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Championship Sunday Preview: UVA/Wake, ILL/OSU, OU/BU Once More

by | Apr 26, 2015 | Blog | 3 comments

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Championship Sunday is here and 2 of the 3 will be available over the air with Fox Sports 2 televising the Big 12 Championship LIVE and ESPN3 covering the ACC Championship (weather permitting).  The Virginia/Wake Forest match gets underway at 10am so it should be over by the time Oklahoma and Baylor tie it on for a 4th time. Illinois also has a live stream of the Big 10 Championship although they don’t have sound and the picture is just so-so.

#1 Oklahoma (23-2) at #2 Baylor (21-4) – 1pm est – This will be the 4th match of the year between these 2 with Oklahoma having won the first 3.  I’d expect nothing more than epic fight to the finish and at this point anything is possible.  Below are the box scores of each of the previous matches starting with the most recent and working back to the National Indoors in February.  

#1 Oklahoma 4, #2 Baylor 3
April 10, 2015 at Waco, TX (Hurd Tennis Center)

Singles Competion
1. #2 Axel Alvarez (OU 14.76) def. #1 Julian Lenz (BU 14.77) 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4
2. #7 Andrew Harris (OU 14.85) def. #31 Tony Lupieri (BU 14.12) 6-2, 7-5
3. #30 Dane Webb (OU 14.24) def. #61 Max Tchoutakian (BU 14.33) 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(4)
4. #70 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.19) def. Diego Galeano (BU 13.63) 6-3, 6-3
5. #117 Mate Zsiga (BU 13.86) def. Spencer Papa (OU 13.86) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(5)
6. Felipe Rios (BU 13.83) def. Florin Bragusi (OU 13.58) 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. #54 Lenz/Galeano (BU) def. #8 Alvarez/Webb (OU) 7-6(4)
2. #52 Ghilea/Harris (OU) def. Vince Schneider/Rios (BU) 6-4  
3. Zsiga/Tchoutakian (BU) def. Papa/Bragusi (OU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Oklahoma 21-1 (3-0); National Ranking #1
Baylor 17-4 (1-1); National Ranking #2
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,4,3,6,1,5)



#1 Oklahoma 4, #3 Baylor 1

Mar 22, 2015 at Indian Wells, California (Indian Wells Tennis Garden)

Doubles
1. #5 Dane Webb/Axel Alvarez (OU 13-2) def. #40 Zsiga/Tony Lupieri (BU 2-4) 6-4
2. #77 Julian Lenz/Diego Galeano (BU 12-1) def. #69 Ghilea/Harris (OU 3-4) 6-2
3. Spencer Papa/Florin Bragusi (OU 1-2) def.  Vince Schneider/Rios (BU 11-2) 6-4
Singles
1. #4 Julian Lenz (BU 14.63) def. #19 Andrew Harris (OU 14.78) 6-3, 6-2
2.  #7 Axel Alvarez (OU 14.47) def. #29 Tony Lupieri (BU 14.21) 6-1, 6-2
3. #36 Max Tchoutakian (BU 14.15) vs. #26 Dane Webb (OU 14.29) 6-3, 5-7, 0-1
4. #53 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.13) def. Vince Schneider (BU 13.50) 6-2, 6-3
5. Mate Zsiga (BU 13.86) vs. Spencer Papa (OU 13.76) 7-5, 4-2
6. Florin Bragusi (OU 13.59) def. Felipe Rios (BU 13.73) 7-5, 6-4
Match Notes:
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3)   Singles (2,4,1,6)

#2 Oklahoma 4, #10 Baylor 2
February 15th, 2015 at National Indoors Semifinals – Chicago, IL  
Doubles:
1. #40 Zsiga/Lupieri (BU) vs. #5 Alvarez/Webb (OU) 4-2
2. Lenz/Galeano (BU) def. Papa/Harris (OU) 6-2
3. Schneider/Felipe Rios (BU) def. Salazar/Ghilea (OU) 6-1
Singles:
1. #26 Andrew Harris (OU) vs. #10 Julian Lenz (BU) 6-1, 4-6, 5-5 DNF
2. #11 Axel Alvarez (OU) def. #67 Max Tchoutakian (BU) 6-4, 6-4
3. #31 Dane Webb (OU) def. #27 Tony Lupieri (BU) 6-4, 6-0
4. Spencer Papa (OU) def. Diego Galeano (BU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
5. #63 Alex Ghilea (OU) def. Mate Zsiga (BU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-0
6. Felipe Rios (BU) def. Jose Salazar (OU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
Match Notes:
Order of Finish – Doubles (3,2)  Singles (3,2,4,6,5)
  
FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of April 25th  For more details about UTR check out their website. 
Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #2 Axel Alvarez (OU 14.89) vs. #1 Julian Lenz (BU 15.00) 
2. #5 Andrew Harris (OU 14.95) vs. #33 Tony Lupieri (BU 14.11)
3. #35 Dane Webb (OU 14.25) vs. #74 Max Tchoutakian (BU 14.34)
4. #84 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.33) vs. Diego Galeano (BU 13.70)
5. Spencer Papa (OU 13.86) vs. #110 Mate Zsiga (BU 13.96) 
6. Florin Bragusi (OU 13.65) vs. Felipe Rios (BU 14.04) 

Dual Match Singles Records
1. Alvarez 20-0 vs. Lenz 14-3
2. Harris 16-4 vs. Lupieri 9-8
3. Webb 15-5 vs. Tchoutakian 13-7
4. Ghilea 16-3 vs. Galeano 10-4
5. Papa 10-8 vs. Zsiga 10-3
6. Bragusi 8-3 vs. Rios 17-2

Record Against BU:
1. Alvarez 3-0
2. Harris 1-1
3. Webb 2-0
4. Ghilea 3-0
5. Papa 1-1
6. Bragusi 1-1
Record Against OU:
1. Lenz 1-1
2. Lupieri 0-3
3. Tchoutakian 0-2
4. Galeano 0-2
5. Zsiga 1-1
6. Rios 2-1
Projected Doubles Lineup – W-L in ( ):
1. #69 Alex Ghilea/Andrew Harris (OU 10-5) vs. #18 Lenz/Galeano (BU 18-1)
2. Dane Webb/Spencer Papa (OU 1-0) vs.  #63 Lupieri/Zsiga (BU 5-6)
3. Axel Alvarez/Jose Salazar (OU 0-1) vs. Rios/Schneider (BU 16-3)

Doubles Records:
Oklahoma: 13-12
Baylor: 23-1
I’ve gone with Baylor in 2 of the 3 meetings and was dead on the money the last time except for the match at #3 between Webb and Tchoutakian.  Dare I go with Baylor for a 3rd time?  I got to take Baylor in doubles because they are 23-1 in doubles for a reason.  All 6 singles matches will be rematches from the last time around but they can’t possibly all go the same way this time.  I like Alvarez and Harris up top for OU and I like Tchoutakian and Rios at 3 and 6 for BU.  I think Papa gets past Zsiga this time but I’ll take Galeano in an upset over Ghilea at #4.  Prediction: Baylor 4-3  
ACC:
#5 Virginia (22-3) vs. #11 Wake Forest (21-6) – 10am est – Virginia won the regular season meeting in Winston-Salem 5-2 however Wake’s #1 Noah Rubin did not play in that match.  Below is the box score from that encounter which had 4 singles blowouts with 2 others playing a 10 point tiebreak in lieu of a 3rd set.  
#12 Virginia 5, #20 Wake Forest 2
March 6, 2015 – Winston Salem, NC
Doubles:
1. #55 Corinteli/Shane (UVa) vs. #28 Mansouri/Seraphim (WF) 5-6 DNF
2. Kwiatkowski/Aragone def. Ho/Tabrizi (WF) 8-3
3. Frank/Altamirano (UVa) def. Kan/Bogaerts (WF) 8-1
Singles:
1. #21 Romain Bogaerts (WF) def. #2 Ryan Shane (UVa) 6-4, 6-7, 10-8
2. #59 Mitchell Frank (UVa) def. #70 Jon Ho (WF) 6-4, 3-6, 10-7
3. #1 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Skander Mansouri (WF) 6-2, 6-3
4. Collin Altamirano (UVa) def. Keivon Tabrizi (WF) 6-0, 6-1
5. Christian Seraphim (WF) def. Alexander Ritschard (UVa) 6-3, 6-4
6. J.C. Aragone (UVa) def. Maksim Kan (WF) 6-2, 6-2
Match Notes:
Virginia 8-2 (1-0 ACC); National ranking #12
Wake Forest 8-4 (0-1 ACC); National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,3,6,5,2,1)
T-2:55 A-251
Projected Singles Lineup
1. #7 Ryan Shane (UVA 14.72) vs. #13 Noah Rubin (WF 15.08)
2. #21 Mitchell Frank (UVA 14.79) vs. #15 Romain Bogaerts (WF 14.50)
3. #93 Collin Altamirano (UVA 14.75) vs. Skander Mansouri (WF 13.29) 
4. #18 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA 14.75) vs. #92 Jon Ho (WF 13.82)
5. Alexander Ritschard (UVA 14.00) vs. Christian Seraphim (WF 13.73)
6. JC Aragone (UVA 14.08) vs. Maksim Kan (WF 13.26) or Keivon Tabrizi (13.05)
Dual Match Singles Records:
1. Shane 16-5 vs. Rubin 18-3
2. Frank 16-3 vs. Bogaerts 19-4
3. Altamirano 16-2 vs. Mansouri 13-10
4. Kwiatkowski 18-3 vs. Ho 17-7
5. Ritschard 7-3 vs. Seraphim 17-8
6. Aragone 18-3 vs. Kan 10-5 or Tabrizi 8-6

