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Saturday Preview: Texas A&M/TCU, Georgia/Ole Miss, UCLA/Cal, USC/Stanford

by | Apr 11, 2015 | Blog | 3 comments

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Friday was a great day of tennis so hopefully these 4 matches below can bring us just as much enjoyment.

TCU has already beat Texas A&M once and that was on the road – can they win this one at home? Does Georgia wrap up a share of the SEC regular season title and the #1 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament or does Ole Miss make a strong push for the top 10? Stanford has already beat both Cal and UCLA this year – could they possibly also beat USC today? Does UCLA regroup from the Stanford loss and beat an improving Cal? We’ll have our answers in a few hours.

#7 Texas A&M (18-3) at #10 TCU (18-6) – 2pm est/1pm cst – This will be a rematch from the 1st day of the season when TCU went into College Station and beat Texas A&M 4-2 (box score below). Both teams have shuffled the lineup a good bit so it’s to take with the only expected rematch to come at #5 singles between Catanzariti and Lugones.

Previous Result:

#37 TCU 4, #10 Texas A&M 2
Jan 24, 2015 at College Station, TX (Mitchell Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #24 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. #29 Harrison Adams (TAMU) 6-4, 6-1
2. #45 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) vs. Nick Chappell (TCU) 6-3, 3-6, 5-3, unf
3. #96 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) def. #91 Will Stein (TCU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Arnau Dachs (TCU) def. Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 5-7, 6-1, 6-1
5. Facundo Lugones (TCU) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-4, 7-5
6. #87 Guillermo Nunez (TCU) def. Jordan Szabo (TAMU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #25 Adams/Vinsant (TAMU) def. #20 Chappell/Stein (TCU) 6-3
2. #18 Efferding/Jordan Szabo (TAMU) def. #15 Norrie/Johnson (TCU) 6-3
3. Catanzariti/Rinderknech (TAMU) vs. Dachs/Nunez (TCU) 4-5, unf
Match Notes
TCU 2-0; National ranking #37
Texas A&M 0-1; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,6,3,5,4)
ITA Kick-Off Week, First Round

Doubles Record:
Texas A&M 18-3 overall
TCU 12-10 overall

Projected Doubles Lineup with records in ( ):
1. #13 Adams/Vinsant (aTm 8-6) vs. #18 Chappell/Stein (TCU 8-9)
2. #41 Efferding/Jordan Szabo (aTm 14-4) vs. #29 Norrie/Trevor Johnson (TCU 9-2)
3. Rinderknech/Catanzariti (aTm 14-2) vs. Hudson Blake/Nunez (TCU 3-1)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #60 Jeremy Efferding (aTm 14.26) vs. #48 Nick Chappell (TCU 13.86)
2. #64 Shane Vinsant (aTm 14.24) vs. #50 Cameron Norrie (TCU 14.22)
3. Arthur Rinderknech (aTm 14.25) vs. #63 Guillermo Nunez (TCU 13.70)
4. #55 Harrison Adams (aTm 13.64) vs. Arnau Dachs (TCU 13.88)
5. #78 AJ Catanzariti (aTm 14.24) vs. Facundo Lugones (TCU 13.85)
6. Jordi Arconada (aTm 13.37) vs. Will Stein (TCU 13.34)

Others who could play: Max Lunkin (aTm 13.10, Jordan Szabo (aTm 13.10), Trevor Johnson (TCU 13.32)

FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of April 10th.  For more details about UTR check out their website. 

Dual-Match singles records:

1. Efferding 9-3 (5 straight matches DNFs) vs. Chappell 11-4 (won 9 of 11)
2. Vinsant 6-2 (won 4 in a row) vs. Norrie 10-8 (split last 6)
3. Rinderknech 11-2 (won 3 in a row) vs. Nunez 16-1 (won 16 of 17)
4. Adams 2-8 (won 2 in a row) vs. Dachs 13-5 (won 3 of 4)
5. Catanzariti 16-3 (won 12 in a row) vs. Lugones 12-4 (won 7 in a row)
6. Arconada 7-2 (won 5 in a row) vs. Stein 9-6 (won 5 of 6)

TCU has struggled in doubles most of the year while it’s been a speciality of Texas A&M so I’ll go with the Aggies in doubles.

There should be a lot of close matches in singles with every matchup fairly even.  Jeremy Efferding’s last 5 matches have gone unfinished due to an early A&M clinch so it’ll be interesting to see if that effects him any against Nick Chappell.  Chappell has gone 4-2 since taking over the #1 spot back on March 15th. Shane Vinsant has been sharp the last 2 weeks while Cameron Norrie has been a little up and down.  Both Arthur Rinderknech and Guillermo Nunez have been tearing it up all year so something has to give in this one  Harrison Adams started the year at #1 but after his struggles has fallen to #4 while Arnau Dachs has been steady week in and out.  Both AJ Catanzariti and Facundo Lugones have been tough all year so I expect a 3-setter in this one. Jordi Arconada just joined the team before the first match and didn’t play for another month while Will Stein played at #3 but has since dropped to #6 after hitting a little lull in the middle of the season.

