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Men’s Super Regional Previews

by | May 6, 2019 | Blog | 1 comment

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A new era begins this weekend with the introduction of the Super Regionals which will take place on campus sites across the country. Up until this point all Round of 16 matches have taken place at the finals site but a change was announced back in January 2017 with “part of the rationale for the change being to provide teams with another opportunity to generate local support and highlight their programs in a championship-caliber competition.” The other main reason was to reduce the congested schedule, which always is made worse by rain, plus the new format allows for the semifinals and finals to be played on Saturday/Sunday as opposed to Monday/Tuesday.

Three of the eight Super Regionals will match teams that have already played this season with Florida and Tennessee set to meet for a third time while Virginia/Stanford and Mississippi State/TCU will meet for a second time.  

There will be no first-time meetings however Columbia, Stanford and North Carolina will try to defeat Ohio State, Virginia and USC for the first-time in program history. 

The biggest underdog in terms of UTR Power 6s are California (-3.1) and Tennessee (-2.56) while the teams with the lowest expected winning percentage according to Slam.Tennis are Cal and Oklahoma which are both projected to have just a 6% chance of winning.

The three matches expected to the closest according to UTR-P6 and Slam EWP are Mississippi State/TCU, USC/UNC, and Baylor/UCLA which makes sense due to the closeness of seeding.  

Every team that goes on the road will be making the trip by plane with the shortest travel distance 530 miles while the longest is 2800 miles. Down below I have the distances which show Stanford, UNC, Cal, and UCLA will be traveling over 1000 miles with Stanford just short of 3000 miles.

The coldest host site will be Columbus (OH) with temps expected to be in the low 60s while the hottest will be in Gainesville (FL) with match-time temps expected to be right at 90 degrees. As of today there is a greater than 50% chance of rain on matchday at Texas, Mississippi State, and Baylor with Mississippi State the only site that doesn’t have an indoor option in town (Tuscaloosa 85 miles away the closest). 

Travel Distance:
Stanford to Virginia – 2800 miles
North Carolina to USC – 2500 miles
Cal to Texas – 1750 miles
UCLA to Baylor – 1400 miles
Oklahoma to Wake Forest – 1100 miles
TCU to Mississippi State – 550 miles
Tennessee to Florida – 530 miles
Columbia to Ohio State – 530 miles

 

Weather Forecast:
Stanford at Virginia – 70 degrees – 15% chance of rain
North Carolina at USC – 70 degrees
Cal at Texas – 75 degrees – 90% chance of rain
UCLA at Baylor – 70 degrees – 60% chance of rain
Oklahoma at Wake Forest – 80 degrees – 10 % chance of rain
TCU at Mississippi State – 73 degrees – 80% chance of rain
Tennessee at Florida – 91 degrees

Columbia at Ohio State – 64 degrees
 
UTR-Power 6 Variance:
Cal at Texas: UT +3.10
Tennessee at Florida: UF +2.56
Oklahoma at Wake Forest: WF +1.81
Columbia at Ohio State: OSU +1.30
Stanford at Virginia: UVA +0.96
TCU at Mississippi State: TCU +0.60
North Carolina at USC: UNC +0.32
UCLA at Baylor: BU +0.53
 
Slam.Tennis Expected Winning Percentage (EWP):
Cal at Texas: UT 94%
Oklahoma at Wake Forest: WF 94%
Columbia at Ohio State: OSU 88%
Tennessee at Florida: UF 87%
Stanford at Virginia: UVA 80%
UCLA at Baylor: BU 71%
North Carolina at USC: USC 56%
TCU at Mississippi State: MSU 55%
   

 

#16 Columbia at #1 Ohio State (Saturday)

Road to the Super Regionals
#1 Ohio State def. #86 Cleveland State 4-0; def. #35 Vanderbilt 4-0 
#16 Columbia def. #125 Bryant 4-0; def. #34 Penn State 4-0
 
All-Time Series: Ohio State 1-0
 
Most Recent Meeting: 2007 – Ohio State 4-0 (NCAA First Round)
 
Home/Road Records:
Ohio State 18-0 at home
Columbia 4-2 on road
 
Notes:

