There are four big weekends in the dual-match college tennis season and this coming weekend is the first one. There will be 15 different Kick-Off Weekend Regionals taking place throughout the country with 6 of them getting started on Friday and the other 9 kicking off on Saturday. The 15 winners will advance to the National Team Indoor Championships which take place three weekends from now in lovely Charlottesville, Virginia. Those 15 teams will be joined by No. 1 Virginia who gets the automatic bid since they are the host. Even though these regionals are qualifiers for the National Indoors there will be 7 that will be held outdoors with those being at UCLA, USC, Cal, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Florida.
There will be some competitive regionals that will be completely up for grabs and there will be some not-so competitive regionals where the top seeds will roll through both matches in less than two hours. All four teams will play two matches with the winners advancing to the regional final while the losers will play in a consolation match.
Below is the full men’s schedule for this weekend and as you can see the action will be non-stop with play beginning Friday morning at 9 a.m ET and running all the way through Sunday night. The approved master lineups are here for the men and women though I’d expect to see several substitutions for one reason or another.
Friday, January 27th
Washington vs Alabama (@UGA 9 a.m. ET)
Penn State vs. Vanderbilt (@UNC 10 a.m. ET)
Utah at #3 Ohio State (10 a.m. ET)
Purdue at #5 Georgia (1 p.m. ET)
Cal Poly at #4 California (1 p.m. ET)
Notre Dame at #7 North Carolina (1:30 p.m. ET)
Georgia State vs. Auburn (@WF 2 p.m. ET)
Denver vs. Old Dominion (@Ohio St 2 p.m. ET)
Tulane vs. Pepperdine (@Cal 4 p.m. ET)
Nebraska at #2 Wake Forest (5 p.m. ET)
Saturday, January 28th
UNC Wilmington at #11 Florida (11 a.m. ET)
LSU vs. #24 South Florida (@FLA 11 a.m. ET)
#17 Illinois vs. #25 Arkansas (@OU 11 a.m. ET)
#18 Stanford vs. Georgia Tech (@NW 11 a.m. ET)
Rice vs. Oregon (@TX 11 a.m. ET)
#23 SMU vs. Ole Miss (@aTm 12 p.m. ET)
Cal Regional Consolation (1 p.m. ET)
Iowa at Texas Tech (1 p.m. ET)
San Diego vs. Virginia Tech (@USC 1 p.m. ET)
Florida State vs. #20 Mississippi State (@TXT 1 p.m. ET)
Boise State vs. Lamar (@UCLA 2 p.m. ET)
Drake at #9 Texas (2 p.m. ET)
Pacific at #12 TCU (2 p.m. ET)
Utah State vs. Wichita State (@TCU 2 p.m. ET)
#21 Baylor at #15 Texas A&M (3 p.m. ET)
#19 Michigan at #16 Oklahoma (3 p.m. ET)
Memphis at #10 Northwestern (3 p.m. ET)
North Carolina Regional Consolation (3:30 p.m. ET)
Ohio State Regional Championship (4 p.m. ET)
East Tennessee State at #8 USC (4 p.m. ET)
New Mexico at #6 UCLA (5 p.m. ET)
Georgia Regional Consolation (@UGA 5 p.m. ET)
Wake Forest Regional Championship (5 p.m. ET)
North Carolina Regional Championship (6:30 p.m. ET)
Oklahoma State Regional Consolation (7 p.m. ET)
Sunday, January 29th
Florida Regional Consolation (9 a.m. ET)
Ohio State Regional Consolation (9 a.m. ET)
Florida Regional Championship (11 a.m. ET)
Texas Regional Consolation (11 a.m. ET)
Oklahoma Regional Consolation (11 a.m. ET)
Northwestern Regional Consolation (11 a.m. ET)
Texas A&M Regional Consolation (12 p.m. ET)
Georgia Regional Championship (1 p.m. ET)
UCLA Regional Consolation (1 p.m. ET)
USC Regional Consolation (1 p.m. ET)
Texas Tech Regional Consolation (1 p.m. ET)
Texas Tech Regional Championship (1 p.m. ET)
Texas Regional Championship (2 p.m. ET)
TCU Regional Consolation (2 p.m. ET)
TCU Regional Championship (2 p.m. ET)
Northwestern Regional Championship (3 p.m. ET)
Oklahoma Regional Championship (3 p.m. ET)
Texas A&M Regional Championship (3 p.m. ET)
USC Regional Championship (4 p.m. ET)
I have a mountain of live scoring links available for all Men’s and Women’s Kick-Off Weekend matches which you can view with a paid subscription for as little as $0.33 a day. I’ve worked pretty hard over the last six plus months to get this new version of College Tennis Today up to speed so I’m hopeful that the college tennis community will give my premium portion a try. if you haven’t had a chance to go through the menus up top there is a ton of information up there with roster and schedule links for every school (men & women) plus I just recently added a list of all Division I Head/Assistant coaches. I also have a schedule grid that lists the schedules for all the Power 5 programs along with others that are in the top 50-75. My goal is to keep adding as many new features as possible to make this your one stop shop for college tennis coverage.
