Sebastien Jacques Is Doing Some Walking, D2 NCAAs Reach Semifinal Round, D1 Men's Regional Previews (Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Baylor, Texas, Florida, Virginia)

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Former Virginia Tech Hokie Sebastien Jacques is making his way across the country, by foot, after not being able to walk across a room just a few years ago. Jacques played at Virginia Tech from 2007 to 2010 but during his senior year he had to quit playing due to a lack of energy. After graduating with a degree in marketing he returned home to Magog, Canada, and after seeing several doctor he was eventually diagnosed with a pineal cystic tumor in his brain which was the cause of the energy drain. The doctors in Canada determined the procedure was too risky and the health care system wouldn’t cover the cost so Jacques ended up raising $80000 and had the surgery performed in California. The surgery was a success and Jacques returned to a normal life but he decided to embark on the cross-country walk to show people that it is possible to overcome obstacles in life. Virginia Tech had a write-up on Jacques a few days ago plus there are plenty of details on his website.

The NCAA Division II Men’s Championship has reached the semifinals with #1 West Florida advancing after a 5-0 win over #4 Hawaii Pacific. UWF’s top player, #4 Alex Peyrot, played doubles but sat out in singles which was interesting because in the round of 16 its #2 player, Gabriel Dias, did the same thing. Next up for UWF will be #23 Southwest Baptist after the Bearcats held off #16 Ferris State 5-4 with Raul Cabalero winning the deciding match 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(1) at #4 singles. The other semifinal match will be between #2 Barry and #3 Columbus State. Barry cruised past #18 Drury 5-1 with the Bucs taking two of three in doubles and winning every completed set in singles. Columbus State ran through #14 Azusa Pacific 5-1 with the Cougars sweeping all three doubles courts (count as a point each) and then getting two straight set wins at #3 and #4. APU got its lone point when Oliver Frank, D2s top ranked player, cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win at #1.

Down below are my previews for the eight regionals on the right side of the draw. The approved final lineups for each team are listed at this link plus I’ve added some additional information, including UTRs, to each of my regional previews. As with yesterday I’ll give the first one away for free but to see the rest you’ll need to be a CTT subscriber ($9.99 month/no long term commitment required).

Ohio State Regional

#3 Ohio State [1] vs. #94 Butler [4] – Friday 2 p.m. ET – Butler is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007 after they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeated Marquette 4-3 in the finals of the Big East Tournament. Ohio State is making its 18th consecutive appearance in the NCAAs after going undefeated in the Big Ten. Ohio State won the regular season meeting 4-0 and the Buckeyes lead the all-time series 18-0. It’s amazing that Butler managed to put up an 18-5 record despite going just 10-12 in doubles. Ohio State will definitely take the doubles point and then I’ll go with Torpegaard, Di Feo, and Pollanen to finish first in singles. Prediction: Ohio State 4-0

Overall Record: Ohio State 29-3; Butler 18-5

Doubles Record: Ohio State 28-4; Butler 10-12

UTR Power 6: Ohio State 86, Butler 76

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	2	Mikael Torpegaard	Ohio St	14.92	26	1	vs.		Aviv Ben Shabat	Butler	13.15	12	6
2	46	JJ Wolf	Ohio St	14.37	15	4			Mason Dragos	Butler	12.77	17	6
3	9	Hugo Di Feo	Ohio St	14.65	23	2			Mikheil Khmiadashvili	Butler	12.93	17	4
4		Martin Joyce	Ohio St	13.83	12	6			Spencer Lang	Butler	12.83	15	4
5		Herkko Pollanen	Ohio St	14.26	17	5			Lope Adelakun	Butler	12.00	9	5
6		Kyle Seelig	Ohio St	14.17	21	4			Ari Gerstein	Butler	12.45	12	4
Bench Players
7		Hunter Tubert	Ohio St	13.41	1	1			Adrian Mag	Butler	12.36	6	3
8		Matt Mendez	Ohio St	13.51	3	0			Alex Woldmoe	Butler	11.62	0	1

