The opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament were completed last weekend so now it’s time to look at the Sweet 16 matchups that will take place on Thursday in Athens, Georgia. There will two matches taking place at the same time with one on the main Henry Feild Stadium Courts and the other on the McWhorter Courts. The first matches start at 9 a.m. ET with the final two set to start at 7 p.m. ET though it wouldn’t surprise me to see both of the 4 p.m. matches run late. Six of the eight matches will be rematches from the regular season so it’ll be interesting to see how those teams do the second time around.
I have the schedule of play listed on my NCAA Tournament page and in each of my match previews below I’ll list the projected lineups with individual singles and doubles records, individual and team UTRs, team doubles records, box scores from the previous meetings this season, plus I’ll make my prediction at the end. 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).
#1 Wake Forest [1] vs. #16 Stanford [16] – Thursday 7 p.m. ET – The top seeded Demon Deacons rolled through the first round but got a stiff test from Kentucky in the second round. The Cardinal trounced Idaho in the opening round and then fought off a pesky Michigan team 4-1. Last year Wake Forest got routed in the round of 16 by Oklahoma while Stanford was edged by UCLA. I think Stanford is good enough to keep this one interesting but I can’t see Wake going home early for a second year in a row. I’ll take Wake in doubles and Chrysochos, Seraphim, and Uspensky in singles while Stanford will be up on a court or two but won’t quite get there. Prediction: Wake Forest 4-0
Overall Record: Wake 29-2; Stanford 18-8
Doubles Record: Wake 27-4; Stanford 17-8
UTR Power 6: Wake Forest 86, Stanford 84
PROJECTED LINEUPS
| Pos | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | |||
| 1 | 4 | Skander Mansouri Christian Seraphim |
WF | 14.67 | 22 | 6 |
vs.
|
54 | Tom Fawcett Yale Goldberg |
Stan. | 13.85 | 10 | 5 |
| 2 | Borna Gojo Alan Gadjiev |
WF | 14.13 | 13 | 5 | Michael Genender Sameer Kumar |
Stan. | 13.95 | 13 | 8 | |||
| 3 | Petros Chrysochos Dennis Uspensky |
WF | 14.40 | 19 | 6 | David WIlczynski Brandon Sutter |
Stan. | 13.83 | 17 | 4 | |||
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Pos
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ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM |
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Petros Chrysochos | Wake | 14.73 | 22 | 6 |
vs.
|
11 | Tom Fawcett | Stan | 14.41 | 12 | 5 |
| 2 | 45 | Borna Gojo | Wake | 14.62 | 22 | 4 | Sameer Kumar | Stan | 14.19 | 12 | 9 | ||
| 3 | 13 | Skander Mansouri | Wake | 14.37 | 20 | 6 | David Wilczynski | Stan | 14.04 | 16 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 84 | Christian Seraphim | Wake | 14.11 | 20 | 8 | Michael Genender | Stan | 13.79 | 6 | 7 | ||
| 5 | Dennis Uspensky | Wake | 14.07 | 19 | 5 | Brandon Sutter | Stan | 13.81 | 16 | 7 | |||
| 6 | Alan Gadjiev | Wake | 13.90 | 16 | 8 | William Genesen | Stan | 13.45 | 8 | 3 | |||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Max Kan | Wake | 12.58 | 2 | 1 | Jack Barber | Stan | 13.48 | 3 | 7 | |||
| 8 | Charlie Parry | Wake | 12.13 | 0 | 2 | Yale Goldberg | Stan | 12.59 | 1 | 0 | |||
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#8 California [8] vs. #9 North Carolina [9] – Thursday 7 p.m. ET – North Carolina faced little resistance in its two opening round matches while Cal was pushed hard by Northwestern in the second round before pulling through 4-1. North Carolina won the regular season meeting 4-2 in a thrilling match that took place at the National Indoor Intercollegiates (box score below). Cal’s starting four will be the same as the last meeting while its bottom two will change with JT Nishimura at 5 and Bjorn Hoffman at 6. UNC puts out close to the same lineup with the only change coming at 3 and 4 with Robert Kelly playing up a spot while Simon Soendergaard drops down a spot.
