After a wild and crazy first round of the NCAA Tournament, we had a more tame second round with 9 of the 16 matches being shutouts. 14 of the top 16 seeds advanced with Columbia and South Florida pulling off the mild upsets.
#17 Columbia punched its second ever ticket to the Round of 16 with a 4-1 win over #14 Ole Miss. Columbia took the doubles point with wins at 2 and 3 but Ole Miss would take four opening sets in singles. Ole Miss’s Nik Scholtz would even the match at 1-1 with a straight set win over Winston Lin at #1 but Columbia’s Ashok Narayana and Shawn Hadavi would close out their respective matches in straight sets at 3 and 5 to put Columbia up 3-1. Columbia’s Dragos Ignat, Mike Vermeer, and Bert Vancura would each take the 2nd sets after dropping the first and in a race to the finish line it’d be Vancura that would provide the clincher with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win at #6.
“We knew that Ole Miss is very tough at home. They are very hard to beat here. So after Georgia Tech we thought we needed to win the doubles point,” Howard Endelman, Associate Head Coach said.“They are very strong at the top of the lineup, so we knew if we won the doubles point and put some pressure on them, it would give us a little edge heading into singles.The guys played so well in doubles and I think it took some air out of the home crowd, which was good for us.”
“I was on courts 5 and 6, so I couldn’t see the other courts but I could see the main scoreboard, and it seemed like every first set was in a breaker, or 5-5, Endelman said.“This match couldn’t have been any closer.We have to give Ole Miss a lot of credit.They won four first sets, but our guys, they all hung in there.Bert’s opponent was playing great.Bert just stayed around, stayed around and won the second set, and he was just incredible in the third.It was probably one of the best sets I’ve ever seen him play.{Shawn} Hadavi played a really good player and Shawn played one of the best tie-breakers I’ve ever seen him play.They were just so tough.
“Last year we snuck up on people. No one picked us to beat Vanderbilt. This year, in many ways, was much harder.No one was surprised by us. But our goal was always to get back to the Sweet 16, and to beat Ole Miss in Oxford to get there, is just incredible, Endelman concluded.
“It was a very tough day,” head coach Toby Hansson said. “Obviously it’s disappointing when you lose. We thought we had a good chance to win this match today, and we just couldn’t get it done.”
“We came out a little slow in doubles and didn’t have the energy and positive body language,” Hansson said. “When things didn’t go our way, we let it affect us a little.”
“I told the guys we had an opportunity in singles, and even though we didn’t play our best, we battled,” Hansson said. “We had chances on several different courts.I have to give Columbia a lot of credit for hanging around and never giving up on all the courts.”
“Overall I am very pleased with the season,” Hansson said. “With a little perspective I think the guys will realize that we’ve done some good things this year.”
[2] #17 Columbia def. [1] #14 Ole Miss 4-1 May 9, 2015 at Oxford, MS (Palmer-Salloum Tennis Center) Singles competition
#18 South Florida stamped its first ever ticket to the Round of 16 with a 4-0 shutout over #15 Virginia Tech. The Bulls took the doubles point with wins at 2 and 3 then took 4 opening sets. Justin Roberts and Vadym Kalyuzhnyy picked up straight set wins at 5 and 6 to extend the lead to 3-0 and then Sasha Gozun would clinch the victory with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win at #2 over Andreas Bjerrehus.
“It was an amazing day for the guys and all the work they’ve put in,” head coach Matt Hill said. “It’s a huge day for the program as well. We push the envelope and try to show other teams we’re a program that’s going to be around for a little while.”
“Virginia Tech has very good doubles, especially at No. 1 and No. 2. I thought our guys did a great job of playing smart and competing really well throughout the doubles,” Hill said.
“Our guys took it to another level in singles,” Hill said. “They continue to impress the coaches on the big stages and in the big moments. They really enjoy it and elevate their game.”
[2] #18 South Florida def. [1] #15 Virginia Tech 4-0
5/9/2015 at Blacksburg, Va. (Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #21 Roberto Cid (USF 14.37) vs. #68 Amerigo Contini (VT 14.20) 6-4, 6-5
2. #124 Sasha Gozun (USF 13.61) def. #43 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT 13.99) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
3. #109 Joao Monteiro (VT 13.80) vs. Oliver Pramming (USF 13.69) 7-6(4), 6-5
4. I. Gonzales-Muniz (USF 13.40) vs. Hunter Koontz (VT 13.89) 6-7(4), 6-4, 2-1
4. Justin Roberts (USF 13.21) def. Edoardo Tessaro (VT 13.44) 6-2, 6-0
6. Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF 13.29) def. Jai Corbett (VT 13.03) 6-4, 7-6(3)
Doubles competition
1. #39 Andreas Bjerrehus/Hunter Koontz (VT) vs. #28 Roberts/Oliver Pramming (USF) 7-6
“Singles was solid, head coach John Roddick said. “We didn’t dig any holes. The one spot where we got down, we got out of it and had control of that match when it finished. Doubles was close. It came down to a tiebreaker and a few points here or there. Overall we are playing better there.
“It is pretty impressive to play like that at one, Roddick said. “When you are moving the ball around like that and not making errors it is tough to handle.
“He was just really patient, Roddick said. “He hit solid ground strokes in rallies and wasn’t going for too much and didn’t leave it short either. He just really did a good job of forcing that guy into errors all day. He won 12 games to five. That is pretty solid.
“We are going to get an idea of the practice schedule, but we are going to take a day off and then head out, Roddick said. “We are ready to get it going and I think the guys are excited to play.
[1] #1 Oklahoma def. [2] #28 Northwestern 4-1
May 09, 2015 at Norman, Okla. (Headington Family Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #1 Axel Alvarez (OU) def. #48 Sam Shropshire (NU) 6-1, 6-2
“Obviously that doubles point gave us a tremendous amount of momentum going into singles,” head coach David Roditi said. “That is some of the most competitive points I have ever seen at the No. 3 position and it was anyone’s match. Guillermo came up with a huge ace down match point and our No. 2 team of Cameron Norrie and Trevor Johnson just keep getting it done. They are playing just such a high level and having so much fun. They are communicating and connecting and it is just fun to watch. The scary part is that we are winning doubles points and we can still play better. There is still room for improvement and that is exactly what we want going into next week.
“In singles, our guys came out focused and let that excitement from doubles keep them going. Cameron Norrie is just too good and he is just too much for some guys at the No. 3 position. Guillermo finally closed out his m
1 Comment
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on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:03 pm
I got out to UNC and they played well and deserved their win. Court 6 was a great finish. I also like to scoreboard watch and stand in the same spot when i go but was moved by an official as "you can't stand there it's distracting". So I moved about 6 feet to my left. She did a great job! <br /><br />I think they have a reasonable shot at upsetting Illinois, especially if Esben is fit enough to play singles.<br /><br />And thanks for a great page.
I got out to UNC and they played well and deserved their win. Court 6 was a great finish. I also like to scoreboard watch and stand in the same spot when i go but was moved by an official as "you can't stand there it's distracting". So I moved about 6 feet to my left. She did a great job! <br /><br />I think they have a reasonable shot at upsetting Illinois, especially if Esben is fit enough to play singles.<br /><br />And thanks for a great page.