Jackie Tang is listed at No. 3 singles on Columbia’s submitted lineup however he last played on March 3rd – in the first two rounds Adam Ambrozy, Rian Pandole, and Tim Wang moved up a spot with Austen Huang playing at No. 6. 
Columbia has never advanced past the NCAA Round of 16 losing to the eventual national champ in each of its past three appearances – lost to USC 5-0 in 2014, lost to Virginia 4-0 in 2015, and lost to Wake Forest 4-1 in 2018. Also lost to the eventual national champ Virginia 4-0 in the 2017 NCAA Second Round. 
Ohio State has only dropped the doubles point twice this year going 1-1 in those two matches – lost to Texas 4-1; def. Michigan 4-2
Ohio State’s John McNally and Hunter Tubert are a perfect 20-0 in dual-match doubles play
Ohio State’s JJ Wolf has only dropped five sets in dual-match play while going 25-1 at the top spot
Ohio State’s John McNally has won 13 of his last 14 completed matches
Ohio State’s Kyle Seelig has won his last 12 completed matches (last loss on March 14 vs. Texas’s Yuya Ito)
Ohio Sate’s Martin Joyce has won 7 straight matches (6 in straight sets)
Ohio State’s Alex Kobelt has won his last 9 completed matches and is 20-1 on the season
Columbia’s Victor Pham has won his last 8 completed matches
Columbia’s Jack Lin and Adam Ambrozy have won their last 5 completed matches
Columbia’s Tim Wang has won 9 of his last 10 matches (8 in straight sets)
Columbia’s Austen Huang has won 7 of his last 8 completed matches
 
If table below is blocked by the page border click here to view separately  
 
ITA Seed School W/L Dubs W/L UTR P6
Saturday, 1 p.m. ET @ Ohio State
1 1 Ohio State 31-2 31-2 82.24
16 16 Columbia 19-3 16-6 80.94
Projected Doubles Lineup
Pos
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM  
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM
W L W L
1 23 Martin Joyce
JJ Wolf		 Ohio State 15 4
vs.
 30 Jack Lin
Will Matheson		 Columbia 6 5
2 51 Alex Kobelt
Kyle Seelig		 Ohio State 15 1   Vic Pham
Rian Pandole		 Columbia 18 2
3   John McNally
Hunter Tubert		 Ohio State 20 0   Jason Lui
Adam Ambrozy		 Columbia 3 2
Projected Singles Lineup
1 2 JJ Wolf Ohio State 14.75 25 1   37 Victor Pham Columbia 14.12 16 3
2 26 John McNally Ohio State 13.64 19 3 22 Jack Lin Columbia 13.77 11 6
3 60 Kyle Seelig Ohio State 13.57 17 5 107 Adam Ambrozy Columbia 13.20 8 4
4 111 Martin Joyce Ohio State 13.43 21 6 117 Rian Pandole Columbia 13.24 7 1
5   Alex Kobelt Ohio State 13.53 20 1   Tim Wang Columbia 13.32 15 4
6   Hunter Tubert Ohio State 13.32 17 5   Austen Huang Columbia 13.29 15 2
Bench Players
7   Tim Seibert Ohio State   1 1     Alex Keyser Columbia 12.99 4 0
8   James Trotter Ohio State   5 1 125 Jackie Tang (list at 3) Columbia 13.29 5 1

 

Prediction & Thoughts: Ohio State 4-1 – Columbia has the talent to hang with Ohio State but it’ll be tough to overcome an expected 2-0 deficit from dropping the doubles point and No. 1 singles. 

 

#9 North Carolina at #8 USC (Saturday)

Road to the Super Regionals
#8 USC def. #84 Northern Arizona 4-0; def. #31 San Diego 4-0
#9 North Carolina def. #121 Navy 4-0; def. #18 Georgia 4-0
 
All-Time Series: USC 6-0
 
Most Recent Meeting: 2018 – USC 4-2 (NCAA Round of 16)
 
Home/Road Records:
USC 11-2 at home
UNC 4-4 on road
 
Notes:
USC has won 9 straight matches matches
Logan Smith is listed at No. 4 singles in USC’s submitted lineup however he hasn’t played the last four matches
USC’s Brandon Holt has won 10 straight matches with his last loss coming back on March 9th. 
USC’s Laurens Verboven is 7-1 in his last 8 completed matches
USC’s Daniel Cukierman has won 5 straight matches  

USC’s Riley Smith has only finished 2 of his last 8 matches (5 of the unfinished matches were in a third set)
USC’s Jake Sands has won 6 straight matches – all in straight sets
UNC’s Ben Sigouin has won 5 of his last 6 completed matches (was leading in his last three unfinished matches)
UNC’s Josh Peck has won 7 of his last 9 completed matches 
UNC’s Brian Cernoch has won 6 of his last 7 completed matches
UNC’s Bo Boyden has won 8 straight matches 
 