Cal won the doubles point in the first meeting and I think they’ll get it again on Thursday night. In singles I’ll go with Schneider, Blumberg, Murray, and Boyden for UNC and Bergevi and Griffith for Cal. Prediction: North Carolina 4-3
Overall Record: Cal 20-7; North Carolina 26-4
Doubles Record: Cal 20-7; North Carolina 24-6
UTR Power 6: Cal 85, North Carolina 85
Regular Season Result:
#5 North Carolina 4, #4 California 2
Feb 18, 2017 at Charlottesville, Va. (Boar’s Head Sports Club)
Singles competition
1. #11 Florian Lakat (CAL) vs. #16 Ronnie Schneider (NC) 4-6 (4-1), 6-1, 6-6 (4-1), unfinished
2. #27 Andre Goransson (CAL) def. William Blumberg (NC) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
3. Simon Soendergaard (NC) def. #42 Filip Bergevi (CAL) 6-4, 6-2
4. Robert Kelly (NC) def. #40 Billy Griffith (CAL) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
5. Jack Murray (NC) def. Bjorn Hoffmann (CAL) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
6. Blaine Boyden (NC) def. Connor Heap (CAL) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #3 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (CAL) def. #21 William Blumberg/Robert Kelly (NC) 6-3
2. Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (CAL) def. Jack Murray/Ronnie Schneider (NC) 6-3
3. Bjorn Hoffmann/J.T. Nishimura (CAL) vs. Blaine Boyden/Simon Soendergaard (NC) *5-4 (40/40), unf
Match Notes:
North Carolina 11-0; National ranking #5
California 4-1; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (3,6,2,5,4)
ITA National Team Indoor Championship Quarterfinals
T-2.50
Feb 18, 2017 at Charlottesville, Va. (Boar’s Head Sports Club)
Singles competition
1. #11 Florian Lakat (CAL) vs. #16 Ronnie Schneider (NC) 4-6 (4-1), 6-1, 6-6 (4-1), unfinished
2. #27 Andre Goransson (CAL) def. William Blumberg (NC) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
3. Simon Soendergaard (NC) def. #42 Filip Bergevi (CAL) 6-4, 6-2
4. Robert Kelly (NC) def. #40 Billy Griffith (CAL) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
5. Jack Murray (NC) def. Bjorn Hoffmann (CAL) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
6. Blaine Boyden (NC) def. Connor Heap (CAL) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #3 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (CAL) def. #21 William Blumberg/Robert Kelly (NC) 6-3
2. Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (CAL) def. Jack Murray/Ronnie Schneider (NC) 6-3
3. Bjorn Hoffmann/J.T. Nishimura (CAL) vs. Blaine Boyden/Simon Soendergaard (NC) *5-4 (40/40), unf
Match Notes:
North Carolina 11-0; National ranking #5
California 4-1; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (3,6,2,5,4)
ITA National Team Indoor Championship Quarterfinals
T-2.50
PROJECTED LINEUPS
| Pos | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | |||
| 1 | 5 | Filip Bergevi Florian Lakat |
Cal | 14.65 | 14 | 5 |
vs.
|
12 | William Blumberg Robert Kelly |
UNC | 14.46 | 18 | 6 |
| 2 | 74 | Andre Goransson Billy Griffith |
Cal | 14.13 | 12 | 5 | 82 | Jack Murray Simon Soendergaard |
UNC | 14.04 | 8 | 4 | |
| 3 | Bjorn Hoffmann JT Nishimura |
Cal | 13.64 | 12 | 9 | Anu Kodali Ronnie Schneider |
UNC | 13.82 | 9 | 2 | |||
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Pos
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ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM |
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Florian Lakat | Cal | 14.67 | 12 | 7 |
vs.
|
22 | Ronnie Schneider | UNC | 14.64 | 21 | 6 |
| 2 | 61 | Andre Goransson | Cal | 14.61 | 13 | 7 | 16 | William Blumberg | UNC | 14.69 | 22 | 2 | |
| 3 | Filip Bergevi | Cal | 14.13 | 7 | 7 | 116 | Robert Kelly | UNC | 14.15 | 19 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 81 | Billy Griffith | Cal | 14.18 | 16 | 6 | Simon Soendergaard | UNC | 13.60 | 9 | 13 | ||
| 5 | JT Nishimura | Cal | 13.91 | 13 | 5 | Jack Murray | UNC | 14.21 | 22 | 5 | |||
| 6 | Bjorn Hoffmann | Cal | 13.56 | 10 | 11 | Bo Boyden | UNC | 14.06 | 20 | 3 | |||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Connor Heap | Cal | 12.64 | 2 | 5 | Anu Kodali | UNC | 13.23 | 5 | 0 | |||
| 8 | Dominic Barretto | Cal | 12.95 | 1 | 5 | Josh Peck | UNC | 13.81 | 1 | 1 | |||
#5 UCLA [1] vs. #13 Texas A&M [12] – Thursday 4 p.m. ET – UCLA found out it’d be without its top player, Gage Brymer, just days before the first round but then proceeded to rout both Army and Ole Miss. Texas A&M posted a pair of shutouts as well defeating Buffalo and Oregon though both matches were a little closer than the score shows. UCLA has been much more stronger in doubles this year so I’d be surprised if UCLA didn’t take the early 1-0 lead. I think a lot of the singles matches will be toss-ups but I’m going with A&M at 1, 2, 4, and 5 while UCLA wins at 3 and 6. Prediction: Texas A&M 4-3
Overall Record: UCLA 21-5; Texas A&M 21-6
Doubles Record: UCLA 17-9; Texas A&M 14-13
UTR Power 6: UCLA 84, Texas A&M 85
PROJECTED LINEUPS
| Pos | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | |||
| 1 | 3 | Martin Redlicki Evan Zhu |
UCLA | 14.34 | 16 | 2 |
vs.
|
9 | AJ Catanzariti Arthur Rinderknech |
TAMU | 14.38 | 8 | 2 |
| 2 | Austin Rapp Joseph DiGiulio |
UCLA | 13.98 | 8 | 4 | Hady Habib Jordia Arconada |
TAMU | 13.87 | 6 | 4 | |||
| 3 | Maxime Cressy Ben Goldberg |
UCLA | 13.29 | 5 | 6 | Alexsandre Bakshi Maxim Lunkin |
TAMU | 13.75 | 4 | 2 | |||
|
Pos
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ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM |
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||||||||||
| 1 | 60 | Martin Redlicki | UCLA | 14.49 | 21 | 3 |
vs.
