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D2 Men’s QF/SF Recap & Finals Preview

by | May 20, 2021 | Uncategorized | 2 comments

For the third consecutive season it’ll be a Columbus State/Barry final on the men’s side after both teams advanced with impressive victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Top ranked Columbus State, which won its first-ever title in 2018 (in Surprise, AZ) with a 5-4 win over Barry, extended its winning streak to 32 matches after shutout wins over #29 Cameron and #6 Hawaii Hilo.

In the quarterfinals against Cameron, the Cougars won the doubles point going away and then added quick straight set wins in singles from Tommaso Schold, Javier Cueto Ramos, and Justin Welz at 3, 4, and 6. CSU was also leading on each of the three other courts that went unfinished.

In the semifinals against Hawaii Hilo, CSU won the doubles point comfortably and then after winning four first sets in singles Alvaro Regalado, Javier Cueto Ramos, and Pietro Martinetti closed their matches in straight sets at 1, 4, and 6. There was one match that was still in the first set at the time of the clinch.

#1 Columbus State 4, #6 Hawaii Hilo 0
Surprise Tennis & Racquet Center, Surprise, Arizona

SINGLES COMPETITION

  1. #2 Alvaro Regalado (CSU) def. #22 Martin Soukal (UHH), 6-1, 6-3.
  2. #15 Christian Garay (CSU vs. Alessio Demichelis (UHH), 7-5, 1-2, UNF.
  3. Tommaso Schald (CSU) vs. Chun En Wu (UHH), 6-7 (3-7), 1-2, UNF.
  4. Javier Cueto Ramos (CSU) def. Luca Checchia (UHH), 6-1, 6-1.
  5. Justin Welz (CSU) vs. Santiago Di Loreto (UHH), 6-7 (3-7), UNF.
  6. Pietro Martinetti (CSU) def. Joshua Liu (UHH), 6-2, 6-1.
    Order of finish: 4-6-1

DOUBLES COMPETITION

  1. #1 Regaldo/Ramos (CSU) def. Soukal/Di Loreto (UHH), 6-1
  2. Steen/Garay (CSU) def. Checchia/Liu (UHH), 6-3
  3. Martinetti/Schold (CSU) vs. En Wu/Demichelis (UHH), 5-4, UNF.
    Order of finish: 1-2
    Time: Two hours
    RECORDS: #1 Columbus State 23-0, #6 UH Hilo 11-2

#1 Columbus State 4, #29 Cameron 0
Surprise Tennis & Racquet Center, Surprise, Arizona

SINGLES COMPETITION

  1. #2 Alvaro Regalado (CSU) vs. #47 Bruno Vietri (CU, 6-4, 5-3, unf.
  2. #15 Christian Garay (CSU vs. #43 Oscar del Granado (CU) 6-2, 5-4, unf.
  3. #32 Tommaso Schald (CSU) def. Maycon Dias (CU) 6-4, 6-3
  4. Javier Cueto Ramos (CSU) def. Alvaro Chavez (CU), 6-3, 6-3
  5. Felix Steen (CSU) vs. Joao Duleba (CU) 7-5, 4-5, unf.
  6. Justin Welz (CSU) def. Carlos Vidal (CU) 6-2, 6-1.
    Order of finish: 3-4-6

DOUBLES COMPETITION

  1. #1 Regaldo/Ramos (CSU) vs. #8 Bruno Vietri/Oscar del Granado 4-2, unf.
  2. Steen/Garay (CSU) def. Maycon Dias/Joao Duleba [CU], 6-3
  3. Martinetti/Schold (CSU) def. Alvaro Chavez/Carlos Vidal (CU) 6-1
    Order of finish: 3-2
    Time: Two hours
    RECORDS: #1 Columbus State 22-0, #29 Cameron (12-8)

Second ranked Barry made its way to Thursday final with a 4-1 win over #21 Northwest Missouri State and a 4-0 win over #11 Indianapolis. The Buccaneers dropped the doubles point against NWMSU but then bounced back in singles and took all six opening sets. Alessandro Giuliato, Alejandro Gallego, Ignasi Forcano, and Tim Buttner won in straight sets at 1, 3, 5, and 6.

In the semifinals against UIndy, the Bucs won a competitive doubles point with a 6-3 win on 1 and a 7-5 win on 3 while 2 was in a tiebreak. Barry won five of six opening sets in singles with Alejandro Palacios and Alejandro Gallego winning their sets at 2 and 3 in tiebreak. The ITA’s top-ranked singles player Alessandro Giuliato won in straight sets at 1 and he was joined in the winners circle by both Palacios and Gallego. The other three matches, which went unfinished, were all into a third set.

