After days of rain it was hot and very humid for the semifinals and all four teams had to fight the elements just as much as their opponents. By the time the dust cleared after just over 4 hours we had #1 Oklahoma and #3 Virginia sitting atop the podium after Oklahoma held off #6 TCU 4-3 and Virginia outlasted #2 Baylor 4-2
I can attest the weather was very hot and I was standing in the shade so I can only imagine what it felt like for the players to stand out there and slug it out for hours on end.
I thought the crowd today was great for the 2 matches that were played simultaneously. Early on there more people watching TCU/OU on the Riverside Courts but the stands gradually filled up on the Grandstand Courts and as both matches really picked up so did the crowds energy.
Virginia came out fired up in doubles with its #3 team of Collin Altamirano and JC Aragone breaking Vince Schneider and Felipe Rios in the opening game and then consolidating for a 2-0 lead.
Virginia’s #2 team of Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and Mac Styslinger jumped out to a 3-0 lead including this break of Mate Zsiga to go up 2-0
Baylor would strike first at #1 doubles when Julian Lenz and Diego Galeano broke Virginia’s Ryan Shane and Luca Corinteli to go up 2-1 and they would end breaking again to go 5-2 and would end up cruising to an 8-4 win – match point below.
Back at #2 doubles Virginia’s 3-0 lead quickly evaporated due to shots like Zsiga’s forehand (clip below) and all of a sudden they found themselves tied at 3.
It would stay on serve until Virginia broke the Mate Zsiga serve from 30-40 with this backhand winner by Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and with that Virginia took it 8-6.
It all came down to #3 doubles and after getting the early break it looked like UVA’s Altamirano and Aragone were going to finish it off but Altamirano double faulted at 30-40 to send it to a tiebreak. The tiebreak wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty as the returner won point after point until Baylor closed it out 8-7(5) to take the doubles point and the 1-0 lead.
In singles Virginia would come out quick as Ryan Shane, Mitchell Frank, Collin Altamirano, and JC Aragone would go up early breaks while Mate Zsiga went up an early break for Baylor.
Mitchell Frank grabbed the opening set at #2 singles in just 25 minutes as he gave Tony Lupieri a first set bagel. The rest of the match wouldn’t go as quickly but we’ll get back to that in a minute.
The hard, and I do mean hard, hitting Ryan Shane blasted his way to a 6-3 first set as he hit this ace out wide on set point.
Shane would continue his dominance of Julian Lenz in the second set as he broke Lenz to go up 2-1 and then he never looked back and cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 win in 1 hour and 29 minutes – clip shows Shane hitting a backhand winner on match point.
Virginia’s J.C. Aragone would break Felipe Rios to go up 3-1 in the 1st set and would hold on to the break lead to take the opening set 6-3. Rios jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the 2nd set but Aragone would hold, break, and then hold again for 4-4. Aragone would break again to go up 6-5 and then he’d serve it out from 40-15 to close out the 6-3, 7-5 win in 1 hour and 41 minutes – Virginia now led 2-1 – the below clip picks up with Aragone serving up 6-3, 6-5 (30-15)
Baylor would even the match at 2-2 after Diego Galeano won a wild one at #4 singles over Virginia’s Thai-Son Kwiatkowski. Galeano would break the TSK serve at 3-3 and would then break again at 5-3 to take the opening set 6-3. TSK would break Galeano at 1-1 in the 2nd and then after several close games he’d serve out the 2nd set from 5-4 to take it 6-4.
In the 3rd set, Kwiatkowski would break Galeano’s 1-1 service game but he’d be unable to consolidate as Galeano broke back in a back-breaking 8-deuce service game that left Kwiatkowski completely spent. Kwiatkowski became more and more agitated during the service game because he wanted to play quick and Galeano kept slowing him down in between points. There were also an out call on a serve for game point that Kwiatkowski didn’t like and he tried to retaliate later in the game but got overruled. Those 2 points are below along with Galeano converting on break point.
Galeano quickly held for 3-2 then during Kwiatkowski’s next service game after falling behind 15-40 he took a medical timeout for what had to be cramps/fatigue – Kwiatkowski’s movement had slowed to a snails pace and he was hitting serves at about 25% effort. Upon resumption of play Kwiatkowski was quickly broke then Galeano held and broke again to take it 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in 2 hours and 12 minutes.