|
6 | Arthur Rinderknech | aTm | 14.85 | 17 | 5 |
| 2 | Evan Zhu | UCLA | 14.05 | 12 | 8 | 48 | Jordi Arconada | aTm | 14.23 | 19 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Logan Staggs | UCLA | 14.03 | 19 | 2 | AJ Catanzariti | aTm | 14.13 | 11 | 13 | |||
| 4 | Maxime Cressy | UCLA | 13.93 | 10 | 3 | Valentine Vacherot | aTm | 13.98 | 19 | 3 | |||
| 5 | Austin Rapp | UCLA | 13.56 | 10 | 7 | Hady Habib | aTm | 14.16 | 14 | 3 | |||
| 6 | Joseph DiGiulio | UCLA | 14.11 | 3 | 2 | Alexsandre Bakshi | aTm | 13.56 | 13 | 6 | |||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Ben Goldberg | UCLA | 13.09 | 3 | 0 | Maxim Lunkin | aTm | 13.52 | 2 | 7 | |||
| 8 | Michael Guzman | UCLA | 12.17 | 1 | 0 | James Martell | aTm | 12.89 | 2 | 1 | |||
#4 USC [1] vs. #12 Georgia [13] – Thursday 4 p.m. ET – USC breezed through the opening rounds with shutout wins over Denver and Wisconsin while Georgia rolled over Florida A&M and South Florida. USC had its way with Georgia earlier in the season with the Trojans blanking the Bulldogs during the Pac-12/SEC Challenge in Gainesville however all the singles matchups and two of the doubles matchups will be different this time around. These two met in the same round of last year’s NCAAs with Georgia winning a 4-3 thriller and I think we’ll see another on Thursday.
On paper this is a match that USC should win however Georgia will have the crowd on its side plus it’ll be much more used to the heat and humidity (90 degree temps expected). I think the crowd will play the biggest role during doubles and Georgia will hand USC only its fourth loss in doubles this season. I like USC at 1, 4, and 6 but I’m going to take Georgia at 2, 3, and 5 to pull the upset. Prediction: Georgia 4-3
Overall Record: USC 27-5, Georgia 20-7
Doubles Record: USC 29-3; Georgia 20-7
UTR Power 6: USC 85, Georgia 86
Regular Season Result:
#8 USC 4, #5 Georgia 0
Feb. 5, 2017 at Gainesville, Fla. (Ring Tennis Complex)
Doubles Results
1. Brandon Holt/Riley Smith (USC) def. #54 Jan Zielinski/Robert Loeb (Georgia), 6-4
2. Paul Oosterbaan/Walker Duncan (Georgia) vs. Nick Crystal/Laurens Verboven (USC), 4-4* (30/40), unf
3. Rob Bellamy/Jack Jaede (USC) def. Wayne Montgomery/Nathan Ponwith (Georgia), 6-2
Singles Results
1. #22 Wayne Montgomery (Georgia) vs. #28 Logan Smith (USC), 3-6, 6-3, 2-0*, unfinished
2. #20 Brandon Holt (USC) def. #31 Emil Reinberg (Georgia), 6-1, 6-4
3. #88 Nick Crystal (USC) vs. #124 Nathan Ponwith (Georgia) 6-1, 5-6* (30/30), unf
4. Paul Oosterbaan (Georgia) vs. #114 Thibault Forget (USC), 7-5, *2-5, unf.
5. Jack Jaede (USC) def. #79 Walker Duncan (Georgia), 6-1, 7-6(4)
6. Rob Bellamy (USC) def. Robert Loeb (Georgia), 6-2, 6-3
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1); Singles (6, 2, 5)
Feb. 5, 2017 at Gainesville, Fla. (Ring Tennis Complex)
Doubles Results
1. Brandon Holt/Riley Smith (USC) def. #54 Jan Zielinski/Robert Loeb (Georgia), 6-4
2. Paul Oosterbaan/Walker Duncan (Georgia) vs. Nick Crystal/Laurens Verboven (USC), 4-4* (30/40), unf
3. Rob Bellamy/Jack Jaede (USC) def. Wayne Montgomery/Nathan Ponwith (Georgia), 6-2
Singles Results
1. #22 Wayne Montgomery (Georgia) vs. #28 Logan Smith (USC), 3-6, 6-3, 2-0*, unfinished
2. #20 Brandon Holt (USC) def. #31 Emil Reinberg (Georgia), 6-1, 6-4
3. #88 Nick Crystal (USC) vs. #124 Nathan Ponwith (Georgia) 6-1, 5-6* (30/30), unf
4. Paul Oosterbaan (Georgia) vs. #114 Thibault Forget (USC), 7-5, *2-5, unf.
5. Jack Jaede (USC) def. #79 Walker Duncan (Georgia), 6-1, 7-6(4)
6. Rob Bellamy (USC) def. Robert Loeb (Georgia), 6-2, 6-3
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1); Singles (6, 2, 5)
PROJECTED LINEUPS
| Pos | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | |||
| 1 | 14 | Brandon Holt Riley Smith |
USC | 14.17 | 17 | 5 |
vs.
