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Sunday Recap: UCLA Over USC, Texas Tech Takes Out OU, Columbia/George Washington/Jackson State NCAA Bound

by | Apr 18, 2016 | Blog | 12 comments

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Sunday was a tremendous day for college tennis with five matches broadcast on National TV. The day started off with Fox College Sports Pacific/Fox Sport Oklahoma showing the Oklahoma/Kansas women’s match. Then you had Fox Sports 2 showing a doubleheader in Stillwater with the Oklahoma State women hosting TCU while the Oklahoma State men hosted Baylor. Lastly you had the Pac-12 Network showing a UCLA/USC doubleheader with the men playing first and then the women second.

Despite these matches being on television the stands were packed and the crowds were loud which made for a great environment for those of us that watched from home. I hope today was a glimpse into the future and not just a once a year thing. I’d love to be able to watch multiple matches every weekend and I want to applaud both Fox Sports, the Pac-12 Network, and ESPN for getting matches on its different platforms. The Tennis Channel broadcasted the finals of the Oracle/ITA Masters back in September but I don’t believe they’ve had any college tennis on since so maybe that’s something that will change in the future.

Now to the matches themselves – the Pac-12 regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament were at stake as No. 4 USC hosted No. 9 UCLA. USC got off to a nice start in doubles as Rob Bellamy and Jake DeVine drilled Gage Brymer and Austin Rapp 6-1 at No. 3. USC’s Nick Crystal and Laurens Verboven jumped out to an early break lead on Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki but the UCLA No. 1s broke back to even it at 3-3. McDonald and Redlicki would break to go up 5-4 and then Redlicki served it out to give UCLA the 6-4 win. The doubles point would be decided at No. 2 between UCLA’s Joseph Di Giulio/Karue Sell and USC’s Max de Vroome/Jack Jaede. After Sell held for 6-5, UCLA would break Jack Jaede from 30-40 to win it 7-5 and give UCLA the doubles point.

The doubles portion wasn’t shown on TV so after it finished up there was about a 15 minute break until singles got underway at 1:30pm local time. UCLA would first sets at 1, 2, 3, and 6 while USC got the opening set at 4 and 5.

USC freshman Jake DeVine put the first point on the board for the Trojans after he rolled over UCLA senior Karue Sell 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4. UCLA junior Gage Brymer would put the Bruins back ahead 2-1 with a 6-2, 6-2 rolling of USC freshman Logan Smith at No. 3.

UCLA junior Joseph Di Giulio took a 6-0 first set over USC junior Rob Bellamy at No. 6 but Bellamy hung tough in the second. Bellamy fought off three match points while serving at 4-5, 15-40 but he found himself down 30-40 on his 5-6 service game. Di Giulio mishit the return which brought Bellamy forward but Bellamy wasn’t able to do enough with the mid-court forehand and would get passed at the net a few shots later to drop the match 6-0, 7-5.

USC sophomore Thibault Forget would pull the Trojans to within 3-2 after he defeated UCLA sophomore Logan Staggs at No. 5. Forget took the first set 6-3 then he broke Staggs at love to go up 5-4 in the second. Forget went down 0-30 but he’d take the next four points to close it out 6-3, 6-4.

UCLA sophomore Martin Redlicki won the first set 7-5 at No. 2 but USC junior Nick Crystal would take the second 6-2. Redlicki broke Crystal to go up 3-1 in the third then he held for 4-1. After a few holds, Redlicki went up 40-30 on his 5-3 service game but he pushed a forehand well wide to bring up the deciding point. Crystal chose to receive into the ad-court, which in hindsight probably wasn’t his best option, because Redlicki swung his lefty serve out wide and then followed it up with a big forehand that Crystal couldn’t get back and that was it – UCLA 4 USC 2 – FINAL.

The match at No. 1 was abandoned with UCLA’s Mackenzie McDonald leading Max de Vroome 7-6, 6-5*.  Below is a highlight clip from the Pac-12 Network and down below the box score was a post-match interview with Martin Redlicki.

Here are the seeds for next week’s Pac-12 Tournament – UCLA 1, USC 2, Cal 3, Stanford 4, Oregon 5, Washington 6, Utah 7, Arizona 8.  UCLA and USC get a double-bye and won’t play until the semifinals on Friday. Both the semifinals and finals will be broadcast LIVE on the Pac-12 Network so don’t forget to tune in.

