The rubber meets the road on Saturday afternoon in Athens with an extremely competitive schedule lined up. In the noon session you’ll have the two-time defending champs Virginia taking on Texas and the other match could be the match of the tournament as No. 3 Ohio State takes on No. 6 TCU. In the late-afternoon session they’ll be huge crowd on hand to see if Georgia can get past UCLA while a pair of ACC rivals, Wake Forest and North Carolina, will tangle on the back courts. The temperature is expected to be in the upper 80s and may hit 90 so it’ll be interesting to see how the teams from outside of the south handle the elements.
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. #9 North Carolina [9] – Saturday 4 p.m. ET – Wake won the regular season meeting 4-3 in a match that was played indoors and it looks like half of the singles matches will be rematches. Both teams play doubles very well so that’s a key point that both would like to have in their back pocket. This is Wake Forest’s first-ever trip to the quarterfinals while North Carolina is back for the fourth year in a row however they have come up short in each of the last three years.
I like Wake Forest in doubles and Chrysochos, Mansouri, and Upsenksy in singles while I’ll take Blumberg and Soendergaard for UNC with Gadjiev up on Boyden in a third set. Prediction: Wake Forest 4-2
Overall Record: Wake 30-2; North Carolina 27-4
Doubles Record: Wake 28-4; North Carolina 25-6
UTR Power 6: Wake Forest 86, North Carolina 85
Regular Season Result:
#2 Wake Forest 4, #5 North Carolina 3
Mar 10, 2017 at Winston-Salem, N.C. (Wake Forest Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. #2 Petros Chrysochos (WF) def. #19 Ronnie Schneider (NC) 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-0
2. #61 William Blumberg (NC) def. #5 Skander Mansouri (WF) 6-3, 6-3
3. #76 Borna Gojo (WF) def. Simon Soendergaard (NC) 6-1, 6-3
4. #123 Robert Kelly (NC) def. #37 Christian Seraphim (WF) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Dennis Uspensky (WF) def. Jack Murray (NC) 6-2, 6-1
6. Blaine Boyden (NC) def. Alan Gadjiev (WF) 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #2 Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (WF) def. #17 William Blumberg/Robert Kelly (NC) 6-3
2. Borna Gojo/Alan Gadjiev (WF) vs. Simon Soendergaard/Jack Murray (NC) 5-4, unfinished
3. Petros Chrysochos/Dennis Uspensky (WF) def. Anu Kodola/Ronnie Schneider (NC) 6-3
Match Notes
North Carolina 12-2 (1-1 ACC); National ranking #5
Wake Forest 12-1 (1-0 ACC); National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,2,5,1,4,6)
Match moved indoors prior to first serve due to windy conditions
T-3:02 A-405
Mar 10, 2017 at Winston-Salem, N.C. (Wake Forest Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. #2 Petros Chrysochos (WF) def. #19 Ronnie Schneider (NC) 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-0
2. #61 William Blumberg (NC) def. #5 Skander Mansouri (WF) 6-3, 6-3
3. #76 Borna Gojo (WF) def. Simon Soendergaard (NC) 6-1, 6-3
4. #123 Robert Kelly (NC) def. #37 Christian Seraphim (WF) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Dennis Uspensky (WF) def. Jack Murray (NC) 6-2, 6-1
6. Blaine Boyden (NC) def. Alan Gadjiev (WF) 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #2 Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (WF) def. #17 William Blumberg/Robert Kelly (NC) 6-3
2. Borna Gojo/Alan Gadjiev (WF) vs. Simon Soendergaard/Jack Murray (NC) 5-4, unfinished
3. Petros Chrysochos/Dennis Uspensky (WF) def. Anu Kodola/Ronnie Schneider (NC) 6-3
Match Notes
North Carolina 12-2 (1-1 ACC); National ranking #5
Wake Forest 12-1 (1-0 ACC); National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,2,5,1,4,6)
Match moved indoors prior to first serve due to windy conditions
T-3:02 A-405
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 | 23 | 6 |
vs.
