Experience Could Propel 'Young' Tennis Scots in Spring Season

by Dan Nolan

Monmouth, IL (02/20/2020) — Monmouth College men's tennis team may be young in age, but coach Brian Jordan squad is full of seasoned veterans. All six players from last year's lineup return, giving Jordan cause for a great deal of optimism for the 2020 campaign.

"It's not often you return your exact lineup from the previous year," admitted Jordan, whose team had runner-up finishes at No. 2 and 3 singles at last year's Midwest Conference Championships. "Everyone has a full season under their belt and this year's sophomores have really benefitted from that experience. The guys are looking forward to the season and really getting after it."

The team opens play Feb. 22 at Central College in Pella, Iowa, and Jordan plans to go with virtually the same lineup as a year ago. The only changes will be in the strength of their play, and perhaps a lower-order position change.

"There's only one question in the lineup and they're neck-and-neck," explained Jordan. "It's been a great battle, but a good problem to have."

There's no doubt Joseph Shie (Davenport, Iowa/Central) - one of two juniors on the team - will return to the No. 1 singles spot. Posting the most wins last season with a 12-7 record, Shie has entered the preseason with new weapons after finishing in the top four of the league championships in 2019.

"He's had a good start in practice and is hitting the ball really well," reported Jordan. "His strength in the early season has been his service return and his actual service. Joseph has good ground strokes and is already playing at a high level. That's due to his off-season work."

Sophomore Andrew Shie (Davenport, Iowa/Central) - Joseph's younger brother - is set to reprise his role as the Scots' No. 2 player. After a late start to the season in 2019, the younger Shie posted four wins, the third most on the team before taking a runner-up finish at the MWC Championships.

"He's got a powerful serve and is continuing to make it even better," said Jordan. "Andrew also has the biggest forehand on the team and the biggest serve. We're working on his footwork right now to allow him to hit those big shots."

Junior Zach Harris (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah)-figures to hold down the No. 3 position. His 10 wins were the second most on the team last season as he rolled to a runner up finish at the MWC meet.

"Both the guys Zach and Andrew faced in the conference finals were seniors, so we're very optimistic for both of them this season," smiled Jordan. "Zach is the ultimate grinder and has worked on improving his serve from last year. We're working on giving him another dimension to his game."

The real question comes at Nos. 4 and 5 where Alex Martin (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) - the only senior on the team - and sophomore Brendan Guenther (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) are locked in a battle. Martin returned to campus at the start of the semester after spending the fall semester studying in France.

"It's really a toss-up right now between Brendan and Alex," said Jordan. "Brendan is probably the most improved since last year. He's hitting better serves, ground strokes and volleys. The freshman year on court really helped him mature. Alex is probably one of our most improved players from his freshman to senior seasons. He found a way in France to get court time and work on his game. He has the ability to hit the ball big, but he's better when he hits with more spin and that's been our focus. His game is continuing to evolve."

Nicholas Robertson (Covington, Ga./Alcovy) rounds out the lineup at No. 6. The dual-sport sophomore will get a late start again this season, joining the team at the conclusion of the swim season.

"We'll have Nicholas on an accelerated schedule before our opener," reported Jordan. "We've worked on his serve and ground strokes and I'm looking forward to getting him full time for practice. Like Brendan, Nicholas has shown a lot of growth from his freshman to sophomore seasons."

There won't be much tinkering with the doubles combinations from a year ago, at least in the early season. Joseph Shie and Harris figure to take the No. 1 spot where they won a team-high five times last year. Andrew Shie and Guenther are tabbed as the No. 2 team while Martin and Robertson will take the No. 3 position. The bottom two doubles positions each won three matches a season ago.

"We're going to start with the same pairings as last year," said Jordan. "One of our focuses in practice is to get better in doubles. That was our weak suit last year. We need to win one or two doubles matches ahead of singles. We were well below .500 in doubles last year and need to get that percentage closer to 50-50."

Jordan's team figures to be strong again in the top half of the singles order and would like to gain a point or two in doubles to ultimately improve the overall win total.

"If we can pick up one or two doubles points every time, that makes it a little easier to win the match," explained Jordan. "I think our schedule is a little more favorable to get that accomplished this year. We'd like to pick up some wins before our conference schedule begins in late March to get some momentum going. Obviously, our top half of singles is our strength, but we're probably more improved in the lower three spots as a whole. We should be able to pull out a win or two at 4-5-6, but if we can come out of doubles with a win or two, it takes some pressure off and makes winning the match much easier. We're counting on having a lineup with so much experience to pay off at the conference level."