#28 UCF [2] vs. #42 Louisville [3] – Friday 11 a.m. ET – UCF is back in the tournament for the first time since 2005 after picking up four ranked wins and making the final of the AAC Tournament in John Roddick’s first season. Louisville is in the NCAAs for the seventh time in the last nine years,12th time overall, after also picking up four ranked wins although none of them were inside the top 40. UCF only played five matches outside of the state of Florida and to my knowledge they didn’t play any indoors but there’s a chance they may be indoors on Friday because the forecast in Columbus is a little iffy. Louisville on the other hand played most of its matches indoors so they’d most likely prefer it go inside. Originally I had this penciled in as a 4-2 UCF win but the possible change of venue is giving me some second thoughts. I think Korey Lovett and Danny Kerznerman win regardless of the surface but I think a move indoors would make 50/50 matches at 4, 5, and 6 shift towards Louisville plus I like Parker Wynn at 2. Prediction: UCF 4-2 (outdoors); Louisville 4-3 (indoors)

Overall Record: UCF 16-6; Louisville 21-9

Doubles Record: UCF 13-9; Louisville 19-11

UTR Power 6: Louisville 82; UCF 81

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	42	Korey Lovett	UCF	13.86	14	8	vs.	111	Christopher M-Kougoucheff	Louisville	13.76	11	11
2		Harrison Richmond	UCF	13.82	14	3			Parker Wynn	Louisville	14.15	24	4
3		Danny Kerznerman	UCF	13.96	16	2			Nicolas Rouanet	Louisville	13.65	15	11
4		Mariano Porter	UCF	13.13	9	6			George Hedley	Louisville	13.16	11	7
5		Chris Barrus	UCF	13.65	15	5			Brandon Lancaster	Louisville	13.46	19	9
6		Kalman Boyd	UCF	12.97	10	5			Clement Filho	Louisville	13.41	13	8
Bench Players
7		Enrique Paya	UCF	13.39	3	5			Ciro Lampasas	Louisville	12.78	6	4
8		Saitejas Mopuri	UCF	11.98	0	0			Sean Donohue	Louisville	12.81	7	3

Regional Final: Ohio State will make its way into the Sweet 16 for the 12th year in a row with a comfortable shutout win at home. Prediction: Ohio State 4-0

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Oklahoma Regional

#14 Oklahoma [1] vs. #148 Bryant [4] – Friday 2 p.m. ET – Bryant is making its fourth straight trip to the NCAAs after winning yet another Northeast Conference Championship while Oklahoma is playing in the NCAAs for the eighth straight year. This will be the third year in a row that Bryant has played a Big 12 team in the first round with the Bulldogs visiting Oklahoma State last year and Baylor the year prior. Bryant only played one ranked team this season falling to Columbia 7-0. Neither team was above .500 in doubles but Oklahoma will win the point and then roll through singles. Prediction: Oklahoma 4-0

Overall Record: Oklahoma 15-10; Bryant 12-13

Doubles Record: Oklahoma 12-13; Bryant 12-13

UTR Power 6: Oklahoma 84, Bryant 75

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	24	Spencer Papa	Oklahoma	14.17	10	11	vs.		Matt Kuhar	Bryant	13.50	11	3
2	32	Andrew Harris	Oklahoma	14.63	5	6			Luke Lorenz	Bryant	12.52	8	10
3	47	Alex Ghilea	Oklahoma	14.40	16	3			Artur Jakubowski	Bryant	12.29	8	11
4	113	Florin Bragusi	Oklahoma	14.03	14	6			Guido Argentini	Bryant	12.33	7	6
5		Jochen Bertsch	Oklahoma	13.57	13	6			Michael Plutt	Bryant	12.06	6	6
6		Adrian Oetzbach	Oklahoma	13.06	8	13			Jorge Ortiz-Garcia	Bryant	11.67	5	8
Bench Players
7		Arnaud Restifo	Oklahoma	13.72	5	6			Jorge I. Ortiz-Garcia	Bryant	11.37	2	4
8		Mason Bridegan	Oklahoma	13.02	0	0			Oliver Welsh	Bryant	11.41	4	5

#18 Mississippi State [2] vs. #38 SMU [3] – Friday 11 a.m. ET – Mississippi State had a great SEC Tournament that included wins over Texas A&M and South Carolina before falling to Georgia 4-3 in the finals. SMU made it to the Sweet 16 last year but Nate Lammons graduated and some of the guys have been banged up this year and haven’t been as productive. If Mississippi State plays anywhere near the level that they did at the SECs they’ll win this one going away. I like State in doubles and Borges, Cutura, and Oradini in singles. Prediction: Mississippi State 4-0

