Six of the 15 men’s regionals got started on Friday but that means there are nine more to go so here is my preview of those nine regionals that will play on Saturday and Sunday. I’ll let everyone take a look at the first two regionals but to view the rest you’ll need to subscribe for a small price of just $.33 a day. In addition to the match previews you’ll also get to see all the live scoring links laid out for you. Each preview has current Universal Tennis Ratings as of 1/27/17 so that’ll help you decide who will win each match. I went 12-0 with my predictions on Friday so let’s see if I can beat that on Saturday.
The approved master lineups are here for the men and women though I’d expect to see several substitutions for one reason or another.
Florida Regional – Alfred A Ring Tennis Complex – Gainesville, FL (Outdoors)
UNC Wilmington [4] at Florida [1] – 11 a.m ET – UNC Wilmington opened up its season last weekend with a 5-2 win over Appalachian State while Florida opened up with a doubleheader sweep of Kennesaw State and Georgia Southern. UNC Wilmington has some talent but Florida shouldn’t drop a set in this one. Prediction: Florida 4-0
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Florida 83, UNCW 76)
1. Josh Hublitz (UNCW 12.42) vs. #13 Alfredo Perez (FLA 14.42)
2. Agustin Savarino (UNCW 13.04) vs. Chase Perez-Blanco (FLA 14.09)
3. Andres Torres (UNCW 12.60) vs. #64 Elliott Orkin (FLA 13.86)
4. Ignasi de Rueda (UNCW 12.52) vs. #107 Jordan Belga (FLA 13.59)
5. Michael Copeland (UNCW 13.21) vs. #67 McClain Kessler (FLA 13.41)
6. Daniel Groom (UNCW 12.32) vs. Johannes Ingildsen (FLA 13.66)
B. Leon Back (UNCW 12.37); #98 Maxx Lipman (FLA 13.37)
{loadposition ads}
#24 South Florida [2] vs. LSU [3] – 11 a.m. ET – This will be the season opener for South Florida while LSU opened up last weekend with a 6-1 loss at Memphis. South Florida returns four singles starters though they have to replace two of their top three after the departures of Roberto Cid and Dominic Cotrone. LSU has its top three back this year but two of its bottom three departed so we’ll see a couple of freshmen at 5 and 6. South Florida and LSU met during last year’s KOW with South Florida qualifying for the National Indoors with a 4-0 win over LSU. I don’t think we’ll see a 4-0 result today but I do think South Florida comes out on top. I like the Bulls in doubles and Gozun, Bertran, and Luquet in singles while LSU picks up a win from Csonka. Prediction: South Florida 4-1
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – USF 82 , LSU 79)
1. Sasha Gozun (USF 13.76) vs. Jordan Daigle (LSU 13.61)
2. #77 Peter Bertran (USF 13.98) vs. Justin Butsch (LSU 13.46)
3. Justin Roberts (USF 13.50) vs. Nikola Samardzic (LSU 12.85)
4. Alberto Barroso-Campos (USF 13.91) vs. Gabor Csonka (LSU 13.65)
5. Pierre Luquet (USF 13.83) vs. Rafael Wagner (LSU 13.26)
6. Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF 13.36) vs. Eric Samuelsson (LSU 12.43)
B. Jakub Wojcik (USF 13.07); Agie Moreno (LSU 13.05)
Regional Final – This will be a rematch from last year’s NCAA Round of 32 which was a match Florida won at home 4-0 though USF was up on a few of the courts that didn’t finish. This year’s Florida team is just as good as last year’s team while USF has taken a small step back – different year but same outcome. Florida def. South Florida 4-0
___________________________________________________________
Oklahoma Regional – Headington Family Tennis Center – Norman, OK (Indoors)
#17 Illinois [2] vs. #25 Arkansas [3] – 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m CT – This will be the season opener for the Illini while Arkansas has already played four matches going 2-2 with wins Illinois State and Tulsa and losses to Texas and SMU. Illinois had to replace four-year stud Jared Hiltzik but they’ve added a slew of newcomers with three of them penciled in the starting lineup (Gomes/Clark/Kovacevic). Brad Dancer has Julian Childers scheduled to play at No. 3 however Childers hasn’t played since retiring from a match back in October and he didn’t play two weeks ago at the MLK Invitational. The key to this match for Arkansas is the doubles point and the top two spots in the singles lineup because if they can take those three they’ll find a win somewhere else though probably not at No. 3 where Adam Sanjurjo has struggled to a 1-3 start. I’m going to take Arkansas in doubles and I think Marino wins at No. 6 against someone off Illinois’s bench (b/c I don’t think Childers plays) but I’ll take the Illini everywhere else. Prediction: Illinois 4-2
