Last year felt like a season of destiny for Baylor with the Bears hosting the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history but unfortunately it wasn't to be as their season came to an end in the NCAA semifinals against a team they had already beaten twice earlier in the season.
Baylor head coach Matt Knoll is back for his 20th season but this one may be a little challenging after losing Mate Zsiga, Diego Galeano, and Tony Lupieri with the trio accounting for 37% of Baylor's dual-match wins last season. Knoll brought in two new recruits in the fall, Tommy Podvinski and Jimmy Bendeck, and one in January, Tomas Charlos, to help fill the void plus he'll have the services of Will Little after he took a redshirt season last year.
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Showing posts with label 2016 Season Previews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2016 Season Previews. Show all posts
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
2016 Season Preview - Oklahoma Sooners
When you talk about the elite programs in college tennis Oklahoma is one of the first names that comes to mind and that's all thanks to the recruiting and player development that's been done by head coach John Roddick and his staff over the last 6 years. Roddick was hired on June 19, 2009 and since then OU has been on an upward trajectory winning 19, 16, 19, 21, 28, and 29 matches in each of the last 6 seasons.
After years of being an also-ran in the Big 12 behind the likes of Baylor, Texas, and Texas A&M, the Oklahoma Sooners are now the ones being chased after winning the conference tournament 3 of the last 4 years. In the same 4-year period OU has also claimed 3 regular season conference titles (2 shared), won the National Team Indoor Championships, and made it to the NCAA Championship finals in each of the last 2 years.
After years of being an also-ran in the Big 12 behind the likes of Baylor, Texas, and Texas A&M, the Oklahoma Sooners are now the ones being chased after winning the conference tournament 3 of the last 4 years. In the same 4-year period OU has also claimed 3 regular season conference titles (2 shared), won the National Team Indoor Championships, and made it to the NCAA Championship finals in each of the last 2 years.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
2016 Season Preview - Cal Bears
When you think of ideal places to play college tennis the University of California in Berkeley has to be pretty high up on the list due to its strong academics, scenic views, and year-round mild climate. Cal has a recently renovated tennis facility, a tenured head coach, and is in one of the most fertile states for tennis but success in terms of conference and national titles has eluded them for years. The Bears have played second, third, and fourth fiddle to its in-state Pac-12 neighbors Stanford, USC, and UCLA for quite some time with Cal's last conference title coming all the way back in 1953 when the conference was known as the Pacific Coast Conference. Cal is 6-29 against the Big 3 since 2010 and the last time it beat all 3 in the same season was all the way back in 2005.
Despite its struggles against the heavy hitters this could be the season that Cal makes its mark because it'll be starting 5 ranked singles players which is something that has probably never happened before.
Despite its struggles against the heavy hitters this could be the season that Cal makes its mark because it'll be starting 5 ranked singles players which is something that has probably never happened before.
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
2016 Season Preview - Wake Forest Demon Deacons
When you're in the same conference as Virginia you know it's going to be an uphill battle to win a conference championship but Wake Forest has come as close to beating the 9-time defending champs as just about anyone else in the last few years. Wake has played for the conference championship in 2 of the last 3 seasons and one of the main reasons is because of its head coach Tony Bresky. The 1998 Western Illinois graduate was part of Brian Boland's staff during the years when the program went from an also-ran to a perennial powerhouse. Bresky learned how to recruit and put a team together and when he left Virginia after the 2010 season to take over as head coach at Cornell he immediately took the Big Red to new heights. In his one season at Cornell he led them to their first-ever Ivy League Championship, first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, and won 26 matches which blew away the schools previous best win mark of 20.
Bresky took over at Wake Forest in the fall of 2011 and with a fairly inexperienced roster he went 14-15 in his debut season but he turned things around in year two. Bresky guided the Deacs to a 20-9 record in the 2012-13 season, which was only the third time Wake had ever won 20 matches, and was named ACC Coach of the Year. Bresky had to replace his top 3 for the 2013-14 season and his young roster fought hard but they lost 8 matches that finished with a 4-3 score and ended up going 15-14 on the season.
Bresky took over at Wake Forest in the fall of 2011 and with a fairly inexperienced roster he went 14-15 in his debut season but he turned things around in year two. Bresky guided the Deacs to a 20-9 record in the 2012-13 season, which was only the third time Wake had ever won 20 matches, and was named ACC Coach of the Year. Bresky had to replace his top 3 for the 2013-14 season and his young roster fought hard but they lost 8 matches that finished with a 4-3 score and ended up going 15-14 on the season.