|
1 | Robert Loeb Jan Zielinski |
UGA | 14.33 | 16 | 8 |
| 2 | Nick Crystal Laurens Verboven |
USC | 14.42 | 17 | 5 | Emil Reinberg Nathan Ponwith |
UGA | 14.12 | 8 | 3 | |||
| 3 | Rob Bellamy Jack Jaede |
USC | 14.36 | 18 | 3 | Wayne Montgomery Walker Duncan |
UGA | 14.15 | 14 | 2 | |||
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Pos
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ITA
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Player
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Team
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UTR
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DM |
ITA
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Player
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Team
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UTR
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DM | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Brandon Holt | USC | 14.70 | 17 | 5 |
vs.
|
56 | Nathan Ponwith | UGA | 14.31 | 12 | 3 |
| 2 | Nick Crystal | USC | 14.16 | 10 | 8 | 33 | Wayne Montgomery | UGA | 14.38 | 14 | 11 | ||
| 3 | 88 | Logan Smith | USC | 14.07 | 14 | 11 | 59 | Emil Reinberg | UGA | 14.18 | 12 | 8 | |
| 4 | Jack Jaede | USC | 14.21 | 20 | 3 | Jan Zielinski | UGA | 13.97 | 13 | 6 | |||
| 5 | Thibault Forget | USC | 13.88 | 16 | 7 | Walker Duncan | UGA | 14.01 | 18 | 5 | |||
| 6 | Riley Smith | USC | 13.73 | 19 | 2 | Robert Loeb | UGA | 13.75 | 12 | 7 | |||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Rob Bellamy | USC | 13.75 | 6 | 1 | Alex Phillips | UGA | 13.47 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 8 | Laurens Verboven | USC | 13.97 | 3 | 0 | Andy Martinez | UGA | 13.09 | 0 | 0 | |||
#3 Ohio State [3] vs. #14 Oklahoma [14] – Thursday Noon ET – Ohio State moved into the Sweet 16 with shutouts over Butler and Louisville while Oklahoma blanked Bryant before taking out Mississippi State 4-1. Ohio State won both of the regular season meetings by shutout though both came indoors. In both of the previous matches Oklahoma had chances to win the doubles point but couldn’t pull it out and that kind of set the tone for each match. I think Oklahoma must take the point if they want to have a legitimate shot in this one because Mikael Torpegaard, Herkko Pollanen, and Kyle Seelig will be fairly sizable favorites at 1, 5, and 6.
I’m going to say that Oklahoma does take the doubles point and both Andrew Harris and Florin Bragusi will win in singles but Ohio State gets it done with Torp, Herkko, Seelig, and Hugo Di Feo each winning. Prediction: Ohio State 4-3
Overall Record: Ohio State 31-3; Oklahoma 17-10
Doubles Record: Ohio State 30-4; Oklahoma 14-13
UTR Power 6: Ohio State 86, Oklahoma 84
Regular Season Results:
#3 Ohio State 4, #14 Oklahoma 0
Feb 17, 2017 at Charlottesville, Va. (Boar’s Head Sports Club)
Singles competition
1. #2 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #29 Andrew Harris (OU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
2. #8 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) def. #24 Spencer Papa (OU) 7-5, 6-3
3. Alex Ghilea (OU) vs. JJ Wolf (OSU) 7-5, *4-4, (40/15), unfinished
4. #105 Florin Bragusi (OU) vs. #47 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 6-2, 6-6 (2-2), unfinished
5. #77 Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Adrian Oetzbach (OU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Jochen Bertsch (OU) vs. Kyle Seelig (OSU) 7-6 (5), 2-4* (40/15), unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #38 Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. #42 Spencer Papa/Andrew Harris (OU) 7-5
2. Alex Ghilea/Florin Bragusi (OU) def. #25 Hugo Di Feo/Martin Joyce (OSU) 7-5
3. Matt Mendez/Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. A.J. Chamdani/Adrian Oetzbach (OU) 6-0
Match Notes
Oklahoma 7-2; National ranking #14
Ohio State 11-0; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,5,1)
T-2:20
Feb 17, 2017 at Charlottesville, Va. (Boar’s Head Sports Club)
Singles competition
1. #2 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #29 Andrew Harris (OU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
2. #8 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) def. #24 Spencer Papa (OU) 7-5, 6-3
3. Alex Ghilea (OU) vs. JJ Wolf (OSU) 7-5, *4-4, (40/15), unfinished
4. #105 Florin Bragusi (OU) vs. #47 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 6-2, 6-6 (2-2), unfinished
5. #77 Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Adrian Oetzbach (OU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Jochen Bertsch (OU) vs. Kyle Seelig (OSU) 7-6 (5), 2-4* (40/15), unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #38 Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. #42 Spencer Papa/Andrew Harris (OU) 7-5