Overall Record: Mississippi State 20-8; SMU 13-11

Doubles Record: Mississippi State 16-10; SMU 15-9

UTR Power 6: Mississippi State 84; SMU 81

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	4	Nuno Borges	Miss State	14.75	19	3	vs.	68	Ronald Slobadchikov	SMU	14.11	11	8
2		Mate Cutura	Miss State	13.83	8	14		96	Hunter Johnson	SMU	13.87	8	8
3	115	Strahinja Rakic	Miss State	13.89	14	9			Samm Butler	SMU	14.28	11	7
4		Niclas Braun	Miss State	14.03	14	9			Arkadijs Slobodkins	SMU	12.95	7	7
5		Gio Oradini	Miss State	14.07	14	7			Markus Kerner	SMU	12.97	12	14
6		Trevor Foshey	Miss State	13.31	8	8			Tony Russell	SMU	12.97	7	5
Bench Players
7		Simon Baudry	Miss State	13.51	6	4			Yates Johnson	SMU	13.31	11	7
8		Vaughn Hunter	Miss State	13.72	3	1			Julio Olaya	SMU	12.32	1	3

Regional Final: I think the doubles point will be huge because neither team wants to be playing from 1-0 down. Andrew Harris missed over two months with back issues and will play at No. 2 and he should get past Mate Cutura though if his back doesn’t hold up and he loses then it’ll be game over for OU. I think if Harris were at 1 and Papa at 2 then OU sweeps those two spots and most likely wins the match however putting Papa at 1 and Harris at 2 opens the door for Mississippi State to split those spots. I’m going to take Borges, Oradini, and Foshey/Baudry for MSU and Harris, Ghilea, and Bragusi for OU. The doubles point and the match go to Mississippi State. Prediction: Mississippi State 4-3

Oklahoma State Regional

#10 Oklahoma State [1] vs. #114 UMKC [4] – Friday 2 p.m. ET – UMKC will make its seventh appearance in the NCAAs after defeating New Mexico State 4-3 in the finals of the WAC Championship while Oklahoma State is back in the field for the fourth straight year and will be hosting a regional for the second year in a row. These teams met in the regular season with Oklahoma State cruising to a 7-0 win in a match where OSU yielded 5 games or less on every court plus Julian Cash sat out. It won’t be 7-0 this time because of the clinch rule but it’ll still be a shutout. Prediction: Oklahoma State 4-0

Overall Record: Oklahoma State 21-6; UMKC 14-8

Doubles Record: Oklahoma State 20-7; UMKC 14-8

UTR Power 6: Oklahoma State 85, UMKC 75

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	22	Julian Cash	Okla St	14.43	13	6	vs.		Airam Castellano	UMKC	13.23	14	8
2	105	Arjun Kadhe	Okla St	14.01	13	8			Uldis Gaismins	UMKC	12.65	11	11
3		Lucas Gerch	Okla St	14.31	14	4			Tom Kruse	UMKC	12.37	12	9
4		Artur Dubinski	Okla St	13.94	9	6			Amaury Navette	UMKC	12.41	10	11
5		Tristan Meraut	Okla St	13.84	13	2			Mike Psarros	UMKC	12.60	12	4
6	76	Lukas Finzelberg	Okla St	13.89	9	8			Vihn Pham	UMKC	12.08	9	9
Bench Players
7		Jurence Mendoza	Okla St	13.58	9	5			Daniel Izadifar	UMKC	11.93	3	3
8		Nathan Roper	Okla St	12.24	2	0			Hunter Clark	UMKC	10.60	0	1

#25 Illinois [2] vs. #55 Drake [3] – Friday 11 a.m. ET – Drake is back in the tournament for the 10th time after winning the Missouri Valley Championship over Southern Illinois. Illinois will be making its 22nd consecutive appearance (6th longest) after an up and down year that saw the Illini lose to Purdue and Minnesota yet defeat Michigan and Northwestern. This will be third postseason meeting between these teams with Illinois winning 4-0 in 2011 and squeaking by 4-2 in 2015. Both Aleks Vukic and Aron Hiltzik will be big favorites at 1 and 2 and Gui Gomes should be able to get past the serve and volley maestro Bayo Philips at 3. I’d expect to see Ben Clark at No. 6 for Drake even though they have Barnaby Thorold listed and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bulldogs take two of the bottom three and maybe the doubles point too. I’m going to go with Illinois but I think they’ll be sweating this one out for a while until Zeke Clark finds a way to finish it. Prediction: Illinois 4-2

