2011 Team Preview #26: Denison

Evan Verbofsky

Coach: Peter Burling, 21st Season
Location: Granville, Ohio
Conference: NCAC
2008 Ranking: 26
2009 Ranking: 25
2010 Ranking: NR
2011 Projected: 26

I don't have all that much to say about Denison and I don't know their team that well, but they deserve a preview after making it into my top 30. Denison fell off a little bit last year after finishing in the top 30 the previous 2 years, but more importantly their hated rival Kenyon has really been widening the gap in the NCAC and the Big Red haven't had a chance to qualify for the tournament. This is certainly the closest they have been to Kenyon talent-wise since 2007 and although Kenyon is still a heavy favorite to win the conference, Denison does have a shot at them this year. They are tricky to play at home on their fast indoor courts and they will have a chance to knock off a big time team this weekend when Chicago comes to town and may be suffering from a post-Kenyon hangover. Rhodes and Emory are both on their schedule and they also will get a crack at CMU and Mary Washington before the GLCA tournament where a likely match with Kalamazoo awaits. The Big Red has a good mix of experience and youth, but one of their problems is they don't have any individuals who stand out. I can't remember the last time Denison had someone qualify for NCAA singles and this has hurt them against better teams who can match their depth. This year's team will be anchored by senior Evan Verbofsky, junior Matt McErlean and junior Tyler Cempre, who took out Chicago's #1 Will Zhang in fall ITAs. To put it simply, this is a tricky team and I think several of their opponents may overlook them. They certainly are deserving of the #26 ranking I gave them and they may even find themselves in the top 20 sometime during the year. The main problem for Denison, and the only thing that matters, is they can't compete with Kenyon at the moment. They are getting out-recruited and out-developed by the Lords, and if they ever want to see the NCAA tournament again, they have to pick up their recruiting. Denison is a solid program and another victim of the NCAA selection process. I expect them to be ranked at the end of the season but it will all be fairly irrelevant because I think they will need a massive effort to topple the Lords in the conference tournament, especially with Kenyon knowing they probably won't qualify for the tournament themselves if they lose.

2011 Team Preview #25: NC Wesleyan

Coach: Dominic Modise, 4th Season
Location: Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Conference: USA South
2008 Ranking: NR
2009 Ranking: 16
2010 Ranking: 9
2011 Projected: 11

NC Wesleyan has had a breakout 2 years, particularly last year when they made their way to the Elite 8. You would think at this point, everyone would know about them and their program would not remain mysterious to the majority of the nation. This is not the case though, and a large part of that is due to their player turnover, as they often don't retain their entire team from the previous year, but they are constantly bringing in new players. They lost their #1 from NCAAs last year in lefty Kalle Nikunen, but bring in 6 international freshmen, and I'm assuming a couple of them may have an impact on the starting lineup. We will get to see NCW early this season as they have qualified for the National Indoors and will take on Wash U. I'll get to this match and its significance a little later in the preview. One big thing stands out to me and it will define NC Wesleyan this year. Look at their doubles results against the last 4 ranked teams they played last season. They were down 2-1 to CNU, 2-1 to Vassar, 3-0 to Hopkins and 3-0 to Middlebury. They cannot get away with this type of doubles play and I'm sure their coaches will go back to the drawing board when it comes to doubles. I'm thinking this team will probably be as good as last year, and probably better. They get back Antti Saari who sat out NCAAs last year for unknown reasons, although he wouldn't have made a difference against Midd. He should solve some of their doubles problems and will put together an excellent top of the lineup along with returning starters Alexey Rumyantsev and Fred Lemongo. Rumyantsev ended last year as one of the best players in country and will be crucial to the Bishops' success this year. They have so many players, I don't know who else is going to be in the lineup. I can see NCW being as high as #4 and I doubt they will drop below #12. I definitely have them under-ranked at 11, I think they will finish higher than that. The Indoors 1st round is huge for NCW. I think they have a better chance of beating Wash U than the other 2 teams in the bottom half, so with a loss they could end up playing for 7th, but with a win they could easily finish 3rd and possibly make the final. They also have regular season matches against Mary Wash, Newport and Hopkins. The JHU match is on my matches to watch as a rematch of the epic 2010 Sweet 16 encounter. NCW should take care of business in their conference easily if they have a half decent bottom of the lineup. This team will have a great shot at another Elite 8, but they may have to beat Hopkins again to get there.

