The University of Texas stayed in the news for a second day in a row after athletic director Chris Del Conte dismissed men’s head coach Michael Center following the charges that made headlines all across the county on Tuesday. Center, who was in his 19th season as head coach at Texas, reportedly accepted approximately $100,000 to help an unnamed student gain admittance to Texas by labeling him as a tennis recruit. Associate head coach Bruce Berque will serve as the interim head coach for the rest of the season and I’m sure the story will be a major topic on tonight’s nationally televised broadcast of Texas’s match against No. 1 Ohio State which will air on the Longhorn Network. Below was the official statement from Del Conte via the University of Texas:
“After working with campus leaders to review the recent situation with Michael Center, we have decided to relieve him of his duties as our Men’s Tennis coach,” Del Conte said. “It’s a very difficult decision, and we are grateful for the years of service that he has provided, but winning with integrity will always be paramount at The University of Texas, and it was a decision that had to be made.
“I’ve met with our team and assured them that we will do everything in our power to support them,” Del Conte added. “I also plan to reach out to all of our commitments, signees and their families immediately. I’m grateful for Coach Berque’s leadership during this challenging time. Our team is in the middle of a tremendous season, and I applaud them for how they’ve handled this situation, especially the way they responded in their match on Tuesday.”
The Tennis Recruiting Network has an article with comments from one of Texas’s top recruits for next year. The Longhorns 2019 recruiting class was rated No. 2 with four blue chips and a four-star recruit so it’ll be interesting to see how many remain committed to Texas following the news this week.
The big match of the day on the men’s side took place in Gainesville with No. 8 Florida defeating No. 2 Wake Forest 5-2. The Demon Deacons were playing without Borna Gojo (#1 singles/#1 doubles), whose run at Drummondville Canada Challenger ended on Tuesday, however they jumped out to the early 1-0 lead after lopsided doubles wins at No. 1 and No. 2.
The story in singles was the exact opposite with Florida steamrolling past Wake at 3, 4, 5, and 6.
McClain Kessler put the Gators first point on the board with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 6, Johannes Ingildsen made it 2-1 with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 4, Lukas Greif made it 3-1 with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 5, and moments later Sam Riffice clinched with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3. The final two matches were played out with Wake’s Bar Botzer winning 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2 and Florida’s Oliver Crawford defeating ITA No. 2 Petros Chrysochos 6-4, 4-6, 10-8.
Florida earns second-straight top-? win and remain undefeated at home! ? pic.twitter.com/exEMDzO7CE
Gators Men’s Tennis (@GatorsMTN) March 13, 2019
Sophomore Oliver Crawford
On beating Petros Chrysochos
“Yeah, it’s obviously cool. Petros is arguably the best college tennis player in the last year and a half to two years, so it’s cool to beat him. I lost to him this last fall in a close three-set match, so I knew I was pretty close last time and I was just going to go out and do my best and it was nice to come away with a win tonight.”
On the team win tonight
“It’s awesome. We have multiple guys winning multiple matches in a row. We have a lot of guys in the middle to low lineup that are taking care of business really quickly and makes my job a lot easier at the top of the lineup with confidence knowing that I can go out and play freely because I know they have my back and they are going to win most of the time.”
On dropping the doubles match and then winning five singles matches to win two straight wins
“I think it shows a lot of our character. After the doubles point the last two matches, we just huddled up as a team and we know we have each other’s backs win or lose and we just try and go down swinging and play freely and play the game we enjoy. So everyone knows that win or lose, we have each other’s back and tennis isn’t the biggest thing in life and everyone is just excited to go out there and do the best we can, especially in front of a wonderful home crowd.”
Freshman Sam Riffice
On what was going through his head during match point on his court and Lukas Greif’s.
“Yeah, I was paying attention to Lukas’ match. I definitely wanted him to finish first so I could clinch. I wanted to clinch. But he [Lukas] is playing so good. It’s fun to play out there next to him. He is really positive and plays a good game.”