ITA Seed School W/L Dubs W/L UTR P6
Saturday, 5 p.m. ET @ USC
8 8 USC 22-7 21-8 82.16
10 9 North Carolina 20-6 20-5 82.48
Projected Doubles Lineup
Pos
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM  
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM
W L W L
1 10 Brandon Holt
Riley Smith		 USC 12 4
vs.
 13 William Blumberg
Bo Boyden		 North Carolina 17 3
2   Jack Jaede
Laurens Verboven		 USC 11 6 90 Brian Cernoch
Benjamin Sigouin		 North Carolina 8 6
3   Daniel Cukierman
Tanner Smith		 USC 11 4   Mac Kiger
Simon Soendergaard		 North Carolina 17 2
Projected Singles Lineup
1 6 Brandon Holt USC 14.42 16 3
vs.
 19 WIlliam Blumberg UNC 14.39 7 5
2 24 Daniel Cukierman USC 13.98 17 5 39 Benjamin Sigouin UNC 14.15 13 5
3 40 Laurens Verboven USC 13.72 9 4 110 Josh Peck UNC 13.46 13 7
4   Riley Smith USC 13.31 9 8 116 Brian Cernoch UNC 13.58 14 6
5   Jake Sands USC 13.36 14 5   Bo Boyden UNC 13.47 20 3
6   Mor Bulis USC 13.37 8 6   Simon Soendergaard UNC 13.43 8 3
Bench Players
7 57 Tanner Smith USC 13.34 6 1     Mac Kiger UNC 13.14 9 4
8   84 Logan Smith (list at 4) USC 13.37 3 3   Ladd Harrison UNC 11.69 1 1

 

Prediction & Thoughts: USC 4-3 – home court advantage will be big for the Trojans with so many of these matches expected to be decided by a few deuce points here and there. If this match were on a neutral court I probably go the other way and take UNC. I wouldn’t be too surprised if Mac Kiger plays at No. 6 singles after the beating Soendergaard took against Georgia freshman Blake Croyder. 

 

Oklahoma at #4 Wake Forest (Friday)

Road to the Super Regionals
#3 Wake Forest def. #132 Morgan State 5-0; def. #36 Kentucky 4-1
#21 Oklahoma def. Arizona 4-0; def. #13 Texas A&M 4-3
 
All-Time Series: Oklahoma 5-3
 
Most Recent Meeting: 2017 – Wake Forest 7-0
 
Home/Road Records:
Wake Forest 18-0 at home
Oklahoma 2-5 on road
 
Notes:
Wake Forest has won 16 straight matches
Wake’s Borna Gojo has won his last 10 completed matches (last loss Feb 17 to Ohio State’s JJ Wolf)
Wake’s Petros Chrysochos has won his last 9 completed matches
Wake’s Bar Botzer has won his last 9 completed matches
Wake’s Melios Efstathiou has won 12 of his last 13 completed matches
OU’s Spencer Papa has lost his last 4 completed matches
OU’s Alex Bakshi has won 4 of his last 5 completed matches
OU’s Jochen Bertsch is listed at #7 singles but he started OU’s last two matches winning both in straight sets
 
ITA Seed School W/L Dubs W/L UTR P6
Friday, 4 p.m. ET @ Wake
3 4 Wake Forest 31-3 24-10 82.16
21   Oklahoma 16-10 14-12 80.35
Projected Doubles Lineup
Pos
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM  
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM
W L W L
1 63 Borna Gojo
Alan Gadjiev		 Wake Forest 10 8
vs.
 25 Alex Bakshi
Stefano Tsorotiotis		 Oklahoma 7 3
2 55 Petros Chrysochos
Bar Botzer		 Wake Forest 16 5   Jake Van Emburgh
Ferran Calvo		 Oklahoma 5 2
3   Melios Efstathiou
Sid Banthia		 Wake Forest 12 8   Spencer Papa
Max Stewart		 Oklahoma 3 2
Projected Singles Lineup
1 11 Borna Gojo Wake Forest 14.45 11 3
vs.
 32 Spencer Papa Oklahoma 13.70 8 8
2 8 Petros Chrysochos Wake Forest 14.47 21 2 41 Alex Bakshi Oklahoma 13.58 11 6
3 50 Bar Botzer Wake Forest 13.72 23 2 77 Jake Van Emburgh Oklahoma 13.58 13 7
4   Rrezart Cungu Wake Forest 13.00 16 8   Ferran Calvo Oklahoma 13.34 12 6
5   Melios Efstathiou Wake Forest 13.40 20 7   Mason Beiler Oklahoma 13.39 15 5
6   Sid Banthia Wake Forest 13.12 20 7   Jochen Bertsch Oklahoma 12.76 10 6
Bench Players
7   Yuval Solomon Wake Forest 12.79 7 5     Stefano Tsorotiotis Oklahoma 12.90 8 3
8   Julian Zlobinsky Wake Forest 12.93 12 3   Max Stewart Oklahoma 12.89 7 3