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Illinois 83, Arkansas 80)
1. Aleks Vukic (ILL 14.39) vs. #3 Mike Redlicki (UA 14.50)
2. #29 Aron Hiltzik (ILL 14.30) vs. #19 Jose Salazar (UA 14.25)
3. Julian Childers (ILL 13.17) vs. Adam Sanjurjo (UA 13.16)
4. #100 Gui Gomes (ILL 13.08) vs. Johan den Toom (UA 12.78)
5. Zeke Clark (ILL 13.88) vs. Oscar Mesquida (UA 13.07)
6. #85 Aleks Kovacevic (ILL 13.91) vs. Juan Marino (UA 12.53)
B. Pablo Landa (ILL 12.26)/Noe Kalif (ILL 13.31); Branch Terrell (ILL 12.17)
#19 Michigan [4] at #16 Oklahoma [1] – 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT – Michigan opened up its season with a 4-0 whipping of Alabama in the debut of the College MatchDay series in Orlando while Oklahoma enters at 2-1 but is coming off a rough 7-0 loss at #2 Wake Forest. Oklahoma’s strength is its top four while Michigan strength is its depth from top to bottom. I’d be surprised if Michigan didn’t take the doubles point and sweep the bottom two (though if Chamdani is pulled that could change things) but I think Oklahoma sweeps the top three with that match at No. 4 the key. I think whoever wins this match will win the regional and advance to the National Indoors – I want to take Michigan but I think Oklahoma bears down and pulls through by the thinest of margins. Prediction: Oklahoma 4-3
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Oklahoma 82, Michigan 82)
1. #50 Kevin Wong (UM 13.62) vs. Andrew Harris (OU 14.74)
2. Jathan Malik (UM 13.90) vs. #18 Spencer Papa (OU 14.27)
3. Myles Schalet (UM 13.61) vs. Alex Ghilea (OU 14.15)
4. Runhao Hua (UM 13.87) vs. #118 Florin Bragusi (OU 14.00)
5. Alex Knight (UM 13.29) vs. Adrian Chamdani (OU 12.05)
6. Carter Lin (UM 13.49) vs. Adrian Oetzbach (OU 12.61)
B. Davis Crocker (UM 13.19); Jochen Bertsch (OU 13.17)/Arnaud Restifo (13.38)
Regional Final – The doubles point in this one will be a toss-up but I’m leaning towards OU. The All-Aussie match at No. 1 between Vukic and Harris should be entertaining but I’ll go with Harris there. I think OU gets its other two singles wins from Ghilea and Bragusi while Illinois will have the upper hand at No. 2 and No. 6. When I first saw the pairings I didn’t think I’d be picking Oklahoma to win this regional but I think its top four will be enough to carry them through. Prediction: Oklahoma def. Illinois 4-2
{rsmembership id=”1,2″}
___________________________________________________________
Northwestern Regional – Combe Tennis Center – Evanston, IL (Indoors)
#18 Stanford [2] vs. Georgia Tech [3] – 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – Stanford kicked off its season by winning a pair of indoor matches over Eastern Washington (4-0) and BYU (4-3) while Georgia Tech split a pair of matches last weekend falling to Georgia 5-2 and then blasting Tennessee 7-0. Stanford’s No. 1 Tom Fawcett sat out both matches last week so we’ll have to see if he plays against Georgia Tech – even if he is 100% he’ll have a tough time against Chris Eubanks however having him in the lineup will keep the rest of the lineup intact. David Wilczynski played most of last year at No. 2 for Stanford but he’ll start at No. 5 this weekend after a so-so fall plus he dropped his match against BYU last weekend. Stanford is traditionally very strong in doubles so I like them there plus I like Kumar, Wilczynski, and Sutter in singles with Georgia Tech getting wins from Eubanks, Benito, and Divar. I’ll take the Cardinal assuming that Fawcett suits up but if he cannot go I’d switch to Georgia Tech. Prediction: Stanford 4-3