Projected Doubles Lineup – W-L records in ( )
1. #2 Luca Corinteli/Shane (UVA 15-2) vs. Mansouri/Seraphim (WF 16-6)
2. #63 Styslinger/Kwiatkowski (UVA 13-1) vs. Ho/Rubin (WF 13-4)
3. Altamirano/Frank (UVA 12-3) vs. Tabrizi/Bogaerts (WF 8-4) 

Doubles Records:
Virginia 22-3
Wake Forest 21-6
Virginia has owned the ACC for the last decade but Wake Forest might be able to give them one of their biggest tests in quite some time.  The doubles point should be tightly contested and its a point that Wake Forest has to have to even think about beating Virginia.  I think Wake will take the doubles point to put Virginia on its heels but the only places in the singles lineup where I could see Wake potentially winning are at 1 and 5. I like Mitchell Frank, Collin Altamirano, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, and JC Aragone in singles to give Virginia yet another ACC Championship.  Prediction: Virginia 4-2  
Big 10:
#4 Illinois (24-4) vs. #12 Ohio State (25-7) – 1pm est – This will be the 3rd meeting of the year with Illinois having won both of the previous meetings.  The first match back in February was pretty close but the one last month in Champaign was a blowout.  
#3 Illinois 4, #11 Ohio State 0
Mar 29, 2015 at Urbana, Ill. (Atkins Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #22 Jared Hiltzik (ILL 14.46) def. #32 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU 14.03) 6-2, 6-4
2. #64 Farris Gosea (ILL 14.50) vs. #44 Chris Diaz (OSU 14.01) 6-2, 4-3, unfinished
3. #42 Tim Kopinski (ILL 13.98) def. Hunter Callahan (OSU 13.88) 6-1, 6-3
4. Kevin Metka (OSU 13.79) vs. #52 Aron Hiltzik (ILL 13.94) 7-6 (1), 1-2, unfinished
5. #50 Aleks Vukic (ILL 14.27) def. #83 Ralf Steinbach (OSU 13.84) 6-2, 6-1
6. Matt Mendez (OSU 12.97) vs. Toshiki Matsuya (ILL 13.11) 6-0, 5-2 unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #75 Jared Hiltzik/Tim Kopinski (ILL) vs. #5 Kevin Metka/Ralf Steinbach (OSU) 7-7
2. Aron Hiltzik/Ross Guignon (ILL) def. #55 Hunter Callahan/Chris Diaz (OSU) 8-5
3. Farris Gosea/Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. #74 Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 8-5
Match Notes:
Ohio State 16-7, 4-1; National ranking #11
Illinois 17-3, 5-0; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,1,3)
T-2:20
Illinois 4, Ohio State 2
February 15th, 2015 – Chicago, IL (National Indoors Consolation)
Singles competition
1. #41 Farris Gosea (ILL) vs. #53 Chris Diaz (OSU) 6-2, 5-1, unfinished
2. #23 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) def. #30 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) 6-2, 6-4
3. #37 Tim Kopinski (ILL) def. Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 6-1, 6-2
4. #69 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. #68 Ralf Steinbach (OSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. #46 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. #110 Hunter Callahan (OSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Kevin Metka (OSU) def. Brian Page (ILL) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #7 Steinbach/Metka (OSU) def. #11 Kopinski/ Ross Guignon (ILL) 6-0
2. Jared Hiltzik/Gosea (ILL) vs. #36 Callahan/Diaz (OSU) 2-5, unfinished
3. Torpegaard/Pollanen (OSU) def. Blake Bazarnik/Brian Page (ILL) 6-3
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,6,5,2,4)
Projected Singles Lineup