 

 
Prediction & Thoughts: Wake Forest 4-0 – OU has to get the doubles point to have a reasonable shot because they’ll be big underdogs at 1, 2, and 3 singles
 
 

#12 Stanford at #5 Virginia (Saturday)

Road to the Super Regionals:
#5 Virginia def. #107 St. John’s 4-0; def. #17 South Carolina 4-1
#12 Stanford def. #70 Fresno State 4-0; def. #51 UCSB 4-0
 
All-Time Series: Virginia 5-0
 
Most Recent Meeting: 2019 – Virginia 4-2 (National Team Indoors Round of 16)
 
Home/Road Records:
Virginia 10-0 at home
Stanford 4-2 on road
 
Notes:
Virginia has won 11 of its last 12 matches
Virginia’s Carl Soderlund has won 9 of his last 10 completed matches
Virginia’s Brandon Nakashima has won 8 of his last 9 completed matches
Virginia’s Gianni Ross has won 6 of his last 7 completed matches
Virginia’s Ryan Goetz has lost 4 of his last 6 matches since returning from a two-month absence due to injury
Virginia’s Aswin Lizen has won 5 of his last 6 completed matches
Stanford’s William Genesen has won his last 4 completed matches
Stanford’s Sameer Kumar and Timothy Sah has split their last four singles matches
Stanford’s Alexandre Rotsaert did not play in the last two matches (status for this one is unknown)
 
ITA Seed School W/L Dubs W/L UTR P6
Saturday, 1 p.m. ET @ UVA
5 5 Virginia 23-4 17-10 81.37
12 12 Stanford 19-6 16-9 80.41
Projected Doubles Lineup
Pos
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM  
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM
W L W L
1 33 Henrik Wiersholm
Brandon Nakashima		 Virginia 17 3
vs.
 21 Axel Geller
Alexandre Rotsaert		 Stanford 10 5
2   Carl Soderlund
Aswin Lizen		 Virginia 1 0   Sameer Kumar
Timothy Sah		 Stanford 13 8
3   Gianni Ross
William Woodall		 Virginia 2 0   Jack Barber
Sangeet Sridhar		 Stanford 2 0
Projected Singles Lineup
1 3 Carl Soderlund Virginia 14.46 19 4
vs.
 13 Axel Geller Stanford 14.08 10 6
2 82 Brandon Nakashima Virginia 13.96 16 5 63 Alexandre Rotsaert Stanford 13.65 12 7
3 114 Henrik Wiersholm Virginia 13.55 15 4 91 William Genesen Stanford 13.51 11 3
4   Gianni Ross Virginia 13.19 14 6   Sameer Kumar Stanford 13.27 12 4
5   Ryan Goetz Virginia 13.26 8 7   Timothy Sah Stanford 13.16 13 7
6   Aswin Lizen Virginia 12.95 13 7   Sangeet Sridhar Stanford 12.74 9 3
Bench Players
7   Matt Lord Virginia 12.28 3 5     Michael Genender Stanford 13.11 7 4
8   William Woodall Virginia 12.20 2 2   Jack Barber Stanford 12.74 3 1
 
Regular Season Meeting:
 
#13 Virginia 4, #10 Stanford 2
Feb 15, 2019 at Chicago, Ill. (Midtown Athletic Club)
Doubles Competition
1) Axel Geller/Alexandre Rotsaert (STAN) d. Carl Soderlund/William Woodall (UVA) 6-1
2) Sameer Kumar/Timothy Sah (STAN) d. Henrik Wiersholm/Brandon Nakashima 6-4
3) Jack Barber/William Genesen (STAN) led Gianni Ross/Ryan Goetz (UVA) 5-4, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1,2
Singles Competition
1) No. 119 Carl Soderlund (UVA) d. No. 10 Axel Geller (STAN) 6-4, 7-5
2) No. 61 Alexandre Rotsaert (STAN) vs. Henrik Wiersholm (UVA) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
3) Brandon Nakashima (UVA) d. No. 33 William Genesen (STAN) 6-1, 6-2
4) No. 43 Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. No. 68 Gianni Ross (UVA) 6-2, 6-4
5) No. 72 Ryan Goetz (UVA) d. Michael Genender (STAN) 6-4, 6-0
6) Aswin Lizen (UVA) d. Sangeet Sridhar (STAN) 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3,6,5,4,1
 