2011 Team Preview #24: Middlebury

Andrew Peters

Coach: Bob Barr, 1st Season
Location: Middlebury, Vermont
Conference: NESCAC
2008 Ranking: 5
2009 Ranking: 5
2010 Ranking: 1
2011 Projected: 6

The defending national champions are back with a brand new look and a lot of question marks heading into this season. Their former coach Dave Schwarz made this team what it is, and he has now moved on to Brown. Last year's assistant coach Bob Barr takes over as interim head coach for this year. What Middlebury always has is talent, and there is certainly no shortage of that on this year's team. 5 of 6 starters from last year's team graduated, but Midd had a deep bench and brought in 3 new freshmen who should all see time in the lineup if they are healthy. They also have Andrew Peters, who went deep in the NCAA singles tournament last year and returns as one of the best singles players in the country. The senior will have to pull a lot of weight this year, especially with Sun improving and Amherst getting even better. Midd is a very young team, and the problem with freshman is typically that they take a while to adapt to college doubles. The Panthers always have serviceable singles players, but in the past doubles has been an issue. I think a lot will rest on Coach Barr's shoulders when it comes to developing his guys in doubles. A preseason rumor that I've heard is that Midd freshman Teddy Fitzgibbons is having ankle problems and his status for the season is unsure. He still has 6 weeks to heal and it would be huge for Midd if he could be a strong 2 or 3 this year to give Peters some support. Other notable players for Midd are freshmen Zach Bruchmiller and Brantner Jones, as well as returning player Alec Parower, who saw some time in the lineup last year. If Coach Barr can lead this team to a NESCAC title and a finish in the top 4, I would think his interim tag should be removed. He is obviously a very capable coach, but it's hard to follow in a great coach's footsteps. Midd has finished in the top 5 for 8 consecutive years, and if that streak has ever been in jeopardy before, it certainly is now. I know they have a great team, and I also know not the count them out for a repeat of the national championship. Great freshmen are always an unknown, and their freshmen can surprise everyone and all be top players. This team goes about their business, and maybe more than anyone at this point, puts fear into their opponents. They may not have as much talent as last year, but they are still named Middlebury, and that counts for something. Their NESCAC battles with Williams and Amherst are the biggest of the season along with a spring break match against CLU. I can see Midd finishing anywhere from 1 to 8 this year. A lot depends on their health, and even more depends on their new coach.

2011 Team Preview #23: Kalamazoo

Nate Eddy

Coach: Mark Riley, 4th Season
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Conference: MIAA
2008 Ranking: 28
2009 Ranking: 22
2010 Ranking: 17
2011 Projected: NR

I've given my fair share of criticism to Coach Riley, but when you look at the numbers, he has Kalamazoo going in the right direction. After they dropped from 15th to 28th between '07 and '08, he developed the guys he had and got this team back on track with a rise of 11 spots over 2 years. Last year was their first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance under Riley and it was well-earned, as this team cracked the top 15 last season. So why do I have them unranked for 2011? They lost 3 of their top 4 singles players from last year's team as well as 4 of 6 doubles starters, and while this was happening, they only brought in 2 freshmen, one of whom may see time in the bottom of the lineup. If anyone in the country is in a rebuilding year, it's Kalamazoo. That's perfectly acceptable too as long as Riley recruits the players that he needs, so that he can get this team back on track. Kzoo is really in no danger of losing the conference, so they should find themselves in the tournament again, and that may be enough to be ranked at the end of the season. The problem with this team the past few years is that they only show up half of the time. When they decide to play, they can very good, and they showed that in wins against DePauw and Chicago last year, as well as at NCAAs when they crushed Luther and took 2 of 3 doubles from Wash U. This year's team needs to bring that level all the time. Big news for Kzoo is that they were selected to host the 2013 NCAA Championships, so maybe they can make their way back to the Final 8 by then. To do so, I think it's as simple as they can't just look for local talent anymore. Riley needs to expand his recruiting to national and international to make his team a serious contender on the national scene again. The majority of their team hails from Michigan, and I think the last 3 years have shown that isn't going to work anymore. I've said this in other previews, a finish of #17 is good, but it's not good for Kalamazoo. And if they finish this year unranked, that will have to be the first time in many years they aren't ranked. Looking at their schedule, it is littered with opportunities. Matches I'd focus on are Whitewater, Case Western, Bates and a potential GLCA quarterfinal against Denison. They just aren't at the level of Chicago and Kenyon this year so they aren't threats to win those matches. They've got one of the best players in the Central region in junior Nate Eddy, but he won't be enough to take this team anywhere this year because they just aren't that strong. A rebuilding year for Kzoo in 2011, so let's hope they actually rebuild.

