There will be 15 men’s regionals taking place this weekend with 2 of the 15 getting started on Friday. I’ll start off by previewing the USC and Illinois Regionals since they both start on Friday and I’ll work my through all 15 of them by Friday evening. Keep checking back for updates since I’ll just be adding on to this post. FYI, the numbers beside the school name are each player’s current Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) as of 1/20/16. 

USC Regional (Fri/Sat) – Marks Stadium (no live scoring due to construction)

#62 New Mexico [2] vs. #42 Georgia Tech [3] 12pm est/9am pst  Live Scoring – The Ramblin’ Wreck opened up its season with a 4-3 win over East Tennessee State and a 6-1 win over Presbyterian while the Lobos went 1-5 last weekend dropping 2 matches to Texas Tech and Arizona while splitting with Pacific. New Mexico head coach Bart Scott has to find a way to get his guys refocused because Georgia Tech is a better team than Arizona and Pacific. I like New Mexico in doubles but I look for Georgia Tech to sweep the top 4 spots in the singles lineup with freshman Andrew Li the first to finish. Prediction: Georgia Tech 4-1 (Result: Georgia Tech 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #6 Christopher Eubanks (GT 13.84) vs. Hayden Sabatka (NM 13.10)
2. Carlos Benito (GT 13.33) vs. Bart Van Leijsen (NM 12.67)
3. Michael Kay (GT 13.44) vs. Jorge Escutia (NM 12.69)
4. Andrew Li (GT 12.87) vs. Rodolfo Jauregui (NM 11.95)
5. Nathan Rakitt (GT 12.83) vs. Augustus Ge (NM 12.29)
6. Cole Fiegel (GT 13.39) vs. Ricky Hernandez Tong (NM 12.45)
B. Daniel Yun (GT 12.41)/Michael Tran (NM 11.93)

#46 SMU [4] at #12 UCLA [1] 3pm est/12pm pst  Live Scoring – UCLA opened up its season on Wednesday with a 7-0 thrashing of #65 San Francisco in a match where Billy Martin earned career win #500. This will be SMU’s season opener after the Mustangs had a few guys really light it up during the fall – most namely Nate Lammons and Hunter Johnson. I think this could be SMU’s best year in quite some time but beating UCLA in LA is another story. I like UCLA in every spot and would still like them in every spot even if Mackenzie McDonald didn’t play which he didn’t on Wednesday against San Fran. Prediction: UCLA 4-0 (Result: UCLA 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA 14.97) vs. #44 Nate Lammons (SMU 13.84)
2. #48 Martin Redlicki (UCLA 13.81) vs. #32 Hunter Johnson (SMU 13.28)
3. Gage Brymer (UCLA 13.93) vs Markus Kerner (SMU 12.85)
4. Karue Sell (UCLA 14.06) vs Samm Butler (SMU 13.77)
5. Logan Staggs (UCLA 13.50) vs. Ronald Slobodchikov (SMU 13.98)
6. Austin Rapp (UCLA 13.24) vs. Arkadijs Slobodkins (SMU 12.94)
B. Joseph DiGiulio (UCLA 13.29)/Yates Johnson (SMU 13.11)

Regional Final – UCLA def. Georgia Tech 4-0 – Georgia Tech is better than its ranking but it’s not good enough to hang with UCLA. Bruins take the doubles point and gets wins from Redlicki, Brymer, and Staggs. (Result: UCLA 4-0)

Baylor Regional (Sat/Sun) – Hurd Tennis Center – Waco, Texas

#70 UC Irvine [4] at #4 Baylor [1] 1pm est/12pm cst  Live Scoring/Live Blog/Live Video – The Anteaters opened up its spring schedule with a tough 4-1 loss at #19 San Diego in a match where virtually every court was hotly contested. This will be Baylor’s dual-match opener after most of the team went to California last week for the Sherwood Cup with Julian Lenz winning the singles title and Will Little and Jimmy Bendeck finishing as runner-up in doubles. Irvine may keep a few courts close but Baylor is too strong to really be pushed. Bears take the doubles point and get wins from Lenz, Rios, and Little. Prediction: Baylor 4-0 (Result: Baylor 4-1)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. Julian Lenz (BU 14.62) vs. #119 Sebastian Heim (UCI 13.55)
2. #59 Max Tchoutakian (BU 13.82) vs. Nico Mertens (UCI 13.10)
3. Vince Schneider (BU 13.78) vs. Tyler Pham (UCI 12.97)
4. Felipe Rios (BU 14.29) vs. Luca Marquard (UCI 12.84)
5. Will Little (BU 13.65) vs. Justin Agbayani (UCI 11.99)
6. Tomas Charlos (BU 13.15) vs. Vatsal Bajpai (UCI 11.85)
B. Jimmy Bendeck (BU 13.31)/Jonathan Hammel (UCI 12.01)