2. Alex Ghilea/Florin Bragusi (OU) def. #25 Hugo Di Feo/Martin Joyce (OSU) 7-5
3. Matt Mendez/Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. A.J. Chamdani/Adrian Oetzbach (OU) 6-0
Match Notes
Oklahoma 7-2; National ranking #14
Ohio State 11-0; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,5,1)
T-2:20
#1 Ohio State 4, #4 Oklahoma 0
Mar 05, 2017 at Columbus, Ohio (OSU Varsity Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #1 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #24 Spencer Papa (OU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
2. #74 Alex Ghilea (OU) vs. JJ Wolf (OSU) 7-6 (4), *2-3, unfinished
3. #3 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) vs. #65 Florin Bragusi (OU) 6-2, 3-6, *0-1, unfinished
4. #56 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) vs. Adrian Oetzbach (OU) 7-5, 5-2, unfinished
5. Kyle Seelig (OSU) def. Jochen Bertsch (OU) 6-1, 6-4
6. #88 Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Arnaud Restifo (OU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Florin Bragusi/Spencer Papa (OU) def. #20 Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 6-2
2. #56 Hugo Di Feo/Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Adrian Oetzbach/Alex Ghilea (OU) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Hunter Tubert/Matt Mendez (OSU) def. Jochen Bertsch/Mason Bridegan (OU) 6-3
Match Notes
Oklahoma 10-3; National ranking #4
Ohio State 16-1; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,5,1)
Official: Marcus Lee T-2:15 A-449
Mar 05, 2017 at Columbus, Ohio (OSU Varsity Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #1 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #24 Spencer Papa (OU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
2. #74 Alex Ghilea (OU) vs. JJ Wolf (OSU) 7-6 (4), *2-3, unfinished
3. #3 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) vs. #65 Florin Bragusi (OU) 6-2, 3-6, *0-1, unfinished
4. #56 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) vs. Adrian Oetzbach (OU) 7-5, 5-2, unfinished
5. Kyle Seelig (OSU) def. Jochen Bertsch (OU) 6-1, 6-4
6. #88 Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Arnaud Restifo (OU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Florin Bragusi/Spencer Papa (OU) def. #20 Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 6-2
2. #56 Hugo Di Feo/Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Adrian Oetzbach/Alex Ghilea (OU) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Hunter Tubert/Matt Mendez (OSU) def. Jochen Bertsch/Mason Bridegan (OU) 6-3
Match Notes
Oklahoma 10-3; National ranking #4
Ohio State 16-1; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,5,1)
Official: Marcus Lee T-2:15 A-449
PROJECTED LINEUPS
| Pos | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | |||
| 1 | Herkko Pollanen Mikael Torpegaard |
OSU | 14.74 | 19 | 5 |
vs.
|
15 | Spencer Papa Andrew Harris |
OU | 14.53 | 8 | 3 | |
| 2 | 30 | Hugo Di Feo Martin Joyce |
OSU | 14.67 | 18 | 1 | 63 | Alex Ghilea Florin Bragusi |
OU | 14.24 | 10 | 5 | |
| 3 | Hunter Tubert JJ Wolf |
OSU | 14.35 | 10 | 3 | Jochen Bertsch Adrian Oetzbach |
OU | 13.65 | 3 | 1 | |||
|
Pos
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ITA
|
Player
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Team
|
UTR
|
DM |
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Mikael Torpegaard | OSU | 14.93 | 27 | 1 |
vs.
|
24 | Spencer Papa | OU | 14.14 | 10 | 11 |
| 2 | 46 | JJ Wolf | OSU | 14.36 | 15 | 4 | 32 | Andrew Harris | OU | 14.59 | 6 | 6 | |
| 3 | 9 | Hugo Di Feo | OSU | 14.60 | 24 | 2 | 47 | Alex Ghilea | OU | 14.33 | 18 | 3 | |
| 4 | Martin Joyce | OSU | 13.78 | 13 | 6 | 113 | Florin Bragusi | OU | 14.02 | 15 | 6 | ||
| 5 | Herkko Pollanen | OSU | 14.20 | 19 | 5 | Jochen Bertsch | OU | 13.53 | 14 | 6 | |||
| 6 | Kyle Seelig | OSU | 14.19 | 22 | 4 | Adrian Oetzbach | OU | 13.03 | 8 | 14 | |||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Hunter Tubert | OSU | 13.39 | 1 | 1 | Arnaud Restifo | OU | 13.66 | 6 | 6 | |||
| 8 | Matt Mendez | OSU | 13.47 | 3 | 0 | Mason Bridegan | OU | 12.97 | 0 | 0 | |||
#6 TCU [1] vs. #25 Illinois [17-32] – Thursday Noon ET – TCU strolled through the first two rounds shutting out Jackson State and Florida State while Illinois blanked Drake and then pulled off the upset of the tournament by coming back from 3-0 down to defeat Oklahoma State 4-3. Aleks Vukic did not play in the match against Drake due to a nagging wrist injury but he was able to play against Okie State and won the match decider. TCU won the regular season meeting 5-2 although Vukic did hand Cameron Norrie his only loss of the season (STB). Both teams will have the same top four, and TCU has the same top five, though the bottom two individual matchups will be different. Trevor Johnson didn’t play in the first meeting though he will on Thursday.