Ok, now it’s time for some previews – I’ll start off by previewing the six men’s regionals that get started on Friday and then tomorrow I’ll preview the nine men’s regionals that get started on Saturday. I’ll list out the expecting starting singles lineups and include each starter’s Universal Tennis Rating as of 1/26/17. I’ll give everyone the first regional for free but you’ll have to subscribe to view the rest – remember it’s just the equivalent of $.33 a day!
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Georgia Regional (Fri/Sat) – Dan Magill Tennis Complex – Athens, GA (Indoors-4 courts)
Washington [2] vs. Alabama [3] – 9 a.m ET – Both of these school’s high-profile football teams just played a big game in the state of Georgia a month ago and now it’s time for the tennis teams to get in on the action. Washington drew the short end of the stick because the Huskies will have to take the court at 6 a.m. pacific time for this match against Alabama in what will be tied for the earliest starting time during the Kick-Off Weekend. Washington comes in with a 4-0 record with wins over Seattle (2X), Gonzaga, and Utah State while Alabama enters with a 2-1 record with wins over East Tennessee State and Samford and the lopsided loss to Michigan in the College MatchDay kickoff in Orlando. Georgia’s indoor facility only has four courts so getting some early momentum at 1-4 may not necessarily transfer over to No 5 and No. 6 singles. If Washington takes the doubles point the guys at No. 5 and No. 6 may not make it on the court because I think Washington will take three of the top four spots in singles. I’m going to take Alabama in doubles and I think the Ortiz picks up a win at No. 5 but I like Washington at No. 6 for the win. Prediction: Washington def. Alabama 4-3
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Washington 80, Alabama 79)
1. #60 Mitch Stewart (UW 13.82) vs. #63 Mazen Osama (UA 13.92)
2. Enzo Sommer (UW 13.04) vs. #78 Thibault Cancel (UA 13.98)
3. Gal Hakak (UW 13.41) vs. Spencer Richey (UA 12.66)
4. Jake Douglas (UW 13.83) vs. Alexey Nesterov (UA 12.83)
5. Joao Barra (UW 12.62) vs. Edson Ortiz (UA 13.22)
6. Amit Batta (UW 12.94) vs. Zhe Zhou (UA 15.10*)
B. Piers Foley (UW 12.77)/Ritchie Kruunenberg (UA 12.30)
*reliability on Zhou’s UTR is only 25% due to not enough matches – at best probably in the low 14s maybe high 13s.