#49 Oregon [2] vs. #56 Old Dominion [3]  4pm est/3pm cst  Live Scoring/Live Blog/Live Video – This will be the season opener for ODU while Oregon opened up with a pair of wins over Seattle and blanked #48 UC Santa Barbara 7-0. I think ODU has to win the doubles point to have a legitimate shot in this one because I’m booking Ws for Laurent, Stevens, and Clissold at 2, 3, and 5 for the Ducks. I’m going to take Oregon in doubles as well while Podvinski squeezes out a point for ODU at 6 with Moundir all square with Maasland and Maestre leading Amos. Prediction: Oregon 4-1 (Result: Oregon 4-1)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #113 Daan Maasland (ORE 13.91) vs. Adam Moundir (ODU 13.63)
2. Thomas Laurent (ORE 14.08) vs. Michael Weindl (ODU 12.62)
3. Simon Stevens (ORE 13.41) vs. Jacob Nicolussi (ODU 12.43)
4. Jayson Amos (ORE 13.14) vs. Javier Jover Maestre (ODU 13.27)
5. Cormac Clissold (ORE 13.32) vs. Aziz Kijametovic (ODU 12.58)
6. Ethan Young-Smith (ORE 12.25) vs. Zvonimir Podvinski (ODU 12.69)
B. Bart Sawicki (ORE 12.19)/Theophile Lanthiez (ODU 11.97)

Regional Final: Baylor def. Oregon 4-0 – I’ll take BU in doubles and at 3, 4, and 5 singles while Oregon pushes Baylor on the courts. (Result: Baylor 4-2)

Duke Regional (Sat/Sun) – Ambler Tennis Center – Durham, North Carolina

#19 San Diego [2] vs. #26 Vanderbilt [3] 9am est  Live Scoring – The Toreros opened up with a 4-1 win over #70 UC Irvine while the Commodores went 3-0 last weekend including a 6-1 win at Middle Tennessee State. San Diego just added UMBC transfer Jaan Kononov to the roster so they’ll have 4 ranked singles players in the starting lineup. Danny Valent takes over at #1 for Vandy after Gonzalez Austin graduated and he’ll definitely have his hands full against Uros Petronijevic. The doubles point is a toss-up but I like Jordan Angus, Filip Vittek, Romain Kalaydjian, and Jaan Kononov in singles for USD. Prediction: San Diego 4-2 (Result: San Diego 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #35 Uros Petronijevic (USD 14.05) vs. #64 Danny Valent (VU 13.97)
2. #34 Jordan Angus (USD 13.99) vs. Rhys Johnson (VU 13.21)
3. Filip Vittek (USD 13.54) vs. Baker Newman (VU 13.10)
4. #82 Romain Kalaydjian (USD 13.22) vs. Cameron Klinger (VU 13.68)
5. #58 Jaan Kononov (USD 13.61) vs. Kris Yee (VU 13.27)
6. Josh Page (USD 12.79) vs. Ryan Smith (VU 12.83)
B. Alex Araouzos (USD 12.25)/Alex Ross (VU 12.44)

#27 California [4] at #23 Duke [1] 12pm est Live Scoring/Video $ – Both Duke and Cal suffered 4-3 losses last weekend with Duke falling at home to Kentucky while Cal lost to Tulsa despite leading 3-2 and being up 5-3 and 4-2 in the final sets at #2 and #6 singles. Cal has five ranked players while Duke will start freshmen at #3, #4, and #5. Duke is playing at home and it’ll be indoors which will suit them better but I still think Cal is the stronger team and finds the 4 points it needs to pull the mild upset. I’ll go with Lakat, Bergevi, Griffith and Wikberg for Cal. Prediction: Cal 4-2

