Sunday should be a fabulous day of tennis with 4 matches taking place between top 15 teams with Champaign, Charlottesville, College Station, and Norman the hot places to be. 3 of the 4 will take place outdoors with only the Ohio State/Illinois match likely headed indoors due to crummy weather.
I see at least 1 lower ranked team winning but I definitely wouldn’t call it an upset. Check out the stats and projected lineups and see if you can figure out who wins each match.
#11 Ohio State (16-6) at #3 Illinois (16-3) – 1pm est – This will be the 2nd meeting of the year between these two with Illinois taking the first one 4-2 in the consolation draw at the National Indoors back in February. This match is all but guaranteed to be played indoors due to Sunday’s forecast of rain, high winds, and cooler temps. Both teams are coming off nice wins with Illinois beating Penn State 6-1 and Ohio State winning at Northwestern 5-2. Ohio State is 18-4 in doubles while Illinois is 10-9 so you’ve got to like the Buckeyes to take the early lead. The top 3 singles matches should be repeats from February while the bottom 3 will be different. Below is the box score from the 1st meeting and further down below we’ll look at the singles match-ups.
FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of March 26th. For more details about UTR check out their website.
Projected Singes Lineup
1. #32 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU 14.03) vs. #22 Jared Hiltzik (ILL 14.46)
2. #44 Chris Diaz (OSU 14.01) vs. #64 Farris Gosea (ILL 14.50)
3. #116 Herkko Pollanen (OSU 13.49) vs. #42 Tim Kopinski (ILL 13.98)
4. Hunter Callahan (OSU 13.88) vs. #52 Aron Hiltzik (ILL 13.94)
5. Kevin Metka (OSU 13.79) vs. #50 Aleks Vukic (ILL 14.27)
6. #83 Ralf Steinbach (OSU 13.84) vs. Toshiki Matsuya (ILL 13.11)
Dual match singles records:
1. Torpegaard 10-5 vs. J Hiltzik 14-1
2. Diaz 9-7 (won 3 straight) vs. Gosea 5-5
3. Pollanen 9-6 vs. Kopinski 13-3
4. Callahan 15-4 vs. A Hiltzik 11-3 (won 9 straight)
5. Metka 15-4 vs. Vukic 12-1 (won 10 straight)
6. Steinbach 15-5 (won 4 straight) vs. Matsuya 8-2
Like I mentioned above I like Ohio State in doubles and I think Steinbach is the biggest favorite in all the 6 singles match-ups so I expect him to win in straight sets. I’d give Illinois the edge at 1, 2, 3, and 5 though if Chris Diaz plays like he did against Northwestern (won 6-0, 6-1) he could give Gosea some trouble. I think the match at 4 between Callahan and Aron Hiltzik is going to be a tight one and if this was earlier in the year I’d have taken Callahan but he’s just 2-2 the last 4 times out while Hiltzik has won 9 straight against some tough customers. Ohio State will keep it close but Illinois should pull it out. Prediction: Illinois 5-2
#4 Duke (17-2) at #8 Virginia (13-3) – 2pm est – Virginia is 14-2 in doubles while Duke is 14-5 though the Blue Devils have dropped the point the last 2 times out. Duke has won 4 straight since losing to Virginia Tech though the last 3 have all been tight. Virginia is also riding a 4 match winning streak with all 4 being blowout wins. Duke’s Chris Mengel, which usually plays at 5, has been in and out of the lineup and if he’s out for this one that won’t bode well for the Dukies. It should be sunny and right around 50 so this one should be played outdoors.