Friday, January 8, 2016
2016 Season Preview - Illinois Fighting Illini
Despite its early exit in Waco I'd still consider last season a success for Illinois because after years of playing second fiddle to Ohio State the Illini beat the Buckeyes not once, not twice, but three times. Illinois won its second Big Ten Tournament Championship in the last four years and won its first regular season Big Ten Championship since 2005 though they did have to share it with Ohio State and Minnesota. The first and third wins over Ohio State came in tournament play but the second win snapped the Buckeyes 97-match Big Ten regular season winning streak which dated back to 2005.
Brad Dancer enters his 11th season as head coach of the Illini and currently sits in second on the all-time wins list with 215 wins which is only 59 behind Craig Tiley's 274 (12 seasons).
Dancer returns half of his starting 6 from last year's team but he lost some solid contributors with Farris Gosea, Tim Kopinski, Ross Guignon, and Blake Bazarnik all departing. Those 4 accounted for 38% of the Illini's dual-match singles wins and were part of 53% of Illinois's doubles wins.
Brad Dancer enters his 11th season as head coach of the Illini and currently sits in second on the all-time wins list with 215 wins which is only 59 behind Craig Tiley's 274 (12 seasons).
Dancer returns half of his starting 6 from last year's team but he lost some solid contributors with Farris Gosea, Tim Kopinski, Ross Guignon, and Blake Bazarnik all departing. Those 4 accounted for 38% of the Illini's dual-match singles wins and were part of 53% of Illinois's doubles wins.
Monday, January 4, 2016
2016 Season Preview - South Florida Bulls
2015 was a historic season for South Florida with the Tampa-based Bulls making its first ever appearance in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. USF started playing tennis in 1966 (school founded in 1956) and prior to last season they had made the NCAAs 10 times (not bad) but had only managed to get past the first round on 5 occasions. Head coach Matt Hill was able to get his 2014 team into the second round (beat Florida State 4-2) but after dropping a tough doubles point to Florida, and then enduring a 3-hour rain delay, the Gators were just too strong in singles and shut them out 4-0.
The experience of making it to the second round had to give the team a belief that they belonged with the big boys but after winning its first 3 matches in 2015 the Bulls dropped 4 of its next 5. The toughest loss of the 4 came when Penn State beat them 4-1 which denied them a shot at qualifying for the National Team Indoors for the first time in school history. Instead of packing it in the team rallied and won 9 straight before losing a 4-3 heartbreaker at Tulsa. The Bulls would avenge that loss to Tulsa in the finals of The American Conference Tournament and rise to #18 but they'd just miss out on hosting a NCAA regional. South Florida traveled to Blacksburg for the Virginia Tech regional and after shutting out Boise State in the first round they'd surprisingly do the same to the host Hokies in the second round. South Florida drew Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen and stood toe to toe with the hosts before falling 4-1 (more on this match at the very bottom of this post).
The experience of making it to the second round had to give the team a belief that they belonged with the big boys but after winning its first 3 matches in 2015 the Bulls dropped 4 of its next 5. The toughest loss of the 4 came when Penn State beat them 4-1 which denied them a shot at qualifying for the National Team Indoors for the first time in school history. Instead of packing it in the team rallied and won 9 straight before losing a 4-3 heartbreaker at Tulsa. The Bulls would avenge that loss to Tulsa in the finals of The American Conference Tournament and rise to #18 but they'd just miss out on hosting a NCAA regional. South Florida traveled to Blacksburg for the Virginia Tech regional and after shutting out Boise State in the first round they'd surprisingly do the same to the host Hokies in the second round. South Florida drew Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen and stood toe to toe with the hosts before falling 4-1 (more on this match at the very bottom of this post).
Friday, January 1, 2016
2016 Season Preview - North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina has a lot of tradition (been playing tennis since 1908) but prior to last season it had never made the NCAA quarterfinals in consecutive years. Sam Paul had to feel confident going into the 2015 season, due to having an experienced starting 6, but as the season rocked on the injury bug took turns biting his starters and some of his reserves. Throughout the course of the season Brayden Schnur (knee-7), Ronnie Schneider (shoulder-3), Esben Hess-Olesen (back-21), and Oystein Steiro (foot-11) would miss a combined 51 starts which meant Paul constantly had to shuffle both his singles and doubles lineups. Despite all the changes the Tar Heels still managed to win 24 matches including an upset of #4 Illinois in the Sweet Sixteen before losing a tough 4-1 match to TCU in the Elite 8.