Overall Record: Illinois 16-11; Drake 17-11

Doubles Record: Illinois 11-16; Drake 16-12

UTR Power 6: Illinois 84, Drake 81

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	3	Aleks Vukic	Illinois	14.99	21	1	vs.	87	Vinny Gillespie	Drake	14.26	18	4
2	41	Aron Hiltzik	Illinois	14.43	11	4			Ben Stride	Drake	13.33	7	11
3		Gui Gomes	Illinois	13.56	7	10			Bayo Philips	Drake	12.92	8	6
4		Aleks Kovacevic	Illinois	14.18	15	6			Calum MacGeoch	Drake	13.23	11	11
5		Noe Khlif	Illinois	13.60	9	5			Tom Hands	Drake	13.64	16	6
6		Zeke Clark	Illinois	13.67	10	10			Barnaby Thorold	Drake	12.12	6	14
Bench Players
7		Vuk Budic	Illinois	12.94	5	3			Ben Clark	Drake	13.17	8	5
8		Julian Childers	Illinois	13.43	4	9			Ben Wood	Drake	12.70	6	6

Regional Final: If Illinois can find a way to steal the doubles point I think this is a 50/50 match however if Oklahoma State takes it, which I expect they will, then its going to be a tough climb. Illinois probably takes two of the top three spots in singles but Oklahoma State should take two of the bottom three and possibly all three. Prediction: Oklahoma State 4-2

TCU Regional

#6 TCU [1] vs. #198 Jackson State [4] – Friday 3 p.m. ET – Jackson State is the only team to get an automatic berth that didn’t win its conference due to Alabama State’s APR making them ineligible. Jackson State was shutout 15 times during the season and this one will be No. 16 after about 90 minutes. Prediction: TCU 4-0

Overall Record: TCU 19-4; Jackson State 8-20

Doubles Record: TCU 18-5; Jackson State 7-21

UTR Power 6: TCU 86, Jackson State 67

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	1	Cameron Norrie	TCU	15.13	18	1	vs.		Joan Sanson	Jackson St	9.60	0	17
2	20	Alex Rybakov	TCU	14.77	18	1			Andrey Alawi	Jackson St	11.98	9	12
3	83	Guillermo Nuñez	TCU	14.38	11	5			Fritz Jacobs	Jackson St	10.88	4	17
4	114	Jerry Lopez	TCU	14.35	10	3			Federico Mendieta	Jackson St	10.87	4	16
5		Reese Stalder	TCU	13.72	11	7			Stylianos Gkontsaris	Jackson St	11.34	9	12
6		Trevor Johnson	TCU	13.98	5	0			Vishu Prasad	Jackson St	11.30	9	5
Bench Players
7		Gianni Mancini	TCU	11.24	1	9			Ryan Swanier	Jackson St	10.36	1	14
8		Hudson Blake	TCU	13.35	1	1

#33 Florida State [2] vs. #36 Arkansas [3] – Friday Noon ET – Florida State makes its 15th consecutive appearance in the NCAAs with its best wins coming over Florida and Texas Tech. Arkansas is making consecutive trips to the NCAAs for the first time in 15 years after winning 8 of its final 12 matches. These two teams are only separated by three spots in the final regular season team rankings and I think we’re looking at a 4-3 type of match. I like Florida State in doubles and Lucas Poullain and Alex Knaff in singles but I’m going to take Arkansas everywhere else to gut out the win. Prediction: Arkansas 4-3

Overall Record: Florida State 17-11; Arkansas 16-12

Doubles Record: Florida State 20-8; Arkansas 15-13

UTR Power 6: Florida State 83, Arkansas 82

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	38	Aziz Dougaz	Florida St	13.95	11	8	vs.	10	Michael Redlicki	Arkansas	14.54	10	8
2	79	Guy Iradukunda	Florida St	14.09	14	10		39	Jose Salazar	Arkansas	14.29	18	5
3	94	Lucas Poullain	Florida St	13.93	20	5			Oscar Mesquida	Arkansas	13.55	16	7
4		Jose Gracia	Florida St	13.79	11	7			Adam Sanjurjo	Arkansas	13.40	9	14
5		Terrance Whitehurst	Florida St	13.48	7	7			Johan denToom	Arkansas	13.42	16	7
6		Alex Knaff	Florida St	13.35	4	3			Juan Marino	Arkansas	13.17	10	14
Bench Players
7		Rana-Roop Sng Bhullar	Florida St	13.31	11	7			Branch Terrell	Arkansas	12.62	5	3
8		Terrell Whitehurst	Florida St	13.26	5	3			Jacob Herndon	Arkansas	12.03	2	1