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Stanford 82, Georgia Tech 81)
1. #8 Tom Fawcett (ST 14.24) vs. #9 Chris Eubanks (GT 14.48)
2. Sameer Kumar (ST 14.22) vs. #61 Andrew Li (GT 13.72)
3. #68 Michael Genender (ST 13.55) vs. Carlos Benito (GT 13.40)
4. Jack Barber (ST 13.54) vs. Carlos Divar (GT 13.81)
5. David Wilczynski (ST 13.24) vs. Daniel Yun (GT 12.92)
6. Brandon Sutter (ST 13.40) vs. Chris Yun (GT 13.04)
B. Roy Lederman (ST 12.81); Cole Fiegel (GT 13.34)
Memphis [4] at #10 Northwestern [1] – 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT – Memphis opened up with a pair of impressive wins over Michigan State (7-0) and LSU (6-1) while Northwestern comes in 4-0 with notable wins over TCU, Vanderbilt, and Louisville. Memphis is pretty strong from top to bottom but Northwestern is just a little better in virtually every spot. I’m going to take Northwestern in doubles and Zieba, Shropshire, and Stary in singles with Memphis possibly in the lead everywhere else. Prediction: Northwestern 4-0
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Northwestern 82, Memphis 80)
1. #35 Ryan Peniston (UM 13.87) vs. #26 Strong Kirchheimer (NU 14.20)
2. #111 Andrew Watson (UM 13.74) vs. Konrad Zieba (NU 14.04)
3. Kai Lemke (UM 13.38) vs. Sam Shropshire (NU 14.17)
4. Chris Patzanovsky (UM 12.84) vs. Dominik Stary (NU 13.13)
5. Jan Pallares (UM 13.13) vs. Ben Vandixhorn (NU 13.20)
6. Felix Rauch (UM 13.14) vs. Jason Seidman (NU 13.13)
B. Matt Story (UM 12.39); Brendan Volk (NU 12.70)
Regional Final – Stanford ended Northwestern’s historic season last May with a 4-3 win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a match that was played outdoors in Evanston. This one will also be in Evanston however there’s no way it’ll be played outdoors with January temperatures in the 20s. I’m going to take Stanford in doubles but Northwestern at 2, 3, 4, and 5 singles to get a little revenge from last year. Prediction: Northwestern def. Stanford 4-2
___________________________________________________________
TCU Regional – Bayard H Friedman Tennis Center – Fort Worth, TX (Outdoors)
Utah State [2] vs. Wichita State [3] – 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT – Utah State already has five matches under its belt with wins over UC Irvine and Gonzaga and losses to San Diego, Washington, and Oregon. Wichita State comes in with an 0-2 record though they put up a good fight in a 4-3 loss at Tulsa and a 5-2 loss at Texas Tech. Both teams have first year head coaches with USU’s James Wilson coming from Texas Tech and WSU’s Danny Bryan coming from LSU. This is one of the tougher ones to predict because these teams are pretty evenly matched but I’ll give it a whirl. I’ll take Utah State in doubles and Swindells and Serrano in singles but I like Inoue, Devilliers, Frost, and Stoica for the Shockers. Prediction: Wichita State 4-3
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Utah State 79, Wichita State 78)
1. Kai Wehhnelt (USU 13.46) vs. Haru Inoue (WSU 13.72)
2. Jack Swindells (USU 13.19) vs. Miroslav Herzan (WSU 13.00)
3. Jaime Barajas (USU 12.93) vs. Jocelyn Devilliers (WSU 12.96)
4. Sergiu Bucur (USU 13.43) vs. Marius Frost (WSU 13.45)
5. Samuel Serrano (USU 12.79) vs. Murkel Dellien (WSU 12.57*)
6. Daniel Echeverry (USU 13.02) vs. Eddie Stoica (WSU 12.71)
B. Jonas Maier (USU 12.76); Andrea Caligiana (WSU 12.90)
* Dellien’s UTR only has 12% reliability
Pacific [4] at #12 TCU [1] – 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT – Pacific comes into this one with a 2-0 record after defeating UC Davis twice in the same day (two weeks ago) by the same 4-3 score while TCU enters with a 1-1 record after rebounding from a 4-2 loss to Northwestern with a 4-0 win over Tulsa. TCU was already short-handed due to a number of issues that I mentioned last week but they’ll be down another guy for this weekend since Cameron Norrie is into the semifinals at the professional $75K Maui Challenger. Both of the guys that left the team in the fall (Daniel/Blake) have returned but neither is very match-ready after the long layoff. TCU is still going to win this one handily but instead of a quick 4-0 win it may take a little while longer due to the depth issue at the bottom. Prediction: TCU 4-0
