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Men’s Championship Preview – Virginia vs. North Carolina

by | May 23, 2017 | Blog

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The NCAA Championship will be decided between a pair of ACC schools, which will be meeting for the fourth time this season, so the question is can Virginia beat them again or will North Carolina cap off its magical run to the final? 

Virginia won each of the three meetings during the season with the Hoos blowing out the Heels at the National Team Indoors but the other two were both 4-3 finals that came down to a third set on a deciding court. Virginia has won 19 of the last 21 matches although both of those North Carolina wins came a year ago and most of the guys on that team are still on this year’s team. 

Since the match is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPNU at 1 p.m. eastern its almost a near certainty that it will be played indoors at Georgia’s four-court facility because the weather forecast is showing nothing but rain until later in the day. (UPDATE: NCAA has pushed back the starting time to not before 4 p.m. ET). Playing on just four-courts could definitely change the dynamics of the match because Virginia’s biggest strength is its depth with the JC Aragone and Henrik Wiersholm a combined 49-5 in dual-match play. Virginia won’t be able to get those guys on the court until after a match finishes up and if North Carolina can take the doubles point and a few matches up top they’ll be an enormous amount of pressure on both Aragone and Wiersholm to deliver a win. 

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My preview down below has all the statistics that you’ll need with individual singles and doubles dual-match 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. You’ll need to be a CTT subscriber ($9.99 month/no long term commitment required) to view the rest of the preview so if you haven’t subscribed yet why not now.

 

#2 Virginia [2] vs. #9 North Carolina [9] – Tuesday 1 p.m. ET – ESPNU

Overall Record: Virginia 33-1, North Carolina 29-4
Doubles Record: Virginia 29-5, North Carolina 27-6 
UTR Power 6: Virginia 88, North Carolina 85
 
 
Regular Season Result:
 
#3 Virginia 4, #12 North Carolina 3
Apr 29, 2017 at Rome Tennis Center at Berry College (Rome, GA)
Singles competition
1. #21 Ronnie Schneider (NC) def. #90 Alexander Ritschard (VA) 7-6 (11-9), 6-2
2. #28 William Blumberg (NC) def. #15 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) 7-5, 6-4
3. Simon Soendergaard (NC) def. #109 Carl Soderlund (VA) 7-6 (8-6), 7-5
4. #46 Collin Altamirano (VA) def. #106 Robert Kelly (NC) 7-6, 4-6, 6-4
5. #117 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Jack Murray (NC) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. #95 Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Blaine Boyden (NC) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #16 Luca Corinteli/Carl Soderlund (VA) def. #10 William Blumberg/Robert Kelly (NC) 4-3
2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Jack Murray/Simon Soendergaard (NC) 6-3
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Anu Kodali/Ronnie Schneider (NC) 6-2
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,1,6,5,3,4)
Men’s Tennis Championship Semifinals
 
#4 Virginia 4, #11 North Carolina 3
Apr 09, 2017 at Charlottesville, Va. (Snyder Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #23 Ronnie Schneider (NC) def. #12 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) 6-4, 6-0
2. #34 William Blumberg (NC) def. Alexander Ritschard (VA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. #63 Collin Altamirano (VA) def. #93 Robert Kelly (NC) 6-2, 6-4
4. Carl Soderlund (VA) def. Simon Soendergaard (NC) 6-3, 6-3
5. #79 Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Jack Murray (NC) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Blaine Boyden (NC) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #8 William Blumberg/Robert Kelly (NC) def. #54 Luca Corinteli/Henrik Wiersholm (VA) 6-4
2. Jack Murray/Simon Soendergaard (NC) def. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (VA) 6-4
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (VA) vs. Anu Kodali/Ronnie Schneider (NC) 6-5, unfinished
Match Notes
North Carolina 19-3, 6-2 ACC; National ranking #11
Virginia 20-1, 7-1 ACC; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,3,4,6,2,5)
T-3:02 A-878
 
