Georgia went 3-2 in doubles prior to the National Indoors but since Manny Diaz changed his pairings they’ve gone 4-0 with 3 of those double points coming over top 13 teams (#1 USC, #3 Illinois, #13 Columbia). Florida has gone 4-3 in doubles but has dropped doubles in 3 of the last 4 matches with the same pairings having played in each match. Florida needs the doubles point more in my book so the Gators have to hope the large rowdy crowd helps put them over the top.
In singles, Florida’s Diego Hidalgo will make his 1st appearance of the year at #1, 2nd all-time, but he’s going to have his hands full against Georgia’s Wayne Montgomery. Montgomery knocked off Hidalgo 7-5, 6-1 back in October in the Round of 32 at the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional and I think we’ll see a similar scoreline tomorrow with Montgomery picking up the W.
Florida’s Maxx Lipman will make his 1st appearance of the year at #2 after playing at #1 in each of Florida’s 7 matches with the drop due to Lipman starting the year 1-4. Lipman will face Austin Smith who previously beat him 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Southeast Regional back in October though Smith himself has dropped 3 of his last 5. Smith is 3-0 overall against the Lipman’s having also beaten Maxx’s brother Ryan (Vanderbilt) twice last season and I think Smith will run that streak to 4.
Last year Nathan Pasha and Gordon Watson played each other at #1 singles (Watson won 7-6, 7-6) but this year they’ll meet at #3. Both guys have been playing well lately with each riding a 4-match winning streak so this one is a near toss up.
Nick Wood and Elliott Orkin played each other at #6 singles last year (Wood won 7-6, 6-4) and this year they’ll meet at #4. Wood struggled in his final 2 matches at the National Indoors winning only 8 total games but he was able to get back on track last Sunday with a straight set win against an overmatched Jacob Behal (Furman). Orkin will play at #4 for the 1st time this year after starting at #2 six times and #3 once. He was able to stop a 2 match slide with a 3-set win over Florida State’s Michael Rinaldi however that match was almost 3 weeks ago. Wood is the better player in my book but if Orkin can frustrate him into making too may errors, like what Aron Hiltzik and Eric Johnson did, then it could be a long day for the Georgia junior.
Florida freshman Chase Perez-Blanco will get his first taste of this fierce rivalry as he takes on the streaky Georgia junior Ben Wagland. When Wagland plays with confidence and hits his serve and forehand with authority he’s good enough to beat just about anyone on the court as evidenced by him playing at #1 his freshman year but when he plays tentative he can be pushed around by anyone. In my opinion Ben Wagland’s style of play will determine whether he wins or loses this one – if he plays aggressive (goes for the lines) he wins in 2 if he plays tentative (slices it into the middle of the court) and waits for the Perez-Blanco error he loses in 2.
This will be a battle between 2 redshirt freshmen as Georgia’s Paul Oosterbaan takes on Florida’s Oliver Landert. So far these guys have played 5 common opponents with each losing to Georgia Tech’s Michael Kay and USC’s Nick Crystal while both defeated Mercer’s Oliver Snaider. Landert also beat Georgia Tech’s Cole Fiegel and UCLA’s Joseph Di Giulio while Oosterbaan lost to Fiegel and led Di Giulio before the match was halted due to the clinch. I’m leaning towards Oosterbaan here because I think his serve will be able to bail him out of the some deciding points.
I’m going to go with Georgia but if Florida finds a way to take 2 of the top 3 I think they probably win the match. Prediction: Georgia 4-3
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