Projected Singles Lineup
1. #11 Nicolas Alvarez (DU 14.41) vs. #6 Ryan Shane (UVA 14.54)
2. #41 Jason Tahir (DU 13.84) vs. #29 Mitchell Frank (UVA 14.89)
3. #101 Raphael Hemmeler (DU 14.14) vs. #55 Collin Altamirano (UVA 14.75)
4. Bruno Semenzato (DU 13.94) vs. #10 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA 14.76)
5. Josh Levine (DU 12.71) vs. J.C. Aragone (UVA 13.94)
6. TJ Pura (DU 13.55) vs. Henrik Wiersholm (UVA 13.55)
Others who could play: Chris Mengel (DU 13.64), Mac Styslinger (UVA 13.93), Alexander Ritschard (UVA 13.89)
Dual match singles records:
1. Alvarez 11-2 vs. Shane 10-4
2. Tahir 7-9 vs. Frank 10-2
3. Hemmeler 14-3 vs. Altamirano 12-0
4. Semenzato 9-4 vs. Kwiatkowski 11-2
5. Levine 9-6 vs. Aragone 9-3
6. Pura 9-2 vs. Wiersholm 6-2
Virginia may the lower ranked team but a loss would be a rather large upset. Duke has to win the doubles point to have a puncher’s chance but I look for Virginia to claim the doubles point and then I like the Cavs to pick up singles wins at 2, 3, 4, and 5 from Frank, Altamirano, Kwiatkowski, and Aragone. I like Nicolas Alvarez’s chances against Shane and think Pura will do well against Wiersholm should they be matched up. Duke usually plays Virginia pretty close however Virginia always seems to come out on top against them and anybody else in the ACC. Prediction: Virginia 5-2
#7 Texas (15-2) at #1 Oklahoma (18-1) – 2pm est – Texas got all it wanted on Friday just getting past Oklahoma State 4-3 in a match that came down to a 3rd set at #6 singles while Oklahoma was pushed by TCU but still prevailed 4-1. OU is 10-9 in doubles while Texas is 9-8 though both won the doubles point on Friday. Texas #1 Soren Hess-Olesen suffered his first dual-match loss of the year on Friday going down meekly in straight sets to Jakob Sude. The Texas recap said Soren had been under the weather leading up to the match so you’ve got to assume he’ll still be less than 100% for this one. The temperature should be around 70 at the start of this match.
Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #1 Soren Hess-Olesen (TX 15.14) vs. #19 Andrew Harris (OU 14.74)
2. #37 Lloyd Glasspool (TX 13.95) vs. #7 Axel Alvarez (OU 14.59)
3. #72 Adrien Berkowicz (TX 13.81) vs. #26 Dane Webb (OU 14.31)
4. George Goldhoff (TX 13.65) vs. #65 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.15)
5. Nick Naumann (TX 13.78) vs. Spencer Papa (OU 13.83)
6. Clement Homs (TX 13.36) vs. Floin Bragusi (OU 13.51)
Dual match singles records:
1. Hess-Olesen 15-1 vs. Harris 11-4
2. Glasspool 9-2 vs. Alvarez 15-0
3. Berkowicz 13-3 vs. Webb 12-3
4. Goldhoff 4-4 vs. Ghilea 13-2
5. Naumann 7-6 vs. Papa 8-5
6. Homs 4-0 vs. Bragusi 7-1
Texas has a chance in this one but in my opinion it’s a small chance. I like Oklahoma in doubles and then look for the Sooners to get wins from Alvarez, Webb, and Ghilea. The match at 1 will probably go unfinished but if Hess-Olesen is less than 100% he’ll likely go down to Harris. I’d say that Naumann and Homs have the best chance to win for Texas but those could each be matches that go 3 sets and also go unfinished. Prediction: Oklahoma 4-1
#13 Ole Miss (13-5) at #9 Texas A&M (12-3) – 1pm est – Ole Miss had a huge comeback on Friday coming back from 3-0 down to LSU with Nik Scholtz fighting off 6 match points in the decider. Texas A&M sat 2 starters against Arkansas but still cruised to a 4-0 shutout. Ole Miss is 10-8 in doubles but has lost the point the last 2 times out while Texas A&M is 12-3. Temperatures will be in the mid 70s for this one.
Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #15 Nik Scholtz (OM 14.18) vs. #59 Jeremy Efferding (aTm 14.23)
2. #84 Stefan Lindmark (OM 14.19) vs. #67 Shane Vinsant (aTm 14.16)
3. Gustav Hansson (OM 13.76) vs. Arthur Rinderknech (aTm 14.11)
4. William Kallberg (OM 13.35) vs. #51 Harrison Adams (aTm 13.59)
5. Ricardo Jorge (OM 13.11) vs. #79 AJ Catanzariti (aTm 14.27)
6. Vinod Gowda (OM 12.85) vs. Jordi Arconada (aTm 13.36)
Dual match singles records:
1. Scholtz 11-3 vs. Efferding 9-2
2. Lindmark 12-3 vs. Vinsant 5-2
3. Hansson 7-7 vs. Rinderknech 8-2
4. Kallberg 5-6 vs. Adams 0-8
5. Jorge 5-3 vs. Catanzariti 10-3
6. Gowda 6-2 vs. Arconada 3-2
Texas A&M is always tough at home while Ole Miss is just 1-2 on the road in conference play and it was nearly 0-3. I think the Aggies get the doubles point to jump out to the early 1-0 lead and then lean on the Rebels and pick up wins from Vinsant, Rinderknech, and Catanzariti. I think Scholtz will win at 1 and Adams and Arconada will both be leading for Texas A&M at the time of the clinch. Prediction: Texas A&M 4-1
What does everybody think – can someone other than Virginia pull the “upset”?
Other Sunday Storylines:
Can #14 North Carolina recover from 2 straight conference losses and win in Blacksburg or does #16 Virginia Tech avenge the earlier 4-1 loss during the Kickoff weekend?
#27 Tulsa just got past Central Florida on Friday can they do the same in Tampa against #18 South Florida or will the Bulls gore them?
#52 Tennessee put together its most impressive performance of the season on Friday against #62 Alabama. #34 Mississippi State followed up its upset of #13 Ole Miss by just squeaking past Kentucky 4-3 which happened to be State’s 1st win over Kentucky since 2007. Does the same Tennessee team show up on Sunday or does Mississippi State make it 3 conference wins this week?
#17 Vanderbilt put up a good fight in Athens on Friday against #5 Georgia but still lost 4-1. Will Vandy rebound and win at #42 South Carolina or will the Gamecocks get their biggest win of the year?
#22 Oklahoma State came close to get a top 10 win on Friday before falling to #7 Texas 4-3. #10 TCU gave #1 Oklahoma a really good shot but came up short 4-1. Which team will come back from the loss and get the win?
Below are all the live scoring/twitter links for Sunday’s matches – I plan on being in Champaign but I’ll have a few of these matches queued up on my phone so I can keep tabs on them.
Notre Dame at Florida State – 12pm est – Live Scoring
Kennesaw State at Georgia Tech – 12pm est – Live Scoring & Streaming
Boston College at Miami – 12pm est – Live Scoring
Michigan State at Iowa – 12pm est – Live Scoring
Tulsa at South Florida – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Louisville at Clemson – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Ohio State at Illinois – 1pm est – Live Scoring & Streaming
Penn State at Northwestern – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Indiana at Minnesota – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Michigan at Nebraska – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Purdue at Wisconsin – 1pm est – Wisconsin Twitter & Streaming
Mississippi State at Tennessee – 1pm est – Live Scoring & UT Blog
Vanderbilt at South Carolina – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Alabama at Kentucky – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Ole Miss at Texas A&M – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Arkansas at LSU – 2pm est – Live Scoring
Duke at Virginia – 2pm est – Live Scoring & Streaming
North Carolina at Virginia Tech – 2pm est – Live Scoring & Video
Incarnate Word at Baylor – 2pm est – Live Scoring & Video (if outdoors) & Blog
Texas at Oklahoma – 2pm est – Live Scoring & Streaming w subsc.
TCU at Oklahoma State – 2pm est – Live Scoring
UT San Antonio at Texas A&M – 5pm est – Live Scoring
Santa Clara at San Diego – 5:30pm est – Live Scoring
The Citadel at South Carolina – 6pm est – Live Scoring
UT Arlington at Baylor 7pm est – Live Scoring & Video (if outdoors) & Blog
IUPUI at Northwestern – 7:30pm est – Live Scoring
Pretty accurate on the predictions today. Shouldn't be much shake up in the rankings.