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – TCU 81, Pacific 76)
1. Tadiwa Chinas (Pac 13.51) vs. Alex Rybakov (TCU 14.50)
2. Miguel Diaz (Pac 13.24) vs. #55 Guillermo Nunez (TCU 14.07)
3. Akram El Sallaly (Pac 12.71) vs. #101 Jerry Lopez (TCU 14.01)
4. Alex Giannini (Pac 12.12) vs. Reese Stalder (TCU 13.46)
5. Ross Watson (Pac 12.43) vs. Trey Daniel (TCU 13.60*)
6. Bryan Husin (Pac 12.18) vs. Gianni Mancini (TCU 11.16)
B. Kumar Adavelly (Pac 11.85)/Hudson Blake (TCU 13.22*)
* Blake’s UTR only has 12% reliability while Daniel’s has 75%.
Regional Final – TCU will have a tougher time against Wichita State than it did against Pacific but they will still pull through. I’ll take the Shockers in doubles but TCU will get singles wins from Rybakov, Nunez, Lopez, and Stalder. Prediction: TCU def. Wichita State 4-1
___________________________________________________________
Texas Regional – Weller Indoor Tennis Center – Austin, TX (Indoors)
Rice [2] vs. Oregon [3] – 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT – Rice comes in with a 4-1 record with notable wins over Lamar and UT Arlington and a close 4-3 loss to #15 Texas A&M while Oregon enters at 2-0 with a notable 4-3 win over Utah State. This will Rice’s first trip indoors while both of Oregon’s matches were played inside so it’ll be interesting to see if that plays a role. I’m going to take Rice in doubles and Malik, Rutledge, and Janglin in singles with Laurent and Amos picking up wins for the Ducks. Prediction: Rice 4-2
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Rice 80, Oregon 80)
1. Tommy Bennett (RU 13.41) vs. #33 Thomas Laurent (UO 14.01)
2. Jamie Malik (RU 13.23) vs. Simon Stevens (UO 13.75)
3. Jake Hansen (RU 13.59) vs. Jayson Amos (UO 13.57)
4. Eric Rutledge (RU 13.49) vs. Akihito Tanaka (UO 12.51)
5. David Warren (RU 13.61) vs. Cormac Clissold (UO 13.20)
6. Oscar Janglin (RU 13.10) vs. Ty Gentry (UO 12.76)
B. Emanuel Llamas (RU ; Ethan Young-Smith (UO 12.62)
Drake [4] at #9 Texas [1] – 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT – Drake opened up its season with home wins over George Washington and Northern Illinois while Texas comes in at 4-1 with notable road wins over SMU and Arkansas and a close loss at Tulsa. Drake is a solid indoor team and while they’ll keep a few courts close Texas will be just too strong – Horns in doubles and Scott, Ito, and Telles in singles. Prediction: Texas 4-0
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Texas 84, Drake 79)
1. Vinny Gillespie (DU 13.58) vs. #6 Christian Sigsgaard (TX 14.29)
2. Calum MacGeoch (DU 12.86) vs. George Goldhoff (TX 14.08)
3. Ben Stride (DU 12.97) vs. #47 Harrison Scott (TX 13.83)
4. Barnaby Thorold (DU 12.50) vs. #36 Yuya Ito (TX 14.34)
5. Tom Hands (DU 13.49) vs. Leo Telles (TX 13.83)
6. Ben Clark (DU 13.16) vs. Rodrigo Banzer (TX 13.63)
B. Ben Wood (DU 12.55)/Julian Zlobinsky (TX 13.51)
Regional Final – I’m going to take Rice to steal the doubles point but Texas gets its singles wins from Sigsgaard, Goldhoff, Telles, and Banzer. Prediction: Texas def. Rice 4-1
___________________________________________________________
UCLA Regional – Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts – Los Angeles, CA (Outdoors)
Boise State [2] vs. Lamar [3] – 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT – Boise State comes in with a 1-2 record with a win of D3s Whitman College and losses to Denver and Cal Poly while Lamar is 2-1 with two wins over Alcorn State and a loss to Rice. This will be Boise’s first trip outdoors this year while Lamar played its opener against Rice outside. I like Lamar in doubles and Feucht, Lis, and Schweizer in singles with Boise picking up points from Heslin and Shackleton. Prediction: Lamar 4-2.