———-DUE TO WEATHER CAL UNABLE TO TRAVEL – DUKE ADVANCES———

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #12 Nicolas Alvarez (DU 14.21) vs. #3 Andre Goransson (CAL 14.36)
2. #102 TJ Pura (DU 13.43) vs. #30 Florian Lakat (CAL 13.89)
3. Vincent Lin (DU 13.45) vs. #86 Filip Bergevi (CAL 13.94)
4. Catalin Mateas (DU 13.63) vs. #39 Billy Griffith (CAL 13.77)
5. Adrian Chamdani (DU 12.92) vs. #54 Oskar Wikberg (CAL 13.37)
6. Josh Levine (DU 12.73) vs. JT Nishimura (CAL 13.59)
B. Ryan Dickerson (DU 13.25)/Mads Engsted (CAL 13.14)

Regional Final – Cal def. San Diego 4-3 – This should be a good one (assuming both win or for that matter both lose) but I think Cal takes the doubles points and gets wins from Goransson, Bergevi, and Nishimura. 

Regional Final (Take 2) – Duke def. San Diego 4-3 – San Diego will be coming off a hard fought match with Vanderbilt while Duke will have an extra day of rest after getting the free pass from Cal courtesy of the horrible weather. I’m going to take Duke in doubles and Alvarez, Mateas, and Levine in singles while Angus, Vittek, and Kononov win for USD. After having originally picking Duke to lose in the opening round I now have them advancing to Charlottesville. (Result: San Diego 4-2)


TCU Regional (Sat/Sun) – Bayard H Friedman TC – Fort Worth, Texas

#28 Oklahoma State [2] vs. #32 Harvard [3] 2pm est/1pm cst  Live Scoring – Oklahoma State opened up by shutting out UNLV and Creighton plus they picked up a nice 4-0 win at #44 Memphis while Harvard squeezed past William & Mary 4-3 and then rocked Boston College 6-1. Both teams have new #1s this season after Denis Nguyen (Harvard) and Jakob Sude (Oklahoma State) graduated and both replacements are extremely solid. While these teams are only separated by 4 spots in the latest rankings I think Oklahoma State is a good bit stronger. I like the Pokes in doubles and Kadhe, Gerch, and Finzelberg in singles. Prediction: Oklahoma State 4-1 (Result: Oklahoma State 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. Temur Ismailov (OSU 14.10) vs. #71 Nicholas Hu (HU 13.75)
2. #112 Arjun Kadhe (OSU 13.64) vs. Brian Yeung (HU 13.13)
3. #68 Julian Cash (OSU 13.66) vs. Sebastian Beltrame (HU 13.19)
4. Lucas Gerch (OSU 13.72) vs. Kenneth Tao (HU 13.24)
5. Tristan Meraut (OSU 13.35) vs. Andrew Zhou (HU 13.33)
6. Lukas Finzelberg (OSU 13.52) vs. Kelvin Lam (HU 12.61)
B. Jurence Mendoza (OSU 13.21)/Grant Solomon (HU 12.60)



#39 San Diego State [4] at #3 TCU [1] 5pm est/4pm cst  Live Scoring – The Aztecs won its dual-match opener 5-2 over UC Riverside while the Horned Frogs spent last weekend playing in the Three Oaks Shootout against Illinois, South Florida, and Mississippi State. This will be the dual-match debut for TCU’s highly touted freshmen, Alex Rybakov and Eduardo Nava, and I think both will win if they get to finish. I like TCU in doubles and Norrie, Nunez, and Nava in singles. Prediction: TCU 4-0 (Result: TCU 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #4 Cameron Norrie (TCU 14.68) vs. #53 Fred Gelbrich (SDSU 13.76)
2. Alex Rybakov (TCU 14.63) vs. Hendrik Jebens (SDSU 13.71)
3. #24 Guillermo Nunez (TCU 14.31) vs. Marko Goles Babic (SDSU 13.37)
4. #73 Trevor Johnson (TCU 13.67) vs. Milen Ianakiev (SDSU 13.16)
5. #109 Jerry Lopez (TCU 13.61) vs. Sander Andersen (SDSU 12.63)
6. Eduardo Nava (TCU 14.05) vs. Jonas Meinzer (SDSU 11.97)
B. Reese Stalder (TCU 12.81)/Cornelius Kolb (SDSU 12.23)

Regional Final: TCU def. Oklahoma State 4-0 – Okie State may have the lead on a few courts but TCU rolls through them in the others – TCU takes doubles and gets singles wins from Norrie, Rybakov, and Nunez in singles.  (Result: TCU 4-3)