#4 UCLA 4, #9 USC 2

Apr 17, 2016 at Los Angeles, CA (Buntmann Family Tennis Center) 
Doubles competition
1. #4 McDonald/Redlicki (UCLA) def. #42 Crystal/Verboven (USC) 6-4
2. Di Giulio/Sell (UCLA) def. de Vroome/Jaede (USC) 7-5
3. Bellamy/DeVine (USC) def. Brymer/Rapp (UCLA) 6-1
Singles competition
1. #8 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) vs. #19 Max de Vroome (USC) 7-6 (7-5), 6-5, unf
2. #45 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. #43 Nick Crystal (USC) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
3. #58 Gage Brymer (UCLA) def. #55 Logan Smith (USC) 6-2, 6-2
4. #106 Jake DeVine (USC) def. #86 Karue Sell (UCLA) 6-2, 6-0
5. #120 Thibault Forget (USC) def. Logan Staggs (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
6. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) def. Rob Bellamy (USC) 6-0, 7-5
Match Notes
UCLA 20-2; National ranking #4
USC 15-5; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,3,6,5,2)


Post-Match Quotes from UCLA’s recap
“It means a lot to sweep USC this year, said UCLA head coach Billy Martin of beating the Trojans at home and on the road.  “This is a very good USC team.  They’re going to be very determined to beat us next week in Ojai should we play each other.  
“It was a great win for us, said Martin.  “It gives us momentum heading into the conference tournament next week in Ojai.  There’s a very good chance we could play the Trojans again.  We’ll have to get past an extremely tough Oregon or Stanford in the semifinals on Friday to possibly get a chance to play either USC or Cal, I think.  It gives us momentum and keeps us in a positive mind frame.   
“We can’t get too self-satisfied though, added Martin.  We have to keep working hardthere’s another month to go till NCAAs.  The win certainly gives us hope that we’re doing the right things and that we’re at least one of the teams going into the tournament with a shot to possibly win it.

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When it comes to Big 12 tennis you never know what to expect. Eighth-ranked Oklahoma was coming off a 4-0 rout over Baylor while No. 10 Texas Tech was coming off a 4-1 loss to Oklahoma State. Logic would say that OU would roll over Tech but logic got left outdoors while the teams went indoors due to inclement weather.

Texas Tech took the early 1-0 lead after it won the doubles point by winning tiebreaks at No. 2 and No. 3 while No. 1 was also in a tiebreak as well.

Tech took four opening sets in singles but it’d be Oklahoma’s Andrew Harris that would finish first with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Hugo Dojas at No. 2.

Texas Tech went back ahead when Felipe Soares ousted Axel Alvarez 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1 and then Bjorn Thomson would make it 3-1 with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Maxime Mora at No. 6. Jolan Cailleau would clinch the win by defeating Alex Ghilea 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4.

Texas Tech set a new regular season mark for wins with 24 and also snapped OU’s 13-match home winning streak over Big 12 opponents.