Even though the Baylor faithful were happy with the Galeano win there was trouble brewing everywhere else. Virginia’s Collin Altamirano had opened up a 5-1 lead in the 3rd against Max Tchoutakian at #3, Alexander Ritschard went up 4-2 in the 3rd against Mate Zsiga at #5, and Mitchell Frank was serving for the match at #2 up 5-4 in the 3rd against Tony Lupieri. Virginia needed just 2 of the final 3 and it looked like they had all 3 sewn up but you knew it wouldn’t be that easy.
Baylor’s Mate Zsiga broke the Ritschard serve for 3-4 and then held for 4-4. BU’s Max Tchoutakian held for 2-5, broke for 3-5, and then held for 4-5.
Back over at #2 Mitchell Frank was trying to put away the game Tony Lupieri who had come back from dropping the first set 6-0 to take the second 6-2 and believe it or not Lupieri went up 3-1 in the 3rd before Frank got back in it. Frank was serving up 5-4 but found himself in trouble and Lupieri would break on his 4th break point opportunity to even it at 5-5 (clip below)
The effort it took to get the break took a lot of stream out of Lupieri who appeared to be on his last leg. Lupieri would quickly get broken from 15-40 and once again Frank would be serving for the match – this time up 6-5 (clip shows the break)
Frank fell behind 15-30 in his 6-5 service game but then hit a nice serve out wide and followed it in with a put away volley at the net for 30-30.
On the 30-30 point Frank worked Lupieri and forced the miss which set up match point.
Then on match point Frank used the drop shot to ultimately finish off Lupieri who couldn’t do anything but drop to the ground after the draining 2 hour and 36 minute match.
Collin Altamirano would finish off Max Tchoutakian at the same time and with that Virginia was headed back to the NCAA finals for the 4th time in the last 5 years.
It was a great match between two teams that left it all out on the court but Virginia came through in the key moments and really rode the momentum of the Shane and Aragone wins to pull it out.
Full highlights produced by Virginia:
Full highlights produced by Baylor:
[3] Virginia def. [2] Baylor 4-2
May 18, 2015 – Hurd Tennis Center Grandstand Courts
“Congratulations to Baylor on a great season. That was really exciting is great to be part of a match like that of college tennis. I know there is always questions of whether college tennis is exciting and there is great excitement and drama. Credit to Baylor, they had an unbelievable season and a great team. I am sure it’s hard for them, hosting the event, to go down, but they left it all on the floor. Happy for my team and we are looking forward to playing another day.
On what was the key in making it to the final
“The players wear orange and blue with a lot of pride. They buy into the culture we have at UVA and they get to work. They are really supportive of each other and go every day and make themselves and everyone around them better every day. It’s a great culture and I am happy to be part of it.
On how to handle the pressure and heat
“It was hot out there and a lot of momentum changes throughout the match. Them [Baylor] getting the doubles point was huge. The guys just kept battling and that’s something they’ve done such a good job of all year long. We have lost some close matches, been through a little more adversity this year than we have been in the past, which has been great. The last couple of matches against Baylor we lost. They were really, really competitive, but we came up short. This team has a lot of resilience to it and we just don’t back down.
On playing against friend John Roddick
“We talked a little bit about it. Throughout the year we talk quit a lot, and as you said we are good friends. I am happy for him to be in the final. I know we both are looking forward to it. It would be something that makes it an interesting match because of the dynamics. We have a lot of respect for Oklahoma. They have a great team and they had an amazing year as well and it will be fun to play against Oklahoma. We lost to them at Oklahoma earlier this year on another 4-3 match, so hopefully a little more excitement tomorrow.
Virginia Junior Ryan Shane
On getting a quick point after losing doubles
“Last time I played him [Julian Lenz], I played him indoors here. Coming outdoors is different conditions, different atmosphere. I played probably one of the better matches I have played in a while. He played really well too, but things kind of went in my favor. I think getting that point right off the bat kind of helped us move forward on winning the match.
On attitude and emotion during match
“I definitely felt confident. I was on all his service games. I didn’t feel so much pressure on myself because I knew, getting broken on the first game and breaking right back, I kind of was reading him really well. Just putting a lot of first serves in, which was very tough at times, but I felt very confident in all of his service games.
