Dave Holden, Whitman's incredible SID, posted this preview of our season.
WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The men’s tennis program, the flagship for athletic success at Whitman College for the past decade, has plenty of wind at its sails as it embarks on its latest spring voyage.
If anything, Whitman is riding the waves at a speed a few knots faster than a year ago, when it surfed merrily through a 24-5 season that included a third consecutive undefeated Northwest Conference regular season, a second straight conference tournament title (fourth in 10 years) and a berth in the NCAA Div. III national tournament for the third time in as many years.
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Jeff Northam
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“If everyone stays healthy, this will be the best team I’ve ever had at Whitman,” says coach Jeff Northam, now in his 16th season at the helm of his alma mater's tennis fortunes.
“We have enough very good players at the top of line-up to compete with some of the best teams in the country. We’re also deep enough that I can throw a bunch of guys into a variety of spots and still be successful. We have a lot of options open to us this year.”
For his squad to reach its full potential, Northam knows that his top four players need to stay healthy. That could be an issue since two of his top four start the season with a question mark next to their names.
“The players at the very top of your line-up are a huge factor in college tennis,” he says.
Senior Matt Solomon, the best of Whitman’s best, is back after having having spent last spring playing NCAA Div. I tennis at Boise State.
Solomon was back on campus last fall and won his third consecutive singles title at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s regional tournament.
Solomon, the NWC Player of the Year as a sophomore, and freshman teammate Jeff Tolmanalso came within one victory of winning last fall’s regional doubles title, even though Solomon was nursing a torn stomach muscle that limited his play, his serve in particular.
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Matt Solomon
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“Matt’s stomach is better at this point,” Northam says. “Once he got through the ITA’s national tournament last fall, he stopped playing to let the injury heal.
"Once he’s back into the daily routine of playing a lot, we’ll see how his health holds up. We may need to hold him back at times and make sure he’s ready for the long run.”
Regardless of the nagging injury possibility, Northam is thrilled to have Solomon -- a four-time ITA All-American -- back after his one-semester hiatus. “Having Matt back for his senior season is very important for our team. He’s been our best player for a few years, and it was tough on everyone when he spent last spring at Boise State.”
“Having said that,” Northam adds, “Matt had a great experience at Boise State, and he returns to us as a much better player. He was on a Boise State team that made the Round of 16 at the NCAA Division I national championships. He played a singles match against Virginia, the No. 1 team in the nation. He played doubles against teams like Pepperdine and Stanford.”
The improvement in Solomon’s game was obvious last fall at the ITA’s Division III national tournament, where he won two matches and lost two close decisions.
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Etienne Moshevich
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“Matt showed me, himself and everyone else that he can compete with anyone in the nation at the Division III level,” Northam says.
“He was playing that national tournament with about 75 percent of his serve. Because of the injury, he wasn’t able to stay consistent with his serve, or to reach back and hit a big serve when he needed it. Despite those limitations, he was up one or two breaks at times on some of the best players in the nation.”
Whitman’s other pre-existing health concern at the top of the line-up rests on the right shoulder of junior Etienne Moshevich.
“Etienne was playing No. 1 for us to start last season,” Northam notes. “Before he hurt his shoulder, he beat the No. 1 player from the University of Montana, and he had a match point against the University of Chicago’s No. 1, who either made the quarters or semis of the national tournament. He has showed that when he’s healthy he can play with anyone in the nation.”
Moshevich spent his most recent fall semester on foreign study in London.
“Etienne didn’t hit any balls while he was in London, and didn’t start playing again until the semester break,” Northam says. “His shoulder is better, but he can still feel it. We’ll see how his shoulder holds up once he starts playing more.”
Junior Chris Bailey also returns to the top half of the singles line-up.
“Chris played at No. 2 for us last spring as a sophomore, and he faced some very strong players when we played the better teams during Spring Break,” Northam says.
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Chris Bailey
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“He picked up a lot of high-level experience, which is only going to translate into more success for him this spring. I’m confident that Chris could play anywhere at the top of the line-up this spring and have a successful season.”
“Chris still has a huge upside,” Northam adds. “There are parts of his game that he’s working on. Because he’s such a pure ball striker, he can still make some big strides by continuing sharpen his other skills.”
Jeff Tolman, the best of three freshman on the roster, is the “wild card” at the top of the line-up, Northam says. “There were times in the ITA tournament last fall, which we hosted here on campus, when Jeff played some of the best tennis that’s ever been played on our campus. The guy has big shots; he brings a lot of tools to the court.
“I’m excited to see how Jeff develops in his first season. I’m convinced he can also play with anyone in the country.”
Many players at the Division III level rely in part on “keeping balls in play and outlasting their opponents,” Northam says. “Tolman on the other hand has weapons all over the place. When he’s playing well, it can be lights out for his opponent.”
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Jeff Tolman
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As a freshman last fall, Northam says, Tolmon "went deep into the singles bracket and beat the defending conference player of the year, an older senior who is a very good player, who had played Division I tennis earlier in his career, and who didn’t lose a singles match in our conference last spring. Jeffrey certainly has the tools to play at the top of our line-up, wherever we choose to play him."
If his top four stays steady and healthy, Northam enjoys an embarrassment of riches in terms of his options at No. 5 and No. 6 singles.
“We have a bunch of guys who can easily play at No. 5 and No. 6, and in the higher spots if and when we want them to do that,” Northam says.
At the top of the list is senior Christoph Fuchs, one of the bigger hitters on the squad.
Fuchs, who wasn’t in school last fall, is an Academic All-American who has his degree requirements all but finished. “Christoph is back with the goal of helping us be more successful at the national level,” Northam says. “He’s a big, strong guy with a big serve and great volleys. He’s certainly one of the guys who can play singles for us.