Prediction & Thoughts: Virginia 4-1 – Stanford just hasn’t been consistent enough down the stretch with too many close matches against teams that shouldn’t have been able to keep it that close. 
 
 

#14 Tennessee at #3 Florida (Saturday)

Road to the Super Regionals
#3 Florida def. #95 Florida Gulf Coast 4-0; def. #28 Florida State 4-0
#14 Tennessee def. #103 Radford 4-0; def. #19 NC State 4-2
 
All-Time Series: Florida 35-26 (via UT)/Florida 43-29 (via UF)
 
Most Recent Meeting: 2019 – Tennessee 4-3 (SEC Tournament Semifinals)
 
Home/Road Records:
Florida 13-1 at home (1 loss to TN)
Tennessee 7-2 on road
 
Notes:
Florida’s Oliver Crawford has won 8 of his last 9 completed matches
Florida’s Sam Riffice has won 13 of his last 15 matches (though lost 2 of last 3)
Florida’s Johannes Ingildsen has won 9 of his last 11 completed matches (though split his last 4)
Florida’ Alfredo Perez has won his last 8 completed matches
Florida’s Andy Andrade has won 5 of his last 6 completed matches
Florida’s Duarte Vale has won his last 12 completed matches
Florida’s McClain Kessler has won his last 7 matches
Tennessee’s Timo Stodder has won 10 of his last 12 matches (though split his last 4)
Tennessee’s Adam Walton has won 10 of his last 11 completed matches
Tennessee’s Scott Jones has won 9 of his last 11 completed matches (though lost last 2)
Tennessee’s Luca Wiedenmann has won 7 of his last 8 completed matches (though lost last match)
 
ITA Seed School W/L Dubs W/L UTR P6
Saturday, 12 p.m. ET @ Florida
4 3 Florida 23-3 18-8 82.91
14 14 Tennessee 22-7 16-12 80.35
Projected Doubles Lineup
Pos
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM  
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM
W L W L
1   Johannes Ingildsen
McClain Kessler		 Florida 4 3
vs.
 6 Preston Touliatos
Timo Stodder		 Tennessee 15 4
2   Alfredo Perez
Sam Riffice		 Florida 2 0   Patrick Harper
Scott Jones		 Tennessee 2 3
3   Andy Andrade
Duarte Vale		 Florida 3 0   Adam Walton
Andrew Rogers		 Tennessee 2 0
Projected Singles Lineup
1 9 Oliver Crawford Florida 14.28 15 8
vs.
 23 Timo Stodder Tenn 14.08 16 8
2 54 Sam Riffice Florida 14.08 18 5 51 Adam Walton Tenn 13.97 19 3
3 113 Johannes Ingildsen Florida 13.63 18 5   Scott Jones Tenn 13.61 18 8
4   Alfredo Perez Florida 13.73 8 1   Luca Wiedenmann Tenn 13.32 15 5
5 59 Andy Andrade Florida 13.65 16 7   Preston Touliatos Tenn 13.05 12 10
6 90 Duarte Vale Florida 13.54 14 1   Andrew Rogers Tenn 12.32 6 1
Bench Players
7   Lukas Greif Florida 13.49 11 1     Martim Prata Tenn 12.69 8 8
8   McClain Kessler Florida 13.42 8 1   Patrick Harper Tenn 12.75 4 3

 

Regular Season Meetings:

 

#8 Florida 5, #22 Tennessee 2
Mar 17, 2019 at Knoxville, TN
Singles competition
1. #24 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #59 Timo Stodder (UT) 6-2, 7-5
2. #93 Adam Walton (UT) def. #54 Andres Andrade (UF) 7-6 (7-4), 6-0
3. #48 Sam Riffice (UF) def. Scott Jones (UT) 6-3, 6-4
4. #79 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Preston Touliatos (UT) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
6. Duarte Vale (UF) def. Martim Prata (UT) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #36 Timo Stodder/Preston Touliatos (UT) def. #73 Duarte Vale/McClain Kessler (UF) 6-3
2. Martim Prata/Adam Walton (UT) vs. Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) 5-4, unfinished
3. Scott Jones/Pat Harper (UT) def. Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (UF) 6-4
Match Notes:
Florida 12-2; National ranking #8
Tennessee 11-5; National ranking #22
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (6,3,2,1,5,4)