Baylor Head Coach Matt Knoll
On the match results
“I think what you see in a match like this, that is this close, is that you are going to have momentum swing back and forth numerous times. We got off to a really poor start in the third set at [court] three. I think we go down love-four and then we started to claw our way back into that one. That’s where I was, so I really felt some momentum there. Tony [Lupieri] and Mitchel [Frank] were having a heck of a battle on two. I wasn’t watching point by point but I could tell that they were really going after each other and competing hard and giving it everything they’ve got. Mate [Zsiga’s] match, as well, where I was watching, was a tough match, both guys scratching for everything they could get. Alex [Ritschard] and Mate were both fighting hard.
On Diego Galeano
“Diego is playing his best tennis. I am really proud of the way he finished his career. He played with a lot of passion and has been sort of our emotional leader in the locker-room. He has given a lot of his heart, like a lot of the guys have. Diego is probably the most charismatic guy we have, and he has sort of grown to feel comfortable in that role. When he first came in and I would say something about leading he would push back and say, “I don’t want to lead. I don’t want that responsibility of being that guy that everybody looks to.” But he grew to feel good about that role. I think you saw out there that he was doing that.
On hosting the NCAA Tournament
“I think the preparation phase is exhaustive. You put so much of your focus and heart and soul into getting the place ready and making a great impression on college tennis. All the student-athletes are going to come in here and we’ll give them a first-class venue and a first-class experience, in terms of organizing the volunteers and all the things that go into this, as well as reaching out to the community. We reached out and worked hard to get the Waco community behind this event because it is special.”
While the Oklahoma/TCU match might not have had as many close singles matches as Virginia/Baylor it sure brought the intensity in doubles.
TCU’s #1 team of Cameron Norrie and Trevor Johnson jumped out to an early 3-1 but OU’s Andrew Harris and Alex Ghilea broke back and held for 3-3. They stayed on serve all the way until the tiebreak and in the TB Harris and Ghilea went up 6-4 but Norrie & Johnson got it back to 6-6. Ghilea and Harris would win the next 2 points to take it 8-6 – below is my clip of match point (from a few courts away) and below that is a closer clip from OU’s Twitter
OU’s #2 team of Dane Webb and Spencer Papa jumped out to a 2-0 lead but TCU’s Nick Chappell and Facundo Lugones held, broke, and held to go up 3-2. TCU would break again for a 6-4 lead and then hold to go up 7-4 but Webb and Papa wouldn’t go away as they held, broke, and held again to send it to a tiebreak. The tiebreak stayed tight throughout but Chappell hit an overhead to put TCU up 8-7 then Papa’s return of Nunez serve sailed wide and TCU had the 8-7(7) win.
OU’s #3 team of Axel Alvarez and Jose Salazar got their first break to go up 6-4 but TCU’s Guillermo Nunez and Hudson Blake broke back from 15-40 and then held for 6-6. They would go to a tiebreak and Alvarez and Salazar would get the mini break to go up 6-4 after Axel “The Annihilator” Alvarez pounded a forehand that Nunez couldn’t handle.
TCU would fight off a match point after Alvarez pushed this forehand long
but on the next point Jose Salazar would put a backhand smash away at the net to give OU the doubles point with an 8-7(5) win.
Spencer Papa would extend the Oklahoma lead to 2-0 with a 6-0, 6-1 destruction of Arnau Dachs at #5 singles in a match that took only 59 minutes. (Full disclosure – I picked Dachs to win in 2 so Papa made me look pretty silly too).
Cameron Norrie put TCU on the board when he took out Dane Webb 6-2, 6-0 at #3 singles in a match that took 1 hour and 8 minutes.
Facundo Lugones would knot the match at 2 after he beat Alex Ghilea 6-1, 6-4 at #4 singles. Lugones cruised through the 1st set in 31 minutes and then broke Ghilea to go up 3-2 in the 2nd and then held on from there to close it out in 1 hour and 25 minutes (I had a clip of match point but my phone started to overheat so it somehow got erased).