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Lamar 77, Boise State 76)
1. Kyle Butters (BSU 13.32) vs. Michael Feucht (LU 13.31)
2. Brian Tran (BSU 13.09) vs. Nikta Lis (LU 13.22)
3. Jack Heslin (BSU 12.78) vs. Jeandre Hoogenboezem (LU 12.71)
4. Pedro Platzeck (BSU 12.30) vs. Sebastian Santibanez (LU 12.70)
5. Morgan Stone (BSU 12.32) vs. Benny Schweizer (LU 12.89)
6. Harvey Shackleton (BSU 12.28) vs. Juuso Laitinen (LU 12.29)
B. Greg Wischer (BSU 11.26); Logan Powell (LU 11.85)
B. Greg Wischer (BSU 11.26); Logan Powell (LU 11.85)
New Mexico [4] at #6 UCLA [1] – 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT – New Mexico opened up the new USTA Collegiate Tennis Center in Lake Nona two weeks ago but unfortunately for the Lobos they went 0-3 with losses to Texas Tech, Arizona, and Central Florida. UCLA opened up its season with an easy win over Grand Canyon before really getting challenged by UC Santa Barbara. For UCLA I think this match will fall somewhere in between the first two but the outcome will still be the same – Bruins take the doubles point and get wins from Brymer, Di Giulio, and Staggs. Prediction: UCLA 4-0
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – UCLA 84, New Mexico 77)
1. Bart Van Leijsen (NM 13.29) vs. #11 Gage Brymer (UCLA 14.34)
2. Ricky Hernandez-Tong (NM 13.23) vs. Martin Redlicki (UCLA 14.25)
3. Rodolfo Jauregui (NM 12.52) vs. Evan Zhu (UCLA 13.92)
4. Dominic West (NM 13.24) vs. #90 Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA 13.96)
5. Jorge Escrita (NM 12.65) vs. Logan Staggs (UCLA 13.81)
6. Sean Baklini (NM 12.44) vs. Austin Rapp (UCLA 13.67)
B. Michael Tran (NM 11.63)/#87 Max Cressy (UCLA 13.55)
Regional Final – UCLA makes it two shutout on the weekend with the doubles point and wins from Redlicki, Zhu, and Rapp. Prediction: UCLA def. Lamar 4-0
___________________________________________________________
USC Regional – Marks Stadium – Los Angeles, CA (Outdoors)
San Diego [2] vs. Virginia Tech [3] – 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT – San Diego opened up its season two weeks ago with a 6-1 win over Utah State while an extremely young Virginia Tech squad will make its season debut. Virginia Tech had to replace its top four from last year so it’ll be starting a senior, a sophomore, and four freshmen two of which just arrived on campus. I have to take San Diego in doubles because none of the Virginia Tech doubles teams have played a match before plus I like Vittek, Page, and Osorio in singles while I’ll go with Ribeiro and Korsgaard for VT. Prediction: San Diego 4-2
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – San Diego 81, Virginia Tech 79)
1. Filip Vittek (USD 14.19) vs. Jai Corbett (VT 13.54)
2. Gus Koevermans (USD 13.58) vs. Alex Ribeiro (VT 13.57)
3. Josh Page (USD 13.16) vs. Mitch Harper (VT 13.19)
4. Joel Gamerov (USD 12.94) vs. Henrik Korsgaard (VT 13.23)
5. Guilherme Osorio (USD 13.71) vs. Abraham Asaba (VT 12.74)
6. Alex Araouzos (USD 13.09) vs. Feliksas Sakalauskas (VT 12.98)
B. Pratt Keerasuntonpong (USD 11.88); Jason Kros (VT 12.46)
East Tennessee State [4] at #8 USC [1] – 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT – ETSU dropped its first two at Wake Forest and Alabama while USC won its first three over the UCs (Santa Cruz, Riverside, Irvine). ETSU is one of those teams that isn’t going to get blown off the court so USC is going to have to bear down and play some solid tennis to win this one. I’m going to take the Bucs in doubles and Biosca in singles but USC gets wins from Holt, Forget, Devine, and Jaede with a few of those coming in third sets – tight match but USC pulls through. Prediction: USC 4-2
