WALLA WALLA, Wash. – You remember the old woman who lived in a shoe? You know, the one who had so many children she didn’t know what to do. Well, Jeff Northam can empathize with her.
Northam, a veteran of 13 seasons at the helm of the Whitman College men’s tennis program, starts the spring season with no fewer than 20 players on his roster. Of those, 14 are in a spirited competition for the top six line-up spots.
"This is by far the deepest team I’ve ever had," Northam says. "We have 14 players who are very good, and who are very competitive with one another. On any given day, any of these guys could beat anyone else."
Three days into his spring practices, Northam was nowhere close to making any final decisions. "If I had to pick our top six right now, I couldn’t do it," he says. "I don’t know that we’ll ever have a static line-up this season. Some guys might play better early, and some guys might play better later. Hopefully everyone will get match experience early in the season and we'll see how things pan out. This is a fun problem to have, if you can call it a problem at all."
Whitman kicks off its spring season this Saturday with a pair of matches in Lewiston, Idaho. It faces Lewis-Clark State, an NAIA tennis powerhouse, in the morning and NCAA Div. I Idaho in the afternoon.
Other early season schedule highlights include the Pacific Northwest Indoors, a five-team tournament Whitman will host Feb. 8-10. Whitman plays matches against Pacific Lutheran and Linfield, two of the top tennis programs in the Northwest Conference, as well as the University of California-Santa Cruz, which begins the spring season with a No. 1 national ranking in NCAA Div. III.
Whitman, No. 15 in the latest DIII national rankings, is coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history. It rolled to an undefeated 16-0 record during the NWC season and reached as high as No. 12 in the national rankings. Despite despite losing to arch-rival Pacific Lutheran in the conference title match, Whitman advanced to the third round of the national championship tournament before falling to eighth-ranked DePauw. That left Whitman with a glittery 24-8 season record and tons of great memories.
"We’re in great shape as a team this season because we’ve had two tremendous recruiting classes," Northam says. "But we still lost three outstanding seniors -- Steven Ly, Phalkun Mam and Robbie Munday – to graduation last spring. They are great players and great guys, and you never really replace people like that. You just move on."
Mam, who played No. 1 singles and earned NWC Player of the Year honors last spring, finished his career as Whitman’s all-time leader in individual victories (singles, doubles). Ly, who was the 2006 Player of the Year, finished fourth on the career victory list, one spot behind Munday.
With last year’s top three gone, talented sophomore Matt Solomon has taken custody of the No. 1 singles spot. Solomon, who played most of last season at No. 4 singles, was a force last September at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Northwest fall tournament. He beat freshman teammate Chris Bailey in the singles title match, and then teamed with Etienne Moshevich, also a freshman, to win the doubles crown.
"Barring injury Matt should start the season playing No. 1," Northam says. "I know how he hard he worked last summer on his game and on his conditioning, and it certainly paid off during the fall tournament."
"Our top four players, based solely on how things went in the fall, are Matt, Bailey, Etienne and Jake Cappel," Northam adds. "But when I try to look at spots five through 14, I’m still at a loss."
Whitman’s loaded roster no doubt sent shivers through the rest of the Northwest Conference with its performance at last fall’s ITA tournament. In the singles bracket, Whitman advanced 12 players into the round of 16, captured seven of the eight quarterfinal slots, and then cornered the market on the four-man semifinals. In doubles, it was Solomon and Moshevich beating Cappel and sophomore Nadeem Kassam in the title match.
Bailey, who comes to Whitman from Mercer Island, Wash., has been "one of the better players in the Northwest junior ranks for the past few years," Northam says. "He’s a very talented ball striker who can play with anyone in Division III."
Moshevich, who hails from Richmond, British Columbia, is a “very good athlete and a talented tennis player," Northam says. "He works very hard on his conditioning and is one of the strongest guys on the team. He possesses a big forehand and serve and is very nimble around the court. When he’s playing well, he can really light it up – a lot like Phalkun did at times. With so many weapons and his court speed, Etienne can really hurt his opponents."
Cappel worked his way into the top six last season as a freshman. He played in the No. 5 slot in Whitman’s two national tournament matches, winning both times. "Jake worked very hard on his game last year and moved into our top six by the end of the season. At the end of the fall he was in our top three and had an outstanding showing at our regional tournament," Northam says. "Unfortunately, he was hospitalized with a viral infection during the semester break. We are hoping he’ll bounce back soon."