OU’s Florin Bragusi would jump out to an early 3-0 lead in the 1st set and would cruise to a 6-3 set in 48 minutes. Bragusi broke Stein to start the 2nd, then held, broke again, and held for 4-0. Stein would then hold and break to pull within 4-2 but Bragusi broke right back to go up 5-2 and he’d be serving for the match. Bragusi had 2 match points serving up 5-2 but Stein broke, then held, broke again, and then held again to go up 6-5. Bragusi would hold to force a tiebreak then he jumped out to a 6-1 lead before winning it 7-4. The 6-3, 7-6(4) win, which took 2 hours and 18 minutes, put Oklahoma up 3-2.
Over at #2 singles things were looking good for OU’s Andrew Harris after he took the first set in a tiebreak -which he won on this Guillermo Nunez double fault:
But things quickly took a turn for the worse for Harris as Nunez would win 12 of the next 14 games and 10 straight to close out a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0 win in 2 hours and 21 minutes. Harris went down early in the 3rd set holding his leg but his movement had been poor from the early part of the second set up until then. Harris seemed to be effected by the heat and humidity more than the rest of the guys.
With the score tied at 3-3 it came down to #1 singles. Oklahoma’s Axel Alvarez took the opening set 7-5 after he put away this overhead serving at 6-5 Ad-In.
Alvarez would go up 5-3 in the 2nd and he would have his first match point up 30-40 on the Chappell serve but Chappell fought it off:
Alvarez would have a second match point here but his service return sailed well long
Chappell would get the hold to cut the Alvarez lead to 5-4 and then he’d break Alvarez and hold to take a 6-5 lead. Alvarez held to force a tiebreak but Chappell would jump out to a 4-2 lead. Alvarez would take the next 3 to go up 5-4 but the big brouhaha came on the 4-4 point. Evidently Chappell hit a shot that Alvarez called out, but according to others, Alvarez reversed his call saying it was good however the chair never heard/saw it so when Chappell appealed to the chair they upheld Alvarez’s out call. I personally wasn’t courtside, since I was over watching match point of Mitchell Frank’s match, so I can’t give an opinion one way or another of what happened and so far there hasn’t been any video evidence to dispute or affirm what happened.
Ok so back to the match on the next point Chappell hit a passing shot to even it at 5. Then on the 5-5 point Alvarez hit a serve that Chappell called out but the chair overruled to make it 6-5 OU. Chappell would then put a backhand volley into the net and Oklahoma was heading back to the finals for the 2nd year in a row. Below are video clips from various angles (1st is mine, 2nd OUs, 3rd NCAAs)
Nobody wanted to talk about the incidents after the match as you can hear from the pressers below so all we can do now is look ahead to what should be a blockbuster final between Oklahoma and Virginia.
On another opportunity for a National Championship
“You saw the match, and you saw how tough it was physically. It was the first really hot day that a lot of these players have probably seen. I’m sure there are some bodies that aren’t moving too quick coming out of that other match too, in fact I would bet my life on it. Just to battle through it and find a way to win, our guys had a lot of heart. Our guys that got up in matches, we needed them to finish. We didn’t have help coming from behind, so Spencer winning his match that easy was a huge boost, I think, and it’s a huge boost going into tomorrow.”
On what it says that 3 of the 4 semifinalists are from the Big 12:
“Yeah, it’s a tough league. All the matches are hard fought and we were here for the conference tournament and ended up winning the tiebreaker in the 3rd with Texas. TCU had match points on Baylor to win the match, but that’s just the way they go. You just kind of get used to it.
On playing Virginia in the finals
“Brian and I are good friends, I don’t think that’s any secret, so I know we’re gonna have a good match tomorrow. Guys are going to play hard. We’re looking forward to it and I’m sure they’re looking forward to it. Brian and I talked about it a few times this year that wouldn’t that be great? So here it is and it will be great. I think both teams are fighting very hard. I know the Baylor team really, really well, and obviously I know Virginia really well, so it’s gonna be a good match. We played them in Norman and it came down to the last match. We snuck it out, and at this point I think the matches are kind of toss-ups.
Oklahoma FreshmanSpencer Papa
On getting back to the Championship this year
“Well I’m actually a freshman this year, so this is my first final. So I’m really excited. I know last year was a heartbreaker so hopefully we can come out on top tomorrow.
On last time playing Virginia:
“I was kind of struggling mentally when I played that match. I’m feeling a lot better now, so hopefully I’ll be able to play a little bit better, but obviously I’m expecting a tough match.