#1 Virginia 4, #5 North Carolina 0
Feb 19, 2017 at Charlottesville, VA. (Boar’s Head Sports Club)
Singles competition
1. Collin Altamirano (VA) def. #16 Ronnie Schneider (NC) 6-0, 6-3
2. #28 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) vs. William Blumberg (NC) 6-3, 3-6, 2-4, unfinished
3. Carl Soderlund (VA) def. Simon Soendergaard (NC) 6-2, 6-1
4. #64 J.C. Aragone (VA) vs. Robert Kelly (NC) 6-2, 4-6, 4-3, unfinished
5. Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Jack Murray (NC) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) vs. #79 Blaine Boyden (NC) 7-6 (7-5), 2-5, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #55 Luca Corinteli/Carl Soderlund (VA) vs. #21 William Blumberg/Robert Kelly (NC) 5-2, unfinished
2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Jack Murray/Ronnie Schneider (NC) 6-1
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Blaine Boyden/Simon Soendergaard (NC) 6-1
Match Notes:
North Carolina 11-1; National ranking #5
Virginia 8-0; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (3); Singles (3,1,5)
ITA National Team Indoor Championship Semifinals
T-2:10 A-811
 
 
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 4
vs.
 12 William Blumberg
Robert Kelly		 UNC 14.46 20 7
2   Thai-Son Kwiatkowski
Alexander Ritschard		 UVA 14.78 24 1 82 Jack Murray
Simon Soendergaard		 UNC 14.04 10 5
3   Collin Altamirano
J.C. Aragone		 UVA 14.62 21 4   Anu Kodali
Ronnie Schneider		 UNC 13.82 11 3
 
Results This Week With Predictions:
 
1. #17 Luca Corinteli/Carl Soderlund (UVA):
lost to Herkko Pollanen/Mikael Torpegaard (OHIO STATE) 7-6(3)
lost to #76 George Goldhoff/Leonardo Telles(TEXAS) 6-2
vs. #2 Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (FLA) 4-5 unf.
 
1. #12 William Blumberg/ Robert Kelly (UNC)
def. #1 Jan Zielinski/Robert Loeb (GEORGIA), 6-3
lost to #4 Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (WAKE FOREST) 7-5
def. #5 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (CALIFORNIA), 7-6 (2)
 
Prediction: UNC 7-5
_______________________________________________
 
2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (UVA)
def. #30 Hugo Di Feo/Martin Joyce (OHIO STATE) 6-4
def. Colin Markes/Christian Sigsgaard (TEXAS), 6-4
def Maxx Lipman/Elliott Orkin (FLA), 6-4
 
2. #82 Jack Murray/Simon Soendergaard (UNC)
def. Emil Reinberg/ Nathan Ponwith (GEORGIA), 7-5
def. Borna Gojo/ Alan Gadjiev (WAKE FOREST), 6-4
lost to #74 Andre Goransson/ Billy Griffith (CALIFORNIA) 6-3
 
Prediction: UVA 6-3
_______________________________________________
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (UVA)
lost to Hunter Tubert/ JJ Wolf (OHIO STATE) 6-4
def. Yuya Ito/ Harrison Scott (TEXAS), 6-2
def. Joshua Wardell/Chace Perez-Blanco (FLA), 6-2
3. Anu Kodali/ Ronnie Schneider (UNC)
lost to Wayne Montgomery/ Walker Duncan (GEORGIA) 6-2
def. Petros Chrysochos/Dennis Uspensky (WAKE FOREST), 6-2
def. Bjorn Hoffmann/J.T. Nishimura (CALIFORNIA), 6-1
 
Prediction: UVA 7-5
 
 
Pos
ITA
Player
Team
UTR
 DM  
ITA
Player
Team
UTR
 DM
W L W L
1 91 Alexander Ritschard UVA 14.55 21 7
vs.
 22 Ronnie Schneider UNC 14.62 22 8
2 14 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski UVA 14.94 24 4 16 William Blumberg UNC 14.67 25 2
3   Carl Söderlund UVA 14.69 15 2 116 Robert Kelly UNC 14.13 20 5
4 40 Collin Altamirano UVA 14.71 19 5   Simon Soendergaard UNC 13.59 9 14
5 109 J.C. Aragone UVA 14.57 26 4   Jack Murray UNC 14.17 24 6
6 102 Henrik Wiersholm UVA 14.52 23 1   Bo Boyden UNC 14.06 22 4
Bench Players
7   Luca Corinteli UVA 14.06 7 1     Anu Kodali UNC 13.21 5 0
8   Aswin Lizen UVA 13.26 3 0   Josh Peck UNC 13.81 1 1

