of the whole West region I gotta say I’m worried about how competitive things will actually be. The ‘Nas bring a 15-member squad with a bench that would probably crack the Top 10, and I don’t know if there will be another team out west that can challenge these ladies. CMS’ eyes will be fixed firmly on Wesleyan after natties last year; they just need to make sure they take care of business at home before booking their flights to St. Louis.
A quick look at the fresh faces on campus: Leong joins the Athenas from Hong Kong and she’s come out swinging, already sweeping the ITA Cup and picking up a win over Stanford’s Janice Shin at fall nationals. With a performance like that, I have to believe she plays #1 even over Catherine Allen, who was one of the top players in D3 last year. Wolfe joins the stacked CMS roster and despite the success she had at Bowdoin I don’t know where she’ll play. Early indications show a singles lineup of Leong-Allen-Berger-Bahsoun-Lee-Cox, though the back part of the CMS lineup is remarkably fluid. Anna Kern, a 3-star from Corvallis, OR, has seen some time at doubles, and Gabby Lee (4-star from Leawood, KS) should compete for the bottom spots as well.
Big matches: Indoors (2/28-3/1), Midd (3/28), Pomona-Pitzer (4/17)
Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens
Preseason ITA Ranking (National): #5
2019 Season Record: 16-6; Sweet Sixteen
New Faces: Patria Aziz, Jane Marcus, Georgia Ryan
Have Gone Places: Caroline Casper, Arianna Chen, Grace Hruska, Lucy Jiang, Marghi Andreassi, Alexandra Ferry, Olivia Mendoza
The Hens roster has shrunk in size from last year after graduating four stellar seniors and seeing some other teammates re-prioritize. This is a season preview so I don’t want to get too stuck in the past, but it’s going to be hard replacing what last year’s seniors brought to the PP program. Casper is a west region superstar and Chen had the strength of a raging fire (side-note: the live-action Mulan is lookin’ real good). Last year’s team doesn’t pull out those 5-4 Indoors wins without them. Pomona-Pitzer had incredibly success over their four years, including a regular-season SCIAC championship, and they helped set a new level for the program. Although it’s hard turning the page, Coach Morgan is more than capable of molding the next generation and writing another successful chapter in Hens history.
He’s got some fresh talent, including two top-100 players in Georgia Ryan (#95) and Jane Marcus (#81). When she’s not crushing it in the weight room, I think readers can expect Ryan to play towards the top of the lineup after her quarterfinal run at ITAs. I don’t know too much about Marcus outside of the fact that she was a beast for the Corona del Mar Sea Kings, though she’s got the game to play up there as well. Patria Aziz from Glendale, AZ rounds out the 9-lady Hens squad and their fire social media game.
Other than the Ukrainian sensation Maria Lyven taking over at #1 singles, the rest of the PP lineup is pretty up for grabs after Casper (#1), Chen (#3), and Jiang (#5) graduated. Doubles is always a question mark, but especially so after all 3 of the Hens doubles tandems last year have been split up. Can the young Hens keep Pomona-Pitzer in the top 10, even top 5? So many things to sort out! But that’s what the season is for and I can’t wait for it to get underway. The Sagehens run their usual gauntlet of a schedule, with Indoors, the NESCACs, and CMS, and I’m excited to see them rise to the challenge.
Big matches: Indoors (2/28-3/1), Amherst (3/17), Bowdoin (3/18), Williams (3/26), Midd (3/27), CMS (4/17)
Trinity (TX) Tigers
Preseason ITA Ranking (National): #18
2019 Season Record: 13-7; SCAC Champions
New Faces: Natalie Hur, Nicole Markiewicz, Maddee Koeller
Have Gone Places: Caroline Kutach, Andrea de Leon, Hailey Feuer, Hanna Rafferty, Jillian Greenberg
This post is already Texas-sized, but I’ve gotta talk about the tennis pride of the Lone Star state. It seems like every year I say “this is the year someone dethrones the Tigers” (check the next section), and year after year they prove me wrong and take home the SCAC title. In 2019 Trinity made it eight straight!! Kudos to Coach Gretchen and the whole Tiger squad. This Trinity team will rack up the frequent flyer miles – they travel for a west region bonanza in Portland, OR this month, then go to Virginia for the Blue-Grey Invitational before jetting off to Atlanta for the likes of W&L and Emory. Another SCAC championship means even more flights, probably to Claremont, so parents should have their Southwest Rapid Rewards numbers handy.