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – USC 83, East Tennessee State 78)
1. #43 David Biosca (ETSU 14.08) vs. #28 Logan Smith (USC 13.69)
2. #65 Diego Nunez (ETSU 12.90) vs #20 Brandon Holt (USC 14.35)
3. Robert Herrera (ETSU 13.70) vs #88 Nick Crystal (USC 14.07)
4. Miguel Este (ETSU 12.50) vs. #114 Thibault Forget (USC 13.94)
5. David Gonzalez (ETSU 12.49) vs. Jake Devine (USC 13.71)
6. Juan Lugo (ETSU 12.48*) vs. Jack Jaede (USC 13.33)
B. Wenceslao Albin (ETSU 12.46)/Riley Smith (USC 13.25)
* Lugo’s UTR has just 12% reliability
Regional Final – After USC has a tough one against ETSU I think they’ll relax a little more and take care of business against San Diego by taking the doubles point and picking up wins from Holt, Crystal, and Forget. Prediction: USC 4-0
___________________________________________________________
Texas Tech Regional – McLeod Tennis Complex – Lubbock, TX (Outdoors)
#20 Mississippi State [2] vs. Florida State [3] – 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT – Missisippi State opened its season on the west coast but had its scheduled opener against Pepperdine get rained out however it was able to play the next day down in San Diego and defeated San Diego State 5-2. Florida State has already played six matches going 5-1 with a notable win against South Alabama and the loss coming to Georgia State. Mississippi State has two newcomers on the roster that just arrived in the last few weeks with Giovani Oradini set to make his dual-match debut at No. 5 while Simon Baudry picked up a win in his dual-match debut against San Diego State. I’ll take Florida State in doubles but I like Mississippi State everywhere else. Prediction: Mississippi State 4-1
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Mississippi State 83, Florida State 80)
1. #6 Nuno Borges (MSU 14.38) vs. #71 Aziz Dougaz (FSU 14.00)
2. Mate Cutura (MSU 13.38) vs. #59 Guy Iradukunda (FSU 13.43)
3. Strahinja Rakic (MSU 13.69) vs. Lucas Poullain (FSU 13.60)
4. Niclas Braun (MSU 13.70) vs. Jose Gracia (FSU 13.16)
5. Giovani Oradini (MSU 13.96) vs. Terrance Whitehurst (FSU 13.00)
6. Simon Baudry (MSU 13.47) vs. Terrell Whitehurst (FSU 12.83)
B. Trevor Foshey MSU 12.95); Alex Knaff (FSU 12.98)
Iowa [4] at Texas Tech [1] – 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT – Iowa comes in 2-0 with wins over Western Michigan and Creighton while Texas Tech is 2-1 with wins over New Mexico and Wichita State and a close 4-3 loss at Central Florida. Texas Tech had to replace its top two (Soares/Dojas) from last year and so far several guys have had a tougher time playing higher in the lineup. Iowa is improving with each passing year but they haven’t improved enough to be able to pull off an upset like this. I think Iowa will have its chances on a few courts (2, 5, 6) but I’ll take the Red Raiders in doubles and Cailleau, Curry, and Thomson in singles. Prediction: Texas Tech 4-0
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Texas Tech 81, Iowa 77)
1. Josh Silverstein (UI 13.07) vs. #25 Jolan Cailleau (TT 14.08)
2. Elefttherios Theodorou (UI 13.14) vs. Alex Sendegeya (TT 13.71)
3. Kareem Allaf (UI 13.01) vs. Connor Curry (TT 13.94)
4. Robin Haden (UI 12.43) vs. Bjorn Thomson (TT 13.79)
5. Jonas Larsen (UI 12.75) vs. Ronit Bisht (TT 12.70)
6. Jake Jacoby (UI 12.68) vs. Carlos DiLaura (TT 12.60)
B. Jason Kerst (UI 12.70); Pyry Hyrkkonen (TT 13.27)
Regional Final – I’m going to go with the seeding upset in this one however it won’t be an upset by ITA ranking or UTR – Texas Tech will take the doubles point but Mississippi State will get them in singles at 1, 4, 5, and 6. Prediction: Mississippi State def. Texas Tech 4-2.