On taking down two top-10 teams at home
“The fans in the first place were so good. It was so loud out there today and they were so supportive. I mean we lost both doubles points in both matches and it just shows how good all of our guys are in singles. We have just such a solid lineup and it’s really fun playing out there with those guys and beating such great teams. All of the guys on our team can play, so it’s really fun.”
#8 Florida 5, #2 Wake Forest 2
March 13, 2019 at Gainesville, Florida
Doubles-Order of Finish: 3,1,2
1. Julian Zlobinsky/Alan Gadjiev (WF) def. #73 McClain Kessler/Duarte Vale (UF)- 6-1
2. #35 Petros Chrysochos/Bar Botzer (WF) def. #14 Oliver Crawford/Andres Andrade (UF)- 6-2
3. Johannes Ingildsen/Sam Riffice (UF) def. Melios Efstathiou/Siddhant Banthia (WF)- 6-3
Singles-Order of Finish: 6,4,5,3*,2,1
1. #24 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #2 Petros Chrysochos (WF)- 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8)
2. #21 Bar Botzer (WF) def. #54 Andres Andrade (UF)- 6-1, 6-4
3. #48 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #60 Melios Efstathiou (WF)- 6-3, 6-1*
4. #79 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Rrezart Cungu (WF)- 6-2, 6-2
5. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Siddhant Banthia (WF)- 6-3, 6-2
6. McClain Kessler (UF) def. Julian Zlobinsky (WF)- 6-3, 6-1
The big match of the day on the women’s side saw #20 Pepperdine blank #6 UCLA 4-0. The Waves took the doubles point with a pair of 6-4 win at No. 2 and No. 3 and then they added five opening sets in singles. Pepperdine closed out three of those matches in straight sets with Ashley Lahey winning 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1, Anastasia Iamachkine winning 6-4, 6-4 at No. 6, and Adrijana Lekaj clinching at No. 2 with a 6-4, 7-5 win.
HIGHLIGHTS | Not in Malibu today to watch #20 Pepperdine #Upset #6 UCLA? No worries – peep these highlights from the game! #WavesUp pic.twitter.com/TOQlyvYg6g
Pepperdine W. Tennis (@WavesTennis) March 14, 2019
#20 Pepperdine 4, #6 UCLA 0
Mar 13, 2019 at Malibu, Calif. (Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #56 Ashley Lahey (PEPP) def. #64 Jada Hart (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
2. Adrijana Lekaj (PEPP) def. #10 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) 6-4, 7-5
3. Satsuki Takamura (PEPP) vs. Ayan Broomfield (UCLA) 4-6, 5-3, unfinished
4. Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) vs. #110 Abi Altick (UCLA) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
5. Daria Kuczer (PEPP) vs. Alaina Miller (UCLA) 6-0, 5-7, 1-2, unfinished
6. Anastasia Iamachkine (PEPP) def. Gabby Andrews (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Ayan Broomfield/Jada Hart (UCLA) def. #17 Jessica Failla/Anastasia Iamachkine (PEPP) 6-2
2. Ashley Lahey/Daria Kuczer (PEPP) def. Gabby Andrews/Alaina Miller (UCLA) 6-4
3. Adrijana Lekaj/Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) def. Abi Altick/Elysia Bolton (UCLA) 6-4
Match Notes:
UCLA 9-3; National ranking #6
Pepperdine University 6-3; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,6,2)
#12 TCU went on the road to Knoxville and picked up a hard fought 4-0 win over #22 Tennessee. The Horned Frogs took the doubles point with 6-4 wins at 1 and 2 but the Vols rallied in singles with four opening sets. The only match to finish in straight sets came at No. 4 with TCU’s Bertus Kruger winning 6-3, 7-5. After Kruger made 2-0, freshman Luc Fomba made it 3-0 with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 win at No. 5. Fomba was down a break for most of the third set but after breaking for 5-5 he won the next two to close it out.
TCU freshman Sander Jong clinched the match at No. 6 with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win. The other matches were halted with Tennessee up a break in the third at 1 and 3 while TCU was up a break in the third at 2.