South Florida Regional (Sat/Sun) – USF Varsity TC – Tampa, Florida

#29 Mississippi State [2] vs. #30 LSU [3] 10am est Live Scoring – This will be the dual-match opener for these SEC rivals with both wanting to start off the season on the right foot. LSU returns 5 singles starters while State basically has an entirely new roster with 7 of its 9 players joining the team over the last 4 months. State went just 2-9 in doubles last weekend when playing against TCU, South Florida, and Illinois in the Three Oaks Shootout so I’ve got to take LSU to win the doubles point. I like Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic at 3 and 5 for State but I think a healthy Jordan Daigle wins at 1 and he’ll be joined in the winner’s circle by Boris Arias and Gabor Csonka. Prediction: LSU 4-2 (Result: LSU 4-1)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. Mate Cutura (MSU 13.81) vs. #22 Jordan Daigle (LSU 13.64)
2. Rishab Agarwal (MSU 13.77) vs. #78 Justin Butsch (LSU 13.42)
3. Nuno Borges (MSU 13.85) vs. Simon Freund (LSU 13.11)
4. Niclas Braun (MSU 13.48) vs. Boris Arias (LSU 13.62)
5. Strahinja Rakic (MSU 13.70) vs. Andrew Korinek (LSU 13.06)
6. Vaughn Hunter (MSU 12.97) vs. Gabor Csonka (LSU 13.20)
B. Luka Sucevic (MSU 12.99)/Tam Trinh (LSU 12.61)

#31 Florida State [4] at #13 South Florida [1] 2pm est Live Scoring – FSU went 3-0 last weekend with notable wins over #74 South Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast while this will be USF’s dual-match opener after the Bulls joined Mississippi State, TCU and Illinois last weekend for the Three Oaks Shootout. The most interesting storyline in this one has to be USF’s Dominic Cotrone playing against the school that he transferred away from two years ago. Cotrone played #1 for FSU during the 2013 and 2014 seasons then sat out last season after transferring. Coincidently his last dual-match at FSU was against South Florida. I think USF takes the doubles point and gets wins from Cid, Cotrone, and Gozun at 1, 2, and 3 while and Dougaz, Whitehurst, and Gracia win for FSU at 4, 5, and 6. Prediction: South Florida 4-3 (Result: South Florida 4-3)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #17 Roberto Cid (USF 14.41) vs. #15 Benjamin Lock (FSU 14.13)
2. Dominic Cotrone (USF 14.31) vs. #77 Marco Nunez (FSU 13.30)
3. Sasha Gozun (USF 13.55) vs. Michael Rinaldi (FSU 13.41)
4. Justin Roberts (USF 13.23) vs. Aziz Dougaz (FSU 13.26)
5. Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF 13.36) vs. Terrell Whitehurst (FSU 13.29)
6. Ignacio Gonzalez (USF 13.48) vs. Jose Gracia (FSU 13.31)
B. Peter Bertran (USF 13.11)/Terrance Whitehurst (FSU 12.75)

Regional Final: South Florida def. LSU 4-1 – Bulls take the doubles point and gets wins from Cid, Cotrone, and Kalyuzhnyy while Csonka wins for LSU. (Result: South Florida 4-0)

Georgia Regional (Sat/Sun) – Dan Magill TC – Athens, Georgia

#37 Louisville [2] vs. #44 Memphis [3] 9am est  Live Scoring – Memphis dropped its opener 4-0 to #28 Oklahoma State while Louisville went 3-1 last weekend with a notable win over #64 Troy and a 4-0 loss to #25 Northwestern. Memphis is stronger at 1, 2, and 3 while Louisville has the edge down low. Since they are playing these matches at Georgia’s 4-court indoor facility that means if Memphis takes care of business up top Louisville’s bottom 2 won’t get a chance to play. I’m going with Memphis in doubles and Watson, Peniston, and Lemke at 1, 2, and 3. If everyone got to play I’d probably have this as a 5-2 Memphis win. Prediction: Memphis 4-0 (Result: Memphis 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #108 Alex Gornet (UL 13.11) vs. Andrew Watson (UM 13.73)
2. Jeffrey Brown (UL 13.11) vs. #87 Ryan Peniston (UM 13.92)
3. Carlos Neto (UL 11.46/40%) vs. Kai Lemke (UM 13.33)
4. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (UL 12.98) vs. Chris Patzanovsky (UM 12.53)
5. Brandon Lancaster (UL 12.90) vs. Felix Rauch (UM 12.47)
6. Sean Donohue (UL 12.42) vs. Shakeel Manji (UM 12.34)
B. Courtney Lock (UL 11.97)/Matt Story (UM 12.51)