TCU was a national title contender a year ago but got stunned indoors against Cal. There won’t be any reason to play indoors on Thursday and I see TCU winning its 17th consecutive match in fairly dominating fashion. I like TCU in doubles and Cameron Norrie, Guillermo Nunez, and Trevor Johnson in singles. Prediction: TCU 4-0
Overall Record: TCU 21-4; Illinois 18-11
Doubles Record: TCU 20-5; Illinois 12-17
UTR Power 6: TCU 86, Illinois 84
Regular Season Result:
#19 TCU 5, #25 Illinois 2
Mar 22, 2017 at Fort Worth, Texas (Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #20 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. #3 Cameron Norrie (TCU) 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 10-6
2. #27 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #30 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) 6-2, 6-1
3. #78 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) def. Gui Gomes (ILL) 6-1, 6-4
4. #81 Jerry Lopez (TCU) def. Aleks Kovacevic (ILL) 7-5, 6-2
5. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Julian Childers (ILL) 6-2, 6-3
6. Zeke Clark (ILL) def. Hudson Blake (TCU) 3-6, 6-2, 2-0, retired
Doubles competition
1. Jerry Lopez/Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. #23 Aleks Vukic/Aron Hiltzik (ILL) 6-1
2. Reese Stalder/Hudson Blake (TCU) vs. Alex Jesse/Aleks Kovacevic (ILL) 5-2, unfinished
3. #21 Guillermo Nuñez/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Gui Gomes/Zeke Clark (ILL) 6-2
Match Notes:
Illinois 9-6; National ranking #25
TCU 10-4; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,5,4,2,6,1)
A-682
Mar 22, 2017 at Fort Worth, Texas (Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #20 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. #3 Cameron Norrie (TCU) 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 10-6
2. #27 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #30 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) 6-2, 6-1
3. #78 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) def. Gui Gomes (ILL) 6-1, 6-4
4. #81 Jerry Lopez (TCU) def. Aleks Kovacevic (ILL) 7-5, 6-2
5. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Julian Childers (ILL) 6-2, 6-3
6. Zeke Clark (ILL) def. Hudson Blake (TCU) 3-6, 6-2, 2-0, retired
Doubles competition
1. Jerry Lopez/Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. #23 Aleks Vukic/Aron Hiltzik (ILL) 6-1
2. Reese Stalder/Hudson Blake (TCU) vs. Alex Jesse/Aleks Kovacevic (ILL) 5-2, unfinished
3. #21 Guillermo Nuñez/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Gui Gomes/Zeke Clark (ILL) 6-2
Match Notes:
Illinois 9-6; National ranking #25
TCU 10-4; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,5,4,2,6,1)
A-682
PROJECTED LINEUPS
| Pos | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | |||
| 1 | 25 | Jerry Lopez Reese Stalder |
TCU | 14.50 | 11 | 5 |
vs.
|
Alex Jesse Aleks Kovacevic |
ILL | 13.30 | 7 | 9 | |
| 2 | 57 | Alex Rybakov Guillermo Nuñez |
TCU | 14.73 | 13 | 3 | 71 | Vuk Budic Aleks Vukic |
ILL | 13.55 | 7 | 2 | |
| 3 | Cameron Norrie Trevor Johnson |
TCU | 14.65 | 9 | 1 | Gui Gomes Aron Hiltzik |
ILL | 13.60 | 3 | 7 | |||
|
Pos
|
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM |
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Cameron Norrie | TCU | 15.11 | 19 | 1 |
vs.
|
3 | Aleks Vukic | ILL | 14.91 | 22 | 1 |
| 2 | 20 | Alex Rybakov | TCU | 14.60 | 20 | 1 | 41 | Aron Hiltzik | ILL | 14.36 | 12 | 4 | |
| 3 | 83 | Guillermo Nuñez | TCU | 14.31 | 12 | 6 | Gui Gomes | ILL | 13.48 | 8 | 11 | ||
| 4 | 114 | Jerry Lopez | TCU | 14.27 | 10 | 3 | Aleks Kovacevic | ILL | 14.16 | 17 | 6 | ||
| 5 | Reese Stalder | TCU | 13.72 | 13 | 7 | Noe Khlif | ILL | 13.55 | 10 | 5 | |||
| 6 | Trevor Johnson | TCU | 13.96 | 5 | 0 | Zeke Clark | ILL | 13.67 | 11 | 10 | |||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Gianni Mancini | TCU | 11.22 | 1 | 9 | Vuk Budic | ILL | 12.86 | 5 | 4 | |||
| 8 | Hudson Blake | TCU | 13.31 | 1 | 1 | Julian Childers | ILL | 13.39 | 4 | 9 | |||
#7 Baylor [7] vs. #11 Texas [10] – Thursday 9 a.m ET – Nothing like a Big 12 tussle in the Sweet 16 to get the day started. Baylor cruised past Lamar and Cornell to book its spot in Athens while Texas got a huge scare from Tulane before pulling off a miraculous comeback to win 4-3. Baylor won the regular season meeting, in Austin, 4-1 although three of the six matches went three sets. Baylor has Bjoern Petersen scheduled to play at No. 4 after missing the first match due to an injury and Texas has Christian Sigsgaard back at No. 1 with Harrison Scott dropping down to No. 2. Yuya Ito got injured during the regular season meeting and didn’t play again until the NCAA Tournament so it’ll be interesting to see how he does this time around against Johannes Schretter at No. 3.