Sam Paul is back for his 23rd season as head coach of the Tar Heels and with his top 5 singles starters returning (all ranked) he's probably hoping for a little smoother ride this year. Esben Hess-Olesen and Oystein Steiro both graduated so Paul will have to replace those 16 dual-match singles wins and his top 2 choices to do so are both freshmen. Anu Kodali, who was a Top 15 Blue Chip, picked up his first career ranked win when he beat NC State's #71 Simon Norenius at the Duke Bonk Invitational while Bo Boyden, a Top 25 5-star, posted a 4-4 singles record this fall. I'd say Kodali definitely has the inside track to the #6 spot with Boyden likely the first off the bench at #7.
Sam Paul is back for his 23rd season as head coach of the Tar Heels and with his top 5 singles starters returning (all ranked) he's probably hoping for a little smoother ride this year. Esben Hess-Olesen and Oystein Steiro both graduated so Paul will have to replace those 16 dual-match singles wins and his top 2 choices to do so are both freshmen. Anu Kodali, who was a Top 15 Blue Chip, picked up his first career ranked win when he beat NC State's #71 Simon Norenius at the Duke Bonk Invitational while Bo Boyden, a Top 25 5-star, posted a 4-4 singles record this fall. I'd say Kodali definitely has the inside track to the #6 spot with Boyden likely the first off the bench at #7.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
2016 Season Preview - Texas A&M Aggies
When Texas A&M made the transition from the Big 12 to the SEC in the summer of 2012 they were coming off their first losing season since 1997 and it had been 10 years since the Aggies had won a conference or division title. Fast forward to the summer of 2015 and in the past 3 years the Aggies have won a West Division title (2013), a Conference Tournament title (2014), and another Conference Tournament title with a share of the Regular Season title (2015) to boot. (Note: SEC discontinued divisions after the 2013 season and combined everyone into one group)
I don't know if it was the SEC branding or the incoming talent (latter) but the Aggies have quickly turned into a juggernaut in the SEC with no opposing team wanting to go to College Station on a Friday night or Sunday afternoon. Texas A&M is 32-3 at home over the last 2 years and a perfect 15-0 against the SEC with windy conditions and rowdy crowds the norm for incoming opposition.
Steve Denton's teams have made the NCAA tournament each of the past 9 years but they've yet to make back-to-back trips to the NCAA Round of 16 but I have to think Denton likes his chances this year. Last year's run to the Elite 8 marked only the second time in school history that A&M had made it that deep with the first time coming back in 2001.
I don't know if it was the SEC branding or the incoming talent (latter) but the Aggies have quickly turned into a juggernaut in the SEC with no opposing team wanting to go to College Station on a Friday night or Sunday afternoon. Texas A&M is 32-3 at home over the last 2 years and a perfect 15-0 against the SEC with windy conditions and rowdy crowds the norm for incoming opposition.
Steve Denton's teams have made the NCAA tournament each of the past 9 years but they've yet to make back-to-back trips to the NCAA Round of 16 but I have to think Denton likes his chances this year. Last year's run to the Elite 8 marked only the second time in school history that A&M had made it that deep with the first time coming back in 2001.
Monday, December 28, 2015
2016 Season Preview - Georgia Bulldogs
When you talk about the greatest college tennis programs in the land, Georgia is always going to be in the conversation. Georgia boasts 6 NCAA National Titles (85, 87, 99, 01, 07, 08) with current head coach Manny Diaz, who is now in his 28th year as head coach of the Bulldogs, the architect of the last 4. The last time Tulsa hosted the NCAAs (2008) Georgia won it all so Manny Diaz is probably hoping that lighting strikes again this year.
Diaz returns 5 singles starters from last year's team which finished ranked #8 after falling to then #1 Oklahoma 4-2 in the NCAA quarterfinals. Georgia and Texas A&M shared the SEC regular season title after both went 11-1 (UGA won regular season match in Athens 4-1) however Texas A&M won the conference tournament when they beat Georgia 4-2 in the finals in a match that was held in College Station.
The one singles starter that Diaz has to replace is Nathan Pasha who went 16-5 last season in dual-match play including 14-3 at #3 singles. Pasha's frequent doubles partner Eric Diaz also graduated so there will be 2 openings in doubles. Pasha and Diaz struggled a bit last season going 4-9 at #2 doubles before Diaz had to take a month off to recover from an appendectomy. Diaz returned in time for the NCAAs and went 3-1 with Paul Oosterbaan at #3 doubles.
