Texas is the place to be today with 4 matches taking place between Top 20 teams. It is semifinal Saturday at the SEC Tournament in College Station with the top 4 seeds set to meet up. There’s been a threat of rain each of the last 2 days which has forced matches to be moved up but as of now it looks like the rain should stay away until later in the day.
In Fort Worth, #7 TCU will host #10 Texas and over in Lubbock #16 Texas Tech will try to make it 2 huge upsets in the last week as they host #2 Baylor.
#2 Texas A&M (19-4) vs. #3 Mississippi State (19-6) – 1pm est – Live Scoring – Texas A&M won the regular season meeting 4-1 in Starkville (box score below) but it was a match that came down to the wire with Mississippi State in a winning position on the 2 courts that didn’t finish. State gutted one out yesterday against Florida while Texas A&M rolled over LSU so the Aggies probably have some fresher legs.
#7 Texas A&M 4, #35 Mississippi State 1
March 20, 2015 – AJ Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, MS
Singles – Order of finish (2, 4, 1, 6)
1. #71 Shane Vinsant (aTm 14.19) def. #112 Florian Lakat (MSU 13.85) 7-6(6) 4-6 6-3
2. #65 Jeremy Efferding (aTm 14.09) def. Juan Estevarena (MSU 13.78) 6-2, 6-3
3. Mate Cutura (MSU 13.45) vs. Arthur Rinderknech (aTm 14.10) 7-5, 5-7, 6-5, unf
4. #89 AJ Catanzariti (aTm 14.23) def. #105 Tassilo Schmid (MSU 12.98) 4-6 6-3 6-0
5. Rishab Agarwal (MSU 13.47) vs. Jordi Arconada (aTm 13.35) 4-6, 6-4, 6-6 (8-7)
6. Max Lunkin (aTm 12.91) def. Julian Cash (MSU 13.46) 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-5
Doubles – Order of finish (3, 1)
1. #46 Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) def. #9 Adams/Vinsant (aTm) 6-4
2. Mate Cutura/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) vs. #26 Efferding/Szabo (aTm) 5-4, unf
3. Estevarena/Robin Haden (MSU) def. Catanzariti/Rinderknech (aTm) 6-3
FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of April 16th. For more details about UTR check out their website.
Projected Singles Lineup
1. #61 Jeremy Efferding (aTm 14.25) vs. #76 Florian Lakat (MSU 13.87)
2. #69 Shane Vinsant (aTm 14.16) vs. Juan Cruz Estevarena (MSU 13.76)
3. Arthur Rinderknech (aTm 14.20) vs. #118 Mate Cutura (MSU 13.70)
4. #55 Harrison Adams (aTm 13.60) vs. Rishab Agarwal (MSU 13.75)
5. #93 A.J. Catanzariti (aTm 14.18) vs. Tassilo Schmid (MSU 12.82)
6. Jordi Arconada (aTm 13.45) vs. Julian Cash (MSU 13.36)
1st off the bench: Max Lunkin (aTm 13.09), Robin Haden (MSU 12.60)
Dual-Match singles records:
1. Efferding 9-3 (7 straight DNFs) vs. Lakat 14-6 (won 3 of 4)
2. Vinsant 6-3 (won 4 of 5) vs. Estevarena 10-5 (lost 4 of 6)
3. Rinderknech 11-3 (won 3 of 4) vs. Cutura 12-6 (lost 3 in a row after winning previous 8)
4. Adams 3-8 (won 3 in a row) vs. Agarwal 18-3 (won 11 in a row)
5. Catanzariti 17-4 (won 13 of 14) vs. Schmid 5-13 (lost 6 of 7 though won on Friday)
6. Arconada 8-2 (won 6 in a row) vs. Cash 9-5 (won 5 of 6)
Projected Doubles Lineup
1. #11 Adams/Vinsant (aTm 9-6) vs. #7 Cash/Lakat (MSU 8-2)
2. #46 Efferding/Szabo (aTm 14-6) vs. Cutura/Schmid (MSU 14-4)
3. Rinderknech/Catanzariti (aTm 15-3) vs. Estevarena/Haden (MSU 7-4)
Doubles Record:
Texas A&M 19-4 overall, 10-3 SEC
Miss St 19-5 overall, 9-4 SEC
I think the home court advantage plays to A&M’s favor today and I while I expect Mississippi State to be competitive I don’t see them pulling the upset. I like Texas A&M in doubles and look for Shane Vinsant, Arthur Rinderknech, and AJ Catanzariti to pick up wins in singles. I think Efferding and Arconada will be ahead as well with Adams/Agarwal all even at the tie of the clinch. Prediction: Texas A&M 4-0
#1 Georgia (20-3) vs. #4 Ole Miss (17-7) – 4pm est – Live Scoring – These teams met just one week ago in Athens with Georgia winning 4-0 (box score below) but this one should be a little closer without the large home crowd in Georgia’s favor.