“Nothing that has never happened before. I think Nick thought the serve was out and the referee thought the serve was in so it was an overrule. I know Nick saw it out and the referee saw it in and the referee is the one sitting in the chair so it is what he says. It’s unfortunate for us and that’s okay. We still had a chance to get it back next point, so it’s unfortunate that it happened. Then the other point before we felt like Axel [Alvarez] might have called it in first. There was confusion whether he called it in first and then changed his call or not. The referee didn’t see him call it in, I didn’t see him call anything, I was blocked. We will never know. That stuff happens in every sport. I certainly don’t want to take away from what an incredible season both teams have had. What a great season TCU has had, and that’s just sports. I hope that Axel called it out to begin with and I hope that’s the way it was.
On what was different between TCU’s last match against Oklahoma
“Devin Bowen has done a great job at developing these guys. We are a better team than we were a month ago, we are a better team than we were two weeks ago. We are a better team than we were two months ago. We just ran out of shots there at the end. We were so close. I just believe if we split sets there at the end, I really like our chances. The difference was that we’ve been close with Oklahoma many times and we believed that we could beat them and we almost did. Credit to Oklahoma, they were breaking down physically but were still able to win the points they needed to win and that takes a lot of mental strength and a lot of experience. There are absolutely no regrets on our team. We prepared as well as we could have prepared and we did as well as we could have done and this is as far as we could get.
“Obviously, just a hell of a match,” head coach David Roditi said. “It was exactly what I think everybody was expecting. The doubles point, I don’t know how many times you’ve had three tiebreakers. It was just a battle. I’m proud our guys and proud of the way we fought back and how we hung in there under very tough conditions. We left it all out there and there’s absolutely nothing to say except congratulations to Oklahoma for an unbelievable season. Those guys are not only great players, but they are coached well as well.
“This is our first recruiting class and that’s big for these guys,” Roditi said. “They believed in something that didn’t exist. It was just a dream and they made it happen.
“I can’t thank our Athletic Director (Chris Del Conte) to do what he did today. To have his whole staff take a day off and put them in a bus and stop business at TCU in the athletic department and bring the whole staff and spend the whole day here to watch a men’s tennis team. It’s unheard of. I don’t think anyone has ever done that and I can’t be more proud to be at TCU.”
TCU Senior Nick Chappell on the confusion over scoring in the tie breaker
“On the first one, if I would have hit it a little better, I would have made it, so I don’t blame him. He said he called it out, so he called it out. On the second one I saw it out and I called it out. I made a return, but I saw it out and I called it out.
On how the scoring confusion affected his game
“Those were the last two points of the match then I hit a volley that I could have made. It was the end of the match. There really wasn’t any chance to get back into it. I handled it fine, I just missed the backhand volley down six to five.
4 Comments
181
on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:04 pm
Alvarez did exactly that. Called it out, immediately changed his call, umpire didnt notice and when Chappell lost it Alvarez changed his answer
181
on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:04 pm
Great reports, I hope you stayed away from the Twin Peaks restaurant!
181
on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:04 pm
Very mature comments from Chappell, young man will do well in life with that outlook, blaming no one. Great matches and the Finals should be entertaining
181
on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:04 pm
I was standing courtside and Axel called the ball out and then changed his call to good. The chair didn't see it because he was busy writing in his scorecard. He then asked Axel for his call about four or five times so he had plenty of time to get his story right.<br /><br />The overrule was one of the worst I have ever seen. The ball was out at least 3 inches. Again, the chair official needs to pay better attention.<br /><br />BTW, I am a fan of both teams so not being biased here at all. Just stating the facts.
Alvarez did exactly that. Called it out, immediately changed his call, umpire didnt notice and when Chappell lost it Alvarez changed his answer
Great reports, I hope you stayed away from the Twin Peaks restaurant!
Very mature comments from Chappell, young man will do well in life with that outlook, blaming no one. Great matches and the Finals should be entertaining
I was standing courtside and Axel called the ball out and then changed his call to good. The chair didn't see it because he was busy writing in his scorecard. He then asked Axel for his call about four or five times so he had plenty of time to get his story right.<br /><br />The overrule was one of the worst I have ever seen. The ball was out at least 3 inches. Again, the chair official needs to pay better attention.<br /><br />BTW, I am a fan of both teams so not being biased here at all. Just stating the facts.