Purdue [4] at #5 Georgia [1] – 1 p.m. ET – Georgia opened up the season last week with a pretty routine win at Georgia Tech while Purdue opened up with wins over Chicago State (2X) and Ball State. Paul Oosterbaan is slotted at No. 4 in Georgia’s lineup and if he plays it would be his season debut after sitting out the fall with a wrist injury while Purdue has January admit Stephan Koenigsfest scheduled to make his collegiate debut at No. 4. It has been five years since Georgia shutout it’s opponent in a Kick-Off Weekend opening round match and I think that streak will continue with Purdue finding a way to squeeze out a point somewhere in the top 4 but the outcome of the overall match will never be in doubt. Prediction: Georgia def. Purdue 4-1
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Georgia 83, Purdue 78)
1. #22 Wayne Montgomery (UGA 14.49) vs. #49 Gergely Madarasz (PU 13.85)
2. #31 Emil Reinberg (UGA 13.70) vs. Ricky Medinilla (PU 13.32)
3. #124 Nathan Ponwith (UGA 13.91) vs. #70 Benjamin Ugarte (PU 13.22)
4. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA 14.22) vs. Stephan Koenigsfest (PU 13.39/75%)
5. #56 Jan Zielinski (UGA 13.37) vs. Bennett Athell (PU 12.52)
6. #79 Walker Duncan (UGA 13.50) vs. Renan Hanayama (11.79)
B. Robert Loeb (UGA 13.39)/Dominik Sochurek (PU 12.21)
Regional Final – This is the only KO Regional that doesn’t start and finish on back-to-back days with the men’s final set for Sunday while the consolation match will be played on Saturday. Washington will be an underdog at every spot in the lineup and I think by Sunday afternoon they’ll be ready to head back to the Pacific Northwest. Georgia def. Washington 4-0
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Oklahoma State Regional (Fri/Sat) – Greenwood Tennis Center – Stillwater, OK (Indoors)
#14 Kentucky [2] vs. Tulsa [3] – 1 p.m. ET/12 noon CT – This has the makings as one of the better if not the best 2 vs. 3 matchup over the whole regional weekend. Kentucky comes in with a 4-0 record with notable home wins over Notre Dame and Duke while Tulsa comes in with a 4-2 record with wins over Texas and Wichita State and losses to TCU and Arkansas. Tulsa may not be playing at home but they’ll only be an hour away from campus so that may help them out some. Tulsa has played solid doubles so far by going 4-1 while Kentucky has dropped the point in three straight matches which included one against Dayton.
Tulsa has Francois Kellerman and newcomer Louis Corker slotted at No. 3 and No. 5 respectively though neither has played a dual-match this season and in fact Corker has yet to play a collegiate match of any kind. I’d be surprised if both played so we could see Mitchell Pritchard and/or Daniel Santos in the lineup and after Pritchard’s big win last week against Texas I’d say it’s a near certainty that he plays.
I like Tulsa in doubles and the Rammer at No. 1 but Kentucky should have the upper hand elsewhere else. Prediction: Kentucky def. Tulsa 4-2
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Kentucky 83, Tulsa 78)
1. #23 William Bushamuka (UK 13.84) vs. Or Ram-Harel (TU 14.18)
2. #17 Ryotaro Matsumura (UK 14.33) vs. Majed Kilani (TU 13.34)
3. Beck Pennington (UK 13.61) vs. Francois Kellerman (TU 12.84)
4. Nils Ellefsen (UK 13.36) vs. Dominic Bechard (TU 13.27)
5. #110 Trey Yates (UK 13.97) vs. Louis Corker (TU 11.54/12%)
6. Enzo Wallart (UK 13.50) vs. Okkie Kellerman (TU 12.60)
B. Jake Stefanik (UK 13.34)/Mitchell Pritchard (TU 11.98)/Daniel Santos (TU 12.91)