Baylor has been more consistent in doubles but it has still dropped the point 11 times this season so it wouldn’t be a total shock if Texas had the lead after 30-45 minutes. Originally when I filled out my bracket I had Baylor winning this one but I think Texas’s close call against Tulane was a wake up call and I think they play much better in this one. I’ll take Baylor in doubles and Benitez and Tchoutakian in singles but I’m going with Ito, Goldhoff, Telles, and Banzer to give Texas the W. Prediction: Texas 4-3
Overall Record: Baylor 23-7; Texas 21-8
Doubles Record: Baylor 19-11; Texas 15-14
UTR Power 6: Baylor 84, Texas 85
Regular Season Result:
#4 Baylor 4, #8 Texas 1
Apr 12, 2017 at Austin, Texas (Caswell Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #12 Juan Benitez (BU) def. #48 Harrison Scott (UT) 6-3, 7-5
2. #51 Max Tchoutakian (BU) def. #22 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) 6-3, 6-1
3. #78 Johannes Schretter (BU) def. #42 Yuya Ito (UT) 6-4, 1-6, 6-0
4. George Goldhoff (UT) def. Will Little (BU) 6-1, 7-5
5. Leo Telles (UT) vs. Jimmy Bendeck (BU) 6-7 (1-7), 6-1, 1-0, unfinished
6. Rodrigo Banzer (UT) vs. Constantin Frantzen (BU) 6-3, 5-7, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #13 Juan Benitez/Will Little (BU) def. Yuya Ito/Harrison Scott (UT) 6-3
2. Jimmy Bendeck/Johannes Schretter (BU) def. #67 George Goldhoff/Leo Telles (UT) 6-2
3. Christian Sigsgaard/Colin Markes (UT) vs. Max Tchoutakian/Constantin Frantzen (BU) 5-4, unfinished
Match Notes
Baylor 21-4, 2-1 Big 12; National ranking #4
Texas 18-6, 1-2 Big 12; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,4,1,3)
T-2:16
Apr 12, 2017 at Austin, Texas (Caswell Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #12 Juan Benitez (BU) def. #48 Harrison Scott (UT) 6-3, 7-5
2. #51 Max Tchoutakian (BU) def. #22 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) 6-3, 6-1
3. #78 Johannes Schretter (BU) def. #42 Yuya Ito (UT) 6-4, 1-6, 6-0
4. George Goldhoff (UT) def. Will Little (BU) 6-1, 7-5
5. Leo Telles (UT) vs. Jimmy Bendeck (BU) 6-7 (1-7), 6-1, 1-0, unfinished
6. Rodrigo Banzer (UT) vs. Constantin Frantzen (BU) 6-3, 5-7, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #13 Juan Benitez/Will Little (BU) def. Yuya Ito/Harrison Scott (UT) 6-3
2. Jimmy Bendeck/Johannes Schretter (BU) def. #67 George Goldhoff/Leo Telles (UT) 6-2
3. Christian Sigsgaard/Colin Markes (UT) vs. Max Tchoutakian/Constantin Frantzen (BU) 5-4, unfinished
Match Notes
Baylor 21-4, 2-1 Big 12; National ranking #4
Texas 18-6, 1-2 Big 12; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,4,1,3)
T-2:16
PROJECTED LINEUPS
| Pos | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | |||
| 1 | 22 | Juan Benitez Will Little |
BU | 14.31 | 5 | 4 |
vs.
|
76 | George Goldhoff Leonardo Telles |
UT | 14.05 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | 84 | Johannes Schretter Jimmy Bendeck |
BU | 13.92 | 11 | 2 | Christian Sigsgaard Julian Zlobinsky |
UT | 14.18 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 3 | Max Tchoutakian Bjoern Petersen |
BU | 13.71 | 2 | 1 | Yuya Ito Harrison Scott |
UT | 14.28 | 5 | 4 | |||
|
Pos
|
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM |
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Juan Benitez | BU | 14.76 | 17 | 8 |
vs.
|
25 | Christian Sigsgaard | UT | 14.21 | 10 | 13 |
| 2 | 50 | Max Tchoutakian | BU | 14.28 | 15 | 2 | 36 | Harrison Scott | UT | 14.27 | 19 | 7 | |
| 3 | 63 | Johannes Schretter | BU | 14.20 | 20 | 3 | 55 | Yuya Ito | UT | 14.35 | 12 | 6 | |
| 4 | Bjoern Petersen | BU | 13.57 | 2 | 2 | George Goldhoff | UT | 14.10 | 11 | 9 | |||
| 5 | Will Little | BU | 13.72 | 15 | 7 | Leonardo Telles | UT | 13.95 | 16 | 4 | |||
| 6 | Jimmy Bendeck | BU | 13.78 | 13 | 7 | Rodrigo Banzer | UT | 13.92 | 18 | 5 | |||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Constantin Frantzen | BU | 13.32 | 13 | 10 | Julian Zlobinsky | UT | 14.01 | 7 | 2 | |||
| 8 | Tyler Stayer | BU | 11.77 | 1 | 3 | John Mee | UT | 13.54 | 3 | 1 | |||
#2 Virginia [1] vs. #15 Florida [15] – Thursday 9 a.m. ET – Virginia and Florida both rolled through the first two rounds posting two shutouts each with neither team facing much of a test. Virginia crushed Florida in the NCAA quarterfinals last year and also won this year during the regular season in a match that was closer but never in doubt. All the singles matchups will be different this time with the most notable shift being Alex Ritschard moving up from No. 5 to No. 1.