#48 UC Santa Barbara [4] at #6 Georgia [1] 1pm est  Live Scoring/Blog – This is the opener for Georgia while UCSB won at Washington last week before falling to Texas and Oregon. Georgia will roll at home taking the doubles point and getting wins from Smith, Monty, an Duncan. Prediction: Georgia 4-0 (Result: Georgia 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #28 Austin Smith (UGA 14.34) vs. Morgan Mays (UCSB 13.39)
2. #20 Wayne Montgomery (UGA 14.29) vs. Nathan Eshmade (UCSB 13.12)
3. #40 Paul Oosterbaan (UGA 13.88) vs. #81 Nicolas Moreno de Alboran (UCSB 13.63)
4. #105 Walker Duncan (UGA 13.43) vs. Oliver Sec (UCSB 13.18)
5. Jan Zielinski (UGA 13.70) vs. Cody Rakela (UCSB 12.70)
6. Ben Wagland (UGA 13.22) vs. Anders Holm (UCSB 12.44)
B. Emil Reinberg (UGA 13.27)/Miles Seemann (UCSB 12.39)

Regional Final: Georgia def. Memphis 4-0 – Dawgs take the doubles point and get wins from Smith, Monty, and Oosterbaan. (Result: Georgia 4-1)

North Carolina Regional (Sat/Sun) – Cone-Kenfield TC – Chapel Hill, NC

#35 Drake [2] vs. #40 North Carolina State [3] – 9:30am est Live Scoring – Drake opened up with a 5-2 win over then #70 Utah State while NC State rolled over Elon and the Citadel. Drake has the smaller margin of error of the two teams and needs the doubles point to have a shot. I think Drake takes the doubles point and gets wins from Gillespie and Stride at 2 and 5 but Norenius, Horton, Weigel, and Malshev win the other courts and NC State get the win. Prediction: NC State 4-3 (Result: NC State 4-2)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. Ben Lott (DU 13.31) vs. Simon Norenius (NCST 13.33)
2. Bayo Phillips (DU 12.39) vs. Nick Horton (NCST 13.51)
3. Vincent Gillespie (DU 13.42) vs. Ivan Saveljic (NCST 12.15)
4. Calum MacGeoch (DU 12.65) vs. Thomas Weigel (NCST 13.28)
5. Ben Stride (DU 12.67) vs. Shoti Meparidze (NCST 12.45)
6. Ben Clark (DU 12.12) vs. Georgiy Malshev (NCST 12.94)
B. Tom Hands (DU 12.23)/Igor Saveljic (NCST 12.91)

#50 Indiana [4] at #10 North Carolina [1] – 12:30pm est Live Scoring/Video – North Carolina opened up with a pair of routine wins over Georgetown and North Carolina A&T while this will be IU’s dual-match opener. Indiana should be better this year than last however they’re not going to get past North Carolina. Heels take the doubles point and gets wins from Schneider, Clark and Kelly. Prediction: North Carolina 4-0 (Result: North Carolina 4-1)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. Brayden Schnur (UNC 14.20) vs. #27 Sam Monette (IU 13.59)
2. #13 Ronnie Schneider (UNC 14.05) vs. Daniel Bednarczyk (IU 13.04)
3. #43 Brett Clark (UNC 13.77) vs. Racheel Manji (IU 13.38)
4. Jack Murray (UNC 13.63) vs. Antonio Cembellin (IU 13.00)
5. #47 Robert Kelly (UNC 13.82) vs. Matt McCoy (IU 12.73)
6. Anu Kodali (UNC 13.13) vs. Elliott Yee (IU 12.64)
B. Bo Boyden (UNC 13.15)/Afonso Salgado (IU 12.62)

Regional Final: North Carolina def. North Carolina State 4-0 – I don’t see UNC dropping a set in this one as Schnur, Murray, and Kelly win in singles. (Result: North Carolina 4-2)