#22 Columbia [4] at #13 Oklahoma State [1] – 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT – Columbia will be making its season debut with the Lions looking to win a KO Regional for the third year in a row while Oklahoma State comes in with a 2-0 record after quick wins over Oral Roberts and UTGRV. Oklahoma State hasn’t qualified for the National Indoors since 2007 and it looks like Jay Udwadia is pulling out all the stops to make sure it’s this year with the late roster addition of Artur Dubinski who is slotted in at No. 2. The 20-year old from Belarus has a current ATP ranking of 736 and made the semifinals at a Futures in Belarus last August which included a win over last year’s newcomer Temur Ismailov who took off mid-season to return back to the tour. Columbia is at its best indoors but I think Oklahoma State is going to have a little too much firepower and will overcome the loss of the doubles point to pick up wins from Cash, Finzelberg, Kadhe, and Gerch. Prediction: Oklahoma State def. Columbia 4-1
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Okla St 83, Columbia 81)
1. #40 Victor Pham (CU 13.82) vs. #41 Julian Cash (OSU 14.03)
2. #48 Shawn Hadavi (CU 13.86) vs. Artur Dubinski (OSU 14.07)
3. Jackie Tang (CU 13.25) vs. #30 Lukas Finzelberg (OSU 14.01)
4. Alex Keyser (CU 13.82) vs. Arjun Kadhe (OSU 13.81)
5. Richard Pham (CU 12.79) vs. Lucas Gerch (OSU 14.04)
6. Tim Wang (CU 13.12) vs. Jurence Mendoza (OSU 13.42)
B. Miguel Alda (CU 12.58)/Tristan Meraut (OSU 13.43)
Regional Final – While I think Oklahoma State can overcome the loss of the doubles point in this match I do not Kentucky can do the same. I like Oklahoma State in doubles and Cash, Gerch, and Mendoza in singles while Kentucky scratches out wins from Matsumura and Pennington. Oklahoma State def. Kentucky 4-2
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Ohio State Regional (Fri/Sat) – Varsity Tennis Center – Columbus, OH (Indoors)
Utah [4] at #3 Ohio State [1] – 10 a.m. ET – Utah opened its season last weekend with a pair of 7-0 wins over Idaho State and Weber State while Ohio State is 4-0 after roughing up several midwest mid-majors. The 2014 National Indoor Champions are looking to advance pass the KO Weekend for the ninth year in a row and with a super talented roster including newcomer JJ Wolf I don’t see any of the other teams in this regional coming close to beating the big and bad Buckeyes. I like Ohio State in doubles and I look for Torp, Seelig, and Joyce to cross the finish line first. Prediction: Ohio State def. Utah 4-0
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Ohio State 85, Utah 78)
1. David Micevski (UT 13.37) vs. #2 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU 15.20)
2. Dan Little (UT 12.87) vs. JJ Wolf (OSU 14.28)
3. Santiago Sierra (UT 13.01) vs. #5 Hugo Di Feo (OSU 14.05)
4. Parker McGuiness (UT 13.15) vs. #34 Herkko Pollanen (OSU 14.00)
5. Joe Woolley (UT 12.83) vs. Kyle Seelig (OSU 13.91)
6. Svyatoslav Shainyan (UT) vs. #53 Martin Joyce (OSU 13.66)
B. Egbert Weverink (UT 12.64)/Matt Mendez (OSU 13.18)
Denver [2] vs. Old Dominion [3] – 2 p.m. ET – Denver opened up its season last weekend with a 5-2 win at Boise State while Old Dominion has raced out to a 5-0 start with notable road wins over NC State and Harvard. ODU has never won a match during the KO Weekend while Denver tries to advance out of the first round for the second year in a row after winning a thriller over South Carolina last year in a match that was also played in Columbus. Denver doesn’t quite have the depth that they did last year after losing four-year starter Henry Craig (last three years at No. 1) and I think ODU is going to be chopping at the bit to show what they can do on a bigger stage. I like the Monarchs in doubles and Weindl, Nicolussi, and Kijametovic in singles. Prediction: Old Dominion def. Denver 4-1
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – ODU 78, UD 77)
1. Diogo Rocha (UD 13.80) vs. #24 Adam Moundir (ODU 13.93)
