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Saturday Preview – USC/FLA, UCLA/UGA, UNC/ILL

by | Jan 30, 2016 | Blog

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Typically during the regular season we don’t see a ton of great matches on Saturday but today we get 3 with 2 of them taking place at UCLA and the other at North Carolina. What’s kind of interesting is that all 6 of these teams played each other on the same day 364 days ago. Last year North Carolina went to Illinois and USC and UCLA went to Athens to play Georgia and Florida. I’d consider almost all 3 of these matches as toss-ups with a lot depending on who plays and where they play.

It’s always easier to make predictions on these matches when I know the lineups in advance like I do for the Kick-Off Weekend, National Indoors, and NCAAs. During these non-conference matches you see a lot of guys moved around plus there are always a few guys battling some injuries so you never know who will play and will sit until match time.

Regardless I’ll still give it the old college try and try to improve on my 41-5 record on this young season.

#6 Georgia (2-0) at #12 UCLA (3-0) – 4pm est/1pm pst – Live Scoring – This will be UCLA’s first big test of the year after the Bruins beat SMU and Georgia Tech last weekend while Georgia is coming off wins over UCSB and Memphis. We already know that Georgia’s #105 Walker Duncan (13.49), who played at #4 last week, is a no-go due to a foot injury but what we don’t know is if Nick Wood (13.61), who would likely play at #4 or #5, is going to be ready after missing last week’s matches with a wrist injury. UCLA’s big gun Mackenzie McDonald (14.98) is coming back from a wrist fracture and after missing last week’s matches it sounds like he’ll be a game-time decision. My best guess is that neither Wood or McDonald will play so I’ll proceed under those assumptions. While UCLA has played all its matches outdoors this will be Georgia’s first time stepping out into the sun so that could play a role too.

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #28 Austin Smith (UGA 14.28) vs. #48 Martin Redlicki (UCLA 13.82)
2. #20 Wayne Montgomery (UGA 14.22) vs. Gage Brymer (UCLA 13.93)
3. #40 Paul Oosterbaan (UGA 13.80) vs. Karue Sell (UCLA 14.22)
4. Jan Zielinski (UGA 13.67) vs. #98 Logan Staggs (UCLA 13.51)
5. Ben Wagland (UGA 13.24) vs. Joseph DiGiulio (UCLA 13.49)
6. Emil Reinberg (UGA 13.26) vs. Austin Rapp (UCLA 13.36)
Depth: Nick Wood (UGA 13.61); Ryoto Tachi (UCLA 13.17)

Neither team has dropped the doubles point this season but UCLA has looked a little better even without Mackie playing. I’m going to take UCLA in doubles and Karue Sell, Logan Staggs, and Joseph DiGiulio in singles while Georgia will get wins from Austin Smith, Wayne Montgomery, and Emil Reinberg. I’ll take the home team in this one but if Georgia can find a way to win at #4 or #5 they could end up stealing it. Prediction: UCLA 4-3 

Last Year’s Meeting:

#7 Georgia 4, #4 UCLA 2
Jan. 31, 2015 at Athens, Ga. (Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility)
Singles competition
1. #7 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. #15 Nathan Pasha (UGA) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
2. #32 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) 6-1, 6-0
3. #11 Austin Smith (UGA) def. Gage Brymer (UCLA) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
4. #88 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. Ben Wagland (UGA) 7-6 (8-6), 6-0
5. #101 Nick Wood (UGA) def. Karue Sell (UCLA) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
6. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) vs. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) 7-5, 1-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #11 Mackenzie McDonald/Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. #16 Oosterbaan/Wagland (UGA) 6-3
2. #34 Eric Diaz/Austin Smith (UGA) def. Joseph Di Giulio/Karue Sell (UCLA) 7-5
3. #53 Nathan Pasha/Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Austin Rapp/Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) 6-3
Match Notes
UCLA 3-1; National ranking #4
Georgia 3-0; National ranking #7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,1,4,3,5)
SEC/Pac-12 Showdown – Official: Clark Weaver

T-3:19 A-630

#20 Florida (3-1) vs. #8 USC (2-0) – 1pm est/10am pst – Live Scoring – USC is coming off a nail-biting 4-3 win over Tulane while Florida lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to Texas Tech after leading 3-1. As far as I know USC’s starters are all healthy while Florida’s Gordon Watson has only played doubles but if he was completely healthy I assume he’d be in the singles lineup as well. I’d be surprised to see USC put out the same lineup today that they put out last weekend and I look for Laurens Verboven to drop down some (if not out of the starting 6) while Logan Smith and Jake DeVine come up a spot. I think Florida probably plays the same guys at 1 through 6 though I wouldn’t be surprised to see Alfredo Perez possibly moved up to #2 after the way he’s been playing.

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #31 Diego Hidalgo (UF 13.95) vs. #115 Max de Vroome (USC 13.95)
2. #49 Elliott Orkin (UF 13.79) vs. #41 Nick Crystal (USC 14.10)
3. #91 Alfredo Perez (UF 13.98) vs. #69 Logan Smith (USC 13.76)
4. #62 Chase Perez-Blanco (UF 13.90) vs. #83 Jake DeVine (USC 13.51)
5. #97 McClain Kessler (UF 13.53) vs. Laurens Verboven (USC 13.54)
6. Maxx Lipman (UF 13.30) vs. Thiabault Forget (USC 13.26)
Depth: Gordon Watson (UF 13.53); Jack Jaede (USC 13.48), Rob Bellamy (USC 13.38)

Florida has yet to drop the doubles point while USC dropped the point to Tulane last weekend. I like the Gators in doubles and the 2 freshmen, Alfredo Perez and McClain Kessler, in singles but USC gets wins from Max de Vroome, Nick Crystal, Jake DeVine, and Thibault Forget at 1, 2, 4, and 6 to pull out another tight one. Prediction: USC 4-3