Texas Regional (Sat/Sun) – Weller Indoor TC – Austin, Texas

#21 Florida [4] at #20 Texas [1] 11am est/10 cst Live Scoring – Florida opened up with a weekend sweep of Troy and Stetson while Texas is coming off a tough 4-3 loss at Washington. Texas may be hosting this regional but I think Florida is going to be the team to beat. I like the Gators in doubles and Hidalgo, Perez, and Kessler in singles. I think Texas’s best chance to get a court is if Ortiz can beat Perez Blanco before Florida clinches. Prediction: Florida 4-0 (Result: Florida 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. George Goldhoff (TX 13.64) vs. #31 Diego Hidalgo (UF 13.95)
2. #94 Harrison Scott (TX 13.44) vs. #49 Elliott Orkin (UF 13.94)
3. Rodrigo Banzer (TX 13.51) vs. #91 Alfredo Perez (UF 13.56)
4. Adrian Ortiz (TX 13.58) vs. #62 Chase Perez Blanco (UF 13.84)
5. #114 Michael Riechmann (TX 12.96) vs #97 McClain Kessler (UF 13.48)
6. John Mee (TX 13.44) vs. Gordon Watson (UF 13.71)
B. Julian Zlobinsky (TX 12.76)/Maxx Lipman (UF 13.10)

#17 Mississippi [2] vs. #15 Texas Tech [3] 2pm est/1pm cst Live Scoring – Texas Tech is coming off a sensational weekend that saw the Red Raiders go 6-0 against New Mexico, Arizona, and Pacific while Ole Miss opened up with a 6-1 win over Troy. Ole Miss is the higher seed but I think Texas Tech is the deeper team top to bottom. I think the Rebels get wins from Hansson and Kraljevic at 2 and 3 but Tech will take the doubles point and get wins from Soares, Cailleau, Thomson. Prediction: Texas Tech 4-2 (Texas Tech 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup
1. #36 Stefan Lindmark (OM 14.02) vs. #8 Felipe Soares (TT 14.00)
2. Gustav Hansson (OM 13.73) vs. Hugo Dojas (TT 13.75)
3. Filip Kraljevic (OM 13.60) vs. #33 Alex Sendegeya (TT 14.09)
4. Grey Hamilton (OM 12.90) vs. Jolan Cailleau (TT 14.20)
5. Fabian Fallert (OM 12.85) vs. Connor Curry (TT 13.23)
6. Ricardo Jorge (OM 12.83) vs. Bjorn Thomson (TT 13.71)
B. Vinod Gowda (OM 12.91)/Augusto Stodart (TT 13.22)

Regional Final: Texas Tech def. Florida 4-2 – Originally I was planning on going with Florida in this one but after looking up and down the lineup I see more courts that favor Texas Tech. I really like Cailleau and Thomson at 4 and 6 and I think Tech gets at least 1 of the top 2 so Florida would need the doubles point and the other 3 courts but I just think that’s too tall an order. (Result: Texas Tech 4-3)

Ohio State Regional (Sat/Sun) – Varsity TC – Columbus, Ohio

#71 Wichita State [4] at #9 Ohio State [1] 10am est  Live Scoring/Video – Ohio State won a tripleheader on Wednesday over Xavier, Dayton, and Butler while this will be Wichita State’s spring opener. Not much analysis needed here – Buckeyes roll and do it quickly. Prediction: Ohio State 4-0 (Result: Ohio State 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #7 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU 14.32) vs. Tin Ostojic (WSU 13.14)
2. #10 Hugo DiFeo (OSU 14.13) vs. Miroslav Herzan (WSU 12.41)
3. #19 Chris Diaz (OSU 13.88) vs. Jocelyn Devilliers (WSU 12.53)
4. #25 Herkko Pollanen (OSU 13.59) vs. Sergio de Vilchez (WSU 11.96)
5. Ralf Steinbach (OSU 13.78) vs. Haru Inoue (WSU 12.34)
6. Martin Joyce (OSU 13.61) vs. Edward Stoica (WSU 12.10)
B. Matt Mendez (OSU 13.26)/Austin William (WSU 11.29)

#51 South Carolina [2] vs. #52 Denver [3] 2pm est – Live Scoring/Video – South Carolina handled Presbyterian and Winthrop last weekend while this will be Denver’s season opener. South Carolina is hopeful that Gabriel Friedrich will return to the lineup after having surgery in November because without him everyone else will have to slide up a spot. Denver’s Diogo Rocha had a nice fall and Henry Craig is a solid player but South Carolina should have enough to win this one. I’ll take Fennell, Friedrich, Schafer, and Mayronne for the Gamecocks while Denver takes the doubles point. Prediction: South Carolina 4-1 (Result: Denver 4-3 – Friedrich didn’t play)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #116 Alex Fennell (SC 13.12) vs. #45 Diogo Rocha (DEN 13.31)
2. Gabriel Friedrich (SC 13.92) vs. Henry Craig (DEN 13.56)
3. #65 Harrison O’Keefe (SC 13.54) vs. David Fox (DEN 12.96)
4. Andrew Schafer (SC 13.39) vs. Yannik James (DEN 12.92)
5. Thomas Mayronne (SC 12.99) vs. Alex Gasson (DEN 12.94)
6. Sam Swank (SC 12.79) vs. Jesse Ruder-Hook (DEN 11.87)
B. Wood Benton (SC 12.55)/Zach Fryer (DEN 12.01)