#8 Georgia 4, #14 Ole Miss 0
April 11, 2015 at Athens, Ga. (Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. #34 Austin Smith (UGA 14.22) def. #16 Nik Scholtz (OM 14.10) 6-4, 6-4
2. #84 Stefan Lindmark (OM 14.19) vs. #27 Wayne Montgomery (UGA 14.51) 7-5, 3-3
3. #25 Nathan Pasha (UGA 14.28) vs. Gustav Hansson (OM 13.76) 6-4, 6-5, unf
4. Ben Wagland (UGA 13.30) vs. William Kallberg (OM 13.25) 7-6 (8-6), 2-3, unf
5. Nick Wood (UGA 13.84) def. Vinod Gowda (OM 12.97) 6-1, 6-2
6. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA 13.68) def. Grey Hamilton (OM 12.47) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #1 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (UGA) def. #46 Babic/Scholtz (OM) 7-6 (8-6)
2. Gustav Hansson/Stefan Lindmark (OM) def. Montgomery/Oosterbaan (UGA) 6-2
3. Nathan Pasha/Nick Wood (UGA) def. Grey Hamilton/William Kallberg (OM) 6-3
Match Notes
Ole Miss 16-7 (8-4); National ranking #14
Georgia 19-3 (11-1); National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,6,1)
Projected Singles Lineup
1. #29 Austin Smith (UGA 14.29) vs. #19 Nik Scholtz (OM 14.08)
2. #28 Wayne Montgomery (UGA 14.50) vs. #87 Stefan Lindmark (OM 14.19)
3. #26 Nathan Pasha (UGA 14.30) vs. Gustav Hansson (OM 13.73)
4. Ben Wagland (UGA 13.29) vs. William Kallberg (OM 13.22)
5. Nick Wood (UGA 13.93) vs. Ricardo Jorge (OM 13.08)
6. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA 13.76) vs. Vinod Gowda (OM 12.96)
1st off the bench: Peter Bertran (UGA 13.57), Zvonimir Babic (OM 12.87)
Dual-Match singles records:
1. Scholtz 13-5 (lost 2 in a row) vs. Smith 14-4 (won 10 of 11)
2. Lindmark 15-3 (won 7 in a row and 9 of 10) vs. Montgomery 12-3 (won 5 in a row and 10 of 11)
3. Hansson 9-7 (won 5 of 6) vs. Pasha 12-4 (won 11 of 13)
4. Kallberg 6-8 (lost 5 of 6) vs. Wagland 8-5 (won 5 in a row)
5. Jorge 7-3 (split last 4) vs. Wood 11-5 (won 5 of 6)
6. Gowda 8-4 (won 4 of 6) vs. Oosterbaan 11-3 (won 10 in a row)
Projected Doubles Lineup with records in ( ):
1. #1 Smith/Wagland (UGA 13-2) vs. #39 Scholtz/Babic (OM 8-6)
2. Pasha/Oosterbaan (UGA 1-0) vs. Lindmark/Hansson (OM 6-3)
3. Montgomery/Wood (UGA 0-1) vs. Kallberg/Grey Hamilton (OM 4-6)
Doubles Record:
Ole Miss 13-11 overall, 8-5 SEC
Georgia 16-7 overall, 9-4 SEC
Georgia has been the better team in doubles so I look for the Bulldogs to grab the early lead and then in singles we’ll have 4 rematches from last week though the pairings at 5 and 6 will be different. Even though Nik Scholtz has lost 2 straight including one to Smith last week, I think the Rebel senior turns it around today and get the win at #1 singles. After failing to close out his match last week against Gustav Hansson at #3, I think Nathan Pasha gets it done today and I also like both Nick Wood and Paul Oosterbaan at 5 and 6 for the Bulldogs. If the matches at 2 and 4 were played out (which they won’t be) I’d like Lindmark at 2 in a long 3-setter and Kallberg in a long 3-setter at 4. I think this will be much closer than last week but the outcome will be the same. Prediction: Georgia 4-1
#10 Texas (18-4) at #7 TCU (19-6) – 2pm est – TCU is coming off a blowout win over Texas A&M last Saturday while Texas got roughed up on Wednesday by Baylor. Texas has won 8 straight in the series with TCU’s last win coming all the way back in 1996. The last 2 meetings in Fort Worth have been nail-biters with Texas coming from behind both times to win with the deciding matches being tight 3-setters. Will this be the year that TCU gets over the hump?