2. Yannik James (UD 13.23) vs. Michael Weindl (ODU 13.59)
3. Alex Gasson (UD 13.05) vs. Jacob Nicolussi (ODU 12.91)
4. Jesse Ruder Hook (UD 12.10) vs. Aziz Kijametovic (ODU 13.04)
5. Pedro Fernandez Del Valle (UD 12.22) vs. Javier Maestre (ODU 13.15)
6. Wyatt Lovera (UD 12.15) vs. Justin Herrera (ODU 11.63)
B. Sean Huynh (UD 12.52)/Pepe Nunez Navarro (ODU 12.06)
Regional Final – This is one of those matches where ODU is going to have to look for moral victories (sets or even close sets) because Ohio State is just too deep and they don’t lose very often at home. Ohio State def. Old Dominion 4-0
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North Carolina Regional (Fri/Sat) – Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center – Chapel Hill, NC (Indoors)
Penn State [2] vs. Vanderbilt [3] – 10 a.m. ET – This will be Penn State’s season opener while Vanderbilt comes in with a 5-1 record with notable wins over Georgia State and Middle Tennessee State while its lone loss come in a 4-3 nail-biter to #10 Northwestern. Penn State is a young team with four of six singles starters a freshman or sophomore and three will make their Penn State dual-match debuts – Lakoseljac (Fr), Antonopoulos (Fr), and Gordon (Texas A&M transfer). Vanderbilt is also starting several new players with Billy Rowe and Paru Virtanen both freshmen while Lachlan McPhee is a transfer from NAIA powerhouse Georgia Gwinnett. Vandy’s Cameron Klinger has been blowing guys off the court so far this young season; he’s 5-0 while winning 10 of 11 sets with two of those coming over ranked opponents and one of his unranked wins was against Northwestern’s Konrad Zieba who is easily a top 25 player. Baker Newman and Billy Rowe are also off to a terrific start with the duo a combined 10-0 while winning n 22 of 24 sets. It’s a little tough to get a read on Penn State since they haven’t played yet and we don’t know how the freshmen will perform under the spotlight. I’m going to take Vandy in this one with the Dores scooping up the doubles point and getting singles wins from Klinger, Newman, and Rowe while PSU gets wins from Laaribi and Gordon. Prediction: Vanderbilt 4-2
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6: VU 80, PSU 79 )
1. Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU 14.29) vs. Cameron Klinger (VU 13.75)
2. Christian Lakoseljac (PSU 13.66) vs. #97 Daniel Valent (VU 14.09)
3. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU 13.24) vs. Baker Newman (VU 13.59)
4. Aws Laaribi (PSU 12.76) vs. Lachlan McPhee (VU 13.08)
5. Marc Collado (PSU 12.78) vs. Billy Rowe (VU 13.28)
6. Henry Gordon (PSU 12.89) vs. Paru Virtanen (VU 12.70)
B. Ben Lieb (PSU 12.68)/Tate Allwardt (VU 12.79)
Notre Dame [4] vs. #7 North Carolina [1] – 1:30 p.m. ET – This will be the third match of the year for Notre Dame after the Irish opened up with a shutout win over Ball State before suffering a close 5-2 loss at Kentucky. North Carolina, which is the defending National Team Indoor Champions, has cruised through five matches against against Bucknell and four teams from the SoCon winning by a combined score of 30-0. North Carolina had to replace two of its top three after Brayden Schnur turned pro following his junior year and Brett Clark graduated. North Carolina’s young guns have already asserted themselves in the lineup with January admit William Blumberg already playing at No. 2 while Josh Peck, who is ranked No. 57, slotted to play at No. 6. Simon Soendergaard is slotted at the No. 3 spot though he’s yet to suit up for the Tar Heels so I guess we won’t know until tomorrow if he’s going play. Notre Dame had to replace three starters from last year’s team that went 15-14 with Quentin Monaghan, Alex Lawson, and Kenneth Sabacinski each using up their four years of eligibility.