 

#13 Tennessee 4, #3 Florida 3
4/20/2019 at Gainesville, Fla. (Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. #11 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #28 Timo Stodder (UT) 6-4, 6-2
2. #71 Adam Walton (UT) def. #52 Sam Riffice (UF) 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
3. Scott Jones (UT) def. #91 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 6-4, 6-2
4. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) def. #50 Andres Andrade (UF) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
5. Alfredo Perez (UF) def. Martim Prata (UT) 6-2, 6-2
6. #94 Duarte Vale (UF) def. Preston Touliatos (UT) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #10 Timo Stodder/Preston Touliatos (UT) def. Oliver Crawford/Alfredo Perez (UF) 6-1
2. Pat Harper/Andrew Rogers (UT) def. McClain Kessler/Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 6-3
3. Duarte Vale/Andres Andrade (UF) vs. Scott Jones/Adam Walton (UT) 5-2, unfinished
Match Notes:
Tennessee 20-7; National ranking #13
Florida 21-3; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,6,1,3,4,2)

 
Prediction & Thoughts: Florida 4-2 – Tennessee’s upset over Florida in the SEC Semifinals was a big surprise but I don’t think the Gators will get caught again. Having Alfredo Perez at 4 and Andy Andrade at 5 will give Florida a much better chance to sweep those spots as opposed to if they were reversed. 
 
 

#11 UCLA at #6 Baylor (Friday)

Road to the Super Regionals
#6 Baylor def. #42 Utah 4-0; def. #20 Michigan 4-1
#11 UCLA def. #106 Grand Canyon 4-0; def. #25 Oklahoma State 4-0
 
All-Time Series: Baylor 9-6
 
Most Recent Meeting: 2017 – UCLA 4-0
 
Home/Road Records:
Baylor 15-0 at home
UCLA 3-1 on road
 
Notes:
Baylor’s Johannes Schretter has won 5 of his last 6 completed matches
BU’s Matias Soto has won his last 4 completed matches (only lost once this year at No. 2 singles)
BU’s Adrian Boitan has won 7 of his last 8 matches (6 in straight sets)
BU’s Will Little has won 6 of his last 7 completed matches
BU’s Sven Lah has won 5 straight and 13 of his last 15 completed matches 
BU’s Jimmy Bendeck has won 7 of his last 8 completed matches
UCLA has 15 of its last 16 matches (only loss was to Cal in Pac-12 Tournament)
UCLA’s Maxime Cressy has won his last 6 completed matches (all in straight sets)
UCLA’s Keegan Smith has won his last 12 completed matches (11 in straight sets)
UCLA’s Govind Nanda has won 6 of his last 7 completed matches
UCLA’s Ben Goldberg has lost 4 of his last 6 completed matches
UCLA went 47-12 in dual-match play at 1, 2, and 3 singles but just 23-24 at 4, 5, and 6 singles 
 
ITA Seed School W/L Dubs W/L UTR P6
Friday, 7 p.m. ET @ Baylor
6 6 Baylor 24-5 21-8 81.40
11 11 UCLA 19-5 17-7 80.87
Projected Doubles Lineup
Pos
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM  
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM
W L W L
1 1 Jimmy Bendeck
Sven Lah		 Baylor 15 4
vs.
 2 Maxime Cressy
Keegan Smith		 UCLA 16 0
2   Matias Soto
Will Little		 Baylor 7 3   Govind Nanda
Connor Rapp		 UCLA 6 6
3   Johannes Schretter
Constantin Frantzen		 Baylor 9 2   Bryce Pereira
Patrick Zahraj		 UCLA 12 8
Projected Singles Lineup
1 20 Johannes Schretter Baylor 13.73 11 7
vs.
 18 Maxime Cressy UCLA 14.54 14 3
2 25 Matias Soto Baylor 13.85 18 4 36 Keegan Smith UCLA 13.97 15 2
3 112 Adrian Boitan Baylor 13.81 15 4 68 Govind Nanda UCLA 13.77 17 4
4 78 Will Little Baylor 13.47 15 3   Patrick Zahraj UCLA 13.15 6 6
5 76 Sven Lah Baylor 13.48 21 3   Ben Goldberg UCLA 12.78 9 9
6   Jimmy Bendeck Baylor 13.06 13 4   Eric Hahn UCLA 12.66 4 3
Bench Players
7   Kyrylo Tsygura Baylor 13.42 5 1     Mathew Tsolakyan UCLA 12.78 4 8
8   Constantin Frantzen Baylor 12.82 7 1   Roscoe Bellamy UCLA 12.20 0 0
 
