Season Preview: Singles

Part One: Schedule Overview
Part Two: Singles

Top Ten Singles Lineups We Will Face

Okay, I enter into this tentatively, because so much can change over the course of a year. I'm basing this based on what we know from last year. Some of these players won't be playing singles this year, some will have improved dramatically, some teams will have new players from JV or freshman that would push their singles lineup higher. So be this as it may, this is just for some fun...

10. Rochester
Returning - #2S - Aaron Stuart, #3s - Jacob Schroder
Last year, Schroder beat Misha Rebec in the Concord Invitational, while Stuart fell to Seth Krabill. This year they come back with more experience, as each will be in their third year of varsity tennis for the Rhinos.

9. Wabash
Returning - #2S - Justin Middleton
Middleton beat Ben at #2 singles last year in the Wabash tourney. He is a very solid player and should anchor the top of a competitive Wabash team this year.

8. Fremont
Returning - #1S - Joe Stackhouse, #2S - Matt Hoff, #3S - Tyler Jenkins
Though none of these three had close matches with us last year, the all had a lot of potential. Hoff and Jenkins will be just sophomores, and Stackhouse had excellent strokes despite a bad loss to Ben. Their improvement will be key.

7. Triton
Returning - #3S - Jeff Ross
Jeff lost easily to Mikey last year, but he has worked so hard during the offseason. As friends with Nate, we know he's played a lot of tournaments and performed well. So he'll be the leader of a brand new Triton team, as they graduated the rest of their team.

6. Goshen
Returning - #1S - Seth Koble, #2S - Stefan Baumgartner, #3S -Paul Johnson or another
Again, we defeated Goshen in singles fairly easily last year. But, they return all 3 of their players who played singles against us. And perhaps one of their 3 returning varsity doubles players could step in. Just in sheer experience, they will have a quality singles lineup.

5. Concord
Returning - #3S - Jason Denton
Jason Denton is an excellent player, last year he went undefeated at #3 singles and will challenge anyone in the area this year. He's Concord's only returner though, making the rest of the lineup a bit of a mystery. I've heard they have a transfer student as well, which could move them up this ladder.

4. Taylor
Returning - #1S - Matt Brankle, #2S - Logan Barnes, #3S - Drew Hansen
Again, a team with which we dealt easily at #1 and #2 singles. But we did lose to them at #3, and they return their entire singles lineup. Whenever you return the whole lineup, you are a threat to improve and be really dangerous.

3.Westview
Returning - #1S - Steve Blinco, #2S - Nick Pfenning
Steve Blinco is one of the best players in the area as well. We'll definitely have good competition with him. Pfenning was very solid last year, falling to Seth but finishing very highly in his conference, the NECC. They will make a strong base for the Warriors to build on.

2. Northridge
Returning - #1S - Nick Myers, #3S - Dave Long
Myers is probably the top returning player in the area, and Long won his marathon match against Mikey last year. So you have to figure that Northridge will once again bring a good singles lineup to our courts on Aug. 17. I'd like nothing more than to start with some big wins there.

1. Fairfield
Returning - #1S - Wyatt Stutzman, #3S - Nate Shipley, #2S - Malachi Randolph?
Although it has been rumored that Randolph is not playing, we don't know for sure. And Fairfield's lineup is solid throughout. Stutzman defeated us twice last year. So did Shipley, as well as finishing behind Angola's Brian Bienz in the #3 singles at the NECC tournament. Even if Randolph doesn't return, top JV player Josh Mullett is probably ready to step in. Maybe these aren't the best players in the area, and they probably won't go completely undefeated, but the lineup is so consistent all the way through. Fairfield will be tough with their returning singles players this season.