They’ll be 3 really good ones on Saturday with LA, Chicago, and Austin the places to be. What’s so great is that 2 of these 3 will be on TV with the Pac 12 Network carrying the singles portion of the USC/UCLA match and with the Longhorn Network carrying the Illinois/Texas match in its entirety.
It’ll be interesting to see if USC can snap out of its recent funk or if UCLA can ride the comeback of Gage Brymer to an upset win. It’ll be interesting to see how Illinois looks after a 2 week layoff and whether they’ll switch up 1 and 2 singles in an attempt to sweep the top 2 spots. It will also will be interesting to see how Columbia looks playing outdoors at Northwestern and who they’ll play in the lower half of the lineup. Lots of questions to be answered in the next 24 hours – should be a great afternoon of tennis.
3. Martin Redlicki (UCLA 14.19) vs. Eric Johnson (USC 14.01)
#1 singles – #5 Mackenzie McDonald is 9-1 in dual match play with a 7-1 record against ranked opponents while #8 Yannick Hanfmann is 8-2 overall and 4-2 against ranked opponents however he’s been run off the court the last 2 times out. I’ll like Mackenzie McD in straights as Hanfmann’s losing streak will grow to 3.
#2 singles – #33 Dennis Mkrtchian is 4-4 in dual match play with all but 1 of those matches coming against a ranked opponent while #20 Roberto Quiroz is 7-2 (all but 1 against ranked opponent) but just 2-2 in his last 4. These 2 seniors have faced each other 7 times over the last 4 years with each having won 3 times with the one other match going unfinished. In the only meeting this year Quiroz won 6-2, 6-0 in the final of the Sherwood Cup. I’m going to go with the USC senior here and I look for Roberto Quiroz to win in 3.
#3 singles – Martin Redlicki has had a great freshman year going 9-1 in dual match play and is currently riding a 6-match winning streak while Eric Johnson is 10-1 in dual match play and he’s riding an 8-match winning streak. One of the streaks has to give here and I think it’ll be Johnson’s continuing on and Redlicki’s falling to the wayside. Johnson in 2.
#4 singles – Karue Sell is 8-4 on the year playing 7 of those 12 at #4 while the double fisting #35 Jonny Wang is 5-3 but 2-0 since dropping down from 3 to 4. The double fisting reference is of course relating to his 2 handed forehand and nothing else. Wang won both of the previous encounters between these 2 so why not make it 3. Wang in 2.
#5 singles – Gage Brymer, who is 1-3 in dual match play, will likely make his return to the court after missing the last 5 matches due to personal reasons. #50 Max De Vroome is 6-1 on the year splitting time between 4 and 5 and the Big Dutchman has won 3 in a row with 2 of the last 3 going 3 sets. These 2 met 3 times last year with Brymer taking 2 of them however it’s tough to tell what kind of Brymer we’re going to see. With a little hesitation I’m going to take Brymer in 3.
#6 singles – Austin Rapp is 3-3 on the year though he’s had 5 other matches go unfinished of which he was trailing in 3 and tied in the other 2. #51 Nick Crystal has been a stud at the bottom of the lineup going a perfect 9-0 with 7 of the 9 wins in straights. Put #10 on the board as Crystal wins in 2.
When these 2 get together it’s usually an instant classic and I think UCLA is going to play with enough purpose to make it another great one. I like UCLA in doubles and at 1 and 5 but I think USC’s guts it out at 2, 3, 4, and 6 with Roberto Quiroz winning a tight 3rd set to clinch it. I will say that the only court where I see a clear favorite is at #6 singles (Crystal) – everywhere else in my opinion really could go either way depending on who is hot and who is not. Prediction: USC 4-3
3. #32 Tim Kopinski (ILL 14.15) vs. #60 Adrien Berkowicz (TX 13.77)
4. #76 Aron Hiltzik (ILL 13.76) vs. Nick Naumann (TX 13.96)
5. #49 Aleks Vukic (ILL 14.19) vs. George Goldhoff (TX 13.71)
6. Toshiki Matsuya (ILL 13..11) vs. John Mee (TX 13.56)
Also could see action: Adrian Ortiz-Ruiz (TX 13.28), Ross Guignon (ILL 13.20)
#1 singles – #18 Jared Hiltzik is 12-0 on the year with 10 of those 12 wins at #2 singles while #2 Soren Hess-Olesen is a perfect 13-0 at #1 with 8 of those wins over ranked opponents. The reason why I think we’ll see Hiltzik at #1 instead of Gosea is because Hiltzik has a head-to-head win over Hess-Olsen (6-2, 6-4 – Feb 2014). The SHO goes on – Hess-Olsen in 3.