Prediction & Thoughts: Baylor 4-3 – UCLA’s strength is the top of its lineup and to win this match they probably need to sweep those spots plus either win doubles or pick up a win in the bottom three. I think Baylor gets at least one of the top three and probably at least two if not all three of the bottom three. 
 
 

#24 California at #2 Texas (Saturday)

Road to the Super Regionals
#2 Texas def. #148 Tennessee Tech 4-0; def. #37 South Florida 4-1
#24 California def. #64 Drake 4-1; def. #15 Illinois 4-1
 
All-Time Series: Texas 11-5 
 
Most Recent Meeting: 2018 – Texas 4-0 (NCAA Second Round)
 
Home/Road Records:
Texas 15-1 at home
California 4-3 on road
 
Notes:
Texas’s Christian Sigsgaard has won 6 of his last 7 completed matches
Texas’s Yuya Ito has split his last 4 matches after winning 22 of the prior 23
Texas’s Leo Telles has lost his last 3 completed matches 
Texas’s Harrison Scott has won his last 5 completed matches and 7 of his last 8
Texas’s Colin Markes has won 7 of his last 8 matches
Texas’s Rodrigo Banzer has won 6 of his last 7 completed matches
Cal’s Bjorn Hoffmann has won his last 10 completed matches
Cal’s Jack Molloy has won 3 of his last 4 completed matches
Cal’s Ben Draper has lost 2 of his last 3 completed matches after winning the previous 13
Cal’s Paul Barretto has lost 4 of his last 5 completed matches
 
ITA Seed School W/L Dubs W/L UTR P6
Saturday, 2 p.m. ET @ Texas
2 2 Texas 25-3 19-7 82.38
24   California 16-12 20-8 79.28
Projected Doubles Lineup
Pos
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM  
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM
W L W L
1 5 Harrison Scott
Christian Sigsgaard		 Texas 12 6
vs.
 28 Yuta Kikuchi
Jacob Brumm		 Cal 8 11
2   Colin Markes
Leonardo Telles		 Texas 13 9   Paul Barretto
Can Kaya		 Cal 16 5
3   Chih Chi Huang
Yuya Ito		 Texas 14 5   Jack Molloy
Ben Draper		 Cal 5 1
Projected Singles Lineup
1 7 Christian Sigsgaard Texas 14.11 15 7
vs.
   Yuta Kikuchi Cal 13.47 9 9
2 12 Yuya Ito Texas 14.30 24 3   Jack Molloy Cal 13.42 10 10
3 80 Leonardo Telles Texas 13.42 13 5   Paul Barretto Cal 13.36 8 11
4 55 Harrison Scott Texas 13.61 17 5   Ben Draper Cal 12.88 15 5
5   Colin Markes Texas 13.63 18 3   Jacob Brumm Cal 13.00 4 8
6   Rodrigo Banzer Texas 13.31 11 3   Bjorn Hoffmann Cal 13.15 20 5
Bench Players
7   Chih Chi Huang Texas 13.18 11 5     Mert Zincirli Cal 11.92 1 4
8   Johnny Goodwin Texas 12.32 1 1   Dominic Barretto Cal 12.63 4 2
 
Prediction & Thoughts: Texas 4-0 – Horns are just too good top to bottom to get picked off in this one. Cal’s Yuta Kikuchi retired in his last match against Illinois (one game from defeat) so you wonder if he’ll be 100%.
 