Last Year’s Meeting:

#1 Southern California 5, #17 Florida 2
Jan. 31, 2015 at Athens, Ga. (Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility)
Singles competition
1. #3 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) def. #34 Maxx Lipman (UF) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
2. #68 Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. #81 Elliott Orkin (UF) 6-2, 7-5
3. #60 Diego Hidalgo (UF) def. #8 Jonny Wang (USC) 0-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
4. Gordon Watson (UF) def. Eric Johnson (USC) 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4)
5. #58 Nick Crystal (USC) def. Oliver Landert (UF) 6-2, 7-5
6. Rob Bellamy (USC) def. Jordan Belga (UF) 7-6(5), 2-6, 1-0(6)
Doubles competition
1. #1 Yannick Hanfmann/Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. #32 Hidalgo/Watson (UF) 7-6 (7-5)
2. Max De Vroome/Eric Johnson (USC) def. #49 Maxx Lipman/Elliott Orkin (UF) 6-4
3. #43 Oliver Landert/Joshua Wardell (UF) vs. Nick Crystal/Connor Farren (USC) 6-5, unf
Match Notes:
Southern California 4-0; National ranking #1
Florida 3-2; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (2,1,3,4,5)
SEC/Pac-12 Showdown Official: Clark Weaver 
T-3:36 A-189

#7 Illinois (4-0) at #10 North Carolina (4-0) – 6pm est – Live Scoring – The Illini are coming off a tough 4-3 win on the road at Duke while North Carolina got pushed pretty hard from Indiana and NC State last weekend. Both Brayden Schnur and Ronnie Schneider struggled last weekend so it’ll be interesting to see how they play tonight. Julian Childers is coming off a blowout loss to Duke’s Vincent Lin so it’ll be interesting to see if he can regroup.

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #21 Jared Hiltzik (ILL 14.11) vs. Brayden Schnur (UNC 14.09)
2. Aleks Vukic (ILL 14.34) vs. #13 Ronnie Schneider (UNC 14.00)
3. #41 Aron Hiltzik (ILL 13.75) vs. #43 Brett Clark (UNC 13.75)
4. #67 Julian Childers (ILL 13.37) vs. Jack Murray (UNC 13.76)
5. Alex Jesse (ILL 12.89) vs. #47 Robert Kelly (UNC 13.86)
6. Asher Hirsch (ILL 12.80) vs. Anu Kodali (UNC 13.16)
Depth: Toshiki Matsuya (ILL 13.07); Bo Boyden (UNC 13.13)

Both teams are undefeated in doubles play but while Illinois has dropped a few individual courts North Carolina has yet to lose anywhere. It’s tough to go against Jared Hiltzik and Aleks Vukic at the top of the lineup so I think they both gets wins but I’m not sure I see anymore courts that will go the Illini’s way. I like North Carolina in doubles and Jack Murray, Robert Kelly, and Anu Kodali in singles. If they finish at the match at #3, I’ll take Clark in a 3-setter. For Illinois to get the win they would need to take the doubles point and then win two of the top three and at least one down low but I think North Carolina has a little too much going its way and will get the win at home. Prediction: North Carolina 5-2

Last Year’s Meetings:

[13] North Carolina def. [4] Illinois 4-3
May 14, 2015 – Waco, TX (Hurd Tennis Center/Grandstand Courts)

Doubles Competition    
1. Ebsen Hess-Olesen/Brayden Schnur (UNC) def. #36 J Hiltzik/Kopinski (ILL) 8-5
2. Farris Gosea/Aleks Vukic (ILL) vs. #45 Brett Clark/Robert Kelly (UNC) 7-5, UNF
3. Jack Murray/Ronnie Schneider (UNC) def. Blake Bazarnik/Aron Hiltzik (ILL) 8-4
Singles Competition 
1. #11 Brayden Schnur (UNC 14.63) def. #33 Farris Gosea (ILL 14.60) 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-2
2. #28 Ronnie Schneider (UNC 14.36) def. #23 Jared Hiltzik (ILL 14.56) 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3
3. #65 Tim Kopinski (ILL 14.20) def. #73 Brett Clark (UNC 13.84) 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
4. #81 Aron Hiltzik (ILL 14.20) def. Jack Murray (UNC 14.17) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. #74 Aleks Vukic (ILL 14.37) def. Robert Kelly (UNC 13.77) 6-3, 6-2

6. Esben Hess-Olesen (UNC 13.67) def. Toshiki Matsuya (ILL 13.40) 6-3, 6-2

Match Notes:
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (5,6,3,4,1,2)
North Carolina 24-10
Illinois 27-5

#8 Illinois 4, #6 North Carolina 3
January 31, 2015 at Champaign, IL (Atkins Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Farris Gosea (ILL) def. #2 Brayden Schnur (UNC) 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5)
2. #31 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) def. Brett Clark (UNC) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
3. Esben Hess-Olesen (UNC) def. #62 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
4. #40 Tim Kopinski (ILL) def. Jack Murray (UNC) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
5. Robert Kelly (UNC) def. #44 Aleks Vukic (ILL) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
6. Toshiki Matsuya (ILL) def. Stuart DePaolo (UNC) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Oystein Steiro/Esben Hess-Olesen (UNC) def. Ross Guignon/Tim Kopinski (ILL) 6-4
2. Farris Gosea/Jared Hiltzik (ILL) def. Jack Murray/Brayden Schnur (UNC) 6-1
3. Brett Clark/Robert Kelly (UNC) def. Aron Hiltzik/Aleks Vukic (ILL) 6-1
Match Notes:
North Carolina 6-1; National ranking #6
Illinois 4-1; National ranking #8

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,4,6,3,2,1)