Kassam is just one member of Whitman’s talent-rich sophomore class who could make a big jump this season, Northam says. "I think Nadeem has adjusted to college tennis and could have a breakout year. He’s a solid player, and a heck of a doubles player. He was in the top 50 in Canada’s junior ranks before coming to Whitman."
Sophomore Jasper Follows, another of Whitman’s Canadian imports, is the team's latest poster boy for hard work and improved play. "If I was to give a Most Improved Award for this past year, it would have to go to Jasper," Northam says. "He never cracked our top 10 last year, but he has really blossomed. Jasper had some great wins in the fall tournament, and he’s playing as well as anyone on the team."
Others ready to build on successes from a year ago are sophomores Dan Wilson, David Deming and Thomas Roston. "Dan is another great competitor who played number six for us at the national tournament," Northam says. "David had a great regional tournament last fall, beating some of the better players in our conference before losing to one of his teammates. Thomas is another good athlete who won most or all of his singles matches when we split into two teams last spring."
Northam kept his multitude of players busy last spring by scheduling two or three matches for the same date and then splitting his roster in two. "We’re doing the same thing this season," he says. "Division III is limited to 20 playing dates, but you can play as many matches as you want each day. With our conference scheduling, it’s the only way to make it work if we also want to play some of the regional Division I schools and a few nationally-ranked Division III teams. Having a lot of good players makes it all possible."
Steven Ly, one of Whitman’s key losses to graduation last spring, has stayed on campus to serve as Northam’s assistant coach. "Having Steven here is a great resource for our younger players, and he takes control of our second team when we split the roster," Northam says.
Robert Rye is the lone senior on the roster and a four-year veteran of the tennis program. "Robert has been a good team leader for us this year, and a solid competitor," Northam says. "Two years ago, he played No. 2 doubles at the conference championships, and he was one of the best doubles players on the court. With his aggressive and attacking style of play he has the ability to beat anyone."
Four juniors add more talent to the mix. Christoph Fuchs played at No. 5 singles and No. 2 doubles for much of last season, and Justin Hayashi also saw court time as part of the Whitman top six. "Both of these guys look very solid at this point, and I know they want to play in the first group," Northam says. "Besides adding depth in singles, both guys are outstanding doubles players."
Dan Solomon, a junior transfer from Colorado College, is an early season wild card. Solomon, the older brother of Matt Solomon, played No. 1 singles in his first two college seasons at Colorado. "Dan is a very good player with a lot of experience," Northam says. "All we can do is wait and see how he fits into the line-up. We’re thrilled to have him on board."
Reid Bennett, Whitman’s fourth junior, is a "solid contributor to the team," Northam says. "He’s been with us for three years, is a good player, and the type of player that pushes everyone in practice."
Quin Miller, a freshman from Kamaikin High School nearby Kennewick, Wash., joins Bailey and Moshevich as one of the first-year players with the talent to battle for playing time. "Quin is a lefty and another very good athlete," Northam says. "He possesses a lot of tools and is a very crafty doubles player. Now that he is surrounded by a group of good players his game is really going to blossom."
Other freshmen rounding out the roster are Matt Goldfogel (Bellingham, Wash.; Sehome HS), Ben Serrurier (Menlo Park, Calif.; Menlo School), Kai Tamulonis (Eugene, Ore.; South Eugene HS), Jon Tat (Seattle, Wash.; Shorecrest HS) and Carl Garp-Duvall (Denver, Colo.; Denver South HS).
As Northam ponders a myriad of possibilities for his singles line-up, he faces a similar puzzle when it comes to doubles.
"We have lots of possible combinations in doubles," he says. "Matt and Dan Solomon might like to play as a brother combo, which they’ve done in the past. However, Matt and Etienne won the fall tournament, so that’s another possibility. Nadeem and Jake also played very well together at the regional tournament losing a very close match in the finals."
"We lost great players to graduation, but there is a chance we could have a better season this spring," Northam adds. "I know this group is working harder than any team I’ve ever had. Losing the conference final to PLU last spring really lit a fire under these guys."