|
12 | William Blumberg Robert Kelly |
UNC | 14.46 | 19 | 6 |
| 2 | Borna Gojo Alan Gadjiev |
WF | 14.13 | 13 | 6 | 82 | Jack Murray Simon Soendergaard |
UNC | 14.04 | 8 | 5 | ||
| 3 | Petros Chrysochos Dennis Uspensky |
WF | 14.40 | 20 | 6 | Anu Kodali Ronnie Schneider |
UNC | 13.82 | 10 | 2 | |||
|
Pos
|
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM |
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Petros Chrysochos | Wake | 14.73 | 23 | 6 |
vs.
|
22 | Ronnie Schneider | UNC | 14.64 | 22 | 6 |
| 2 | 45 | Borna Gojo | Wake | 14.62 | 22 | 4 | 16 | William Blumberg | UNC | 14.69 | 23 | 2 | |
| 3 | 13 | Skander Mansouri | Wake | 14.37 | 21 | 6 | 116 | Robert Kelly | UNC | 14.15 | 19 | 4 | |
| 4 | 84 | Christian Seraphim | Wake | 14.11 | 21 | 8 | Simon Soendergaard | UNC | 13.60 | 9 | 13 | ||
| 5 | Dennis Uspensky | Wake | 14.07 | 19 | 5 | Jack Murray | UNC | 14.21 | 23 | 5 | |||
| 6 | Alan Gadjiev | Wake | 13.90 | 16 | 8 | Bo Boyden | UNC | 14.06 | 20 | 4 | |||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Max Kan | Wake | 12.58 | 2 | 1 | Anu Kodali | UNC | 13.23 | 5 | 0 | |||
| 8 | Charlie Parry | Wake | 12.13 | 0 | 2 | Josh Peck | UNC | 13.81 | 1 | 1 | |||
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#5 UCLA [1] vs. #12 Georgia [13] – Saturday 4 p.m. ET – UCLA won the regular season meeting all the way back on February 4th in a match that was played in Gainesville as part of the Pac-12/SEC Challenge. Both teams will have different lineups this time around so the only individual rematch will come at No. 5 between Walker Duncan and Austin Rapp. Gage Brymer of course is out for UCLA due to a recent surgery as is Paul Oosterbaan for Georgia.
Unlike some of the matches on Saturday I think every court is in play so whichever teams wins the most 50/50 matches moves on to the semifinals. I’m going to take UCLA in doubles with wins at 1 and 2 and I like Redlicki and Cressy in singles but Georgia gets it done in the other four spots to pull off another surprise. Prediction: Georgia 4-3
Overall Record: UCLA 22-5; Georgia 21-7
Doubles Record: UCLA 18-9; Georgia 20-8
UTR Power 6: UCLA 84, Georgia 84
Regular Season Meeting
#6 UCLA 4, #5 Georgia 3
Feb. 4, 2017 // Gainesville, Fla (Ring Tennis Complex)
Doubles Results
1. Martin Redlicki/Evan Zhu (UCLA) def. #54 Jan Zielinski/Robert Loeb (UGA), 7-6 (3)
2. Joseph Di Giulio/Austin Rapp (UCLA) def. Wayne Montgomery/Nathan Ponwith (UGA), 6-2
3. Paul Oosterbaan/Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Gage Brymer/Maxime Cressy (UCLA), 6-4
Singles Results
1. #22 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. #11 Gage Brymer (UCLA), 7-5, 6-3
2. Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. #31 Emil Reinberg (UGA), 7-5, 7-5
3. #124 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) def. Evan Zhu (UCLA), 6-4, 6-3
4. #90 Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) def. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA), 6-2, 6-4
5. Logan Staggs (UCLA) def. #56 Jan Zielinski (UGA), 6-2, 6-3
6. Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Austin Rapp (UCLA), 6-4, 6-4
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3, 1); Singles (5, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2)
2017 SEC/Pac-12 Showdown
Feb. 4, 2017 // Gainesville, Fla (Ring Tennis Complex)
Doubles Results
1. Martin Redlicki/Evan Zhu (UCLA) def. #54 Jan Zielinski/Robert Loeb (UGA), 7-6 (3)
2. Joseph Di Giulio/Austin Rapp (UCLA) def. Wayne Montgomery/Nathan Ponwith (UGA), 6-2
3. Paul Oosterbaan/Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Gage Brymer/Maxime Cressy (UCLA), 6-4
Singles Results
1. #22 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. #11 Gage Brymer (UCLA), 7-5, 6-3
2. Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. #31 Emil Reinberg (UGA), 7-5, 7-5
3. #124 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) def. Evan Zhu (UCLA), 6-4, 6-3
4. #90 Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) def. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA), 6-2, 6-4
5. Logan Staggs (UCLA) def. #56 Jan Zielinski (UGA), 6-2, 6-3
6. Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Austin Rapp (UCLA), 6-4, 6-4
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3, 1); Singles (5, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2)
2017 SEC/Pac-12 Showdown
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 | 17 | 2 |
vs.