Virginia has made it to the NCAA quarterfinals every year since 2005 and it would be a massive upset if they failed to do so this year. I like Virginia in doubles and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Collin Altamirano, J.C. Aragone in singles while Florida gets a win from Alfredo Perez at No. 1 and leads at No. 3. Prediction: Virginia 4-1
Overall Record: Virginia 30-1; Florida 19-9
Doubles Record: Virginia 27-4; Florida 18-10
UTR Power 6: Virginia 88, Florida 85
Regular Season Result:
#1 Virginia 5, #6 Florida 2
February 11, 2017 at Charlottesville, Virginia (Boar’s Head Sports Club)
Singles competition
1. #9 Alfredo Perez (FLA) def. Collin Altamirano (VA) 7-6 (7-1), 7-5
2. #28 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (FLA) 6-4, 6-2
3. Carl Soderlund (VA) def. #60 Elliott Orkin (FLA) 6-2, 6-2
4. #64 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. #76 McClain Kessler (FLA) 6-4, 7-5
5. #109 Johannes Ingildsen (FLA) def. Alexander Ritschard (VA) 6-2, 0-6, 6-3
6. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Maxx Lipman (FLA) 6-4, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #55 Luca Corinteli/Carl Soderlund (VA) vs. #7 Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (FLA) *3-5, unfinished
2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Chase Perez-Blanco/Maxx Lipman (FLA) 6-3
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Elliott Orkin/McClain Kessler (FLA) 6-2
Match Notes
Virginia 4-0; National ranking #1
Florida 6-1; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,2,4,3,5,1)
T-2:23 A-614
February 11, 2017 at Charlottesville, Virginia (Boar’s Head Sports Club)
Singles competition
1. #9 Alfredo Perez (FLA) def. Collin Altamirano (VA) 7-6 (7-1), 7-5
2. #28 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (FLA) 6-4, 6-2
3. Carl Soderlund (VA) def. #60 Elliott Orkin (FLA) 6-2, 6-2
4. #64 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. #76 McClain Kessler (FLA) 6-4, 7-5
5. #109 Johannes Ingildsen (FLA) def. Alexander Ritschard (VA) 6-2, 0-6, 6-3
6. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Maxx Lipman (FLA) 6-4, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #55 Luca Corinteli/Carl Soderlund (VA) vs. #7 Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (FLA) *3-5, unfinished
2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Chase Perez-Blanco/Maxx Lipman (FLA) 6-3
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Elliott Orkin/McClain Kessler (FLA) 6-2
Match Notes
Virginia 4-0; National ranking #1
Florida 6-1; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,2,4,3,5,1)
T-2:23 A-614
PROJECTED LINEUPS
| Pos | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | ITA | Players | Team | UTR | DM W/L | |||
| 1 | 17 | Luca Corinteli Carl Söderlund |
UVA | 14.73 | 8 | 2 |
vs.
|
2 | Alfredo Perez Johannes Ingildsen |
FLA | 14.61 | 13 | 6 |
| 2 | Thai-Son Kwiatkowski Alexander Ritschard |
UVA | 14.78 | 21 | 1 | Maxx Lipman Elliott Orkin |
FLA | 13.92 | 11 | 4 | |||
| 3 | Collin Altamirano J.C. Aragone |
UVA | 14.62 | 19 | 3 | Josh Wardell Chase Perez-Blanco |
FLA | 13.89 | 7 | 7 | |||
|
Pos
|
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM |
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||||||||||
| 1 | 91 | Alexander Ritschard | UVA | 14.57 | 21 | 5 |
vs.
|
8 | Alfredo Perez | FLA | 14.49 | 17 | 7 |
| 2 | 14 | Thai-Son Kwiatkowski | UVA | 14.96 | 22 | 4 | 85 | Elliott Orkin | FLA | 14.18 | 14 | 10 | |
| 3 | Carl Söderlund | UVA | 14.69 | 13 | 2 | Chase Perez-Blanco | FLA | 14.25 | 13 | 11 | |||
| 4 | 40 | Collin Altamirano | UVA | 14.68 | 17 | 5 | Maxx Lipman | FLA | 13.56 | 10 | 7 | ||
| 5 | 109 | J.C. Aragone | UVA | 14.52 | 23 | 4 | 123 | Johannes Ingildsen | FLA | 14.17 | 17 | 7 | |
| 6 | 102 | Henrik Wiersholm | UVA | 14.54 | 22 | 1 | McClain Kessler | FLA | 13.90 | 13 | 3 | ||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Luca Corinteli | UVA | 14.09 | 7 | 1 | Joseph Guillin | FLA | 13.75 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 8 | Aswin Lizen | UVA | 13.27 | 3 | 0 | Jordan Belga | FLA | 13.82 | 4 | 4 | |||
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