Weekend Results

Several teams were in action this weekend and let's take a look at some of their results. I already covered Chicago's matches so I'll review 2 from CMU, 1 from Emory and 1 from Redlands. Trinity (TX), Carleton and Gustavus were also in action.

CMU wins 2

Positives and negatives to take away from this weekend as the Tartans begin preparation for Cal Lutheran. Any Patriot League team is going to play solid doubles so I thought it was great for them to get up 2-1. I like it any time a D3 team beats a D1 team, but this is a good doubles result. 2 and 3 doubles will be huge spots for CMU during the season. Singles was close, but CMU managed to pull out 4 close matches even after they fell asleep during a couple sets in 3 of their wins. This was a good result against a decent D1 team. Another good doubles result from CMU against a ranked D2 opponent. Again, I can't emphasize enough how important it is for them to take a 2-1 lead against CLU. They won both matches comfortably, but the thing that worries me is the bottom of the lineup was not rock solid. They absolutely need wins at 5 and 6 against CLU because they are huge underdogs at 1 and 2, and 3 and 4 seem fairly even. I'll say this now, if they don't win both 5 and 6, they will not beat CLU.

Emory d. Shorter 8-1

The Eagles were nothing short of dominant and are a heavy favorite heading into Indoors. Their singles lineup is fantastic and if they can actually get away with a Pottish/Egan combo at #3 doubles, those 2 will never lose either. That pretty much solves the problem of getting swept in doubles and it's a smart move by Browning, but I don't consider their top 2 teams all that strong compared to who they will be playing. Their singles is just so good though that they can win 4 of 6 against anyone in the country on the right day. Shorter is a good team and Emory crushed them. If they play like this, I see them cruising to the Indoors title.

Redlands falls to UCSD

This is clearly a stronger team with Jeff Hammond, who wasn't in action this weekend. I'm just not impressed by their lineup and I think they have a lot of work to do. Don't take much from this because UCSD is a great team and I don't think Redlands had much of a chance. We'll see what kind of shape Redlands is in during March, but I don't see them having the depth to make NCAAs right now.

Gustavus lost to BYU-Hawaii 6-3 and Carleton defeated Saint Cloud St. 8-1. I'll discuss those tomorrow. Also, Trinity (TX) played very short-handed and lost to D2 power Abilene Christian 9-0. Cocanougher wasn't in the match and they will certainly need him healthy to have a shot at Indoors. No box score available yet.

Chicago Steals 2 Wins

Chicago d. Case Western 6-3
Chicago d. Whitewater 5-3

No offense to their opponents, but Chicago completely out-classes both of them when it comes to talent. If they really are a top 10 team, they should be crushing teams like this. They pulled out a 9-8 in doubles and a 7-6 in the 3rd to beat Case, so the reality was that they were a few points away from losing. This Case team is solid and they fight hard, but they are nowhere near Chicago. The Maroons will not make NCAAs for a 6th consecutive year if they keep playing like this. The Whitewater match was a similar story, but it was a more comfortable win. UWW is a ranked team by the ITA, but in my opinion probably shouldn't be. What we know for sure is Chicago has a huge test Friday night playing at Kenyon. If they continue to play like they've been playing, they will lose. They've been sneaking by inferior teams. Will they step up when they need to?