#2 Barry 4, #11 UIndy 0
05/19/2021 at Surprise, AZ (Surprise Tennis Center)
Singles competition

  1. #1 Alessandro Giuliato (BARRY-M) def. #26 Renato Lima (UINDY) 6-1, 6-4
  2. Alejandro Palacios (BARRY-M) def. #28 Tom Zeuch (UINDY) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
  3. Alejandro Gallego (BARRY-M) def. Yoann Viel (UINDY) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-1)
  4. Arnau Rodriguez (BARRY-M) vs. Nikolaj Talimaa (UINDY) 6-4, 4-6, unfinished
  5. Ignasi Forcano (BARRY-M) vs. Dominik Koenig (UINDY) 6-3, 7-5, 3-3, unfinished
  6. Martin Gutierrez (BARRY-M) vs. Jason Gerweck (UINDY) 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 2-1, unfinished

Doubles competition

  1. Ignasi Forcano/Martin Gutierrez (BARRY-M) def. Tom Zeuch/Yoann Viel (UINDY) 6-3
  2. Alessandro Giuliato/Tim Buttner (BARRY-M) vs. Max Withaus/Renato Lima (UINDY) 6-6, unfinished
  3. Alonso Garcia/Alejandro Gallego (BARRY-M) def. Pedro Franca/Nikolaj Talimaa (UINDY) 7-5

Match Notes
UIndy 19-3; National ranking #11
Barry 11-0; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (,1,2,3)

#2 Barry 4, #21 Northwest Missouri State 1
05/18/2021 at Surprise, AZ (Surprise Tennis Club)
Singles competition

  1. #1 Alessandro Giuliato (BARRY-M) def. #3 Andrea Zamurri (NWMS) 6-2, 6-1
  2. Alejandro Palacios (BARRY-M) vs. Fabien Calloud (NWMS) 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
  3. Alejandro Gallego (BARRY-M) def. Franco Oliva (NWMS) 6-1, 6-2
  4. Arnau Rodriguez (BARRY-M) vs. Fillipo Piranomote (NWMS) 6-0, 3-4, unfinished
  5. Ignasi Forcano (BARRY-M) def. Martin Sanchez (NWMS) 6-3, 6-2
  6. Tim Buttner (BARRY-M) def. Agustin Velasco (NWMS) 7-5, 6-0

Doubles competition

  1. #14 Andrea Zamurri/Franco Oliva (NWMS) def. Ignasi Forcano/Martin Gutierrez (BARRY-M) 6-2
  2. Alessandro Giuliato/Tim Buttner (BARRY-M) def. Martin Sanchez/Fillipo Piranomote (NWMS) 6-2
  3. Agustin Velasco/Fabien Calloud (NWMS) def. Alejandro Gallego/Alonso Garcia (BARRY-M) 7-5

Match Notes
Northwest Missouri State 16-5; National ranking #21
Barry 11-0; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (,3,6,1,5)

CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

[1] Columbus State vs. [2] Barry (5:00 pm ET)

Road to the Final:
#1 Columbus State def. #19 Wingate 4-0 in R1; def. #10 North Georgia 4-0 in R2; def. #29 Cameron 4-0 in QF; def. #6 Hawaii Hilo 4-0 in SF
#2 Barry def. #4 St. Leo in R1; def. #7 West Florida 4-1 in R2; def. #21 NW Missouri State 4-1 in QF; def. #11 Indianapolis 4-0 in SF

Match Notes

  • Barry is into the Final for the 5th time in the last 6 seasons – 12th overall (won 4; lost 7)
  • Columbus State is into the Final vs. Barry for the 3rd year in a row (won in 2018/lost in 2019)
  • Columbus State streaks
    • Team has won 32 matches in a row
    • Alvaro Regalado has won his last 13 completed matches – all in straight sets
    • Christian Garay has won his last 7 completed matches while 4 of his last 5 overall matches have gone unfinished (was leading in all four)
    • Tommaso Schold has won his last 9 completed matches – all in straight sets
    • Javier Cueto Ramos has won his last 18 completed matches – hasn’t dropped a set since 2/28 vs. UIndy
    • Felix Steen has won 3 straight – only loss came vs. Valdosta State on 3/31
    • Justin Welz is undefeated at 12-0 (was trailing in his last 2 matches that went unfinished)
    • Pietro Martinetti is undefeated at 13-0 – only dropped 2 sets
  • Barry streaks
    • Alessandro Giuliato had his 9-match winning streak snapped in R2 by UWF’s Serdar Bojadjiev – has 8 wins over ITA ranked top 30 opponents
    • Alejandro Palacios has won 6 straight
    • Arnau Rodriguez has won 5 of his last 6 completed matches (last 3 matches went unfinished)
    • Alejandro Ibanez Gallego has won 5 straight
    • Ignasi Forcano has won his last 4 completed matches
    • Tim Buettner – 6 of his 7 wins were in straight sets

Prediction: Columbus State has the edge in doubles with the Cougars a perfect 23-0 while Barry has dropped the point 4 times in 12 matches. Both teams have made some substitutions to the bottom half of their lineup in the last few rounds. Barry’s Hugo Cazaban is listed at No. 4 but he hasn’t played in the last two while CSU’s No. 5 Felix Steen didn’t play last round versus Hawaii Hilo. Both of the previous two finals between these two have been nailbiters with CSU winning 5-4 in the 2018 (each doubles court counted as a point) and Barry coming back from 0-3 down to win 4-3 in the 2019 final. I’m expecting another tight one this afternoon with that early doubles point possibly the difference – Columbus State 4-3

2 Comments

  1. Dennis Jezek
    Dennis Jezek on Fri May 21, 2021 at 4:14 pm

    Swing and a miss. Well, we can’t get them all right. Hope you do better with the women.

    • Bobby Knight
      Bobby Knight on Fri May 21, 2021 at 5:39 pm

      That doubles point turned out to be a really key point.