Tuesday Preview – Oklahoma/Virginia, Baylor/Ole Miss, Ohio State/Florida

#12 Virginia (9-2) at #1 Oklahoma (13-1) – 6pm est (Calm – Temps in 60s) – This is the premier match of the day with both of these teams expected to be national title contenders come May.  Despite the #12 ranking many consider Virginia to be a top 5, if not top 2 or 3, team because they are loaded with talent but have had a few spots in the lineup that haven’t produced quite as well as originally expected.  Oklahoma of course if coming off the huge road win in Columbus that ended Ohio State’s 200-match home court winning streak so the Sooners are going to be playing with a ton of confidence. Virginia is 9-2 in doubles while Oklahoma is 8-6 so you’d have to consider Virginia the favorite to take the doubles point but Oklahoma has won the point a few times when many weren’t expecting it (USC 2X).

When looking through the singles lineup I think the top 3 matches could go either way, I think Altamirano is a favorite at 4 over Papa, Ghilea is a favorite over Aragone, and Ritschard should be favored at 6 over Bragusi but Ritschard hasn’t played as well lately dropping 2 of his last 3 so this one’s a toss-up too.  So who will win – I think John Roddick’s team has been playing great in the big moments and even though they had the slip up on the road in College Station I just have a feeling that they’ll find a way to pull this one out with a raucous home crowd helping them along.  OU takes the doubles point and gets singles wins from Harris, Ghilea, and Bragusi to fight off a game Virginia team.  Prediction:  Oklahoma 4-3

Projected Singles Lineup
1. #59 Mitchell Frank (UVA 14.88) vs. #12 Andrew Harris (OU 14.71)
2. #2 Ryan Shane (UVA 14.56) vs. #7 Axel Alvarez (OU 14.50)
3. #1 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA 14.83) vs. #18 Dane Webb (OU 14.20)
4, Collin Altamirano (UVA 14.81) vs. Spencer Papa (OU 13.91)
5. JC Aragone (UVA 13.80) vs. #56 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.16)
6. Alexander Ritschard (UVA 13.91) vs. Florin Bragusi (OU 13.52)

Others who could play: Mac Styslinger (UVA 13.93), Jose Salazar (OU 13.68)

#5 Baylor (11-2) at #9 Ole Miss (9-3) – 6pm est (90% chance of rain)  – This match had a lot of buzz around it up until Saturday afternoon when Ole Miss got stunned by unranked Alabama 4-2 and in the process also had William Kallberg retire due to an injury. Kallberg’s status for tomorrow is still unknown but for him to be in enough discomfort to retire has to make one believe that he probably won’t play tomorrow.  If he can’t go then Ricardo Jorge, Zvonimir Babic, and Vinod Gowda will fill the 4-6 spots. Baylor is a perfect 12-0 in doubles while Ole Miss is 7-5 so I expect BU to take the opening 1-0 lead.  Since the weather forecast calls for rain this match will most likely be played indoors at the Gillom Sports Center’s 3 indoor courts which means it could take a while if Ole Miss is able to hold its own up top.  Nik Scholtz and Julian Lenz have met 3 times over the last 2 years with Lenz winning twice in straights last year and Scholtz winning in three sets 2 years ago.  I’m leaning towards both Scholtz and Lindmark at 1 and 2 but after that I like Baylor the rest of the way down. Prediction: Baylor 4-2

Projected Singles Lineup
1. #11 Julian Lenz (BU 14.72) vs. #60 Nik Scholtz (OM 14.32)
2. #40 Max Tchoutakian (BU 14.16) vs. #63 Stefan Lindmark (OM 14.15)
3. #23 Tony Lupieri (BU 14.31) vs. Gustav Hansson (OM 13.81)
4. Diego Galeano (BU 13.78) vs. William Kallberg (OM 13.32)
5. Vince Schneider (BU 13.51) vs. #117 Ricardo Jorge (OM 13.10)
6. Mate Zsiga (BU 13.89) vs. Zvonimir Babic (OM 12.85)

Others who could play:  Felipe Rios (BU 13.70), Vinod Gowda (OM 12.78)

#8 Ohio State (12-4) at #11 Florida (6-4) – 3pm est (Temps in 80s) – A year ago Ohio State ended Florida’s season when the Buckeyes beat the Gators 4-3 in the NCAA Round of 16 in a match that saw Kevin Metka provide the clincher at 7-6 in the 3rd.  9 of the 12 projected starters participated in that match however the only potential rematch may be at #3 where Watson beat Pollanen in straight sets.  Both of these teams are coming off tough 4-3 losses with Ohio State losing to Oklahoma when Metka fell 7-6 in the 3rd while Florida rallied from 3-0 down against Vanderbilt only to lose at #6 singles in straight sets.  The warm weather will definitely be more familiar to Florida but I don’t know if the Gators have enough firepower to take out Ohio State.  Ohio State is 14-2 in doubles while Florida is 5-5 so that’s a huge edge to Ohio State.  I think the Buckeyes take the doubles point and pick up singles wins from Chris Diaz, Hunter Callahan, and Kevin Metka to slide past Florida. On the other courts I like Hidalgo at 1, Watson at 3, and Steinbach at 4 though I imagine they’ll stop at the clinch.  Prediction: Ohio State 4-1

Projected Singles Lineup
1. #36 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU 13.94) vs. #46 Diego Hidalgo (UF 14.11)
2. #43 Chris Diaz (OSU 13.87) vs. #103 Maxx Lipman (UF 13.76)
3. #78 Herkko Pollanen (OSU 13.56) vs. Gordon Watson (UF 13.73)
4. #73 Ralf Steinbach (OSU 13.89) vs. #80 Elliott Orkin (UF 13.95)
5. #106 Hunter Callahan (OSU 13.95) vs. #123 Chase Perez-Blanco (UF 13.39)
6. Kevin Metka (OSU 13.89) vs. Oliver Landert (UF 13.13)

Others who could play:  Josh Wardell (UF 13.12), Jordan Belga (UF 13.05)

My prediction record last week 4-2
My prediction record overall 32-10