I think Notre Dame will keep this match closer than some might think. I like Notre Dame in doubles and wouldn’t be surprised to see Josh Hagar pull out the match at No. 1 but I like UNC at 2, 4, 5, and 6. Prediction: North Carolina 4-1
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6: UNC 83, ND 80)
1. #27 Josh Hagar (ND 14.12) vs. #38 Ronnie Schneider (UNC 13.90)
2. Edward Covalschi (ND 13.34) vs. William Blumberg (UNC 14.67)
3. #119 Alex Lebedev (ND 13.51) vs. Simon Soendergaard (UNC 13.41*)
4. Matthew Gamble (ND 12.87) vs. Robert Kelly (UNC 13.97)
5. Grayson Broadus (ND 13.28) vs. Jack Murray (UNC 13.81)
6. Guillermo Cabrera (ND 13.10) vs. #57 Josh Peck (UNC 13.42)
B: Johnathan Small (ND 12.88)/Bo Boyden (UNC 13.43)
*Soendergaard’s UTR only has 12% reliability
Regional Final – After getting a stern test from Notre Dame I expect UNC to be more focused against Vanderbilt and pull away though it wouldn’t surprise me if Vandy grabbed the doubles point. Prediction: North Carolina def. Vanderbilt 4-0
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Cal Regional (Fri/Sat) – Hellman Tennis Complex – Berkeley, CA (Outdoors)
Cal Poly [4] vs. #4 California [1] – 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT – Cal Poly opened up its season in impressive fashion by rocking Boise State 6-1 while Cal will be making its season debut. Cal returns five of six starters from a team that made it to the NCAA semifinals last year while Cal Poly returns five of six starters from a team that lost in the finals of the Big West Championships. Cal Poly has some talent and while I think they may take the doubles point and challenge Cal in a few spots in the singles lineup I think Cal gets the four singles wins it needs from Lakat, Goransson, Bergevi, and Hoffman. Prediction: Cal 4-1
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6: Cal 85, CP 78)
1. #45 Ben Donovan (CP 13.43) vs. #12 Florian Lakat (Cal 14.41)
2. Corey Pang (CP 13.77) vs. #15 Andre Goransson (Cal 14.47)
3. Garrett Auproux (CP 12.63) vs. #69 Filip Bergevi (Cal 14.43)
4. Josh Ortlip (CP 13.20) vs. #32 Billy Griffith (Cal 14.07)
5. Antoine Noel (CP 12.66) vs. #82 Bjorn Hoffman (Cal 13.80)
6. Axel Damiens (CP 12.55) vs. JT Nishimura (Cal 13.76)
B: Karl Enander (CP 12.31); Connor Heap (Cal 12.25)
Tulane [2] vs. Pepperdine [3] – 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT – It’ll be the Green Waves vs. Waves for the second year in row after Tulane rolled over Pepperdine 4-0 in last year’s KO Weekend opening round but both teams have different rosters this year so you can throw that result out the window. Pepperdine opened up its season last week with a 7-0 thrashing over Loyola Marymount while Tulane had its way with Alcorn State in a doubleheader that was played on Tuesday. Matias Sborowitz is slotted at No. 2 for Pepperdine although he hasn’t played since retiring from a match back in November. I think this is one of those matches where the doubles point will propel one team past the other – I’ll go Green Waves in doubles and Schmitz, Rey, and Jao in singles while the regular Waves get a win from Pane. Prediction: Tulane 4-1
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6: Tulane 82, Pepperdine 80)
1. #54 Constantin Schmitz (TUL 14.38) vs. Guillermo Hadlich (Pepp 13.55)
2. Ewan Moore (TUL 13.86) vs. Matias Sborowitz (Pepp 12.97*)
3. Sebastian Rey (TUL 13.68) vs. Stefan Menichella (Pepp 13.27)
4. Tyler Schick (TUL 13.51) vs. Pedro Iamachkine (Pepp 13.29)
5. Luis Erlenbusch (TUL 12.75) vs. Lautaro Pane (Pepp 13.73)
6. Chi-Shan Jao (TUL 13.66) vs. Jack Van Slyke (Pepp 12.76)