2011 Team Preview #22: Carnegie Mellon

Bobby Mactaggart

Coach: Andrew Girard, 8th Season
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Conference: UAA
2008 Ranking: 14
2009 Ranking: 14
2010 Ranking: 8
2011 Projected: 12

Much like Wash U, I think this is still a very good team, but probably won't be as good as they were last year. The 2011 CMU team will prove something to everyone else in the country. They will prove that you have to recruit and reload every year, or your team is going to slip, because everyone else is getting better. This is still a very good team with top 10 potential, but they will really have to play well to remain in the single digits. Last year was a great year for them, but instead of moving into the next level of teams consistently, they will most likely fall back closer to where they were in '08 and '09. What they don't have are those really strong spots last year, and I thought they had 4 spots last year that you could really count on for wins. That great middle of the lineup is no longer there, but in their defense I'm not sure what their 7 and 8 guys last year were like who will now move into starting spots. They don't have the luxury of waltzing in the tournament, but instead need to constantly be looking over their shoulder in the ultra-competitive Pool C. This team is always a question mark and I can honestly see them being anywhere between 7 and 17 in the rankings. Indoors is huge for them, and in their first round this year, they will be the team who is more experienced at the Indoor tournament. They head into the spring with a #8 ITA ranking, so they really have to play themselves out of the tournament rather than into it. I know it's early, but they are in amazing shape as far as making the tournament if they beat Cal Lutheran. They are certainly the underdog heading into that match, but they can definitely win. This team has experience in the top of the lineup with NCAA qualifier Alex Nemerov and Bobby Mactaggart, who was one of my players to watch. They also have one of the best sophomores in the country in Duke Miller, and NCAA doubles qualifier Jeremy King, who will probably be asked to fill a singles role this year as well. They've got 4 of 6 starters back, but a lot of guys are shifted up a few spots, so we will see how they respond. Their doubles late-season was good last year, so they are improving on the horrendous doubles results they used to have. They are not doing a California trip this year, which is smart, because teams like Redlands and Trinity (TX) won't get a crack at them, and they already play Cal Lu at a neutral site. Big matches are an early season contest against Kenyon, a match against Hopkins and the GLCA tournament with Kenyon and DePauw. This team has a lot of potential, I'm just not sure where the in-match wins are going to come from yet.

2011 Team Preview #21: Pomona-Pitzer

Ramsey Bernard

Coach: Ben Belletto, 8th Season
Location: Claremont, California
Conference: SCIAC
2008 Ranking: 30
2009 Ranking: 28
2010 Ranking: 20
2011 Projected: 20

Pomona-Pitzer, similar to Whitman, is a team at the top of the 3rd tier of teams looking to break into the 2nd tier. They also happen to be my third victim of the NCAA selection process. Coach Belletto should be commended for what he's done with this program, taking them 10 spots higher over the past 2 years and making them a very tough team to play because you know they will always fight until the end. I really have no evidence to back this up, but I have a feeling P-P is going to plateau for the next several years and stay in the 20-25 range. I don't see how they can really move up with the stringent admissions standards of the college, but they are still a good enough team to always be ranked and get some wins against other top 30 teams. They use the strategy of stacking their schedule with the top teams in the country in an attempt to improve, but the only thing it's accomplished over the past 3 years is having them miss the tournament. This is a good program that is hoping to become a great program, but you can't become a great program without actual results. When I say actual results, I mean big wins in important matches. There is always speculation, and I take some of the blame for it, that the Hens are going to knock off a powerhouse when we least expect it. Their biggest win the past 3 years has been an early season victory against a weak Mary Washington team last year that got them as high as 17 in the country. I know they work hard, but that's nothing to write home about. I don't see their breakthrough coming for quite a while, but maybe 2011 will prove me wrong. They've got experience as well as depth, and almost their whole team back from last year. They've got one of the best players in the West in Tommy Meyer and one of the most underrated in Uday Singh. One thing I commend P-P for is always being ready to play against top teams and giving their best. They are a target for teams below them and a warm-up match for teams above them, so they are in an awkward spot heading into matches more often than not. There are several matches that stand out to me on their schedule this year that will show us if they've improved since last year. Pay attention to matches against Brandeis, Mary Washington, Tyler, Trinity (CT) and Redlands. I think they should be pleased going 3 for 5 against those teams. Their schedule is stacked and they have chances, but the NCAA odds are against them. I really like this program and I hope they prove me wrong, but I'm not a true believer until I see some real results.

