WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- After capturing the Northwest Conference title last year and earning a spot in the NCAA Div. III post-season, the Whitman College men’s tennis team has high expectations this spring.
“We had a great season last year, and we have a solid core of players coming back this year,” Whitman coach Jeff Northam says.
With a roster of two seniors, one junior and nine underclassmen, the over-achieving Missionaries kick off their season next weekend against a pair of NCAA Div. I foes in Cheney, Wash. Whitman battles Eastern Washington University on Friday, Feb. 4 and Gonzaga University on Feb. 5.
“We may have the hardest schedule in the nation,” Northam says. “We play eight Division I schools and two of the top ten Division III schools in the nation. Overall, we might end up with the worst record for the best team.”
In late March, Whitman will be the only non-Division I team playing in a 16-team weekend tournament hosted by Boise State.
Whitman is currently ranked No. 17 nationally and No. 5 in the West Region, according to the NCAA Div. III preseason poll released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The No. 17 preseason national ranking is Whitman’s highest such ranking in Northam’s 11 seasons as coach.
Brad Changstrom, a senior from Loveland, Colo., is back for his fourth season at Whitman. Changstrom was a co-captain on last year’s championship team, compiling records of 7-1 in singles and 9-3 in doubles against NWC opponents.
A biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology major, Changstrom also earned Academic All-America honors last spring in the division that represents all NCAA Div II and Div. III – and NAIA -- schools. “Brad is a great team captain and a great leader,” Northam says.
Also back this season are three sophomores -- Steven Ly, Robbie Munday and Phalkun Mam – who earned All-NWC First-Team honors last spring as freshmen. Dane Miller, a fourth returning sophomore, received second-team recognition.
“All the men in our sophomore class are stronger and have a year of experience under their belts,” Northam says. “They are a very talented group and know what to expect this spring.”
No one is more battle hardened than Ly, who played most of his first college season at No. 1 singles, matching rackets with the best players on each opposing team. Munday, playing in the No. 2 slot for much of the season, was a perfect 11-0 against NWC opponents. Mam, No. 3 at the end of the season, finished 16-4 in singles, which included an 11-0 record against conference foes.
The Missionaries rolled through last spring with records of 15-7 on the season and 12-1 in the NWC. It was the most dual match victories in a season for a Missionary men’s tennis team since the spring of 1988, when Whitman was 15-7 and the conference champion for a third consecutive season. Northam was a senior on the 1988 team.
Whitman claimed its NWC title last April by beating Pacific Lutheran 5-2 in the finals of the conference tournament. The Missionary season ended in the opening round of the NCAA Div. III national play-offs, when it fell 5-0 to a much more experienced Trinity University squad in San Antonio, Texas.
This spring’s battle for the NWC title, in all likelihood, will involve Whitman, Pacific Lutheran and Linfield as the primary combatants. Pacific Lutheran, which was 13-7 and 12-2 last season, returns junior Matt Larimore, an All-NWC First-Team selection, and junior Ben Schaefer, who made the second team. During the off-season, the Lutes also picked up Ricky Butenko, a standout junior transfer who played previously at NCAA Div. I Columbia University, and sophomore transfer David Miller, one of Whitman’s better players from last season.
“Our team goal for this season is to win the conference title again,” Northam says. “We know that we’ll be the team to beat this spring, but our guys are up for the challenge. I feel truly blessed to have such a great group of players here at Whitman.”
Others on the Missionary roster include senior Will Wyatt and junior Aaron Cho. Rounding out the group are sophomores Daryl Gasca and Kenji Strait and freshmen Adam Chemerinsky, Robert Edles-Rye and James Truitt.
In addition to their many accomplishments on the tennis court, Northam’s players have proven themselves academically by maintaining a cumulative team grade point average of over 3.4 on a 4.0 scale. Northam stresses how important it is for his players to succeed in the classroom as well as on the courts. “I’m so proud of our guys for putting so much effort into their school work. They’re all great students.”
After leading his team to its first NWC title in four years, Northam was honored last spring with NWC Coach of the Year honors. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association also recognized Northam with its NCAA Div. III West Region Coach of the Year award. In his ten years as head coach at Whitman, he has led his men’s teams to an impressive win-loss record of 86-24 against conference opponents.
After next weekend’s matches in Cheney, the Missionaries will concentrate on final preparations for the start of their NWC schedule. Whitman hosts Puget Sound on Friday, Feb. 25, and Pacific Lutheran the next day.
Whitman’s schedule also includes a Spring Break trip to Texas, where the Missionaries will play three matches, two against nationally-ranked Division III teams, No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 9 Trinity. The NWC Championships are set for April 15-16 at the Yakima (Wash.) Tennis Club.
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information
(509) 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu