Friday was a day of upsets with the biggest shocker coming in Tallahassee as No. 51 Florida State stunned No. 1 and previously unbeaten North Carolina 4-3. Florida State was coming off a tough 4-3 loss to Miami last Sunday so the thought of them beating the No. 1 team in the country had to be a long shot at best coming in.
FSU’s Aziz Dougaz and Michael Rinaldi were first off the court at No. 2 doubles as they defeated UNC’s Brayden Schnur and Jack Murray 6-1. UNC’s Andrew Gores and Ronnie Schneider won 6-3 at No. 3 over Jose Gracia and Terrance Whitehurst but FSU took the doubles point when Benjamin Lock and Marco Nunez defeated Brett Clark and Robert Kelly 6-4 at No. 1.
Each team took three opening sets in singles but only three of the six matches would finish in straight sets. UNC’s Brett Clark put the Tar Heels on the board with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Michael Rinaldi at No. 3 and Robert Kelly put them ahead with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Jose Gracia at No. 5. Florida State freshman Aziz Dougaz tied it up at 2-2 with a 6-1, 7-6 win over Jack Murray at No 4 but all the remaining matches would go to a third set.
Florida State senior Benjamin Lock put the Noles back ahead with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 over Brayden Schnur at No. 1. Lock broke Schnur’s 3-4 service game in the third set then served it out for the win.
Florida State senior Marco Nunez picked up the biggest win of his collegiate career when he clinched the upset win with a 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 win over Ronnie Schneider at No. 2. Nunez jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third set but Schneider held, broke, and held to pull within 4-3. Nunez held on the deciding point for 5-3 then broke Schneider from 30-40 to seal it. Check out FSU’s highlight package which includes a few interviews and then another angle of match point below:
#51 Florida State 4, #1 North Carolina 3
March 10, 2016 (Scott Speicher Tennis Center, Tallahassee, Fla.)
Doubles competition
1. #26 Benjamin Lock/Marco Nunez d. #3 Robert Kelly/Brett Clark (UNC), 6-4
2. Aziz Dougaz/Michael Rinaldi (FSU) d. Jack Murray/Brayden Schnur (UNC), 6-1
3. Andrew Gores/Ronnie Schneider (UNC) d. Jose Gracia/Terrance Whitehurst (FSU), 6-3
Singles competition
1. #30 Benjamin Lock (FSU 14.08) d. #38 Brayden Schnur (UNC 14.08), 5-7, 6-2, 3-6
2. #97 Marco Nunez (FSU 13.32) d. #12 Ronnie Schneider (UNC 14.19), 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3
3. #29 Brett Clark (UNC 13.92) def. Michael Rinaldi (FSU 13.29), 6-2, 6-2
4. Aziz Dougaz (FSU 13.32) def. #74 Jack Murray (UNC 13.85), 6-1, 7-6(4)
5. #89 Robert Kelly (UNC 13.83) def. Jose Gracia (FSU 13.13), 7-5, 6-2
6. Blaine Boyden (UNC 13.20) def. Terrance Whitehurst (FSU 13.13), 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-2
Match Notes
North Carolina 15-1 (0-1 ACC); National Ranking #1
Florida State 10-4 (2-1 ACC); National Ranking #51
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,5,4,1,2,6)
Head coach Dwayne Hultquist:
“I never feel that anyone should win the doubles on us. We’re good at all three spots. Ben and Marco haven’t lost this year (10-0). Aziz and Michael played lights out. That set the tone for the whole match. You don’t win National Indoors (UNC) without being a resilient team, and they showed that today. We split the first sets with them, and they took it to us in the second sets. Aziz’s win in straight sets was huge for us. It tied the match up and reestablished our momentum. Ben and Marco have been in the pivotal spot a number of times in their career, and today they both came through when we needed them. They were great today.
On beating the top-ranked team in his 17th season:
“Historically, it’s the biggest win for us. We’ve never beaten the No. 1 team in the country. We’ve had a couple of Top 5 wins over Duke and beat Illinois in the NCAA Tournament when they were defending national champions. But as far as the regular season, this is our biggest win. It’s got to rank up there.
On being doused with the water cooler postmatch:
“That hasn’t happened before. I knew it was coming but I wasn’t going to fight it.
Senior Benjamin Lock:
“Unbelievable. Roller-coaster of a match. Really tight doubles Michael and Aziz played lights out today and that’s the best I’ve seen them play. We really set the tone heading into singles. After last weekend, taking a loss to Miami, we got a reality check with this team. We talked about how we were going to act moving forward and that it wasn’t going to affect our season.
Everyone gave a great effort. I was trying to focus on my match but there was so much emotion. I knew that if I just kept holding serve in the third set, I was going to get a break. Next thing I knew, I was 5-3 up and 40-0 serving. That’s when it hit me that we could win this thing.
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Two weeks ago Arkansas made a big statement when it beat Oklahoma and today it took it up a notch when it beat the two-time defending SEC Champions No. 7 Texas A&M 5-2. What made the win as improbable was the fact that Arkansas hadn’t beaten Texas A&M since 1995 and had been shutout in the three previous SEC meetings.
Texas A&M took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 but the Razorbacks turned it around in singles and took five opening sets.
Santiago Munoz put the Hogs on the board with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Jordi Arconada at No. 3 but A&M’s Jackson Withrow answered with a 7-6, 6-4 win at No. 6 over Johan den Toom.
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| Jose Salazar (Pic Via Arkansas) |
Arkansas redshirt freshman Adam Sanjurjo made it 2-2 with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over AJ Catanzariti at No. 5 and Mike Redlicki made it 3-2 with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Arthur Rinderknech at No. 1.
Jose Salazar clinched the win at No. 2 with a 7-6, 7-5 win over Shane Vinsant and Giammarco Micolani closed out the evening with a 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 win over Harrison Adams.
I haven’t seen any quotes from Arkansas but I’ll post them if I see some.
#32 Arkansas 5, #7 Texas A&M 2
Mar 10, 2016 at Fayetteville, Ark. (Billingsley Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #43 Mike Redlicki (AR 14.08) def. #14 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU 14.49) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
2. Jose Salazar (AR 13.99) def. #34 Shane Vinsant (TAMU 13.94) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
3. Santiago Munoz (AR 13.03) def. #67 Jordi Arconada (TAMU 13.83) 6-4, 6-3
4. Giammarco Micolani (AR 13.12) def. Harrison Adams (TAMU 13.24) 7-5, 5-7, 7-5
5. Adam Sanjurjo (AR 13.30) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU 13.43) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
6. Jackson Withrow (TAMU 13.98) def. Johan den Toom (AR 12.62) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #25 Arthur Rinderknech/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. #31 G Micolani/Mike Redlicki (AR) 6-4
2. Harrison Adams/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. Jose Salazar/Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-4
3. Santiago Munoz/Johan den Toom (AR) def. Jordi Arconada/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 7-5
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 14-4 (2-1 SEC); National ranking #7
Arkansas 12-3 (2-1 SEC); National ranking #32
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,6,5,1,2,4)
T-3:00
A-312
Quotes from Arkansas’s recap
“The important part of the whole win was that we were still willing to compete when we lost the doubles point, Andy Jackson explained. “We played a little bit better than we did against Kentucky when the match got close to winning time. I’m very proud of the team and I’m looking to another SEC match on Sunday.
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Clemson picked up its biggest win of the year when it knocked off No. 38 Notre Dame 4-3. The Tigers took the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 and then claimed four first sets in singles.
Clemson’s Alex Favrot and Luke Johnson won in straight sets at No. 1 and No. 2 while Notre Dame got straight set wins from Josh Hagar and Grayson Broadus at No. 3 and No. 4. Clemson’s Christian Harris clinched the win at No. 6 with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 win over Nicolas Montoya.
Notre Dame’s top singles player, Quentin Monaghan, sat out the singles portion for the third consecutive match due to what I’m guessing must be some kind of an injury.
Clemson 4, #38 Notre Dame 3
March 11, 2016 at Clemson, S.C. (Hoke Sloan Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Alex Favrot (CU 13.65) def. #42 Alex Lawson (ND 13.46) 6-2, 6-4
2. Luke Johnson (CU 13.07) def. Eddy Covalschi (ND 13.02) 6-4, 6-3
3. Josh Hagar (ND 13.48) def. Daffra Sanon (CU 13.02) 6-4, 6-2
4. Grayson Broadus (ND 12.85) def. Austin Ansari (CU 12.22) 6-4, 6-1
5. Daniel Rayl (ND 12.45) def. Robert Dudley (CU 12.39) 5-7, 6-4, 6-0
6. Christian Harris (CU 12.76) def. Nicolas Montoya (ND 13.14) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Eddy Covalschi/Alex Lawson (ND) def. #77 Alex Favrot/Luke Johnson (CU) 6-3
2. Arturo Pinazo/Austin Ansari (CU) def. Josh Hagar/Quentin Monaghan (ND) 6-4
3. Robert Dudley/Daffra Sanon (CU) def. Grayson Broadus/Nicolas Montoya (ND) 6-3
Match Notes
Notre Dame 8-7; National ranking #38
Clemson 10-7
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,4,2,3,6,5)
“We had to earn it today versus a tough, well-coached Notre Dame team, said Associate Head Coach John Boetsch. “It was a solid team effort and we had been getting the same effort in training during the week. Robert Dudley made a huge comeback from 0-5 down to win the first set, and that played a major role in the momentum of the match. Christian, Luke and Alex showed great poise and confidence at the end of their singles matches. The guys competed hard for each other and the support from the fans and players was outstanding. The guys executed and showed strong belief down the stretch in doubles and singles.
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Nebraska and No. 47 Iowa opened up Big Ten play tonight with the Huskers going on the road and getting the 4-3 win. Iowa took the doubles point with 6-4 wins at No. 1 and No. 2 but Nebraska took four opening sets in singles.
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| Andrew Dzulynsky (Pic Nate Olsen/Nebraska) |
Dusty Boyer and Marc Herrmann put Nebraska ahead 2-1 with straight set wins at No. 1 and No. 2 but Iowa retook the lead when Josh Silverstein and Jonas Larsen won in three-sets at No. 3 and No. 4.
Nebraska’s Bradford Zitsch tied the match at 3-3 with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over Jake Jacoby at No. 6 and a short while later Andrew Dzulynsky clinched it with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win over Robin Haden at No. 5.
Nebraska 4, #47 Iowa 3
March 11, 2016 at Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex)
Singles competition
1. Dusty Boyer (NEB 13.31) def. Dominic Patrick (UI 12.80): 6-1, 7-5
2. Marc Herrmann (NEB 12.90) def. Lefteris Theodorou (UI 12.86): 6-2, 6-1
3. Josh Silverstein (UI 13.06) def. Toby Boyer (NEB 12.92): 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
4. Jonas Larsen (UI 12.12) def. Tomislav Antoljak (NEB 12.23): 7-5, 7-5
5. Andrew Dzulynsky (NEB 12.30) def. Robin Haden (UI 12.59): 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
6. Bradford Zitsch (NEB 12.06) def. Jake Jacoby (UI 12.88): 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #78 Jake Jacoby/Lefteris Theodorou (UI) def. #66 Dusty Boyer/Toby Boyer (NEB): 6-4
2. Dominic Patrick/Josh Silverstein (UI) def. Andrew Dzulynsky/Bradford Zitsch (NEB): 6-4
3. Nils Hallestrand/Robin Haden (UI) vs. Marc Herrmann/Scott Elsass (NEB): unfinished
Match Notes
Iowa 7-4; National ranking #47
Nebraska 7-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (2,1,4,3,6,5)
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San Diego State hadn’t won a match in over a month but they made up for lost time with a 5-2 win over No. 70 Penn. The Quakers took the doubles point by winning the decider at No. 2 in a tiebreak but the Aztecs really took over in singles.