___________________________________________________________
Texas A&M Regional – Mitchell Tennis Center- College Station, TX (Outdoors)
#23 SMU [2] vs. Ole Miss [3] – 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – SMU comes in with a 2-1 record after winning at Arkansas last Friday while Ole Miss is 1-0 with its only match coming at Hawaii three weeks ago. SMU doesn’t have any ranked singles players but that’s just because the coaches let the guys play pro events instead of playing college tournaments. The doubles point is a toss-up but I’m leaning towards Ole Miss because most of their pairings played together all fall. I like SMU’s Hunter Johnson, Samm Butler, and Arkaidijs Slobodkins in singles but I’ll take Gustav Hansson, Fabian Fallert, and Filip Kraljevic for Ole Miss. Prediction: Ole Miss 4-3
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – SMU 80, Ole Miss 80)
1. Ronald Slobodchikov (SMU 13.90) vs. #14 Gustav Hansson (UM 14.26)
2. Hunter Johnson (SMU 13.65) vs. #83 Tim Sandkaulen (UM 13.50)
3. Samm Butler (SMU 14.16) vs. Ricardo Jorge (UM 13.00)
4. Markus Kerner (SMU 12.86) vs. Fabian Fallert (UM 13.23)
5. Yates Johnson (SMU 12.85) vs. Filip Kraljevic (UM 13.02)
6. Arkaidijs Slobodkins (SMU 12.51) vs. Zvonimir Babic (UM 13.00)
B. Julio Olaya (SMU 12.30); Grey Hamilton (UM 12.71)
#21 Baylor [4] at #15 Texas A&M [1] – 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT – Baylor won its openers last weekend against Grand Canyon and Incarnate Word while Texas A&M slid out of Houston with a thrilling 4-3 win over Rice. This is by far the closest 1 vs. 4 matchup of all the KOW Regionals with the two teams only separated by six spots in the rankings. Baylor has three new starters in the lineup with Juan Benitez and Johannes Schretter rejoining the team after taking last year off while Bjoern Petersen is a freshman. Texas A&M had to replace a ton of firepower following the departures of Shane Vinsant, Harrison Adams, and Jackson Withrow though it added Val Vacherot a few weeks ago and he won his opener against Rice It’s pretty rare for a No. 1 seed to get beat in the opening round but I think that’s what were looking at in this one. I’ll take Baylor in doubles and Benitez, Tchoutakian, and Bendeck in singles while A&M gets wins from Lunkin, Arconada, and Vacherot. Prediction: Baylor 4-3
Projected Singles Lineup (UTR Power 6 – Texas A&M 83, Baylor 82)
1. Juan Benitez (BU 14.56) vs. #16 Arthur Rinderknech (aTm 14.63)
2. #44 Max Tchoutakian (BU 13.84) vs. AJ Catanzariti (aTm 13.69)
3. Johannes Schretter (BU 13.16) vs. Max Lunkin (aTm 13.81)
4. Jimmy Bendeck (BU 13.68) vs. Aleksandre Bakshi (aTm 13.44)
5. Bjoern Petersen (BU 13.59) vs. Jordi Arconada (aTm 13.47)
6. Will Little (BU 13.02) vs. Val Vacherot (aTm 13.95)
B. Constantin Frantzen (BU 13.09)/James Martell (aTm 12.62)
Regional Final – After a physical match against Texas A&M I think Baylor will have a slightly easier go of it against Ole Miss and will get wins from Benitez, Tchoutakian, and Petersen along with taking the doubles point. Prediction: Baylor def. Ole Miss 4-1
{else} You must be a registered user of the site in order to view the remaining content on this page. Please visit our MEMBERS area to LOGIN or SUBSCRIBE to view all premium content. {/rsmembership}
