Tennis Atlantic

2015 NCAA Men’s Tennis Preview: #25-#20 Ranked Teams
Jeff McMillan, Tennis Atlantic

With the preseason ITA rankings being released Monday here is a look at the fringe top 16 teams, those who check in the rankings from 25-20 and what we can expect from them during the 2015 dual season.

#25 Oklahoma State

Last season: (#25 year end ranking) Oklahoma State got back on the college tennis map last year with a great season in coach Jay Udawia’s 2^nd season after taking over from Fresno State following the 2012 season. The Cowboys started red hot before faltering a bit in the brutal Big 12 schedule. Overall the 2014 campaign was highly successful one for Oklahoma State and launched the program from out of the doldrums it had been floundering in for a few seasons following the graduation of Alexander Nedovyesov.

Looking ahead to 2015…

 

Lost pieces: (team position in 2014)

Matt Campbell (backup)

Brandon Champagne (backup)

Brady Borhnstedt (#5 mainly)

Sebastian Sachs (#1-2)

 

Returning players:

Nicolai Ferrigno (#6 rotation)

Lukas Fizelberg (Redshirt)

Lucas Gerch (#4)

Arjun Kadhe (#3)

Nathan Roper (#6 rotation)

Jakob Sude (#1-2)

 

New faces:

Jurrence Mendoza

Trent Botha

Leonard Gerch

Tristan Meraut

 

Players in the 2015 pre-season rankings:

Arjun Kadhe #74

Jakob Sude #98

 

2015 outlook and keys: Last year was a re-emergence year for Oklahoma State, 2015 is the establishment year. They gain several good players and while the loss of Sachs at #1 is a big loss it is not a crippling one as Sude can certainly step up into the #1 slot while Sadhe can be a solid #2 for the Cowboys. The key for Oklahoma State is getting consistency from the new players and simply believing that they belong in the very tough Big 12 conference.

Consensus: At the end of the day Oklahoma State will get a few nice wins but will also struggle to beat the top teams which will prevent them to jump any higher this year than they were in 2014. 25-30

Projected end of year ranking range: 25-30

 

#24 Clemson

Last season: (#22 year end ranking) Clemson had a second straight solid season under Chuck McCuen in 2014. Despite the loss of Yannick Maden, Clemson was able to duplicate their 2013 success and in some ways even surpass it. Clemson just missed out on a monumental upset of Virginia, which would have vaulted them into the top 16 giving them a hosting slot for the NCAAs. As it was Clemson’s season ended in Lexington, KY in a 4-3 heartbreaker to Kentucky in the NCAA 2^nd round.

Looking ahead to 2015…

 

Lost pieces:

Dominique Maden (#2, important #1 doubles player)

 

Returning players:

Austin Ansari (#4)

Robert Dudley (#6 rotation)

Alejandro Augusto (#3)

Hunter Harrington (#2)

Luke Johnson (#5)

Brent Lett (#6 rotation)

Fernando Sala (backup)

Christian Harris (backup)

Daniel Strawn (backup)

 

New faces:

Hampton Drake

Daffra Sanon (Washington transfer)

 

Players in the 2015 pre-season rankings:

Hunter Harrigton #69

2015 outlook and keys: The 2015 season for Clemson will be defined by how much the returning players have improved. The loss of Dom Maden is a big one as he was an elite doubles player and had an incredible 2014 season in singles but that is the only loss for the Tigers and if the returning players have improved than his loss can be mitigated. Harrington can be a solid #1 player. New pieces Sanon and Drake can hold down the bottom of the line-up. The area where Clemson needs to show strength in is the 2-4 positions. Ansari must show more consistency while Augusto and Johnson will need to show immense improvement in order to lock down their higher positions on the team this year. The rather soft non-conference schedule will allow the Tigers to sort out the lineup and get ready for the tough ACC.