|
1 | Robert Loeb Jan Zielinski |
UGA | 14.33 | 16 | 9 |
| 2 | Austin Rapp Joseph DiGiulio |
UCLA | 13.98 | 9 | 4 | Emil Reinberg Nathan Ponwith |
UGA | 14.12 | 8 | 4 | |||
| 3 | Maxime Cressy Ben Goldberg |
UCLA | 13.29 | 5 | 7 | Wayne Montgomery Walker Duncan |
UGA | 14.15 | 15 | 2 | |||
|
Pos
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ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
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DM |
ITA
|
Player
|
Team
|
UTR
|
DM | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||||||||||
| 1 | 60 | Martin Redlicki | UCLA | 14.49 | 21 | 4 |
vs.
|
56 | Nathan Ponwith | UGA | 14.31 | 12 | 4 |
| 2 | Evan Zhu | UCLA | 14.05 | 13 | 8 | 33 | Wayne Montgomery | UGA | 14.38 | 15 | 11 | ||
| 3 | Logan Staggs | UCLA | 14.03 | 19 | 2 | 59 | Emil Reinberg | UGA | 14.18 | 13 | 8 | ||
| 4 | Maxime Cressy | UCLA | 13.93 | 11 | 3 | Jan Zielinski | UGA | 13.97 | 14 | 6 | |||
| 5 | Austin Rapp | UCLA | 13.56 | 10 | 7 | Walker Duncan | UGA | 14.01 | 19 | 5 | |||
| 6 | Joseph DiGiulio | UCLA | 14.11 | 4 | 2 | Robert Loeb | UGA | 13.75 | 12 | 8 | |||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Ben Goldberg | UCLA | 13.09 | 3 | 0 | Alex Phillips | UGA | 13.47 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 8 | Michael Guzman | UCLA | 12.17 | 1 | 0 | Andy Martinez | UGA | 13.09 | 0 | 0 | |||
#3 Ohio State [3] vs. #6 TCU [6] – Saturday Noon ET – Ohio State will be looking to get back to the semifinals for the first time since 2013 while TCU will attempt to get there for the second time in the last three years. Ohio State dropped the doubles point for only the third time this year against Oklahoma while TCU won the point for the 14th time in its last 15 matches after taking it from Illinois.
I’m going to take TCU in doubles and Norrie and Rybakov in singles while I like Di Feo, Pollanen, and Seelig for Ohio State. In the match decider I’ll take Jerry Lopez over Martin Joyce in a close third set to give TCU the win. Prediction: TCU 4-3
Overall Record: Ohio State 32-3; TCU 22-4
Doubles Record: Ohio State 31-4; TCU 21-5
UTR Power 6: Ohio State 86, TCU 86
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 | 20 | 5 |
vs.
|
25 | Jerry Lopez Reese Stalder |
TCU | 14.50 | 11 | 5 | |
| 2 | 30 | Hugo Di Feo Martin Joyce |
OSU | 14.67 | 18 | 2 | 57 | Alex Rybakov Guillermo Nuñez |
TCU | 14.73 | 14 | 3 | |
| 3 | Hunter Tubert JJ Wolf |
OSU | 14.35 | 10 | 4 | Cameron Norrie Trevor Johnson |
TCU | 14.65 | 10 | 1 | |||
|
Pos
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ITA
|
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 | 2 | Mikael Torpegaard | OSU | 14.93 | 28 | 1 |
vs.