Diaz returns 5 singles starters from last year's team which finished ranked #8 after falling to then #1 Oklahoma 4-2 in the NCAA quarterfinals. Georgia and Texas A&M shared the SEC regular season title after both went 11-1 (UGA won regular season match in Athens 4-1) however Texas A&M won the conference tournament when they beat Georgia 4-2 in the finals in a match that was held in College Station.
Saturday, December 26, 2015
2016 Season Preview - Stanford Cardinal
Optimism is in the air on The Farm as year two of the Paul Goldstein era has many of the Cardinal faithful believing that a return to prominence is much closer than originally anticipated.
Stanford was the undisputed king of men's college tennis from 1977 to 2000 winning an astonishing 15 National Championships but since 2000 the Cardinal have only made it past the quarterfinals once (2003) and have only advanced to the Final 16 site 8 times. The last time Stanford made it to the Round of 16 was 2012 so the current 3-year drought is the program's longest since the dual-match format was instituted in 1977.
If you look at the TRN's recruiting rankings you'll notice that the Cardinal almost always has a top 5 recruiting class (#1 in 2014) but the player development was sliding towards the end of John Whitlinger's 10-year stint. The 3-man class of 2013 has only started 9 dual-matches in the past 2 years and only 2 of 4 guys from the class of 2012 were contributors last season.
Stanford was the undisputed king of men's college tennis from 1977 to 2000 winning an astonishing 15 National Championships but since 2000 the Cardinal have only made it past the quarterfinals once (2003) and have only advanced to the Final 16 site 8 times. The last time Stanford made it to the Round of 16 was 2012 so the current 3-year drought is the program's longest since the dual-match format was instituted in 1977.
If you look at the TRN's recruiting rankings you'll notice that the Cardinal almost always has a top 5 recruiting class (#1 in 2014) but the player development was sliding towards the end of John Whitlinger's 10-year stint. The 3-man class of 2013 has only started 9 dual-matches in the past 2 years and only 2 of 4 guys from the class of 2012 were contributors last season.
Thursday, December 24, 2015
2016 Season Preview - UCLA Bruins
No team has been more consistent over the years than UCLA with the Bruins the only team to make the NCAA Round of 16 every year since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1999. UCLA head coach Billy Martin enters his 23rd year at the helm with 1 National Title (2005) and 4 National Runner-Ups (96/99/04/13) in his previous 22 years.
Martin only loses 1 player from last year's Round of 16 team though that 1 guy was a valuable one with Dennis Mkrtchian going 15-5 in dual-match play with the majority of his matches coming at #2 singles.
UCLA returns everyone else with Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki expected to anchor the singles and doubles lineup. McDonald went 15-1 in dual-match play last year with all his matches coming at #1 while Redlicki went 17-3 with most of his matches coming at #2 and #3. The pair combined to go 12-5 at #1 doubles and they also performed well over the summer winning the Costa Mesa Futures and making the semifinals at the Claremont Futures. McDonald is the only current college player with an ATP ranking inside the top 600 and he's well inside it at 372.
Martin only loses 1 player from last year's Round of 16 team though that 1 guy was a valuable one with Dennis Mkrtchian going 15-5 in dual-match play with the majority of his matches coming at #2 singles.
UCLA returns everyone else with Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki expected to anchor the singles and doubles lineup. McDonald went 15-1 in dual-match play last year with all his matches coming at #1 while Redlicki went 17-3 with most of his matches coming at #2 and #3. The pair combined to go 12-5 at #1 doubles and they also performed well over the summer winning the Costa Mesa Futures and making the semifinals at the Claremont Futures. McDonald is the only current college player with an ATP ranking inside the top 600 and he's well inside it at 372.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
2016 Season Preview - USC Trojans
During USC's stretch of dominance, which saw them win 4 National Titles in 5 years, one of the biggest things that contributed to USC's success (aside from Steve Johnson) was the lack of turnover among its starters. The last time USC had to replace more than 2 starters was all the back in 2008 (Van't Hof, Sacks, Piotrowski) but this season they have to replace 4 with Yannick Hanfmann, Roberto Quiroz, Eric Johnson, and Jonny Wang all moving on after 4 spectacular seasons.
Hanfmann, Quiroz, Johnson, and Wang accounted for 59% of USC's dual-match singles wins last season though the 2 returning starters, Max de Vroome (Sr) and Nick Crystal (Jr), each won 18 dual-matches which tied them for 2nd on the team.
Peter Smith welcomes back several quality depth players with a few of them likely to start this season. If healthy, I think that both Connor Farren (Jr) and Rob Bellamy (Jr) will be in the starting 6 with Thibault Forget (Guy Forget's son) and Tanner Smith (Peter Smith's son) just on the outside looking in.