Regional Final: Ohio State def. South Carolina 4-0 – The Buckeyes are better at every spot including doubles. (Result: Ohio State 4-0)

Texas A&M Regional (Sat/Sun) – Mitchell TC – College Station, TX

#65 San Francisco [2] vs. #59 Boise State [3] 1pm est/12pm cst  Live Scoring – Boise State opened up with wins over 3 lighter opponents while San Francisco beat Hawaii but lost to Utah and UCLA. Pretty even matchup with Mitchell favored at #1 but everything else is a near toss-up. Coin flip says Boise State wins a close one. Prediction: Boise State 4-2 (Result: Boise State 4-3)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. Nils Skajaa (SF 12.62) vs. Toby Mitchell (BSU 13.19)
2. Thomas Takemoto (SF 12.65) vs. Kyle Butters (BSU 12.83)
3. Vaso Valverde (SF 12.63) vs. Brian Foley (BSU 12.33)
4. Ryan Marker (SF 12.54) vs. Abraham Hewko (BSU 12.47)
5. Ty Maguire (SF 11.95) vs. Lewis Roskilly (BSU 12.49)
6. Woravin Kumthonkittikul (SF 12.06) vs. Tillman Haynes (BSU 11.60)
B. Christian Brockstedt (SF 11.33) vs. Pedro Cavalcante (BSU 12.36)

#68 Fresno State [4] at #5 Texas A&M [1] – 4pm est/3pm cst Live Scoring/Video – This will be Fresno State’s dual-match opener while Texas A&M beat up on Lamar and USTA last weekend. Aggies cruise to a shutout behind singles wins from Vinsant, Arconada, and Lunkin. Prediction: Texas A&M 4-0 (Result: Texas A&M 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #5 Arthur Rinderknech (aTm 14.51) vs. Euan McIntosh (FS 12.96)
2. #29 Shane Vinsant (aTm 14.03) vs. Nikolas Papic (FS 12.49)
3. Jordi Arconada (aTm 13.77) vs. Youssef Hassan (FS 11.85)
4. Harrison Adams (aTm 12.91) vs. Mantas Bugailiskis (FS 12.00)
5. AJ Catanzariti (aTm 13.51) vs. Jeremy Moser (FS 12.00)
6. Max Lunkin (aTm 13.41) vs. Patrik Pech (FS 13.13)
B. Jackson Withrow (aTm 13.87)/Jakob Keppelmann (FS 11.24)

Regional Final: Texas A&M def. Boise State 4-0 – this one won’t be any closer than A&M’s match with Fresno State. (Result: Texas A&M 4-0)

Columbia Regional (Sun/Mon) – Dick Savitt TC – New York, New York

#14 Virginia Tech [2] vs. #18 Stanford [3] – 10am est  Va Tech/Stanford Twitter – Stanford opened up its season with a pair of shutouts over Sacramento State and UC Davis while Virginia Tech went to Alabama and won 5-2. This should be a good one and possibly the match of the Kick-Off Weekend. I’m going to take Stanford in doubles and then I think this one probably comes down to how well Stanford’s freshmen can handle the pressure at #5 and #6. This is one of the toughest to predict but I’m going with Wilczynski, Genender, and Kumar for Stanford and Monteiro, Bjerrehus, and Tessaro for Virginia Tech. Prediction: Stanford 4-3 (Result: Stanford 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #14 Joao Monteiro (VT 14.26) vs. #19 Tom Fawcett (ST 14.54)
2. Amerigo Contini (VT 13.49) vs. #57 David Wilczynski (ST 13.76)
3. Andreas Bjerrehus (VT 13.84) vs. #89 Maciek Romanowicz (ST 13.27)
4. #46 Edoardo Tessaro (VT 13.73) vs. Nolan Paige (ST 13.10)
5. Aaron Gomez (VT 13.16) vs. #61 Michael Genender (ST 13.70)
6. Jai Corbett (VT 13.38) vs. Sameer Kumar (ST 13.92)
B. Mitch Harper (VT 13.12)/Yale Goldberg (ST 12.48)