  

Results This Week With Predictions:

1. #91 Alexander Ritschard (UVA)
lost to #2 Mikael Torpegaard (OHIO STATE) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
lost to #25 Christian Sigsgaard (TEXAS) 7-5, 6-3
vs. #8 Alfredo Perez (FLORIDA) 3-6, 6-6
 
1. #22 Ronnie Schneider (UNC)
lost to #56 Nathan Ponwith (GEORGIA) 7-6 (4), 6-2
lost to #5 Petros Chrysochos (WAKE FOREST) 7-6 (3), 6-2
def. #12 Florian Lakat (CALIFORNIA), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
 
Prediction: Schneider (UNC) in 3
_______________________________________________
 
2. #14 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA)
def. #46 JJ Wolf (OHIO STATE), 6-2, 6-2
vs. #36 Harrison Scott (TEXAS), 5-7, 6-3, 3-0, unf
def. #85 Elliott Orkin (FLORIDA), 6-3, 6-2
 
2. #16 William Blumberg (UNC)
def. #33 Wayne Montgomery (GEORGIA), 6-3, 6-2
def. #45 Borna Gojo (WAKE FOREST), 7-5, 7-6 (6)
def. #61 Andre Goransson (CALIFORNIA), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
 
Prediction: Blumberg (UNC) in 3
_______________________________________________
3. Carl Söderlund (UVA)
vs. #9 Hugo Di Feo (OHIO STATE) 7-5, 4-6, 1-2*, unf.
def. #55 Yuya Ito (TEXAS), 6-2, 6-1
def. Chase Perez-Blanco (FLORIDA), 6-1, 6-4
 
3. #116 Robert Kelly (UNC)
def. #59 Emil Reinberg (GEORGIA), 6-3, 6-4
lost to #13 Skander Mansouri (WAKE FOREST) 7-5, 6-4
vs. Filip Bergevi (CALIFORNIA) 6-4, 2-6, 6-6, unf
 
Prediction: Soderlund (UVA) in 2
_______________________________________________
 
4. #40 Collin Altamirano (UVA)
def. Martin Joyce (OHIO STATE), 6-0, 6-3
def. George Goldhoff (TEXAS), 6-1, 6-0
vs. Maxx Lipman (FLORIDA), 6-3, 3-6, 1-1, uf
 
4.  Simon Soendergaard (UNC)
lost to Jan Zielinski (GEORGIA) 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3
vs. #84 Christian Seraphim (WAKE FOREST) 6-7 (3), 6-4, *2-3
vs. #81 Billy Griffith (CALIFORNIA), 6-3, 4-6, 5-3, unf.
 
Prediction: Altamirano (UVA) in 3
_______________________________________________
5. #109 J.C. Aragone (UVA)
def. Herkko Pollanen (OHIO STATE), 6-3, 6-3
def. Leonardo Telles (TEXAS), 6-2, 7-6 (3)
def. #123 Johannes Ingildsen (FLORIDA), 6-4, 6-4
 
5. Jack Murray (UNC)
lost to Walker Duncan (GEORGIA) 6-1, 7-5
def. Dennis Uspensky (WAKE FOREST), 6-2, 6-0
def. J.T. Nishimura (CALIFORNIA), 6-4, 6-3
 
Prediction: Aragone (UVA) in 2
_______________________________________________
6. #102 Henrik Wiersholm (UVA)
def. Kyle Seelig (OHIO STATE) 7-5, 7-5
vs. Rodrigo Banzer (TEXAS), 7-6 (6), 2-3, unf
vs. McClain Kessler (FLORIDA), 6-2, 6-5, unf
 
6. Bo Boyden (UNC)
def. Robert Loeb (GEORGIA) 7-6 (0), 4-6, 6-3
def. Alan Gadjiev (WAKE FOREST), 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
lost to Bjorn Hoffmann (CALIFORNIA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
 
Prediction: Will Not Finish – Wiersholm (UVA) leading  
 
So I’ve got Virginia taking the doubles point and Ronnie Schneider and William Blumberg winning up top for UNC while Carl Soderlund, Collin Altamirano, and JC Aragone win for Virginia with Aragone getting the championship clinch. If North Carolina were to win in my opinion they’d need doubles and 1, 2, and 6. Prediction: Virginia 4-2   

 

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