Projected Doubles Lineup – W-L in ( ):
1. #23 Glasspool/Hess-Olesen (TX 10-7) vs. #21 Chappell/Stein (TCU 8-9)
2. Berkowicz/Goldhoff (TX 8-5) vs. #27 Norrie/Trevor Johnson (TCU 10-2)
3. Naumann/Riechmann (TX 6-3) vs. Hudson Blake/Nunez (TCU 4-1)
Team Doubles Records:
TCU: 13-10 overall, 2-2 Big 12
Texas: 11-11 overall, 1-3 Big 12
TCU: 13-10 overall, 2-2 Big 12
Texas: 11-11 overall, 1-3 Big 12
Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #5 Soren Hess-Olesen (TX 14.97) vs. #44 Nick Chappell (TCU 13.91)
2. #48 Lloyd Glasspool (TX 13.94) vs. #47 Guillermo Nunez (TCU 13.93)
3. #49 Adrien Berkowicz (TX 13.99) vs. #43 Cameron Norrie (TCU 14.33)
4. George Goldhoff (TX 13.70) vs. Arnau Dachs (TCU 13.99)
5. Nick Naumann (TX 13.76) vs. #121 Facundo Lugones (TCU 13.87)
6. Clement Homs (TX 13.27) vs. Will Stein (TCU 13.32)
Others who could play: Trevor Johnson (TCU 13.31), John Mee (TX 13.62)
FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of April 18th. For more details about UTR check out their website.
Dual-Match Singles Records:
1. Hess-Olesen 16-3 (lost 3 of 4 after winning 15 straight) vs. Chappell 11-4 (won 9 of 11)
2. Glasspool 11-3 (split last 4 but won 11 of 13) vs. Nunez 17-1 (won 2 of 3 and 17 of 18)
3. Berkowicz 15-3 (won 4 in a row) vs. Norrie 11-8 (won 3 in a row)
4. Goldhoff 5-5 (lost last match but won 3 prior) vs. Dachs 13-5 (won 3 of 5)
5. Naumann 9-8 (lost 5 of 7) vs. Lugones 13-4 (won 8 in a row)
6. Homs 6-0 (won 6 in a row) vs. Stein 9-6 (won 5 of 6)
Others: John Mee (TX) 7-4, Trevor Johnson (TCU)
Both teams are barely above .500 in doubles though TCU played very well its last time out. If they play anywhere close to as good as they did against Texas A&M they should win the doubles point. Soren Hess-Olesen holds a 3-0 H2H advantage over Nick Chappell with all 3 finishing in straight sets but I think Chappell can push this one to a 3rd set today but I’m not sure if he’ll have enough to get the win. Lloyd Glasspool has never lost to anyone from TCU going 6-0 over the last 4 years but Guillermo Nunez is playing some exceptional tennis right now. Cameron Norrie rolled over Adrien Berkowicz 6-3, 6-1 back in the fall though Berkowicz has been playing much better this spring. Arnau Dachs beat George Goldhoff last year 7-5, 6-3 and Dachs has definitely been the crisper of the two this year. Facundo Lugones played at #1 and #2 singles in the 2 meetings last year falling to Glasspool 6-4 in the 3rd and being in a 3rd set against Soren Hess-Olesen when the Horns clinched. Nick Naumann has struggled to find wins lately and has dropped 5 of his last 7. Since returning from an ACL injury Clement Homs has looked very good while Will Stein’s spring hasn’t been as good as his fall.
Everything is pointing towards a TCU win here and I think the Horned Frogs get it done. TCU takes the doubles point and picks up singles wins from Norrie, Dachs, and Lugones. Texas gets wins from Homs and Glasspool. Prediction: TCU 4-2
2 other bigger matches to keep an eye on:
#2 Baylor goes to Lubbock to face #16 Texas Tech and even though the Red Raiders are more than capable of staying in this one I don’t think Baylor has any kind of hangover after its win over Texas. I like Baylor in this one and I like them big. Prediction: Baylor 4-0
#24 Stanford is coming off a huge weekend that saw the Cardinal upset both USC and UCLA while #28 California faced the same opponents but came up short both times. Stanford won the 1st meeting 4-3 and this one will likely come down to a few big points here and there. I like Stanford in doubles and think the Cardinal gets wins up top from Fawcett, Morrissey, and Wilczynski. Prediction: Stanford 4-3
Follow them all at the below scoring links.