B. Tim Ruetzel (TUL 13.33)/Dane Esses (Pepp 12.44)
*Sborowitz’s UTR has only 25% reliability
Regional Final – Cal got the shaft last year when it wasn’t able to participate in the Kick-Off Weekend due to a winter storm keeping them out Durham (NC) but this year there will be no stopping the Bears as they’ll defend their turf like it was a jar of honey. Prediction: Cal def. Tulane 4-0
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Wake Forest Regional (Fri/Sat) – Wake Forest Tennis Complex – Winston-Salem, NC (Indoors)
Georgia State [2] vs. Auburn [3] – 2 p.m. ET – Georgia State makes its first KO Weekend appearance since 2014 and comes in with a 3-1 record with a road win at Florida State and a road loss at Vanderbilt. Auburn, which is led by first-year head coach Bobby Reynolds, opened up its season last weekend by going to Orlando and defeating Central Florida 4-3. Each team has a ranked singles player but coincidentally enough neither are in the starting six with both Felipe Jaworski and Olle Thestrup listed at No. 7 on each team’s depth chart. I like Hinnisdaels and Sarrio for Auburn but I think Georgia State takes the doubles point and gets wins from Andrukhou, Coulaud, and Acuna to pull it out with the match at 6 in a third set. Prediction: Georgia State 4-2
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6: Auburn 79, Ga State 77)
1. Zack Kennedy (GSU 13.06) vs. Max Hinnisdaels (AUB 13.17)
2. Jannis Koeke (GSU 13.14) vs. Carles Sarrio (AUB 13.24)
3. Andrei Andrukhou (GSU 13.01) vs. Conner Huertas (AUB 13.05)
4. Quentin Coulaud (GSU 12.12) vs. Eddy Nguyen (AUB 12.75)
5. Sebastian Acuna (GSU 13.00) vs. Dante Saleh (AUB 13.36)
6. Jack Macfarlane (GSU 12.78) vs. Brandon Laubser (AUB 13.22)
B: #105 Felipe Jaworski (GSU 12.94)/#125 Olle Thestrup (AUB 12.96)
Nebraska [4] vs. #2 Wake Forest [1] – 5 p.m. ET – Wake Forest enters this match with a 3-0 record and is coming off a 7-0 win over Oklahoma while Nebraska comes in at 0-1 after suffering a stunning 4-3 loss to Nebraska-Omaha. There’s no way to sugar coat this matchup because it’s not going to be pretty. Deacs only need about 90 minutes to take the doubles point and get wins from Mansouri, Gojo, and Gadjiev. Prediction: Wake Forest 4-0
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6: Wake Forest 85, Nebraska 74)
1. Toby Boyer (NEB 12.93) vs. #1 Petros Chrysochos (WF 14.66)
2. Dylan Bednarczyk (NEB 12.33) vs. #4 Skander Mansouri (WF 14.26)
3. Tomislav Antoljak (NEB 12.47) vs. Borna Gojo (WF 14.47)
4. Chris Dean (NEB 12.49) vs. #21 Christian Seraphim (WF 14.08)
5. Micah Klousia (NEB 12.11) vs. Dennis Uspensky (WF 13.69)
6. David Samardzija (NEB 11.91) vs. #122 Alan Gadjiev (WF 13.55)
B: Rok Krizaz (NEB 12.26); Max Kan (WF 12.84)
Regional Final – Georgia State will be riding the high of its first KO Weekend win since 2013 but Wake Forest will bring them crashing down to earth pretty quickly. Prediction: Wake Forest def. Georgia State 4-0
Check back tomorrow for previews of the regionals that begin on Saturday. Thanks a million for subscribing!!
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I suspect Uga's lineup will change a little bit as the season progresses, but the 4-6 listed above is awfully strong for now. Looks like a very deep lineup.
Memphis a good dog pick over N'Western perhaps.
Just subscribed and must sat I enjoy the additional information for subscribers,
Thank you for your research and diligent reporting.
what I find especially intriguing is the Utr ratings of each player, how players compare within the team lineup and then comparing head to head with opponents.