I'm not a fan of the TCU program but have a few questions that maybe TCU or Big 12 fans, or others can answer or provide some insight. I don't mean to deal in rumor or speculation, but have heard a lot of same recently that due to his success on the Challenger tour and for other reasons, Norrie is considering turning pro and leaving TCU soon. Does anyone have any additional insight on this or when a decision may be made. Also, Bobby mentioned in a recent post that Blake and Daniel had left the program in the Fall(WHY?) but have now returned(WHY?). Finally, what were the "recent NCAA rulings" that apparently effected attrition. Maybe I'm "reading too much between the lines" but it seems like there is always some degree of chaos/controversy surrounding that program and its Coach.
Blake and Daniel left due to a lack of singles playing time but now they've returned since singles playing time is available due to Nava and Johnson's injuries. The NCAA issues with Gray/Escobar were NCAA red-tape issues with eligibility and when test scores and whatnot were received – one of these days I'll have to attend an NCAA seminar to try and figure out all these rules. I know Norrie loves college otherwise he would have flown the coup after this past summer – my guess and it's just a guess is that he finishes out this semester and goes pro like some of the other guys that have after their juniors years (McDonad/Schnur/Giron). In my opinion TCU has just had a string of bad luck with all these things happening at the same time. Big fan of the coach and his passion for the sport!
Thanks so much Bobby for your prompt response as always in re: my TCU questions. You're the best, don't know what us college tennis fans would do without you. BTW, really enjoying the premium content and would recommend all subscribe.
Bobby is, as usual, accurate about the TCU problems, Cam Norrie made it to the semis at the Maui Challenger and only lost today to Taro Daniel 4-6, 4-6. He's had a lot of success last summer through now and leaped from an ATP ranking in the 700's to 266 and the Maui performance will move him up further. He's already, more or less, within reach of qualifying for the qualies at the French Open and at Wimbledon this year and was this week selected as a back-up for the British Davis Cup team (mostly as a practice partner but also as a potential replacement in case Andy Murray or one of their other players gets injured or has another commitment during a particular tie). Nonetheless, he decided to return to TCU for this season (with an occasional pro tourney that he might fit in). He had entered the Dallas Challenger starting this week, but because he went so deep at Maui, he withdrew. He's already played at Northwestern and at Tulsa for TCU – he's missing the ITA Kickoff but is expected back. He could conceivably go pro full-time at any time, but I don't think it will be until June, at the earliest. We'll see.
Eduardo Nava suffered a bad hamstring injury last Spring and is still recovering from the required surgery and everyone assumes he's gonna redshirt. Trevor Johnson had a more recent injury – I'm not sure when he'll be back. Luckily, Blake and Daniel are available. Bobby apparently knows more than TCU fans about Gray and Escobar – I read an article last fall about Gray being pulled out of "regular" school a few years ago and instead being home-schooled with a tutor. Evidently, his issue is with grades and accreditation about that. Both will presumably be available at some point, but no one knows when as yet. If and when everyone is available, the Frogs will be strong and deep – until then, we have depth issues.
Johnson at best will be back by April; at worst he won't make it back until next year, Escobar should be in the mix by the Dartmouth/Columbia weekend, and you'll have to wait until next year on Gray unless something unexpected happens.