So who do I like in each?  If that match at #1 finishes I like Efferding in 3, I like Vinsant in 3, Rinderknech in 3, Dachs in 2, Catanzariti in 3, and Stein in 2. Prediction: Texas A&M 4-2

#14 Ole Miss (16-6) at #8 Georgia (18-3) – 5pm est – This is a big match for both teams with a Georgia win giving the Bulldogs a share of the SEC regular season championship and the #1 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament while an Ole Miss win could potentially push the Rebels into the top 10 and would all but guarantee that Ole Miss would host a NCAA regional.

Georgia had to make some adjustments to its doubles lineup due to Eric Diaz undergoing an emergency appendectomy earlier in the week which will keep him out for at least a month.  Diaz and Nathan Pasha made up Georgia’s #2 team so Pasha is now paired with Nick Wood and they’ll play at 3. Georgia’s #3 team of Wayne Montgomery and Paul Oosterbaan slid up a spot and will play at 2. Ole Miss already went through its doubles shakeup a month or so ago when William Kallberg injured his ankle.

Doubles Record:
Ole Miss 12-10 overall, 7-4 SEC
Georgia  14-7 overall, 7-4 SEC

Projected Doubles Lineup with records in ( ):
1. Scholtz/Babic (OM 8-5) vs. #1 Smith/Wagland (UGA 11-2)
2. Lindmark/Hansson (OM 3-3) vs. Montgomery/Oosterbaan (UGA 9-4)
3. Kallberg/Grey Hamilton (OM 3-5) vs. Pasha/Wood (UGA 2-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #16 Nik Scholtz (OM 14.10) vs. #34 Austin Smith (UGA 14.22)
2. #84 Stefan Lindmark (OM 14.18) vs. #27 Wayne Montgomery (UGA 14.51)
3. Gustav Hansson (OM 13.76) vs. #25 Nathan Pasha (UGA 14.28)
4. William Kallberg (OM 13.25) vs. Ben Wagland (UGA 13.30)
5. Vinod Gowda (OM 12.97) vs. Nick Wood (UGA 13.84)
6. Ricardo Jorge (OM 13.14) vs. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA 13.68)

Others who could play: Zvonimir Babic (OM 12.90) – listed at #5 in official lineup but hasn’t played singles in the last 3 matches

FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of April 10th.  For more details about UTR check out their website. 

Dual-Match singles records:
1. Scholtz 13-3 (won 5 in a row) vs. Smith 13-4 (won 9 of 10)
2. Lindmark 14-3 (won 6 in a row and 8 of 9) vs. Montgomery 12-3 (won 5 in a row and 10 of 11)
3. Hansson 8-7 (won 4 of 5) vs. Pasha 11-4 (lost 2 in a row but had won 10 straight prior)
4. Kallberg 5-8 (lost 5 in a row) vs. Wagland 8-5 (won 5 in a row)
5. Gowda 8-3 (won 4 of 5) vs. Wood 11-5 (won 5 of 6)
6. Jorge 7-3 (split last 4) vs. Oosterbaan 10-3 (won 9 in a row)

It seems fitting that these long time rivals are matched up for the final regular season match of the year because usually one or both of them are in contention for the SEC crown.  Ole Miss was able to overcome the loss of the doubles point at South Carolina but it’ll be much tougher to win 4 singles matches against Georgia.  I do like Nik Scholtz at #1 singles over Austin Smith but Georgia will be favored everywhere else.  I think Nathan Pasha, who’ll be playing in his final regular season match in Athens, gets it done at #3 and I also like Ben Wagland and Nick Wood at #4 and #5.  The matchup at #2 between Stefan Lindmark and Wayne Montgomery should be a very good one but it’ll likely not finish.  I’d say for Ole Miss to win the best path for them would be doubles, Scholtz, Lindmark, and Jorge.  Prediction: Georgia 4-1

#15 UCLA (13-7) at #27 California (16-6) – 6pm est/3pm pst – UCLA is coming off a rough 4-3 loss to Stanford while Cal gave USC all it wanted but still came up short 4-2. I personally think Dennis Mkrtchian should be playing at 2 and Michael Redlicki at 3 but we’ll see if Billy switches them up today after Redlicki came up short yesterday at #2.  I like Cal in doubles and at 5 and 6 singles but I think the Bruins win at 1 – 4 and salvage the weekend with at least 1 win.  Prediction: UCLA 4-3

Projected Singles Lineup:

1. #4 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA 14.99) vs. #59 Andre Goransson (Cal 13.95)
2. #119 Martin Redlicki (UCLA 14.38) vs. #74 Filip Bergevi (Cal 13.85) 
3. #29 Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA 13.91) vs. Gregory Bayane (Cal 13.41) 
4. Karue Sell (UCLA 13.98) vs. Oskar Wikberg (Cal 13.38) 
5. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA 13.37) vs. J.T. Nishimura (Cal 13.63)
6. Austin Rapp (UCLA 12.95) vs. Mads Engsted (Cal 13.45) 
#5 USC (19-3) at #36 Stanford (14-4) – 5pm est/2pm pst – USC is coming off a tough 4-2 win at Cal while Stanford upset UCLA on Friday in what was one of the bigger wins for the Cardinal in recent memory.  These teams met back on February 27th in LA with USC winning 6-1 (box score below) and unless the teams shuffle their lineups some from yesterday there should be 5 singles rematches.  Stanford has a really good shot at doubles and at 1 and 2 singles but I think USC gets it done at 3 – 6.  Prediction: USC 4-3
Projected Singles Lineup
1. #6 Yannick Hanfmann (USC 14.85) vs. #41 Tom Fawcett (ST 14.32) 
2. #19 Roberto Quiroz (USC 14.47) vs. #100 John Morrissey (ST 13.95)
3. #123 Eric Johnson (USC 14.30) vs. David Wilczynski (ST 13.84) 
4. #33 Jonny Wang (USC 14.19) vs. Robert Stineman (ST 13.18) 
5. #75 Max de Vroome (USC 14.06) vs. Nolan Paige (ST 13.32) 
6. #86 Nick Crystal (USC 13.98) vs. David Hsu (ST 13.81) 

#1 USC 6, #37 Stanford 1
Feb 27, 2015 – Marks Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.) 
DOUBLES
(1) Morrissey/Stineman (Stan.) def. #2 Hanfmann/Quiroz (USC) – 6-3
(2) #30 De Vroome/Johnson (USC) vs. #49 Fawcett/Romanowicz (Stan.) – 5-4 susp.
(3) Paige/Wilczynski (Stan.) def. Crystal/Wang (USC) – 7-5
Stanford wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 1, 3
SINGLES
(1) #6 Yannick Hanfmann (USC 15.05) def. #26 Tom Fawcett (Stan 14.14) – 6-4, 6-4
(2) #20 Roberto Quiroz (USC 14.44) def. John Morrissey (Stan 14.10) – 6-4, 6-4*
(3) Eric Johnson (USC 13.97) def. David Wilczynski (Stan 13.86) – 6-3, 6-1
(4) #31 Jonny Wang (USC 14.23) def. Maciek Romanowicz (Stan 13.31) – 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
(5) #72 Max de Vroome (USC 14.14) def. Nolan Paige (Stan 13.32) – 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1
(6) #45 Nick Crystal (USC 13.93) def. David Hsu (Stan 13.95) – 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 6, 1, 2*, 5, 4
Saturday schedule of play with scoring links:
#71 Arkansas at #47 South Carolina – 11am est – Live Scoring
#32 Minnesota at Michigan – 12pm est – Live Scoring & Video
Wisconsin at Michigan State – 12pm est – Live Scoring or M-State Twitter if outdoors
#31 Drake at Southern Illinois – 12pm est – S Illinois Twitter
Iowa at #3 Illinois – 1pm est – Live Scoring
#35 Harvard at Penn – 1pm est – Harvard Twitter & Penn Twitter
Yale at #22 Columbia – 1pm est – Columbia Twitter
#54 Dartmouth at #30 Princeton – 1pm est – Princeton Twitter & Dartmouth Twitter
#7 Texas A&M at #10 TCU – 2pm est – Live Scoring
Nebraska at #26 Northwestern – 2pm est – Live Scoring
#18 San Diego at Gonzaga – 3pm est – Streaming Video
#5 USC at #36 Stanford – 5pm est – Live Scoring & Video
#14 Ole Miss at #8 Georgia – 5pm est – Live Scoring & Blog 
#15 UCLA at #27 Cal – 6pm est – Cal Twitter & Streaming Video

3 Comments

  1. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:01 pm

    If nagging injuries are the problem, then the two weeks off between the pac 12 tourney and the ncaa tourney might do wonders. You can then imagine coaches of the top teams looking nervously at the seedings to see whether they might have to play USC in an early round.

  2. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:01 pm

    Something is definitely missing – Hanfmann hasn't been playing much lately and when he does he's losing – he can't be 100%. Quiroz has dropped some that he wouldn't have in the past. Doubles play is very poor for a USC team. Seems like they just don't have that spark right now.

  3. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:01 pm

    Stanford shocks USC!!!<br /><br />What is wrong at USC? Was Ray Sariento really that important from a leadership standpoint?