Consensus: Clemson will have almost an identical year as they did last year. The loss of Maden will cut down the amount of wins at the top and in doubles but that will be offset by improved play in the lower line-up and in particular at #6.

Projected year-end ranking range: 22-30

 

#23 Memphis

 

Last season: (#21 year end ranking) Memphis continued their recent success last year and maintained their image as one of the strongest non-power 5 programs in the nation. Despite the positive season there were some disappointments such as being supplanted at the top of their conference by South Florida and the crushing heartbreaking loss to Illinois in the 2^nd round of the NCAA tournament. Those two losses were particularly crushing considering that every single starter except for one was a senior and will never be a Memphis Tiger again. 2014 was the last chance for the Memphis golden generation.

Looking ahead to 2015…

 

Lost pieces:

Ian Chadwell (#5)

Cedric De Zutter (backup)

Johnny Grimal (#3)

David O’Hare (#6)

David O’Leary (#4)

Joe Salisbury (#2)

 

Returning players:

Connor Glennon (#1)

Louis Asser (backup)

 

New faces:

Shakeel Manji

Patrick Mayer (Utah transfer)

Ryan Peniston

Andrew Watson

Players in the 2015 pre-season rankings:

Connor Glennon #79

 

2015 outlook and keys: Predicting the 2015 campaign for the Memphis Tigers is a near impossible task considering the lack of continuity. The last few years were an amazing ride for Memphis tennis and only Glennon remains from that generation. The new players have very large shoes to fill and it is asking them too much to duplicate that success in year 1.  Andrew Watson will fit right into the top of the line-up alongside Glennon and be productive. But the other new players are largely a mystery and it will take a while for them to adjust to the college game.

Consensus: Getting big scalps vs higher ranked teams will prove to be difficult for Memphis this year and that lack of big wins will hurt their ranking in the end.

Projected year-end ranking range: 37-43

 

#22 South Florida

 

Last season: (#23 year end ranking) The USF Bulls brandished their way into the college tennis hierarchy in 2014 in coach Matt Hill’s 3^rd season at the helm. Starting the year with no expectations the Bulls went on to win the conference title over Memphis and finish the year in the top 25, something that USF tennis was very new to. The season also included a big win over Florida State in the NCAA tournament 1^st round, before their great campaign finally came to an end in the 2^nd round of the NCAA tournament with a loss to Florida.

Looking ahead to 2015…

 

Lost pieces:

Frederico Sabogal (#6)

 

Returning players:

Roberto Cid (#1)

Oliver Pramming (#2)

Sasha Gozun (#3)

Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (#4)

Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (#5)

Everth Dzib (backup)

Finn Meinecke (backup)

 

New faces:

Dominic Cotrone (Transfer from Florida State)

Justin Roberts

Players in the 2015 pre-season rankings:

Roberto Cid (#19)

 

2015 outlook and keys: USF returns nearly their entire team for 2015 and adds two big players in highly touted recruit Roberts and FSU’s #1 player for the past two seasons Dominic Cotrone. All signs point to 2015 being a huge year for the Bulls. 2014 showed that the Bulls were a ahead of schedule and that 2015 will be an even bigger year for them. Roberto Cid is an elite player at the top of the lineup, which is something every team with big aspirations needs at the top. He can play with anyone in the country. Cotrone is a big addition and will no longer have to press himself by playing over his head at #1 like he was forced to do at Florida State. The rest of the line-up will be fine with good pieces everywhere. There are no real holes on this team. The key to just how successful USF can be is finding a one rock in the lower part of the line-up.

Consensus: USF will be very good in 2015. They will beat a lot of teams and should win the American conference going away. Hosting an NCAA regional is doable. While bad losses will be avoided, the question will be whether the schedule has enough beef on it to get good wins that boost the ranking.