SDSU won at the top four spots in pretty routine fashion while Marko Goles-Babic dropped his opening set at No. 5 before winning the final two sets 6-1, 6-1. Penn picked up a point at No. 6 when Blaine Willenborg won a third set supertiebreak over Cornelius Kolb.
San Diego State 5, #70 Penn 2
March 11, 2016 (Aztec Tennis Center, San Diego, Calif)
Singles competition
1. Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU 13.49) def. Kyle Mautner (PENN 13.35) 5-1, retired
2. Hendrik Jebens (SDSU 13.66) def. Vim De Alwis (PENN 12.58) 6-1, 6-0
3. Milen Ianakiev (SDSU 13.13) def. Josh Pompan (PENN 13.06) 7-5, 6-2
4. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU 12.50) def. Matt Nardella (PENN 12.76) 6-0, 6-2
5. Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU 13.01) def. Nicholai Westergaard (PENN 12.65) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
6. Blaine Willenborg (PENN 12.38) def. Cornelius Kolb (SDSU 12.10) 6-4, 6-7 (8), 10-8
Doubles competition
1. Marko Goles-Babic/Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU) def. N Westergaard/Austin Kaplan (PENN) 6-4
2. Matt Nardella/Thomas Spratt (PENN) def. Hendrik Jebens/Jonas Meinzer (SDSU) 7-6 (6)
3. B Willenborg/Gabriel Rapoport (PENN) def. Santiago Cevallos/S Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) 6-2
Match Notes
Penn 5-11; National ranking #70
San Diego State 4-6
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,3,4,2,5,6)
“Definitely happy for the guys, head coach Gene Carswell said. “I think it was a complete team win. The guys came out and took it upon themselves to each go out and get their one point.
Said Carswell of singles play, “We were able to lock up the clinch and that’s a great thing to do against a nationally ranked team.
“Everyone we compete against is going to show up and know that we’re a good team, Carswell said. “We’re a team that made it to the NCAA’s last year and was winning matches in the tournament. We’ve got to go out there and show on a daily basis that we’re a very good team, and I think this was a good step in that direction.
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Other Friday results:#23 Penn State def. #65 UNC Wilmington 4-0 –
PSU recap#71 Utah State def. New Mexico State 4-1 –
USU recap#71 Utah State def. #58 Pacific 4-0 –
USU recap#63 New Mexico def. San Francisco 4-0 –
UNM recap#63 New Mexico def. Grand Canyon 4-0 –
UNM recap#66 Duke def. #74 Miami FL 5-2 –
Duke recapTroy def. #75 Florida Gulf Coast 4-2 –
Troy recap#67 East Tennessee State def. Central Florida 4-0 –
ETSU recap#54 Middle Tennessee State def. Florida Atlantic 5-2 –
MTSU recap#42 Georgia Tech def. Louisville 5-2 –
GT recap#9 Wake Forest def. Boston College 7-0 –
WF recap#25 Florida def. #64 Auburn 7-0 –
UF recap (nice video)
#50 Alabama def. #72 Tennessee 5-2 –
Bama recap#22 Ole Miss def. #43 LSU 4-1 –
OM recap#36 Drake def. Brown 4-0 –
DU recap#35 Washington def. Gonzaga 5-2 –
UW recap
That's a question that I wondered as well – usually they are done automatically when the rankings come out on Tuesday but somehow they didn't get switched. Hopefully it doesn't mean disaster when they come out again on Tuesday.
why has the ITA results page not updated the rankings from tuesday yet?
I think no-ad is definitely playing into the hands of the underdog – it seems like none of these upsets are really that upsetting anymore. UNC had only played one competitive match in the last month before last night so they weren't as sharp as normal. Still that's not a match that #1 should be losing.
Bobby! How can you explain this parity? I do not ever remember this level of parity before. And the thing is, it's no longer that shocking to see these upsets. 51 over 1, unranked over 38 etc. How is to possible to even predict these matches anymore?