#10 Texas Tech 4, #8 Oklahoma 1 
04/17/16 at Norman, Okla. (Gregg Wadley Indoor Pavilion) 
Doubles Competition
1. #73 Alex Sendegeya/Bjorn Thomson (TTU) vs. #46 Axel Alvarez/Andrew Harris (OU): 6-6, unf
2. Connor Curry/Felipe Soares (TTU) def. Alex Ghilea/Spencer Papa (OU): 7-6 (2) 
3. Carlos DiLaura/Hugo Dojas (TTU) def. Andre Biro/Maxime Mora (OU): 7-6 (5) 
Singles Competition
1. #18 Felipe Soares (TTU) def. #23 Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU): 6-3, 6-4 
2. Andrew Harris (OU) def. #100 Hugo Dojas (TTU): 6-3, 6-1 
3. #121 Alex Sendegeya (TTU) vs. #69 Spencer Papa (OU): 6-3, 5-4, unf.
4. Jolan Cailleau (TTU) def. #46 Alex Ghilea (OU): 6-4, 6-3 
5. Florin Bragusi (OU) vs. Connor Curry (TTU) 7-5, 2-1, unf.
6. Bjorn Thomson (TTU) def. Maxime Mora (OU): 6-2, 6-4 
Match Notes 
Texas Tech (24-4, 2-1 Big 12); National ranking No. 10 
Oklahoma (13-9, 2-2 Big 12); National ranking No. 8 
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,1,6,4)
Post-Match Quotes from Texas Tech’s recap
“That’s the type of performance we’ve been searching for,” Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. “We’ve been wanting to come out of the gate and compete hard. We had a talk with the team yesterday about what we needed to do and how we needed to play to our potential. We didn’t strike gold. We just came out and executed. We played to win and were forcing the issue during those big moments in the tiebreakers. It was the most competitive and most exciting doubles point we’ve had all season.”
“After doubles, I was most proud of the fact that we played with something still to prove,” Masi said. “We carried the momentum from doubles and won four first sets. It wasn’t about tennis, it was about the heart and the mind. We were able to win today because of the attitude and the mindset we played with. Still, the players had good game plans and strong execution. Jolan has had some tough singles matches over the last couple of weeks. He’s worked hard, and everything that he’s been working in practice clicked for him today. It was a big growth moment for him to close out the match on his serve.”
Post-Match Quotes from Oklahoma’s recap
“I thought we started off well in doubles,” head coach John Roddick said. “That has been a problem we’ve had. We started well, we just have to finish it. Losing two breakers, and then the other one in a breaker, there isn’t a lot to be upset with. Both teams played a good point and Texas Tech just won it. We’ll take starts like that every time.
“These last three matches he (Andrew Harris) has been very sharp and beaten some very good players,” Roddick said. “Before he came to college he had a long layoff, about 10 months, and came back very quickly. He has done that twice now. He is a great ball striker so once you can move again and get your tennis fitness under yourself you can play good tennis pretty quickly. A lot of credit to Andrew to be able to get thrown into the mix of the Big 12 regular season and to play as well as he is. That is a great effort.
“In singles you give credit to Texas Tech,” Roddick said. “They came out and played hard and played with more energy that we did. They kind of took it to us. We have to have more energy. This is the first time I haven’t seen much energy from our guys. Tech kind of took our will away so give them credit for playing that well.”

“We can learn from this,” Roddick said. “We’ve played a lot better in the last 45 days and we aren’t going to let one match slow that down. We just have to get back to work this week and play at a high level.”
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Rice and Tulane played a wild match that started outdoors and finished indoors. Tulane won 6-2 at No. 2 doubles but Rice took the point by winning 7-5 in the tiebreak at both No. 1 and No. 3.

Tulane would take first sets at 1, 2, and 3 while Rice took the opening set at 4, 5, and 6. Rice junior David Warren put the Owls up 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 rout over Tulane freshman Tyler Schick at No. 5. Tulane junior Sebastian Rey put the Green Wave on the board with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Adam Gustafsson at No. 3 but Rice freshman Jake Hansen made it 3-1 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Chi-Shan Jao at No. 4.

Tulane sophomore Constantin Schmitz trimmed the Rice lead to 3-2 with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win over Jamie Malik at No. 2 which left just two matches left on court.

Tulane senior, and current ITA No. 1, Dominik Koepfer had just split sets with Tommy Bennett at No. 1 while the match at No. 6 was midway through the third sets.

Rice freshman Emanuel Llamas jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third set on Tulane senior Ian Van Cott but Van Cott would break, hold, and break to put the match back on serve at 4-3. Llamas would break back to go up 5-3 but after falling behind 0-40 on his serve play would be halted due to rain.

It was decided that the match would be completed indoors at the MET in downtown Houston so after a one hour and five minute delayed play resumed.  Koepfer had a 3-0 lead when they went indoors but Bennett would take the next three to even it at 3-3. Koepfer finished out the match by winning the last three games to take it 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3.

In the deciding match at No. 6, Van Cott would get the break to put the match back on serve and then he’d come back from 15-30 down to hold from 40-30 to tie it at 5-5. Llamas got a quick hold for 6-5 but once again Van Cott would come back from 15-30 down to hold from 40-30 to send the match to a tiebreak. Van Cott led 6-4 in the tiebreak and had the match on his racket but Llamas got the mini-break back, won the new two points on his serve, and then took the last one on Van Cott’s serve to win it 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6) to clinch the Rice win.