2011 Team Preview #20: Williams

Will Petrie

Coach: Dan Greenberg, 2nd Season
Location: Williamstown, Massachusetts
Conference: NESCAC
2008 Ranking: 6
2009 Ranking: 8
2010 Ranking: 11
2011 Projected: 9

2010 was the first year since 1996 that Williams failed to make at least the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament and finish in the top 10 in the country. Losing to Amherst is unfamiliar territory for the Ephs, but I think it taught them a lesson and I expect them to be back in the top 10 this year. I think Williams is the only team in the top 20 who will start no seniors, so they certainly have a bright future. Last year, I think some questionable scheduling did in Williams. They started with a road match against NC Wesleyan. Going to that match, I'm pretty sure Williams was very sure that they were going to win comfortably. They were wrong and I think it took them a few weeks to recover after that loss and it also really did them in when it came to rankings. The problem is that when your season is only 6 weeks long, you've got to be sharp every match, and one loss can really hurt you. On the positive side, this really was one of the best teams in the country last year. They beat Amherst 2 weeks before the Jeffs made their run to the final, and they even played very close with Amherst in the NCAA regional final. That shows me that this team has top 8 potential if they are playing well. One thing that worries me is that freshman Matt Micheli is currently not on their roster, and he was slated to play #2 for them this spring and would have been one of the best freshmen in the country. I'm not exactly sure where he is but they will miss him a lot if he's not in the lineup this spring. Williams does have one of the best players in the country in Felix Sun who really should support them and get a lot of wins even in the tough NESCAC. They have a great supporting cast as well and really are as deep as anyone in the country. Traditionally, Williams doubles is not very good. They are known for getting swept and getting into fairly big holes, and it would make life a lot easier if they could avoid that this year. I expect the Ephs to grab one of the Pool C spots and hopefully they can put together a strong enough regular season to get a top seed in their region. They've booked a California trip this year and scheduled 4 ranked teams out there, and I certainly would think Redlands, Cruz and CLU are all huge matches for them to try to pad their out-of-conference resume. I don't think it even needs to be said that matches against their NESCAC rivals are very important to them. I definitely expect Williams to get back on track this year and be in the hunt late in May after last year's disappointment.

2011 Team Preview #19: Redlands

Anish Nanda

Coach: Geoff Roche, 12th Season
Location: Redlands, California
Conference: SCIAC
2008 Ranking: 12
2009 Ranking: 10
2010 Ranking: 16
2011 Projected: 16

I have mixed feelings about the state of Redlands tennis. There are two sides to this: one being that they are clearly not as good as they used to be, and the other is that they are still a good team who finished 10th in the country only 2 years ago. 2010 was clearly not a good year, as they missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 17 years, and they have now finished double digits in the rankings for 4 consecutive years, something that only happened once between 1992-2006 when they finished 10th in 2003. The thing that puzzles me is that I'm not sure if the team just isn't there, or the talent is there and they just can't win. They enter this year on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA tournament. With 2 top 10 teams in their conference, it is going to be very difficult for the Bulldogs to make the tournament, but I feel it's something they have to do to get back on track as a program. When you have a tradition like Redlands and you train as much as they do, things better go well or alumni and the athletic department will start pointing fingers. That finger pointing will start if they have another bad year in 2011. There's a lot of pressure on this team, but I feel they have both talent and experience. They've got 4 very solid players led by senior Cam Spearman who should see time at both 1 singles and 1 doubles. He's got arguably the biggest serve in D3 and is a great doubles player. After him are sophomores Anish Nanda and Darren Dahl, and grad student Jeff Hammond who missed his first year with an injury. Dahl was supposed to be a 1 or 2 player last year for Redlands but rarely saw the lineup, so hopefully he will meet his expectations this year. Nanda was one of my players to watch and should form the other half of a potential NCAA doubles qualifier with Spearman. Redlands also has one of the most underrated doubles teams in the country in Hammond and Keven Wong. Doubles was a big problem last year, and it's something they are known for and need to fix to get some wins against their daunting schedule. 3 matches I have my eye on are an early season contest against Mary Wash, a mid-season date with Williams and a home match against Cal Lutheran. Redlands really needs to put together a team effort because they don't have that star player in their back pocket. 3rd in the SCIAC and 16th in the country isn't bad by any means, but it's not up to Redlands' standards.