|
1 | Cameron Norrie | TCU | 15.11 | 20 | 1 |
| 2 | 46 | JJ Wolf | OSU | 14.36 | 16 | 4 | 20 | Alex Rybakov | TCU | 14.60 | 21 | 1 | |
| 3 | 9 | Hugo Di Feo | OSU | 14.60 | 24 | 3 | 83 | Guillermo Nuñez | TCU | 14.31 | 12 | 6 | |
| 4 | Martin Joyce | OSU | 13.78 | 13 | 7 | 114 | Jerry Lopez | TCU | 14.27 | 11 | 3 | ||
| 5 | Herkko Pollanen | OSU | 14.20 | 20 | 5 | Reese Stalder | TCU | 13.72 | 13 | 7 | |||
| 6 | Kyle Seelig | OSU | 14.19 | 23 | 4 | Trevor Johnson | TCU | 13.96 | 5 | 1 | |||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Hunter Tubert | OSU | 13.39 | 1 | 1 | Gianni Mancini | TCU | 11.22 | 1 | 9 | |||
| 8 | Matt Mendez | OSU | 13.47 | 3 | 0 | Hudson Blake | TCU | 13.31 | 1 | 1 | |||
#2 Virginia [1] vs. #11 Texas [10] – Saturday Noon ET – Virginia will be attempting to advance to the NCAA semifinals for the eighth year in a row while Texas tries to make it back for the first time since 2009. There’s no doubt that Virginia is the favorite but I think Texas is going to keep this one closer than many might think.
Virginia hasn’t lost the doubles point in the NCAA Tournament since 2015 and I don’t see it happening here either. In singles, Virginia will be favored in all six spots but I’m expecting Texas to get two or maybe three first sets. I’n going to take Kwiatkowski, Aragone, and Wiersholm for Virginia while Goldhoff and Ito pull off upsets at 3 and 4. Prediction: Virginia 4-2
Overall Record: Virginia 31-1; Texas 22-8
Doubles Record: Virginia 28-4; Texas 15-15
UTR Power 6: Virginia 88, Texas 85
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.
|
76 | George Goldhoff Leonardo Telles |
UT | 14.05 | 7 | 13 |
| 2 | Thai-Son Kwiatkowski Alexander Ritschard |
UVA | 14.78 | 22 | 1 | Christian Sigsgaard Colin Markes |
UT | 14.18 | 5 | 1 | |||
| 3 | Collin Altamirano J.C. Aragone |
UVA | 14.62 | 20 | 3 | Yuya Ito Harrison Scott |
UT | 14.28 | 5 | 5 | |||
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Pos
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ITA
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Player
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Team
|
UTR
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DM |
ITA
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Player
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Team
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UTR
|
DM | |||
| W | L | W | L | ||||||||||
| 1 | 91 | Alexander Ritschard | UVA | 14.57 | 21 | 5 |
vs.
|
25 | Christian Sigsgaard | UT | 14.21 | 11 | 13 |
| 2 | 14 | Thai-Son Kwiatkowski | UVA | 14.96 | 23 | 4 | 36 | Harrison Scott | UT | 14.27 | 20 | 7 | |
| 3 | Carl Söderlund | UVA | 14.69 | 14 | 2 | 55 | Yuya Ito | UT | 14.35 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 40 | Collin Altamirano | UVA | 14.68 | 17 | 5 | George Goldhoff | UT | 14.10 | 12 | 9 | ||
| 5 | 109 | J.C. Aragone | UVA | 14.52 | 24 | 4 | Leonardo Telles | UT | 13.95 | 17 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 102 | Henrik Wiersholm | UVA | 14.54 | 22 | 1 | Rodrigo Banzer | UT | 13.92 | 18 | 5 | ||
| Bench Players | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Luca Corinteli | UVA | 14.09 | 7 | 1 | Julian Zlobinsky | UT | 14.01 | 7 | 2 | |||
| 8 | Aswin Lizen | UVA | 13.27 | 3 | 0 | John Mee | UT | 13.54 | 3 | 1 | |||
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Virginia is the only team to not give up a point in the tournament. I doubt that they give up one tomorrow.
Make a note for next year to always pick 9 over 8 in the pool. Not doing that has pretty much ruined my brackets.