1. #24 Jared Hiltzik (ILL 14.59) vs.  #49 Chris Diaz (OSU 14.26)
2. #45 Farris Gosea (ILL 14.57) vs. #47 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU 13.90)
3. #55 Tim Kopinski (ILL 14.25) vs. Herkko Pollanen (OSU 13.55)
4. #63 Aron Hiltzik (ILL 14.19) vs. Hunter Callahan (OSU 14.07)
5. #66 Aleks Vukic (ILL 14.41) vs. Kevin Metka (OSU 13.77)
6. Ross Guignon (ILL 13.30) vs. #97 Ralf Steinbach (OSU 13.84)
Also could play: Toshiki Matsuya (ILL 13.19), Blake Bazarnik (ILL) 12.86

Dual Match Singles Records:
1. Jared Hiltzik 19-2 vs. Diaz 15-7
2. Gosea 10-5 vs. Torpegaard 14-8
3. Kopinski 18-3 vs. Pollanen 13-7
4. Aron Hiltzik 16-3 vs. Callahan 20-5
5. Vukic 19-2 vs. Metka 18-5
6. Guignon 4-3 or Matsuya 8-2 or Bazarnik 7-6 vs. Steinbach 20-6

Projected Doubles Lineup – W-L records in ( )

1. #68 Jared Hiltzik/Tim Kopinski (ILL 5-4) vs. #4 Kevin Metka/Ralf Steinbach (OSU 19-6)
2. Farris Gosea/Aleks Vukic (ILL 10-0) vs. Herkko Pollanen/Mikael Torpegaard (OSU 12-7)
3. Aron Hiltzik/Ross Guignon (ILL 5-2) vs. #85 Hunter Callahan/Chris Diaz (OSU 18-6)
Doubles Records:
Illinois 18-10
Ohio State 26-6
Ohio State has been the better team at doubles though Illinois beat them up in the last meeting.  I think Ohio State will play much better this time around and I look for them to take the doubles point to grab the early 1-0 lead.  Illinois is going to be favored on at least 4 courts so for Ohio State to win they’re going to have to win a pick em’ and pull an upset somewhere. Ralf Steinbach should roll at #6 but I like the Hiltzik brothers at 1 and 4, Gosea at 2, and Vukic at 5.  Prediction: Illinois 4-2

So what’s everyone think?  Any way Ohio State wins in Champaign?  Can Wake Forest possibly end Virginia’s monster ACC winning streak?  Am I crazy to take Baylor or will Oklahoma make it 4-0 against BU?

3 Comments

  1. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:02 pm

    Frank's out of the lineup today – maybe him at less than 100% was what you saw though he hasn't been the same this year compared to the last few years.

  2. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:02 pm

    Oklahoma takes the doubles point against Baylor. Then the rain came before singles could start. If Oklahoma beats Baylor, I'd have to think it would be tough mentally on the Bears. Oklahoma has proven they can beat Baylor but it might be in Baylor's head after 4 losses including two on their own courts.

  3. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:02 pm

    I went to the ACC tournament the last 2 days. Was too bad my blue devils couldn't be UNC but with a healthy Alvarez they will be strong in NCAA's.<br />Should be a great final today. Watched Frank play and this is the worst I've seen him, his forehand has really broken down. I think Bogaerts is the favorite in that match and will win in straights. <br />Didn't get to see any of the singles yesterday with the rain but final should be outdoor today.