Hanfmann, Quiroz, Johnson, and Wang accounted for 59% of USC's dual-match singles wins last season though the 2 returning starters, Max de Vroome (Sr) and Nick Crystal (Jr), each won 18 dual-matches which tied them for 2nd on the team.
Peter Smith welcomes back several quality depth players with a few of them likely to start this season. If healthy, I think that both Connor Farren (Jr) and Rob Bellamy (Jr) will be in the starting 6 with Thibault Forget (Guy Forget's son) and Tanner Smith (Peter Smith's son) just on the outside looking in.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
2016 Season Preview - Ohio State Buckeyes
Many wouldn't consider a 27-9 season a disappointment but it is if you are accustomed to winning conference championships and making deep runs at the NCAAs. When Ohio State lost 4-3 to Texas A&M in the Round of 16 it marked the first time since 2005 that the Buckeyes hadn't at least made the NCAA Quarterfinals. Ohio State had won the Big Ten conference tournament 8 of the previous 9 seasons but Illinois shut them out twice in Champaign last season with the second occurrence coming in the Big Ten finals.
Ohio State's strength last season was the bottom of the lineup with the 4 through 6 spots going 69-16 (.81) while the top half of the lineup was good 49-28 (.64) but came up short too many times against tougher competition. In Ohio State's 9 losses the top half of the lineup went just 6-18 (.25) including 0-3 in the season ending loss to Texas A&M.
Ohio State has to replace 2 starters, Hunter Callahan and Kevin Metka, that both excelled in singles and doubles with the pair combining to go 41-12 in dual-match singles play and 42-17 in dual-match doubles play.
Ohio State's strength last season was the bottom of the lineup with the 4 through 6 spots going 69-16 (.81) while the top half of the lineup was good 49-28 (.64) but came up short too many times against tougher competition. In Ohio State's 9 losses the top half of the lineup went just 6-18 (.25) including 0-3 in the season ending loss to Texas A&M.
Ohio State has to replace 2 starters, Hunter Callahan and Kevin Metka, that both excelled in singles and doubles with the pair combining to go 41-12 in dual-match singles play and 42-17 in dual-match doubles play.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
2016 Season Preview - TCU Horned Frogs
TCU has plenty of history when it comes to men's tennis but prior to last year most of it was distant history. TCU had made just 3 trips to the NCAA Round of 16 in the previous 16 years, with the most recent being in 2004, and hadn't made the Round of 16 as a seed since 2000. TCU head coach David Roditi updated the record books last year when he guided his senior laden team to the NCAA semifinals and had them a whisker away from a spot in the finals.
I thought this would be a rebuilding year after losing 5 seniors (Nick Chappell, Facundo Lugones, Arnau Dachs, Will Stein, Blake Wiggins) that accounted for 55% of TCU's dual-match wins but Roditi has restocked the shelves nicely and it's possible that TCU may actually be better this coming season.
I thought this would be a rebuilding year after losing 5 seniors (Nick Chappell, Facundo Lugones, Arnau Dachs, Will Stein, Blake Wiggins) that accounted for 55% of TCU's dual-match wins but Roditi has restocked the shelves nicely and it's possible that TCU may actually be better this coming season.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
2016 Season Preview - Virginia Cavaliers
The defending national champions will be shooting for their third title in the last four years and even though they lost one of the all-time greats in Mitchell Frank they'll still have a pretty stacked roster that's loaded with talent and experience. Virginia has a rugged top 3 with Ryan Shane, Collin Altamirano, and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski each likely to split time in the top 3 spots while there will be 5 guys (Ritschard, Aragone, Wiersholm, Styslinger, Corinteli) that are more than capable of filling the bottom 3 spots.
Brian Boland has lined up a tough non-conference schedule that has the Hoos facing Kentucky and UCLA at home and Illinois, Tulsa, Oklahoma (@ Tulsa), and Florida on the road. Virginia hosts this year's National Team Indoors in February which will have them facing another 3 or 4 top 15 teams and of course Virginia plays a full ACC schedule with Wake Forest coming to Cville and the Hoos going to Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and Duke. The full schedule is further down the page.
Brian Boland has lined up a tough non-conference schedule that has the Hoos facing Kentucky and UCLA at home and Illinois, Tulsa, Oklahoma (@ Tulsa), and Florida on the road. Virginia hosts this year's National Team Indoors in February which will have them facing another 3 or 4 top 15 teams and of course Virginia plays a full ACC schedule with Wake Forest coming to Cville and the Hoos going to Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and Duke. The full schedule is further down the page.