Last year’s team leaned heavily on Kutach and de Leon for their senior leadership, and this spring it’ll be the Kaffens’ time to shine. The sisters were in sync (per usual) this fall, winning the regional doubles title, and will lead the Tigers at #1 dubs for their third straight season. Between the twins and their depth, doubles never seems to be a problem for Trinity. However, the Tigers will have some big questions in singles this year as they have to replace half their starters. They lose Caroline Kutach (#1) and Andrea de Leon (#3) to graduation, and Hailey Feuer (#5) seems to have moved on as well.
I personally will miss watching Kutach run around to hit backhands. In all likelihood Ashley DeBauge will step into that #1 singles spot, and while she played well at #2 last year going 9-5, the top spot in the lineup is a different animal. I can’t wait to see how her game stacks up against Cardone and the other #1s in Texas.
The Tigers brought in three firstyears that will help revitalize the lineup, and all should see a fair amount of court time this spring. Nicole Markiewicz joins the squad all the way from California, while Maddee Koeller (2-star) joins from just down the street in Helotes, TX. The final newcomer, Natalie Hur, comes from Memorial High in Houston and the former Mustang could provide the depth Trinity needs to make it nine straight SCAC titles.
Big matches: Linfield (2/22), Whitman (2/23), Tufts (3/15), W&L (3/27), Wash U (3/29), Southwestern (4/8)
Southwestern Pirates
Preseason ITA Ranking (National): #22
2019 Season Record: 18-3
New Faces: Taylor Despriet, Emma Kesterson, Nina Mitrofanova, Alli Ziehm
Have Gone Places: Stephanie Bartusov
Southwestern just completed the best year in program history, achieving their highest ever ranking and graduating no starters. I’m really excited about what this season holds, and I know I say this every year but this could really be the one someone beats Trinity. The Pirates will need to navigate those choppy doubles seas – once they do they have a singles lineup to hang with anyone and much improved depth compared to years past. Throw in Coach Porter’s summer camp-style team bonding activities complete with a clinch crown and it’ll be a fun year. Brb, currently checking with the NCAA to see if I have any remaining years of eligibility.
While Coach Porter may say his team overachieved last year, the Pirates have laid the groundwork for a steady, successful, and long-lasting future with the pieces they have in place and the team culture they’re building. We’ve been so fortunate in D3 to see certain programs take these steps, whether it was CMS ascending to win that elusive championship, Bowdoin and Midd becoming perennial top-10 programs last decade, and more recently Wesleyan taking the tennis world by storm. These moments are special, and as a fan of D3 they evoke a similar reaction to when coaches see their players seize the moment, rise to the occasion, and crystallize the improvement they’ve worked so hard for. It will take a lot from everyone – players, coaches, even parents! – for the Pirates to become a perennial top-20 program and overthrow Trinity atop the SCAC but I think they have the poise and mentality to do it.
Southwestern now has a second Nina (Mitrofanova, from Conroe, TX), who captured the Texas ITA singles title in the fall and could end up playing #1 by the end of the year. Senior Mary Cardone and junior Esther Bowers both went 16-1 at the #1 and #2 spots last year, respectively, and having three top-notch players is a nice problem not many teams have. Emma Kesterson (3-star from Fort Worth), Taylor Despriet (3-star from Cumming, GA), and Alli Ziehm (2-star, Little Elm, TX) will be key additions in doubles and the bottom half of the lineup, supplementing strong play from Mariana Quetzari, Nina Elez, and captain Cecile Wilde last year.
Big matches: Caltech (2/23), Pomona-Pitzer (3/14), Bowdoin (3/15), Trinity (4/8)
OK, that’s enough for one article. Stay tuned this weekend for some more content featuring a few of the Northwest teams!!