#22 Minnesota [4] at #16 Columbia [1] 2pm est  Columbia/Minnesota Twitter – This is Columbia’s dual-match opener while Minnesota hammered DePaul and South Dakota State last weekend. Columbia had to replace its top 4 starters from last year’s team and its new #1 Shawn Hadavi played at #6 last season. Minnesota had to replace 3 starters but they returned the guys that played at #2, #3, and #4 last season. I’ll take Minnesota in doubles and Spec and Corwin in singles but Columbia will win at 3, 4, 5, and 6 to pull it out in front of the loud home crowd. Prediction: Columbia 4-2 (Result: Columbia 4-0)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. Shawn Hadavi (CU 13.58) vs. Matic Spec (MN 13.66)
2. Victor Pham (CU 13.84) vs. #101 Felix Corwin (MN 13.87)
3. Eric Rubin (CU 13.54) vs. #95 Ruben Weber (MN 13.34)
4. Mike Vermeer (CU 13.67) vs. Josip Krstanovic (MN 12.40)
5. Richard Pham (CU 12.99) vs. Justyn Levin (MN 12.35)
6. Tim Wang (CU 13.35) vs. Marino Alpeza (MN 12.37)
B. Michal Rolski (CU 12.71)/Jeremy Lynn (MN 11.79)

Regional Final: Stanford def. Columbia 4-1 – Stanford will be coming off a gut-wrenching win over Virginia Tech but they’ll have enough left in the tank to get the win. Cardinal in doubles and Fawcett, Romanowicz, and Genender in singles. (Result: Columbia 4-3)

Wake Forest Regional (Sun/Mon) – Wake Forest TC – Winston-Salem, NC

#59 Auburn [4] at #11 Wake Forest [1] 11am est  Live Scoring/Video/Blog – Wake opened up with a pair of 8-1 wins over East Tennessee State and North Florida while Auburn blanked the mighty Citadel twice. Hinnisdaels and Krickovic will give Chrysochos and Mansouri all they want up top but Wake chomps down on Aubbie down low. I like Wake in doubles and Ho, Uspensky and Seraphim in singles. Prediction: Wake Forest 4-0 (Result: Wake Forest 4-1)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. Petros Chrysochos (WF 14.08) vs. #96 Max Hinnisdaels (AU 13.67)
2. #26 Skander Mansouri (WF 14.14) vs. #100 Marko Krickovic (AU 13.49)
3. #103 Jon Ho (WF 13.86) vs. Dante Saleh (AU 13.17)
4. Romain Bogaerts (WF 14.12) vs. Connor Huertas (AU 12.91)
5. Dennis Uspensky (WF 13.60) vs. Brandon Laubser (AU 12.33)
6. Christian Seraphim (WF 13.43) vs. Olle Thestrup (AU 12.64)
B. Maksim Kan (WF 13.20)/Joseph Van Dooren (AU 12.47)

#43 Tennessee [2] vs. #54 Cal Poly [3] 2pm est  Live Scoring/Video/Tennessee Blog (TBD) – Tennessee is off to a 4-0 start after breezing past Mercer, North Florida, Eastern Kentucky, and Southern Illinois while this will be Cal Poly’s season opener. Tennessee has a young team with 5 underclassmen in the starting 6 and while Cal Poly has a shot at #1 and #2 they don’t have shots anywhere else. Prediction: Tennessee 4-0 (Result: Tennessee 4-2)

Projected Singles Lineup:
1. #75 Igor Smelyanski (UT 13.18) vs. Ben Donovan (CP 13.41)
2. Luis Valero (UT 13.39) vs. Garrett Auproux (CP 12.78)
3. Timo Stodder (UT 14.11) vs. Cory Pang (CP 12.93)
4. Jack Schipanksi (UT 13.04) vs. Axel Damiens (CP 12.54)
5. Preston Touliatos UT 12.62) vs. Josh Ortlip (CP 13.40)
6. Srdjan Jakovljevic (UT 13.40) vs. Aiku Shintani (CP 12.03)
B. Jack Heslin (UT 13.18)/Karl Enander (CP 12.02)

Regional Final: Wake Forest def. Tennessee 4-0 – The Vols will put up more resistance than Auburn but Wake still rolls by taking the doubles point and getting singles wins from Mansouri, Bogaerts, and Uspensky. (Result: Wake Forest 4-0)