There aren’t any top 10 match-ups on Friday but there are several in the top 40 that will be playing each other. Below are my previews of the 2 biggest ones along with a few other storylines.
#13 Virginia Tech (14-2) at #23 Louisville (19-4) – 2:30pm est – The Cards have won 5 in a row and 7 of 8 with 4 of those being ranked wins while the Hokies have won 2 straight and 11 of 12 with 6 of those being over ranked teams. Louisville is 18-5 in doubles while Virginia Tech is 9-7.
FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of April 2nd. For more details about UTR check out their website.
Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #45 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT 13.79) vs. #5 Sebastian Stiefelmeyer (UL 14.65)
2. #63 Amerigo Contini (VT 14.25) vs. #94 Albert Wagner (UL 13.61)
3. #109 Joao Monteiro (VT 13.75) vs. #123 Alex Gornet (UL 13.60)
4. Hunter Koontz (VT 13.66) vs. Chris Simich (UL 13.37)
5. Edoardo Tessaro (VT 13.28) vs. Michael Lippens (UL 12.96)
6. Jai Corbett (VT 12.86) vs. Van Damrongsri (UL 12.36)
Others who could play: Aaron Gomez (VT 12.94), Florian Nicoud (VT 13.27), Jeffrey Brown (UL 12.64), Luis Elizondo (UL 12.21)
Dual-Match Singles Records:
1. #45 Bjerrehus 12-3 vs. #5 Stiefelmeyer 14-2
2. #63 Contini 10-2 vs. #94 Wagner 13-5 (won 5 straight)
3. #109 Monteiro 8-3 vs. #123 Gornet 11-4 (lost 4 of last 7)
4. Koontz 12-2 vs. Simich 14-3 (won 4 straight)
5. Tessaro 13-1 (won 11 straight) vs. Lippens 7-8 (lost 4 of last 5)
6. Corbett 7-1 or Nicoud 8-3 vs. Damrongsri 6-4 or Brown 7-2
Projected Doubles Lineup – W-L in ( ):
1. #64 Bjerrehus/Koontz (VT 3-2) vs. #68 Brown/Gornet (UL 11-1)
2. Monteiro/Tessaro (VT 5-3) vs. Stiefelmeyer/Wagner (UL 4-1)
3. Contini/Corbett (VT 2-0) vs. Damrongsri/Elizondo (UL 1-1)
Notes: Both teams have shuffled their doubles lineups a good bit with Louisville going through 18 different combinations while Virginia Tech has used 12. Both Virginia Tech and Louisville have played 3 different guys at #6 singles in the last 3 matches so it’ll be interesting to see who each puts out. I think both Corbett and Damrongsri having more big match experience so I expect to see each of them in the lineup.
The home court advantage has been big for Virginia Tech with the Hokies a perfect 10-0 at Burrows-Burleson but VT is just 2-2 in road matches. 1 of those road wins was over the College of Charleston and in the other they looked dead in the water before Edoardo Tessaro came back from 5-2 down in the 3rd to spark the comeback. Louisville is 15-2 at home though 10 of those wins were over unranked opposition.
Virginia Tech has managed to win a few without Amerigo Contini in the lineup (injury) but if he can’t play singles that’ll make Louisville the favorite in my eyes.
I look for Louisville to take the doubles point which will put Virginia Tech in the familiar position of having to come back and win 4 singles matches. I like Stiefelmeyer and Simich at #1 and #4 for Louisville while I’d take a near 100% Contini at #2, Monteiro at #3, and Tessaro at #5 for Virginia Tech. It’s tough to predict #6 singles because of the uncertainty of who plays but if Jai Corbett plays for VT, I’d like him over either Damrongsri or Brown. Prediction: Virginia Tech 4-3
#6 Georgia (16-2) at #26 Mississippi State (15-5) – 6pm – Mississippi State is currently riding a 3-match winning streak after beating Ole Miss 4-1, Kentucky 4-3, and Tennessee 4-3 last week with the latter 2 coming on the road. Georgia has won 10 straight and has only yielded 7 points in those 10 matches. State is 15-4 in doubles (10-0 at home) but has lost the point the last 2 times out while Georgia is 13-5 (3-2 on road). The matchup at #1 doubles should be a good one with Georgia’s Austin Smith and Ben Wagland currently ranked #1 while Mississippi State’s Florian Lakat and Julian Cash are ranked #14.
Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #31 Austin Smith (UGA 14.18) vs. #108 Florian Lakat (MSU 13.82)
2. #28 Wayne Montgomery (UGA 14.59) vs. Juan Cruz Estevarena (MSU 13.75)
3. #18 Nathan Pasha (UGA 14.27) vs. Mate Cutura (MSU 13.67)
4. Ben Wagland (UGA 13.26) vs. #122 Tassilo Schmid (MSU 12.87)
5. Nick Wood (UGA 13.86) vs. Rishab Agarwal (MSU 13.68)
6. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA 13.66) vs. Julian Cash (MSU 13.43)
Others who could play: Robin Haden (MSU 12.56), Eric Diaz (UGA 12.99)
Dual-Match Singles Records:
1. #31 Smith 11-3 (won 7 straight) vs. #108 Lakat 11-5
2. #28 Montgomery 9-3 (won 6 of last 7) vs. Estevarena 9-3
3. #18 Pasha 11-3 (won 10 of last 11) vs. Cutura 10-3 (won 6 straight)
4. Wagland 6-5 (won 3 straight) vs. #122 Schmid 4-9 (lost 5 of last 6)
5. Wood 11-4 (won 5 straight) vs. Agarwal 13-3 (won 6 straight)
6. Oosterbaan 8-3 (won 7 straight) vs. Cash 6-4
Projected Doubles Lineup:
1. #1 Smith/Wagland (UGA) vs. #14 Lakat/Cash (MSU)
2. Pasha/Diaz (UGA) vs. Cutura/Schmid (MSU)
3. Montgomery/Oosterbaan (UGA) vs. Estevarena/Haden (MSU)
Dual-Match Doubles Records:
1. #1 Smith/Wagland 9-1 (won 9 of last 10) vs. #14 Lakat/Cash 6-1 (won 6 of last 7)
2. Pasha Diaz 4-7 (lost 5 of last 6) vs. Cutura/Schmid 10-3 (lost 3 straight)
3. Montgomery/Oosterbaan 8-3 (won 3 straight) vs. Estevareana/Haden 5-4 (won 4 of last 5)
Interesting Fact: Georgia’s Paul Oosterbaan has yet to play a 3rd set in singles this year with all his matches either finishing in straight sets or going unfinished.
State has yet to drop the doubles point at home and I think they’ll keep that streak alive by grabbing the point to take the early 1-0 lead. I look for Georgia to sink its teeth into State during singles with Smith, Montgomery, Wagland, and Oosterbaan all picking up wins. I think Cutura gets State its lone singles point by upsetting #18 Pasha and I think Wood will be ahead of Agarwal in the 3rd set at #5 when Georgia clinches it. While Mississippi State keeps it close, Georgia pulls it out in the end. Prediction: Georgia 4-2
My Prediction Record: 51-13 (80%)
Friday Storylines:
#35 Notre Dame has quietly won 4 in a row with Quentin Monaghan playing lights out at #1. Can they put a scare into #5 Duke or do the Blue Devils put that loss to Virginia in the rear-view mirror and give the Irish a good thumping?
#29 Minnesota goes to Columbus to face #11 Ohio State with the Gophers (5-0) currently ahead of the Buckeyes (4-1) in the Big 10 standings. Ohio State looked pretty lethargic last week in Champaign, if the Buckeyes don’t play with more energy Minnesota has enough talent to take them out. Can Minnesota rise up or will Ohio State play up to its level?
#25 LSU travels down to Gainesville to face #16 Florida. Both teams are 5-3 in conference – does LSU have enough strength to win a big conference match on the road?
#52 Wichita State hosts #31 Drake in a match that will likely decide the regular season champ in the Missouri Valley. Wichita State has won 20 in a row at home and is 13-0 this year. Do the Shockers get it done at home or do the Bulldogs go on the road and treat themselves to a win?
Follow each of the above matches and more at the live scoring/twitter links below:
NC State at Clemson – 11am est – Live Scoring
Northwestern at Michigan State – 12pm est – Live Scoring
Nebraska at Indiana – 2pm est – Live Scoring
Virginia Tech at Louisville – 2:30pm est – Live Scoring
Notre Dame at Duke – 3pm est – Live Scoring
Boston College at North Carolina – 3pm est – Live Scoring
Minnesota at Ohio State – 3pm est – Live Scoring
Cal at Washington – 3pm est – Live Scoring & Pac 12 Network
Middle Tennessee State at Memphis – 3pm est – Live Scoring
Iowa at Purdue – 3pm est – Live Scoring
Pepperdine at San Francisco – 3:30pm est – Pepp Twitter
Wisconsin at Penn State – 4pm est – Live Scoring
Wake Forest at Georgia Tech – 5pm est – Live Scoring & Streaming
Miami at Florida State – 5pm est – Live Scoring & ESPN3
LSU at Florida – 5pm est – Live Scoring
Georgia at Mississippi State – 6pm est – Live Scoring
South Carolina at Alabama – 6pm est – Live Scoring
Auburn at Texas A&M – 6pm est – Live Scoring
South Florida at SMU – 6pm est – Live Scoring
Utah at USC – 6pm est – Streaming Video
Stanford at Oregon – 6pm est – Live Scoring
Arizona at UCLA – 6pm est – Live Scoring
New Mexico at Boise State – 7pm est – Live Scoring
Drake at Wichita State – 7pm est – Live Scoring
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