Regional Final: TCU is a team on a mission and after rolling over Jackson State they’ll do the same to Arkansas. Prediction: TCU 4-0

Baylor Regional

#7 Baylor [1] vs. #87 Lamar [4] – Friday 2 p.m. ET – Lamar won the Southland Conference for the second year in a row after defeating Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the tournament final. Baylor is making its 20th consecutive appearance in the NCAAs though it enters the tournament on a three-match losing streak after losing to TCU and Texas Tech twice. Baylor won the regular season meeting 6-1 with Lamar getting its lone point when Baylor’s Bjoern Petersen retired with an injury after dropping the first set. Petersen hasn’t played since but he is listed at No. 4 in Baylor’s lineup though I’d be a little surprised if he plays. Baylor will win going away with BU taking the doubles point and picking up wins Tchoutakian, Schretter, and Bendeck. Prediction: Baylor 4-0

Overall Record: Baylor 21-7; Lamar 17-7

Doubles Record: Baylor 17-11; Lamar 18-6

UTR Power 6: Baylor 85, Lamar 78

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	15	Juan Benitez	Baylor	14.79	16	8	vs.		Michael Feucht	Lamar	13.65	13	5
2	50	Max Tchoutakian	Baylor	14.31	15	2			Nikita Lis	Lamar	13.20	10	10
3	63	Johannes Schretter	Baylor	14.24	19	3			Jeandre Hoogenboezem	Lamar	12.93	11	11
4		Bjoern Petersen	Baylor	13.62	2	2			Sebastian Santibanez	Lamar	12.95	10	8
5		Will Little	Baylor	13.78	13	7			Benny Schweizer	Lamar	12.35	10	5
6		Jimmy Bendeck	Baylor	13.82	12	7			Juuso Laitinen	Lamar	12.54	13	8
Bench Players
7		Constantin Frantzen	Baylor	13.37	12	10			Logan Powell	Lamar	12.32	5	4
8		Tyler Stayer	Baylor	11.84	1	3			Lukas Grubelnig	Lamar	11.50	0	0

#26 Cornell [2] vs. #43 Rice [3] – Friday 11 a.m. ET – Cornell is making its second-ever appearance in the NCAAs after finishing in a three-way tie for the Ivy League title with Columbia and Harvard. Rice will be making its 12th NCAA appearance after winning Conference USA for the second year in a row. Cornell is at its best indoors while Rice plays almost all its matches outdoors so the projected Waco weather (80 degree/50% humidity/15-20 MPH winds) could play a role in this match. Rice was much better than Cornell in doubles so I’m leaning towards Rice to get that first point. Cornell’s Lev Kazakov is the only ranked player between the two teams though he lost his last three matches in straight sets. I think Cornell will take two of the top three while Rice takes two of the bottom three. If it was indoors I’d go Cornell but I’ll take Rice outdoors in the windy conditions. Prediction: Rice 4-3

Overall Record: Cornell 21-3; Rice 23-7

Doubles Record: Cornell 11-13; Rice 20-9

UTR Power 6: Cornell 83, Rice 82

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1		David Volfson	Cornell	13.98	3	5	vs.		Jamie Malik	Rice	13.42	9	7
2	122	Lev Kazakov	Cornell	13.80	12	7			Tommy Bennett	Rice	13.73	8	8
3		Colin Sinclair	Cornell	13.86	16	3			David Warren	Rice	13.55	15	6
4		Chris Vrabel	Cornell	14.03	11	7			Jake Hansen	Rice	13.72	16	6
5		Pietro Rimondini	Cornell	13.47	14	2			Eric Rutledge	Rice	13.65	18	5
6		Bernardo Casares	Cornell	13.25	12	3			Emanuel Llamas	Rice	12.91	14	3
Bench Players
7		Daniel Grunberger	Cornell	13.26	9	4			Henrik Munch	Rice	12.39	3	1
8		Juan Jose Rosas	Cornell	12.95	0	0

Regional Final: Baylor’s Sweet 16 streak got stopped at 14 after a second round loss to Georgia last season but I see them starting a new streak this year. Baylor will take the doubles point and then Juan Benitez, Johannes Schretter, and Will Little will pick up wins in singles to complete the shutout. Prediction: Baylor 4-0