#26 Rice 4, #28 Tulane 3
4/17/2016 at Houston, Tx (George R. Brown Tennis Center) 
Singles competition
1. #1 Dominik Koepfer (TLN) def. Tommy Bennett (RICE) 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3
2. #99 Constantin Schmitz (TLN) def. Jamie Malik (RICE) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
3. Sebastian Rey (TLN) def. Adam Gustafsson (RICE) 6-4, 6-0
4. Jake Hansen (RICE) def. Chi-Shan Jao (TLN) 6-3, 6-4
5. David Warren (RICE) def. Tyler Schick (TLN) 6-1, 6-1
6. Emanuel Llamas (RICE) def. Ian Van Cott (TLN) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6)
Doubles competition
1. #40 Tommy Bennett/David Warren (RICE) def. #17 Chi-Shan Jao/Dominik Koepfer (TLN) 7-6 (5)
2. Constantin Schmitz/Tyler Schick (TLN) def. Adam Gustafsson/Jamie Malik (RICE) 6-2
3. Jake Hansen/Emanuel Llamas (RICE) def. Ian Van Cott/Sebastian Rey (TLN) 7-6 (5)
Match Notes
Tulane 14-7; National ranking #28
Rice 20-7; National ranking #26
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,3,4,2,1,6)
Match delayed 1:05 and finished indoors
T-4:06

Senior Day ceremony for Rice’s Adam Gustafsson

Post-Match Quotes from Tulane’s recap
“Tremendous battle but congratulations to Rice for winning a tough match,” Tulane head coach Mark Booras stated. “We were losing for like five hours straight and then all of a sudden we had team match points. That’s what we tell our guys, to always believe and keep fighting until the last point is played. Ian did a great job of coming back from 5-3 down in third set to get up 6-4 in the tiebreaker. Even though he didn’t get the victory I’m proud of the way he put it all on the line there for Tulane. This kind of experience hurts but I know it will pay off if we keep on investing.”
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George Washington punched its ticket to the dance by beating VCU 4-3 in the finals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. It was the third year in a row these teams had met in the finals and was also the fifth time in the last six years that GW had earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

GW took the doubles point by winning the decider at No. 2 doubles by a 7-5 score then the Colonials jumped out to a 3-0 lead after getting straight wins from Julian Tverijonas and Chris Reynolds at No. 1 and No. 3.

VCU charged back and tied the match at 3-3 with wins from Vitor Lima, Catalin Fifea, and Louis Ishizaka at 2, 4, and 6 but GW’s Cahit Kapukiran would clinch the championship with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Arvid Noren at No. 5.

George Washington 4, VCU 3

April 17, 2016 at Charlottesville, VA (Boar’s Head Sports Club)
Singles Competition
1. Julius Tverijonas (GW) def. Michal Voscek (VCU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Vitor Lima (VCU) def. Danil Zelenkov (GW) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Chris Reynolds (GW) def. Daryl Monfils (VCU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Catalin Fifea (VCU) def. Chris Fletcher (GW) 6-2, 7-6(6)
5. Cahit Kapukiran (GW) def. Arvid Noren (VCU) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
6. Louis Ishizaka (VCU) def. Christos Hadjigeorgiou (GW) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Julius Tverijonas/Danil Zelenkov (GW) def. Vitor Lima/Daryl Monfils (VCU), 6-3
2. Cahit Kapukiran/Chris Reynolds (GW) def. Arvid Noren/Louis Ishizaka (VCU), 7-5
3. Michal Voscek/Catalin Fifea (VCU) def. Chris Fletcher/Fernando Sala (GW), 6-2
Match Notes

George Washington 14-8

VCU 18-8
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,1,6,2,4,5)
Post-Match Quotes from GW’s recap
“That doubles point was crucial again,” said interim head coach Torrie Browning. “To get three doubles points this weekend the way that we have was just amazing, and so important.”
“Chris Reynolds has been huge for us; he’s been great all season,” said Coach Browning. “I’ve seen a total boost in confidence within Reynolds this season, and that’s because he works so hard in practice every day. He’s the type of player that is such a good listener – so coachable – Rafa (Aita, assitant coach) and I love working with him. The energy that he brings is great. He cares so much and that’s why he does so well.” 
“Julius just got it done at one,” added Coach Browning. “I think he finally found his game again – the last few weeks he said he wasn’t feeling it, but I think he found the right balance of being on the defensive and being aggressive. When he was aggressive, he was on. He played how he needed to play to win.”
“With Cahit I wasn’t worried,” said Coach Browning. “He’s had some slow starts this spring, but he finds ways to win, so I wasn’t concerned. We talked to him about a few things he should do after that first set, and then he was on it, that was it.
“We have a tradition of excellence here, and we’ve worked hard to keep that up. With that, there’s a huge target on our back. We’ve done so well for so many years, other teams are always trying to knock us down. But when you come together as a team, anything is possible, and that’s what happened today.”