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Doubles duo: Quin Miller (left), Christoph Fuchs
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“We’ve been to the national tournament in each of the past three years, and Christoph has been part of each of those teams. He has a lot of experience.”
Jake Cappel, also a senior, missed last fall’s ITA tournament with an injury but is back on the court to start the spring season.
“Jake was also a major player on our last three national tournament teams,” Northam says. “Some guys can make huge strides during their senior season and take their games to another level. We think that could be the case with Jake. He’s part of a talented senior class that has a ton of experience and leadership ability.”
Nadeem Kassam, a senior who earned ITA All-American honors early in his Whitman career, made a “strong progression with his singles game last spring,” Northam says. “He’s always been a very talented doubles player, but he’s ready to push for those top six spots in singles.
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Jake Cappel
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“Nadeem has also played on all of our conference championship and national tournament teams,” Northam says. “He’s another guy who very much wants to end his college career on a strong note.”
Rounding out the powerful senior class are lefty David Deming and righties Jasper Follows and Thomas Roston.
“No matter where we play David, he tends to be successful,” Northam says. “We play him at No. 1 in some conference matches, and he wins and stays very consistent. He’s a bulldog on the court, and he’s always there as an option for a strong singles line-up.”
Follows is another player with a track record of success in singles and doubles. “Jasper was in and out of the top six last spring,” Northam says. “He’s also a very good doubles player who has played in the national tournament in doubles.”
Roston strengthened his claim for court time last spring. “Thomas elevated his game a year ago and has carried that into this season,” Northam says. “He realizes now that he doesn’t always have to play big. He also has a lot of tools -- drop shots, a slice, different shots. He can play a more unconventional style at times and be successful with it.”
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Nadeem Kassam
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At last fall’s regional tournament, Roston posted a straight-set victory over one of the top players from Pacific Lutheran before losing 7-6 in the third set to teammate Chris Bailey. “It’s good to know that Thomas can compete with the best players on our team,” Northam says.
Whitman’s junior class includes Quin Miller, a left-hander with the skills to challenge for a top-six spot in singles.
“Quin is a very good athlete who keeps getting better all the time,” Northam says. “His play might reach the moon by the end of this season. He works incredibly hard. His progression over the past few years has been astounding. He played No. 2 doubles and No. 6 singles in the national tournament last year, so we know what he can do.”
Miller also bested some of the top players in the conference a year ago.
“There’s still a huge upside with Quin,” Northam says. “He's very athletic and has a lot of tools. He’s another one of our guys who has had good success against very good players.”
Northam also raves about his two sophomores, Adriel Borshansky and Conor Holton-Burke.
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David Deming
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“Adriel played No. 6 for us at the conference championship tournament, and he also had some big wins during Spring Break against teams like Chicago, DePauw and Carleton, all of them top-15 teams at the national level.
“When he’s in the line-up, I have faith that Adriel can hold his own. He’s a total gamer. He loves to compete. He had some of our team’s biggest individual wins last season.”
Holton-Burke was starting to make his mark by the end of his freshman season last spring.
“Conor was playing as well as anyone at that point,” Northam says. “He’s a very hard worker, on and off the court. He’s the true scholar-athlete. He maintains a top-notch grade point average at a school where that isn't easy to do, and he still spends as much time as possible working on his tennis game. He loves to compete and he loves to battle.
“By the end of last season, if our team wasn’t as deep as it was, Conor would have been playing consistently in our top six. At the ITA tournament last fall, he beat one of the better players in our conference, and then lost to Matt in the quarterfinals. Conor is a big kid with a big serve and a big forehand, and he moves well on the court.”
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Jasper Follows
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In addition to Tolman, the Missionary roster includes two more freshmen, Matt Tesmond and Sam Sadeghi.
“We’ll find out more this season, but both Matt and Sam had success at the regional tournament last fall,” Northam says. “Sam beat the No. 2 player from Pacific Lutheran, and Matt beat the No. 1 player from Whitworth. The fall tournament is early, but it’s nice to know both Matt and Sam can play with some of the best players in our conference.”
Whitman got an early jump to its season in late January, splitting a pair of matches with Lewis-Clark State, an NAIA powerhouse, and UC-Santa Cruz, the defending NCAA Div. III national champion.
Whitman starts the NWC regular season on Saturday, Feb. 13, with matches at Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound.
“The conference as a whole is better and more competitive than ever,” Northam says. “PLU has five seniors who have a lot of experience. As freshmen, they were part of a team that won the conference title. So, the Lutes have good talent and leadership.
“Linfield is always going to be a good, well coached team. Both Whitworth and Willamette – especially Willamette – made huge jumps this year. Willamette is going to be a spooky, dangerous team.”
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Thomas Roston
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With a deep roster, Whitman will continue its recent practice of dividing its roster in two and playing two matches on the same day, sometimes in different cities. “It’s a good way to keep all of our guys sharp and competitive,” Northam says.
One of the goals for this year’s team is to pick off more wins against nationally-ranked teams during Spring Break, and to hopefully qualify and then advance further into the national tournament.
“It’s never going to be easy to advance past our region,” Northam says. “Three years ago we lost to DePauw, a top-eight team. Two years ago, we lost to Claremont, which was a top three team at the time. And last year we lost to Santa Cruz, which went on to win the national championship.
“If our very best players stay healthy this spring, maybe this is the year we make the jump and go deeper into the national tournament. That’s what we’d like to do.”
A few weeks ago I was surprised by a visit from Chris Gregersen. Chris is one of the best (if not very best) player to ever grace the Whitman tennis courts. After being ranked #1 in DIII, Chris transfered to Northwestern where he was Todd Martin's doubles partner. He and Todd achieved a high ranking of #13 in NCAA I doubles.