Texas Regional

#11 Texas [1] vs. #143 Presbyterian [4] – Friday 2 p.m. ET – Presbyterian booked its first-ever spot in the NCAAs after the Blue Hose won the Big South Conference with a 4-3 win over Campbell. Texas played well early in the season but had a rough finish that saw the Horns drop four of its last five although all four losses were to top 15 teams. Presbyterian only played one school from a Power 5 Conference and that resulted in a 4-0 loss to Clemson although the doubles point was decided by a tiebreak and two of the singles matches went three sets. Texas is a big step up from Clemson and while the doubles point could be close singles won’t be. Prediction: Texas 4-0

Overall Record: Texas 19-8; Presbyterian 18-10

Doubles Record: Texas 14-13; Presbyterian 20-8

UTR Power 6: Texas 85, Presbyterian 76

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	25	Christian Sigsgaard	Texas	14.31	9	12	vs.		Alex Lykou	Presbyterian	12.36	4	17
2	36	Harrison Scott	Texas	14.21	17	7			Brandon Mills	Presbyterian	12.42	9	14
3	55	Yuya Ito	Texas	14.37	11	6			Diego Manzanas	Presbyterian	12.71	11	14
4		George Goldhoff	Texas	14.18	11	8			Ben Kelley	Presbyterian	13.00	20	4
5		Leonardo Telles	Texas	13.97	15	4			Alejandro Bejar	Presbyterian	12.77	16	6
6		Rodrigo Banzer	Texas	14.00	16	5			Jaime Castillo Lopez	Presbyterian	12.62	12	4
Bench Players
7		Julian Zlobinsky	Texas	14.03	7	2			Joel Roberts	Presbyterian	12.08	11	7
8		John Mee	Texas	13.58	3	1			Elias Svensson	Presbyterian	12.92	2	0

#29 Tulane [2] vs. #49 Washington [3] – Friday 11 a.m. ET – Tulane is in the NCAAs for the second year in a row and 11th all-time after a pretty solid season. Washington just barely got into the field after a late season collapse left them in jeopardy of missing out after they dropped from #32 all the way down to #49 in the rankings. The Huskies dropped seven of their final eight matches and were the last team selected for an at-large bid after three higher teams couldn’t go due to a sub .500 record. Washington only won one match outdoors all season and that was a 4-3 squeaker against #106 Arizona. Tulane will have the upper hand in all six spots in the singles lineup and the doubles point is probably a toss-up though I’m leaning towards Tulane. Prediction: Tulane 4-0

Overall Record: Tulane 18-5; Washington 12-11

Doubles Record: Tulane 11-11; Washington 9-14

UTR Power 6: Tulane 85, Washington 82

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	18	Constantin Schmitz	Tulane	14.90	15	3	vs.		Jake Douglas	Washington	13.96	12	5
2		Ewan Moore	Tulane	14.09	15	5		100	Mitch Stewart	Washington	13.64	7	9
3	117	Sebastian Rey	Tulane	14.02	12	5			Gal Hakak	Washington	13.72	11	7
4		Luis Erlenbusch	Tulane	13.51	12	6			Enzo Sommer	Washington	13.40	10	12
5		Tyler Schick	Tulane	14.11	13	4			Amit Batta	Washington	13.50	12	4
6		Chi-Shan Jao	Tulane	14.02	13	2			Piers Foley	Washington	13.35	9	5
Bench Players
7		Tim Ruetzel	Tulane	13.64	5	2			Seb Hawken	Washington	13.25	7	2
8		Eric Wagner	Tulane	12.48	2	0			Joao Barra	Washington	13.23	5	0

Regional Final: This should be a highly competitive match and it’ll be interesting to see if Texas’s Yuya Ito and Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz are both back to 100%. Ito missed the final match of the regular season plus the Big 12 Tournament with an injury while Schmitz wasn’t able to play against UCF in the AAC semifinals after rolling his ankle in doubles. Both teams were right around .500 in doubles so that point is definitely up for grabs. I like Harrison Scott, George Goldhoff, and Leo Telles for Texas while I’d take Seb Rey, Chi-Shan Jao, and a healthy Constantin Schmitz for Tulane. In each of Texas’s eight losses they dropped the doubles point but I don’t think they’ll have to worry about that after they take the doubles and squeeze out a win by the thinest of margins. Prediction: Texas 4-3