 
 

#10 TCU at #7 Mississippi State (Saturday)

Road to the Super Regionals
#7 Mississippi State def. #140 Alabama State 4-0; def #62 South Alabama 4-0
#10 TCU def. #41 Harvard 4-1; def. #27 Arizona State 4-1
 
All-Time Series: Tied 3-3
 
Most Recent Meeting: 2019 – TCU 4-1 (National Team Indoors Round of 16)
 
Home/Road Records:
Mississippi State 12-0 at home
TCU 5-2 on road
 
Notes:
Mississippi State has won 13 straight matches (last loss March 10 to Florida)
MSU’s Nuno Borges is a perfect 24-0 at No. 1 singles (only dropped 6 sets in dual-match play)
MSU’s Gio Oradini has split his last 6 matches
MSU’s Strahinja Rakic has won his last 3 completed matches and 6 of his last 7

MSU’s Niclas Braun has won his last 5 completed matches
MSU’s Trevor Foshey has won his last 9 completed matches (6 in straight sets)
MSU’s Florian Broska has won 4 of his last 5 completed matches
TCU’s Alex Rybakov has won 13 of his last 15 completed matches
TCU’s Alastair Gray has split his last 4 completed matches
TCU’s Reese Stalder has lost 6 of his last 8 completed matches
TCU’s Bertus Kruger has lost 6 of his last 8 completed matches
TCU’s Luc Fomba has won 4 of his last 5 completed matches
TCU’s Sander Jong has won his last 5 completed matches
 
ITA Seed School W/L Dubs W/L UTR P6
Saturday, 2 p.m. ET @ Mississippi State
7 7 Mississippi State 24-3 23-4 80.76
9 10 TCU 21-6 18-9 81.36
Projected Doubles Lineup
Pos
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM  
ITA Rank
Player
Team
UTR
 DM
W L W L
1 3 Nuno Borges
Strahinja Rakic		 Mississippi State 16 6
vs.
 15 Alex Rybakov
Alastair Gray		 TCU 14 6
2 32 Niclas Braun
Giovanni Oradini		 Mississippi State 16 2 22 Bertus Kruger
Reese Stalder		 TCU 16 8
3   Trevor Foshey
Gregor Ramskogler		 Mississippi State 15 6   Luc Fomba
Sander Jong		 TCU 8 10
Projected Singles Lineup
1 1 Nuno Borges Miss State 14.47 24 0
vs.
 4 Alex Rybakov TCU 14.41 16 3
2 61 Giovanni Oradini Miss State 13.66 13 8 28 Alastair Gray TCU 13.90 15 4
3   Strahinja Rakic Miss State 13.31 10 11   Reese Stalder TCU 13.25 14 10
4   Niclas Braun Miss State 13.38 13 4   Bertus Kruger TCU 13.30 14 9
5   Trevor Foshey Miss State 13.20 15 5   Luc Fomba TCU 13.41 17 5
6   Florian Broska Miss State 12.74 11 10   Sander Jong TCU 13.09 12 7
Bench Players
7   Gregor Ramskogler Miss State 12.68 4 0     Eduardo Roldan TCU 12.62 2 1
8   Stedman Strickland Miss State 10.86 0 0   Juan Martin TCU 12.50 0 1

 

Regular Season Meeting

#15 TCU 4, #3 Mississippi State 1
Feb 15, 2019 at Chicago, Ill. (Midtown Athletic Club)
Singles Competition
1. #5 Nuno Borges (MS) vs. #8 Alex Rybakov (TCU) 6-7, 6-6, unfinished
2. #66 Giovanni Oradini (MS) vs. #75 Alastair Gray (TCU) 2-6, 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
3. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Strahinja Rakic (MS) 6-1, 6-4
4. #83 Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. #64 Niclas Braun (MS) 7-5, 6-3
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) def. #98 Trevor Foshey (MS) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Sander Jong (TCU) def. Florian Broska (MS) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. #34 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MS) def. Alex Rybakov/Alastair Gray (TCU) 7-6 (7-5)
2. #48 Reese Stalder/Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. #6 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MS) 6-3
3. Trevor Foshey/Gregor Ramskogler (MS) def. Luc Fomba/Sander Jong (TCU) 6-2
Match Notes:
TCU 5-2; National ranking #15
Mississippi State 6-1; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,6,4,5)

 
Prediction & Thoughts: Mississippi State 4-2 – TCU really blitzed Mississippi State in the meeting at the National Indoors but this one will be outdoors though rain may push the time up or back or even by a day. The match at No. 1 singles should be a gem with Borges only dropping six sets this year though one of those was to Rybakov. TCU has struggled recently in the middle of the lineup while MSU has excelled and that’s where the match will be won or lost.  

 

1 Comment

  1. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    The problem with the super regional is that the travel obligations are unequal. For instance, Stanford goes to Virginia this weekend and if they win they have to return to the bay area. Then a few days later they need to fly to Orlando. Florida on the other hand is within 100 miles from all their matches. All least with the 16 team format they was no need to traverse the country.