#2 singles – #61 Farris Gosea is 5-4 on the year with all 9 matches at #1 but he lost in straights the last time out to Notre Dame’s Quentin Monaghan. #52 Lloyd Glasspool is 8-1 on the year including 3-1 against ranked opposition. Gosea won the head-to-head last year 6-2, 6-1. I like Gosea in 2.
#3 singles – #32 Tim Kopinski is 12-1 on the year with a 4-1 record against ranked opponents while #60 Adrien Berkowicz is 11-2 but 2-2 against ranked opponents and he has lost 2 of his last 3. Kopinski has only dropped 23 games in his last 6 matches which means he’s winning by roughly a 6-2, 6-2 score each time out – he’ll drop a few than that but I think he gets the win.
#4 singles – #76 Aron Hiltzik is 8-3 on the year winning his only match against a ranked opponent (Steinbach) plus he has won 6 in a row. Nick Naumann is 7-3 on the year including 1-1 against ranked opposition (W – Nate Lammons & L -Ralf Steinbach) and he’s won 2 in a row after dropping the previous 3 before that. Hiltzik is 3 tight sets.
#5 singles – #49 Aleks Vukic is 9-1 in dual match play and he is currently riding a 7-match winning streak while George Goldhoff is 3-3 in what has been an injury riddled spring. Vukic in 2.
#6 singles – Toshiki Matsuya is 6-1 on the year but he lost his last time out to Notre Dame’s Alex Lawson while John Mee is 5-3 on the year and he’s won his last 2. I’ll go with Mee in 3.
Illinois opened up the year by winning at Baylor and I see the Illini making it 2-0 in the state of Texas by picking up 4 wins in singles at 2, 3, 4, and 5. Prediction: Illinois 4-3
Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #16 Winston Lin (CU 14.21) vs. #88 Sam Shropshire (NW 13.89)
2. #83 Dragos Ignat (CU 13.65) vs. #107 Strong Kirchheimer (NW 13.82)
3. Ashok Narayana (CU 13.47) vs. Logan Staggs (NW 13.22)
4. Bert Vancura (CU 12.82) vs. Mihir Kumar (NW 12.95)
5. Mike Vermeer (CU 13.41) vs. Fedor Baev (NW 12.97)
6. Shawn Hadavi (CU 13.26) vs. Alp Horoz (NW 12.90)
Also could play: Eric Rubin (CU 13.35), Max Schnur (CU 13.15)
Columbia has had 8 different guys see action in at least 3 of the team’s 8 matches so outside of 1 and 2 singles it’s tough to know how they’ll line up.
#1 singles: #16 Winston Lin is 5-2 in dual match play with ranked wins over Georgia’s #17 Wayne Montgomery and Cal’s #67 Andre Goransson while #88 Sam Shropshire is 11-5 but just 1-5 against ranked foes. I’d consider Lin to be the favorite in this one and he should win in 2.
#2 singles: #83 Dragos Ignat is 5-3 in dual match play but 0-3 against ranked foes while #107 Strong Kirchheimer is 12-3 and has won 8 of his last 9 but he is also 0-3 against ranked opponents. Somebody is going to get a ranked win here assuming the match finishes – I’ll take the Wildcat sophomore in 3.
#3 singles: Ashok Narayana is 5-1 playing 4 of the 6 matches at #4 while Logan Staggs is 8-7 but 7-4 at #3. I like Narayana in 3.
#4 singles: Bert Vancura is 5-2 in dual match play and has won 5 of his last 6 while Mihir Kumar is 8-6 in dual match play and has won 4 of his last 5. I like Vancura in 3.
#5 singles: Mike Vermeer is 3-0 in dual match play while Fedor Baev is 10-4 with Baev winning 8 of his last 9. I’ll go with Baev in 3.
#6 singles: Shawn Hadavi is 3-2 in dual match play while Alp Horoz in 8-3. I’ll go with Horoz in 3.
In what should be a close match with several singles matches going 3 sets I’ll go with Columbia in a mild upset with the Lions taking the doubles point and picking up singles wins at 1, 3, and 4. Prediction: Columbia 4-3
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