Florida Regional

#15 Florida [1] vs. #108 Florida Gulf Coast [4] – Friday 5 p.m. ET – FGCU will be making its second-ever NCAA appearance after pulling off a couple of upsets to win the Atlantic Sun Championships. Florida is back in the field for the 27th consecutive year, behind only UCLA (41) and Georgia (34), after having a somewhat up and down year. The Gators won their first six matches then lost six of eight before winning nine of twelve down the stretch. FGCU’s Oliver Landert began his collegiate career at Florida before transferring to FGCU two years ago. FGCU only has two starters with winning dual-match records and it won’t get any better on Friday. Prediction: Florida 4-0

Overall Record: Florida 17-9; FGCU 10-12

Doubles Record: Florida 16-10; FGCU 10-12

UTR Power 6: Florida 85, FGCU 78

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	8	Alfredo Perez	Florida	14.48	16	7	vs.		Felipe Ramirez	FGCU	13.41	11	5
2	85	Elliott Orkin	Florida	14.16	13	10			Mateo Ruiz	FGCU	12.75	9	10
3		Chase P-Blanco	Florida	14.31	11	11			Ezequiel Cerrini	FGCU	13.13	9	10
4		Maxx Lipman	Florida	13.58	10	7			Oliver Landert	FGCU	12.82	4	15
5	123	Johannes Ingildsen	Florida	14.12	16	7			Javier Fernandez	FGCU	12.96	12	8
6		McClain Kessler	Florida	13.90	12	3			Andres Alfonzo	FGCU	12.52	5	8
Bench Players
7		Joseph Guillin	Florida	13.79	3	0			Austin Bates	FGCU	11.82	2	2
8		Jordan Belga	Florida	13.86	4	4			Sam Chaffin	FGCU	11,63	1	3

#19 Georgia Tech [2] vs. #39 Minnesota [3] – Friday 2 p.m. ET – Minnesota is back in the field for the second time in the last three years, and seventh time in the last nine years, after key wins over Oregon and Illinois helped keep their ranking on the right side of the cut line. Georgia Tech is making its 17th appearance in the tournament after a solid season that saw Tech defeat the likes of Stanford, South Carolina, Duke, and Florida State. Both teams were under .500 in doubles so that point will be a flip of the coin. As with the Rice/Cornell match, I think the team used to playing outdoors most of the year will have the edge in this one plus I think Georgia Tech is just a little stronger throughout the lineup. I’ll go Minnesota in doubles but I’ll take Chris Eubanks, Carlos Divar, and both of the Yun Brothers to give Georgia Tech the win. Prediction: Georgia Tech 4-1

Overall Record: Georgia Tech 17-7; Minnesota 17-10

Doubles Record: Georgia Tech 11-12; Minnesota 13-14

UTR Power 6: Georgia Tech 84; Minnesota 82

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	7	Chris Eubanks	Ga Tech	14.92	17	2	vs.		Felix Corwin	Minnesota	13.94	16	10
2	92	Andrew Li	Ga Tech	14.19	10	7		70	Matic Spec	Minnesota	14.04	12	13
3		Carlos Benito	Ga Tech	13.63	14	9			Stefan Milicevic	Minnesota	13.71	16	7
4		Carlos Divar	Ga Tech	13.80	12	8			Josip Krstanovic	Minnesota	13.37	14	7
5		Daniel Yun	Ga Tech	13.46	11	7			Eli Ogilvy	Minnesota	13.36	13	10
6		Christopher Yun	Ga Tech	12.90	8	5			Marino Alpeza	Minnesota	13.25	14	8
Bench Players
7		Cole Fiegel	Ga Tech	13.84	12	8			Justyn Levin	Minnesota	12.91	3	4
8		Elijah Melendez	Ga Tech	13.44	1	1			George Lovitt	Minnesota	12.62	5	1

Regional Final: When I saw the bracket come out this one was of the first places where I thought the host might have a hard time advancing because Georgia Tech has a pretty solid team. I know Alfredo Perez beat Chris Eubanks back in the fall but Eubanks has been on a tear over the last few months and I think he gets the W this time. I think the teams will split matches at 2 and 3, I like Carlos Divar at 4, and I like Johannes Ingildsen and McClain Kessler at 5 and 6. I’ll take GT in doubles and GT to pull off the upset. Prediction: Georgia Tech 4-3