Saturday Schedule:
SEC Tournament (College Station, TX)
#2 Texas A&M vs. #3 Miss St – 1pm est – Live Scoring
#1 Georgia vs. #4 Ole Miss – 4pm est – Live Scoring
AAC Tournament (Tulsa, OK) – Streaming Video & Live Scoring
#1 South Florida vs. #5 Memphis – 9am est
#2 Tulsa vs #3 Tulane – 9am est
Atlantic Sun (Jacksonville, FL) – Live Scoring
#2 North Florida vs. #3 USC Upstate – 2:30pm est
#1 FGCU vs. #4 Stetson – 5pm est
Colonial (Williamsburg, VA)
#1 UNC Wilmington vs. #4 College of Charleston – 2pm est – Live Scoring
#2 Elon vs #3 William & Mary – 2pm est – Live Scoring
Conference USA (Norfolk, VA)
#2 Old Dominion vs. #3 UTSA – 12pm est – Live Scoring
#1 Rice vs. #4 Charlotte – 12pm est – Live Scoring
Sunbelt Tournament (New Orleans, LA)
#1 Troy vs. #5 Louisiana Lafayette – 4pm est – Live Scoring
#2 UT Arlington vs. #3 South Alabama – 4pm est – Live Scoring
Utah State at Boise State – 12:30pm est – Live Scoring
Arizona at Utah – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Texas at TCU – 2pm est – Live Scoring
NC State at Notre Dame – 2pm est – Live Scoring
San Diego at BYU – 2pm est – Live Scoring
St. Mary’s at Pepperdine – 4pm est – Live Scoring
Washington at Oregon – 5pm est – Live Scoring
Cal at Stanford – 5pm est – Live Scoring & Streaming
Baylor at Texas Tech – 7pm est – Live Scoring
Idaho at Boise State – 7:30pm est – Live Scoring
#2 Texas A&M vs. #3 Miss St – 1pm est – Live Scoring
#1 Georgia vs. #4 Ole Miss – 4pm est – Live Scoring
AAC Tournament (Tulsa, OK) – Streaming Video & Live Scoring
#1 South Florida vs. #5 Memphis – 9am est
#2 Tulsa vs #3 Tulane – 9am est
Atlantic Sun (Jacksonville, FL) – Live Scoring
#2 North Florida vs. #3 USC Upstate – 2:30pm est
#1 FGCU vs. #4 Stetson – 5pm est
Colonial (Williamsburg, VA)
#1 UNC Wilmington vs. #4 College of Charleston – 2pm est – Live Scoring
#2 Elon vs #3 William & Mary – 2pm est – Live Scoring
Conference USA (Norfolk, VA)
#2 Old Dominion vs. #3 UTSA – 12pm est – Live Scoring
#1 Rice vs. #4 Charlotte – 12pm est – Live Scoring
Sunbelt Tournament (New Orleans, LA)
#1 Troy vs. #5 Louisiana Lafayette – 4pm est – Live Scoring
#2 UT Arlington vs. #3 South Alabama – 4pm est – Live Scoring
Utah State at Boise State – 12:30pm est – Live Scoring
Arizona at Utah – 1pm est – Live Scoring
Texas at TCU – 2pm est – Live Scoring
NC State at Notre Dame – 2pm est – Live Scoring
San Diego at BYU – 2pm est – Live Scoring
St. Mary’s at Pepperdine – 4pm est – Live Scoring
Washington at Oregon – 5pm est – Live Scoring
Cal at Stanford – 5pm est – Live Scoring & Streaming
Baylor at Texas Tech – 7pm est – Live Scoring
Idaho at Boise State – 7:30pm est – Live Scoring
I thought the biggest potential surprise was #6 – I thought that was a sure lock for UGA but Oosterbaan likely was saved by the clinch for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. None of the other results were surprising. Should be a good one in the finals.
Bobby, you got the final score correct in the UGA Dawgs vs Ole Misshit, but the parts were pretty interesting. Nick lost the lst set but came storming back. Wayne was down 5-1 in the lst but came SB, too.