Quotes from the Match – TCU Head Coach David Roditi
“What a road win for the boys. This match was the furthest from a 4-0 win. If our team hadn’t been ready for a dog fight, then it would have been 4-0 the other way. During the whole doubles time, we were either down or even. We were mostly down and our boys hung in there and they were clutch with late breaks to get that critical road doubles point. Then in singles, we got off to great starts on several courts and I felt their coaches did an incredible job of helping them come back. We had huge wins at bottom of lineup again. I love the fact that with this team, we have always been able to find four points from different positions. The level of play at the No. 1 position was very high in my opinion and getting the second sets on courts one and two to extend the matches was huge moral lift for our squad. I’m very proud of the way our Frogs fought and competed today. I also want to thank the Frogs that flew here to cheer us on because that is always awesome.”
The boys got it done!
According to @RoditiTCUTennis, we are slithering out of Knoxville with that win! #GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/8HT4b3vbZVTCU Men’s Tennis (@TCUMensTennis) March 13, 2019
#12 TCU 4, #22 Tennessee 0
Mar 13, 2019 at Knoxville, Tenn. (Goodfriend Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #59 Timo Stodder (UT) vs. #7 Alex Rybakov (TCU) 6-3, 5-7, 3-0*, unfinished
2. #93 Adam Walton (UT) vs. #26 Alastair Gray (TCU) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 1-2*, unfinished
3. Scott Jones (UT) vs. #115 Reese Stalder (TCU) 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 4-2*, unfinished
4. #86 Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) 6-3, 7-5
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Martim Prata (UT) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
6. Sander Jong (TCU) def. Pat Harper (UT) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #18 Reese Stalder/Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. #36 Timo Stodder/Preston Touliatos (UT) 6-4
2. #56 Alex Rybakov/Alastair Gray (TCU) def. Scott Jones/Pat Harper (UT) 6-4
3. Adam Walton/Martim Prata (UT) vs. Eduardo Roldan/Juan Martin (TCU) 5-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
TCU 10-3; National ranking #12
Tennessee 10-4; National ranking #22
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,5,6)
Unranked Tulsa will most likely not be unranked come next week after they defeated No. 23 Oklahoma State 4-3. The Golden Hurricane took the early lead after winning at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles and then they kept things rolling in singles with four opening sets. Kody Pearson made it 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4 but Oklahoma State countered with a 7-6, 6-2 win at No. 5 by Luke Hammond. Boriss Kamdem made it 3-1 with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 6 and Josh Goodger clinched the match with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2. The final two matches were played out with Oklahoma State winning both in a third set.
Tulsa 4, #23 Oklahoma State 3
3/13/2019 at Tulsa, Okla. (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Matej Vocel (OSU) def. #52 Majed Kilani (TU), 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (10-6)
2. Joshua Goodger (TU) def. Maxim Tybar (OSU), 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Mathieu Scaglia (OSU) def. Jarod Hing (TU), 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-5
4. Kody Pearson (TU) def. Emile Hudd (OSU), 6-1, 6-1
5. Luke Hammond (OSU) def. Stefan Hampe (TU), 7-6(3), 6-2
6. Boriss Kamdem (TU) def. Brady Draheim (OSU), 7-5, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Jarod Hing/Boriss Kamdem (TU) def. #22 Maxim Tybar/Mathieu Scaglia (OSU), 6-2
2. Majed Kilani/Kody Pearson (TU) v. Emile Hudd/Luke Hammond (OSU), 4-4 unf.
3. Joshua Goodger/Tom Thelwall-Jones (TU) def. Matej Vocel/Brady Draheim (OSU), 6-3
Match Notes:
Oklahoma State 11-5; National ranking #23
Tulsa 10-8
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (4,5,6,2,1,3)
T-2:30 A-202
Virginia went on the road and earned a top 25 win after defeating #23 Michigan 5-2. The Cavs took the doubles point and clinched at 4-1 with Amber O’Dell’s 7-5, 7-6 win at No. 3
“It was a great match,” said Virginia head coach Sara O’Leary. “Michigan is a very good team and made us really earn every spot in singles and doubles. It really was a full team effort to get this win. Even Meghan (Kelley) and Hunter (Bleser), who did not get wins on the scoreboard, helped the team tremendously by hanging tough in their matches and never giving in. For Hunter to win that second set after losing the first set 6-0 gave the rest of the remaining players a huge boost. I’m really proud of the fight, composure and belief our entire team showed today.”
