Eph Men's Tennis Spring Season Outlook

Second year Williams head coach Dave Donn can't wait for the 2009 spring break trip to begin so he can see his fifth-ranked Ephs back on the courts playing in a match. And that's from a coach who is facing a schedule, which features 11 nationally ranked teams. "I'm eagerly anticipating getting going and so are the guys," notes Donn. "We feel the excitement of the season upon us."

Seven of the nation's top-ranked teams play in NESCAC with the Ephs.

"We needed to get physically stronger from last year and the team has accomplished that, and now we’ve really focused on becoming mentally stronger," said Donn. "That last piece comes from competing."

Donn's Ephs have practiced the last five days outside on campus, a rarity before the annual two-week trip to warmer climates. "We are blessed to have a deep team and that will make for a healthy, competitive environment trying to make the starting lineup, depending on how things shape up over the course of the season we could have six of nine spots differing from last year."

Doubles play last season was not a consistent strength for the Ephs who finished up at 17-4 and made their 12th consecutive trip to at least the NCAA Quarterfinals and is a point of focus this spring for Donn. "With doubles now counting for one point each, it will always be a point of emphasis for us and we have certainly improved in that regard," notes Donn. "I've seen the progress we've made and am happy with where we are at this point. It simply now comes down to the doubles teams needing to execute, play with confidence and trust one another."

"This season we want to meet our challenges head on and not shy away from the pressure moments," says Donn.

After posting a 2-0 fall record the Ephs will open the spring portion of their schedule on March 24th against seventh-ranked Gustavus Adolphus at Claremont, CA.

Gone are the days when teams could head west or south and experiment with lineups and tinker with pairings in preparation for the end of the season. With the overall competitiveness of Division III tennis and the chance to line up against nationally ranked opponents every match is important for post-season considerations.

Junior Nick Lebedoff will open the season at number one singles and pair up with first year Will Petrie to form the number two doubles team. "He's a gamer," says Donn of Lebedoff. "He's the kind of kid you want to have on the court in a big match. He's proven that he will do whatever it takes to be successful." Lebedoff played number two singles last season and posted a 16-7 record.

Jerey Weinberger '10

Junior lefty Jeremy Weinberger will play at number two singles and at third doubles with first year Kevin Shallcross. "Jeremy had a very good fall season and it was nice to see him develop his talent into results," states Donn. "He has improved his mental game without losing his fiery competitiveness." Weinberger played at number four singles a year ago and compiled a 24-3 record, wining 11 of his last 12 spring matches.

Slated to open the season at third singles is senior Rick Devlin who had a glittering 22-2 record a year ago and closed out the season with a 14-match win streak, playing primarily at number six. Devlin is a three-year starter in singles play. "Rick has improved a great deal in my two years and I expect it to show this spring."

At four singles will be first year Will Petrie. "Will has a style of play that will allow him to be successful when he is in the lineup – wherever he is."

Kevin Shallcross will play at number five singles after posting an overall record of 6-2 this fall. "Kevin's a fiery competitor who had some strong wins this fall and is off to a great start this spring."

Six singles will be manned by senior Karol Furmaga. Furmaga will be making his third straight appearance in the Eph top six. “We will certainly look to Karol as a key part of our singles lineup.” Last season Furmaga was 16-8 playing at number five.

The number one Eph doubles tandem will consist of senior Bret Thacher and first year Dicken Chaplin. This will be the third year that Thacher has played at number one doubles for the Ephs. Chaplin was sidelined the entire fall season with an injury, but is healthy now and working back into form. “There is a lot of talent with this doubles team. Bret has been an anchor and irreplaceable part of our doubles and Dicken certainly has the game to compete at a high level.”

Sophomore Ari Binder will push for time in both the singles and doubles lineup this season. "There is no shot that Ari cannot hit," states Donn. "He's matured and progressed and will give us depth."

There will be plenty of checkpoints along the way this season with the spring break trip, Little Three, NESCAC and trying to extend the string of consecutive years of advancing at least to the NCAA Quarterfinals to 13. "We're hungry and excited and I know it will translate into our play," says Donn. "We will be a team which will make you earn every point."