Virginia Regional

#2 Virginia [1] vs. #132 Monmouth [4] – Friday 1 p.m. ET – Monmouth won the MAAC for the second year in a row and its reward is another trip to Charlottesville. Monmouth played Virginia in the first round of last year’s NCAAs plus they played twice during the regular season with Virginia winning both matches 4-0. As with the others this will be a quick Virginia shutout. Prediction: Virginia 4-0

Overall Record: Virginia 28-1; Monmouth 13-11

Doubles Record: Virginia 25-4; Monmouth 12-10

UTR Power 6: Virginia 88, Monmouth 75

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	91	Alexander Ritschard	Virginia	14.59	21	5	vs.		Nicola Pipoli	Monmouth	13.19	11	10
2	14	Thai-Son Kwiatkowski	Virginia	15.02	21	4			Przemyslaw Filipek	Monmouth	12.80	10	10
3		Carl Söderlund	Virginia	14.71	13	2			Alejandro Gomez	Monmouth	12.38	13	9
4	40	Collin Altamirano	Virginia	14.70	15	5			Christian Vieira	Monmouth	12.02	9	12
5	109	J.C. Aragone	Virginia	14.59	21	4			Alberto Giuffrida	Monmouth	12.04	9	10
6	102	Henrik Wiersholm	Virginia	14.56	21	1			Sergio Martinez	Monmouth	12.81	10	5
Bench Players
7		Luca Corinteli	Virginia	14.12	7	1			Vikrant Dahiya	Monmouth	11.86	5	5
8		Aswin Lizen	Virginia	13.25	3	0			Sam Bellersen	Monmouth	11.11	2	3

#23 Columbia [2] vs. #41 Purdue [3] – Friday 10 a.m. ET – Purdue is back in the NCAAs for the first time since 2014 after a late season six-match winning streak sent them shooting up the rankings. Columbia is in the field for the fourth year in a row but for the second year in a row it finds itself in the Virginia regional. Last year Columbia got upset by Penn State in the first round so the Lions will be hoping to avoid the same fate this year. Purdue is pretty talented throughout its lineup and I think they keep this one interesting but Columbia should find a way to pull through. I’ll take Columbia in doubles and Shawn Hadavi, Victor Pham, and Adam Ambrozy/Tim Wang in singles while I like Ben Ugarte, Stephan Koenigsfest, and Athell Bennett for Purdue. Prediction: Columbia 4-3

Overall Record: Columbia 17-4; Purdue 20-12

Doubles Record: Columbia 17-4; Purdue 17-12

UTR Power 6: Columbia 84, Purdue 81

Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM			ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	DM
Pos	ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L		ITA Rnk	Player	Team	UTR	W	L
1	101	Shawn Hadavi	Columbia	14.30	14	4	vs.	97	Gergely Madarasz	Purdue	13.96	16	10
2	57	Victor Pham	Columbia	14.29	12	7			Ricardo Medinilla	Purdue	13.56	8	13
3		Jackie Tang	Columbia	13.94	10	5			Benjamin Ugarte	Purdue	13.86	14	9
4		Alex Keyser	Columbia	14.07	9	7			Stephan Koenigsfest	Purdue	13.93	18	7
5		Will Matheson	Columbia	13.42	7	5			Athell Bennett	Purdue	13.22	18	7
6		Adam Ambrozy	Columbia	13.15	5	3			Renan Hanayama	Purdue	12.64	11	7
Bench Players
7		Tim Wang	Columbia	13.75	17	3			Dominik Sochurek	Purdue	12.60	7	5
8		Richard Pham	Columbia	13.08	3	1			Lucas Dages	Purdue	11.85	7	0

Regional Final: Virginia is too strong to be threatened by Columbia and will win going away. Prediction: Virginia 4-0

So that’s all the first and second matches – predicting the outcomes is fun but I’ve been doing it long enough to know that I’ll miss on some so we’ll just have to see which ones I get right and which ones I get wrong!

{else} The rest of the my NCAA Regional previews are available only to College Tennis Today subscribers. Please visit our MEMBERS area to LOGIN and/or SUBSCRIBE to view Live Scoring and other premium content. {/rsmembership}

Sebastien Jacques Is Doing Some Walking, D2 NCAAs Reach Semifinal Round, D1 Men’s Regional Previews (Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Baylor, Texas, Florida, Virginia)

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