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Columbia won the Ivy League regular season title for the third year in a row with a 5-1 win on the road at Penn. Columbia actually locked up the Ivy League’s NCAA automatic berth on Friday when it beat Princeton but this win over Penn gave them the outright regular season title.

Columbia won a tight doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 then the Lions took four first sets in singles. Mike Vermeer, Eric Rubin, and Timothy Wang would win in straight sets with Wang clinching the win at No. 6.

Two of the three remaining matches were played out with CU’s Shawn Hadavi winning a 10-point supertiebreak at No. 1, Penn’s Blaine Willenborg winning at No. 5 when a regular 7-point tiebreak was played at 3-3, while the match at No. 2 was abandoned because the guys wanted to play it out but the officials wouldn’t let them since the other courts were already playing tiebreaks.

Interesting stat: Mike Vermeer’s 3-year career stats for singles – 18-0 in Ivies (3 matches not finished), 49-4 overall. 7-0 this year in Ivies – talk about Mr. Automatic!!

#25 Columbia 5, Penn 1
April 17, 2016 at Philadelphia, PA (Hamlin Tennis Center 
Doubles Competition
1 – Mike Vermeer/Michal Rolski (CU) def. Austin Kaplan/Nicholi Westergaard, 7-6(3)
2 – Matt Nardella/Blaine Willenborg (UP) def. Shawn Hadavi/Victor Pham, 7-6(3)
3 – Christopher Grant/Richard Pham (CU) def. Vim De Alwis/Kyle Mautner, 7-5
Singles Competition
1 – Shawn Hadavi (CU) def. Kyle Mautner, 7-5, 3-6, 10-2
2 – Victor Pham (CU) vs. Vim De Alwis, 3-6, 6-2, 0-1*, abandoned
3 – Mike Vermeer (CU) def. Josh Pompan, 6-2, 6-2
4 – Eric Rubin (CU) def. Matt Nardella, 6-3, 6-2
5 – Blaine Willenborg (UP) def. Miguel Alda, 6-3, 1-6, 4-3(8-6)

6 – Timothy Wang (CU) def. Ismael Lahlou 6-4, 6-4

Match Notes:
Columbia 17-5; National ranking #25
Penn 7-15
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1) Singles (4,3,6,5,1)
Post-Match Quotes from Columbia’s recap
“In 34 years of coaching, I have never won three in a row,” said The Columbia Tennis Alumni and Friends Head Coach of Men’s Tennis Bid Goswami. “We did it all year from the get-go. I felt like all season long, everybody was rooting for each other and every match we would fight.”
“Everybody did their part, including the entire coaching staff,” Goswami added. “We have made believers out of the guys and they believed in themselves.
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Jackson State won its fourth SWAC Championship, but first since 1998, with a 4-1 win over Alabama State. The Tigers took the doubles point and then picked up straight set wins from Federico Boscarino, Stylianos Gkontsaris, and Richie Agarwal at 2, 4, and 6 with Agarwal clinching the championship. Alabama State got a straight set win from Takura Mlambo at No. 1 in a losing effort.

Jackson State 4, Alabama State 1

Apr 17, 2016 at New Orleans, La. (City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center) 
Singles competition
1. Takura Mlambo (ALST) def. Camilo Patino (JKST) 6-3, 6-3
2. Federico Boscarino (JKST) def. Ronald Mataba (ALST) 6-2, 6-2
3. Karlo Skvorc (ALST) vs. Miguel Martin Gomez (JKST) 5-7, 6-3, unfinished
4. Stylianos Gkontsaris (JKST) def. Szabin Pusztay (ALST) 6-4, 6-1
5. Patrik Cvik (ALST) vs. Federico Mendieta (JKST) 6-0, 3-6, unfinished
6. Richie Agarwal (JKST) def. Jarred Thompson (ALST) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Federico Boscarino/Camilo Patino (JKST) def. Patrik Cvik/Szabin Pusztay (ALST) 6-3
2. Adam Coyne/Takura Mlambo (ALST) def. Miguel Martin Gomez/Hernan Geria (JKST) 6-1

