Sunday brings us 2 Top 20 showdowns with Virginia hosting Virginia Tech while Florida hosts Texas A&M. Below are the breakdowns of those 2 matches along with a schedule of play for the day.
#13 Virginia Tech (15-2) at #4 Virginia (15-3) – 1pm est – This will be the first time these two have ever met when both have been ranked inside the top 15. Virginia puts its 131 match ACC winning streak on the line as well as its 11 match winning streak against Virginia Tech. The doubles point will be huge for VT because I don’t see anyway they come close without taking that point. Virginia Tech is 10-7 in doubles while Virginia is 16-2.
FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of April 4th. For more details about UTR check out their website.
Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #63 Amerigo Contini (VT 14.26) vs. #29 Mitchell Frank (UVA 14.96)
2. #45 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT 13.79 vs. #6 Ryan Shane (UVA 14.60)
3. #109 Joao Monteiro (VT 13.76) vs. #55 Collin Altamirano (UVA 14.80)
4. Hunter Koontz (VT 13.65) vs. #10 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA 14.66)
5. Edoardo Tessaro (VT 13.29) vs. J.C. Aragone (UVA 13.95)
6. Jai Corbett (VT 12.87) vs. #112 Mac Styslinger (UVA 13.94)
Others who could play: Henrik Wiersholm (UVA 13.46), Florian Nicoud (VT 13.27), Aaron Gomez (VT 12.94)
Dual-Match Singles Records:
1. #63 Contini 10-3 (lost 2 of 3) vs. #29 Frank 11-2 (won 4 straight and 7 of 8)
2. #45 Bjerrehus 13-3 (won 2 straight and 11 of 13) vs. #6 Shane 11-4 (won 3 of 4)
3. #109 Monteiro (won 4 of 6) 9-3 vs. #55 Altamirano 14-0 (won 14 straight)
4. Koontz 13-2 (split last 4) vs. #10 Kwiatkowski 12-3 (won 5 of 6)
5. Tessaro 13-2 (won 11 of 12) vs. Aragone 11-3 (won 5 straight and 7 of 8)
6. Corbett 8-1 (won 2 straight and 8 of 9) vs. #112 Styslinger 3-1 or Wiersholm 8-2 (won 5 of 6)
Projected Doubles Lineup – W-L in ( ):
1. #64 Bjerrehus/Koontz (VT 3-2) vs. #8 Corinteli/Shane (UVA 11-1)
2. Contini/Corbett (VT 3-0) vs. #54 Styslinger/Kwiatkowski (UVA 8-1)
3. Monteiro/Tessaro (VT 6-3) vs. Frank/Altamirano (UVA 9-2)
Virginia Tech surprised Louisville by taking the doubles point but I don’t see them taking it against Virginia. Mitchell Frank will be a heavy favorite at 1 over Amerigo Contini as will Collin Altamirano at 3 over Joao Monteiro. Virginia will be favored on the other 4 courts as well but I think Virginia Tech has a chance at the bottom 3 courts and I think Bjerrehus has an outside shot at Shane too. If Virginia Tech were to pull the upset I’d say it’d come at 2, 4, 5, and 6. In the end I’ll take Frank, Shane, Altamirano, and Kwiatkowski for UVA and Tessaro and Corbett for VT. Prediction: Virginia 5-2
#8 Texas A&M (16-3) at #16 Florida (11-6) – 12pm est – Texas A&M has had Florida’s number lately. Last year the Aggies beat the Gators twice – once during the regular season in College Station and once in the finals of the SEC Tournament in Nashville with both ending in a 4-2 final. Texas A&M is 16-3 in doubles while Florida is 9-8.
Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #59 Jeremy Efferding (aTm 14.26) vs. #71 Diego Hidalgo (UF 14.12)
2. #67 Shane Vinsant (aTm 14.23) vs. #115 Elliott Orkin (UF 14.21)
3. Arthur Rinderknech (aTm 14.17) vs. Gordon Watson (UF 13.76)
4. #51 Harrison Adams (aTm 13.60) vs. #118 Maxx Lipman (UF 13.49)
5. #79 AJ Catanzariti (aTm 14.25) vs. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF 13.54)
6. Jordi Arconada (aTm 13.39) vs. Jordan Belga (UF 12.99)
Also could play: Max Lunkin (aTm 13.07), Jordan Szabo (aTm 13.12), Joshua Wardell (UF 13.10), Oliver Landert (UF 13.09)
Dual-Match Singles Records:
1. #59 Jeremy Efferding 9-3 (split the last 4) vs. #71 Diego Hidalgo 9-2 (split the last 4)
2. #67 Shane Vinsant 6-2 (won 4 in a row) vs. #115 Elliott Orkin 10-5 (won 5 of 6)
3. Arthur Rinderknech 10-2 (won 10 of last 11) vs. Gordon Watson 8-6 (won 3 in a row)
4. #51 Harrison Adams 1-8 (won the last match) vs. #118 Maxx Lipman 3-9 (lost 4 straight)
5. #79 AJ Catanzariti 14-3 (won 10 in a row) vs. Chase Perez-Blanco 11-1 (won 8 in a row)
6. Jordi Arconada 5-2 (won 3 in a row) vs. Jordan Belga 3-2 (split the last 2)
Projected Doubles Lineup – W-L in ( ):
1. #13 Adams/Vinsant (aTm 6-6) vs. #42 Watson/Hidalgo (UF 7-7)
2. #33 Efferding/Jordan Szabo (aTm 13-4) vs. Lipman/Orkin (UF 11-6)
3. Rinderknech/Catanzariti (aTm 13-2) vs. #62 Wardell/Landert (UF 7-6)
This is a big match for both teams with Texas A&M looking to stay at the top of the standings while Florida is looking to stay inside the top 16 which would likely guarantee a spot as a host of a NCAA Regional. Texas A&M has been better at doubles all year but I think Florida finds a way to take the point to grab the early lead. 2 of Florida’s biggest horses have been Elliott Orkin and Chase Perez-Blanco but I think Shane Vinsant and A.J Catanzariti will be too tough and I look for A&M to take both 2 and 5 singles. I like Hidalgo’s chance at #1 for Florida but think Rinderknech and Arconada pull through at 3 and 6 for A&M. Picking a winner at #4 singles is nearly impossible because both Adams and Lipman are going through huge slumps. I wouldn’t be shocked if Florida won but I’m not expecting it. Prediction: Texas A&M 4-2
Other Storylines for Sunday:
#35 Notre Dame gave #5 Duke a good match on Friday, can they do the same today and possibly knock off #19 North Carolina even though the Tar Heels have their #1 Brayden Schnur back in the lineup?
#28 Columbia really hammered #50 Dartmouth on Saturday while #36 Harvard barely got past #55 Cornell. Will this one be competitive or will Columbia win going away?
#26 Mississippi State is riding high after the upset of #6 Georgia, will they have a letdown on Sunday against #45 South Carolina or will State prove that Friday wasn’t a one-time thing?
Can #6 Georgia put the loss to #26 Mississippi State in its rear view mirror and take out its frustrations on #71 Alabama or will the Crimson Tide rally the troops like they did early this year against Ole Miss?
Illinois at Michigan – 12pm est – Live Scoring & Video
Notre Dame at North Carolina – 12pm est – Live Scoring
Miami at Louisville – 12pm est – Live Scoring
Wisconsin at Ohio State – 12pm est – Live Scoring
Minnesota at Penn State – 12pm est – Live Scoring
Texas A&M at Florida – 12pm est – Live Scoring
Virginia Tech at Virginia – 1pm est – Live Scoring & Streaming
Columbia at Harvard – 1pm est – Columbia Twitter & Harvard Twitter
Cornell at Dartmouth – 1pm est – Dartmouth Twitter
Princeton at Yale – 1pm est – Streaming Video & Princeton Twitter
Penn at Brown – 1pm est – Penn Twitter
VCU at Memphis – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Wake Forest at Clemson – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Nebraska at Purdue – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Iowa at Indiana – 2pm est – Live Scoring
South Carolina at Mississippi State – 2pm est – Live Scoring
Georgia at Alabama – 2pm est – Live Scoring
LSU at Auburn – 2pm est – Live Scoring
Stanford at Washington – 3pm est – Live Scoring
NJIT at Penn State – 5pm est – Live Scoring
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