No. 24 Virginia 5, No. 23 Michigan 2
March 13, 2019 at Ann Arbor, Michigan
Singles
1. No. 4 Kate Fahey (UM) def. No. 33 Meghan Kelley – 6-3, 6-4
2. Vivian Glozman (UVA) def. No. 89 Giulia Pairone (UM) 4-6, 7-6 (5), 1-0 (5)
3. Amber O’Dell (UVA) def. No. 29 Brienne Minor (UM) 7-5, 7-6 (3)
4. Chloe Gullickson (UVA) def. No. 21 Chiara Lommer (UM) 6-2, 6-3
5. Sofia Munera (UVA) def. Alyvia Jones (UM) 6-2, 6-4
6. Anca Craciun (UM) def. Hunter Bleser 6-0, 5-7, 6-3
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 4, 3, 6, 2
Doubles
1. Kate Fahey/Giulia Pairone (UM) def. No. 58 Chloe Gullickson/Amber O’Dell – 6-3
2. Vivian Glozman/Sofia Munera (UVA) def. Chiara Lommer/Bella Lorenzini (UM) – 6-4
3. No. 56 Hunter Bleser/Meghan Kelley (UVA) def. Brienne Minor/Alyvia Jones (UM) – 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
The latest ITA and USTA rankings are out with very little movement up top. The only change in the ITA top 5 was Vanderbilt and Stanford swapping spots at 4 and 5. Other notable movements in the ITA Women’s Top 25 were Texas climbing from 16 to 8 after a win over Florida State and Tennessee shooting up from 33 to 16 after wins over Texas A&M and LSU. Tennessee was the new women’s entrant to the USTA Top 25 with the Vols coming in at 25.
The same teams stayed in the ITA Men’s Top 10 with some minor shuffling of spots. Texas A&M made the biggest jump in the top 25 by moving up 9 spots from 28 to 19. The Aggies wins over Georgia and Tennessee accounted for the movement while the win over #1 Ohio State will be reflected in next week’s rankings since it was played on Monday.
I have the side-by-side charts of the ITA and USTA rankings below plus you can view the ITA team rankings from 26 to 50 at this link while the USTA’s release is available here.
**If there are two rankings listed the first ranking is the ITA ranking and the second is the USTA rankings
Michigan women always look so good on paper. Hey Bobby why do you think they struggle?
and What happened to the Florida Gators women's team?
SEC Teams got two big gifts when Ohio State plays to them without their number one guy and loses, then Wake Forest does the same thing against Florida?
Do colleges give free passes to their players to go off and play pro events during the season? not cool
I mean if coaches are being fired for using influence in admissions, maybe something is going on here too?
Michigan is always at/near the top of the Big Ten though the Big Ten is usually pretty top heavy with not much competition so by the time the NCAAs come around they're not as battle tested against top level teams plus they're playing outdoors against teams that play outdoors most of the year. The match against Virginia was a toss-up though I would have thought Michigan would have won with it being at home.
I think the reason Florida is down is because they only had one new player come in from 2015 to 2017 and that one player, Ingrid Neel, left after a year. So after the group of seniors graduated the year before last that left them with a huge hole in their roster. That big graduating class had girls that were the elite of the elite and the ones that have come in over the last two years have been good but not quite at the same level as the previous group. Of the 8 players on the roster only 3 were there last year and of those 3 only Kessler was a strong contributor. It'll be interesting to see who they can bring in over the next few years to try to get back up to the top.
In this day and age if a coach wants to get the best of the best they have to be flexible on letting those players play pro events even if it comes during the dual-match season. I don't particularly like it or agree with it but it's the way things are. If Tony Bresky didn't let Gojo play those pro events chances are he either doesn't come to Wake at all or he leaves after last year.
These guys that have the ranking to get into Challengers have to take every opportunity they can get because the points won at Futures events last year won't carry over this year. If they don't play any Challengers during the dual season then by the time the season is over their ranking might not be high enough to get them in any at all.