3. Richie Agarwal/Federico Mendieta (JKST) def. Ronald Mataba/Karlo Skvorc (ALST) 7-5
Match Notes:
Jackson State 6-18
Alabama State 7-10
Order of finish; Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,4,1,6)

Other Notable Ranked Sunday Scores

#14 Oklahoma State def. #37 Baylor 4-2
#19 South Florida def. #38 Memphis 4-0

#55 Cornell at #46 Princeton 4-3
#36 Dartmouth def. Yale 4-1
#48 Harvard def. Brown 5-2

#1 Virginia def. Miami FL 7-0
#5 North Carolina def #64 Duke 6-1
#7 Wake Forest def. Louisville 6-1
#22 Florida State def. Boston College 6-1
#43 Notre Dame def. #42 NC State  6-1

#3 Ohio State def #47 Wisconsin 4-0
#15 Northwestern def. Michigan State 4-0
#17 Illinois def. #21 Michigan 4-1
Minnesota def. #39 Penn State 4-3 – MN recap – Justyn Levin won decider 6-4 in 3rd at #5
Nebraska def. #59 Purdue 4-2
#70 Indiana def #67 Iowa 4-0

#6 Georgia def #32 Ole Miss 4-0
#13 Florida def. Tennessee 6-1
#20 Kentucky at #63 Auburn 4-1
#45 Vanderbilt def #34 Alabama 4-2
#58 South Carolina def #12 Arkansas 4-3 – SC recap – Andrew Schafer won the decider 6-4 in the 3rd at #2 – Redlicki didn’t play singles for Ark.

#73 Utah def. Arizona 6-1

#24 Tulsa def. Central Florida 7-0
#31 San Diego def. #56 Pepperdine 4-0
#44 Old Dominion def. Middle Tennessee State 4-3
San Diego State def. #57 Utah State 4-3
#68 Boise State def. UNLV 4-1
Portland def. #71 Pacific 4-1
#72 UNC Wilmington def. #53 Georgia State 4-3


12 Comments

  1. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    Agree about the USC match – didn't even bother me that USC lost, it was great to see the new facility packed. Men's and Women's together plus the free In and Out burgers were great. Even after the food was served the fans stayed! The seats filled and people were sitting on steps between sections and standing along the back, great day of tennis. Stevie Johnson was there supporting his team. It may be a rivalry, but you could see that the guys on both teams are great friends. Solid respect and sportsmanship.

  2. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    Wow, what a scene yesterday in L.A. I've been going to USC tennis matches for many years, and I've never seen it so packed (literally SRO) and the atmosphere so electric. A great idea to hold the men's and women's matches together when it's USC-UCLA. And what a great venue, the refurbished tennis center.

  3. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    still shocked Arkansas lost but outside of FL and UGA the SEC is wild week in and week out with any of the teams 3-13 beating each other. Bama beats Ole Miss, Ole Miss beats MS State, MS State beats Bama, Ole Miss beats SCAR who beats AR who beat Ole Miss who beat MS State who beat AR. Wild Wild Wild

  4. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    Still a long shot – they would need to beat Arkansas again and probably also Texas A&M to move up enough to get in the at-large range.

  5. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    Can South Carolina make the tournament now>

  6. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    Right now ND is right in the middle of that group with NC State just on the outside. I'll have my projections out in a few hours with the full list.

  7. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    I guess it would depend on what the others around them did – losing to Utah in the first round wouldn't be as bad as losing to a team ranked outside the top 125 like Penn State did losing to Minnesota. Washington also needs USC and Texas to stay as high as possible because those are its two best wins.

  8. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    it was an amazing win for TTU, recovering the loss for OSU.

  9. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    Do you see Notre Dame in that group of teams from 37-43, or will the win over NCST push them above that group?

  10. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    I assume if Washington loses to Utah first round of the Pac 12 tournament, they'll have no chance of making the NCAAs?

  11. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    It definitely didn't help but they are still ok as of this moment. It looks like there's going to be a big log-jam of teams from 37-43 that will only be separated by a few tenths of a point. I'm definitely not counting on them to beat Illinois or Northwestern next week but they need to avoid a loss to anybody ranked below them at the Big Ten Tournament or they'll be in trouble. <br /><br />Still can't believe they lost to Minnesota.

  12. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    Is Penn State in big trouble after losing to Minnesota?