 

Projected year-end ranking range: 12-16

 

#21 Mississippi State

 

Last season:(#19 year end ranking) 2014 was another under the radar very good season for the Bulldogs from Starkville.  Coach Per Nilsson did another remarkable job of bringing in new talent and molding the team into one that was top 20 and threatened some of the best teams in the nation. Despite all the personnel losses from the previous year, the Bulldogs didn’t miss a beat in 2014, which bodes very well for the team in 2015 as well. Mississippi State ended the year at #19 in the country after a 2^nd round loss to the Texas Longhorns in Austin.

Looking ahead to 2015…

 

Lost pieces:

Malte Stropp (#2)

Zach White (#4)

Jordan Angus (#3)

 

Returning players:

Florian Lakat (#1)

Rishab Agarwal (#6,5 rotation)

Robin Haden (backup)

Tassilo Schmidt (#6 rotation)

New faces:

Mate Cutura (JC transfer)

Julian Cash

Juan Cruz Estevarena

 

Players in the 2015 pre-season rankings:

Tassilo Schmidt (#63)

 

2015 outlook and keys: Mississippi State has proven in recent years that no matter which players they lose, they will still come back the next year just as strong. The transfer of Roman Bogaerts was thought to be a big hit, but the team did not suffer all that much. And again upcoming in 2015 Mississippi State has empty slots to fill, as they have lost their 2-4 players. But they fill these holes with arguably stronger players than before with the addition of one of the top 10 newcomers in 2015 Julian Cash and as well as strong junior college player Mate Cutura to compliment Lakat and the greatly improved Schmidt at the top parts of the line-up. The bottom of the line-up could use some shoring up if Mississippi State is to remain a top 20 team in 2015 and depth could be an issue as the roster only has 7 players on it, which leaves the team vulnerable to injuries.

Consensus: It will be more of the same in 2015 for Mississippi State, solid and a tough out for anyone and a team that can never be overlooked in the SEC. Getting a big-time signature win will be hard though

Projected year-end ranking range: 18-23

 

#20 Wake Forest

Last season: (#30 year end ranking) Ending the year at #30, 2014 was a bit of a disappointing year for Wake Forest, especially the 3-9 record in the ACC. There were some high expectations going in but the team never truly gelled completely and did not live up to the lofty expectations as the season ended in the 2^nd round of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to Ohio State.

Looking ahead to 2015…

 

Lost pieces:

Adam Lee (#2)

Aws Laaribi (#5,6 rotation)

Nicky Kunz (#6 rotation)

Jaya Billa (backup)

Pedro Dumont (#5 rotation)

 

Returning players:

Romain Bogaerts (#1)

Jon Ho (#4)

Maksim Kan (#3)

Matt Erdman (redshirt)

Nicholas Oserling (backup)

Christopher Seraphim (redshirt)

Sam Bloom (backup)

Anthony Delcore (#6 rotation)

 

New faces:

Noah Rubin

Skander Mansouri

 

Players in the 2015 pre-season rankings:

Romain Bogaerts (#12)

Jon Ho (#52)

Maksim Kan (#102)

 

2015 outlook and keys: Wake Forest will be one of the most interesting to follow in 2015. There is turnover with players but there is also enough stability that leads to high expectations. They add Noah Rubin who is the top rated newcomer in the country and a former junior grand slam champion, he is widely expected to immediately be one of the best players in the college game. Him couples with Bogaerts create one of the fiercest top 2 combos in the nation. Kan and Ho are going nowhere and will continue to be very good mid line-up players. The bottom of the line-up will have several capable players, Seraphim had good results in the fall, Mansouri is expected to be a very good college player in his first year from Tunisia and Delcore is always around ready to provide a shot of adrenaline to the line-up. Wake Forest is short on weaknesses in 2015. The middle of the line-up will be the key vs other top teams, Kan and Ho will need to play their absolute best of Wake is to go on to achieve their lofty goals.

Consensus: 2015 is the year that Wake Forest will make a move up the rankings. They have been primed and prepping for a few years now and this is the season they have been preparing for.

Projected year-end ranking range: 8-14