The first big match of the day took place in Austin between No. 18 Texas and No. 2 TCU. The Horned Frogs took the doubles point with a 6-1 win at No. 3 from Cameron Norrie and Alex Rybakov and a 7-6(1) win at No. 1 from Hudson Blake and Reese Stalder.
Texas turned it around in singles and claimed five opening sets to really put TCU on its heels. The only Horned Frog to win a first set was also the first one to finish as Cameron Norrie defeated George Goldhoff 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1.
TCU found its fire in the second set and took all six sets to send five of the six matches to a third set. Jerry Lopez put TCU ahead 3-0 after completing his comeback with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Michael Riechmann at No. 5.
Texas’s Julian Zlobinsky was on his way to a straight set win over Trevor Johnson at No. 6 but he hit a pothole late in the second set. Zlobinsky led 6-4, 5-3 but Johnson took the next four games to take the set 7-5. Zlobinsky went up an early break in the third and was able to hold on this time and take it 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Adrian Ortiz pulled Texas to within 3-2 after he beat Eduardo Nava 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 at No. 4 and it looked like Harrison Scott would tie it up at 3-3 when he led Alex Rybakov 5-2 in the third at No. 2. Rybakov had other plans and would take the final five games of the match to close out Scott 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.
The remaining match at No. 3 was abandoned with TCU’s Guillermo Nunez serving at 4-5 in the third. UT’s Rodrigo Banzer led 6-3, 5-3 but he lost three straight games before holding for 6-6 and then Nunez would bagel him in the tiebreak.
The difference in the match was Texas’s inability to finish off courts when they had what appeared to be commanding leads. Scott led 5-2 in the third and lost, Banzer led 6-3, 5-3 and ended up with a DNF in the third, and Zlobinsky led 6-4, 5-3 and even though he won in three letting Johnson hang around kept Texas from gaining some momentum from an early win.
#2 TCU 4, #18 Texas 2
Apr 16, 2016 at Austin, Texas (Weller Indoor Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #5 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. #56 George Goldhoff (UT) 6-4, 6-1
2. #20 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Harrison Scott (UT) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
3. Rodrigo Banzer (UT) vs. #62 Guillermo Nuez (TCU) 6-3, 6-7 (0-7), 5-4, unfinished
4. Adrian Ortiz (UT) def. Eduardo Nava (TCU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
5. Jerry Lopez (TCU) def. Michael Riechmann (UT) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
6. Julian Zlobinsky (UT) def. Trevor Johnson (TCU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #69 Hudson Blake/Reese Stalder (TCU) def. George Goldhoff/M. Riechmann (UT) 7-6 (7-1)
2. Adrian Ortiz/Julian Zlobinsky (UT) vs. Trevor Johnson/Guillermo Nuez (TCU) 6-5, unfinished
3. Cameron Norrie/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. John Mee/Harrison Scott (UT) 6-1
Match Notes:
TCU 21-2, 3-0 Big 12; National ranking #2
Texas 17-9, 1-3; National ranking #18
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,5,6,4,2)
Match relocated to Weller Indoor Tennis Center
Post-Match Quotes from head coach David Roditi via TCU’s recap
“Texas was all over us from the first point in singles. Texas head coach Michael Center and assistant coach Bruce Berque have the Longhorns playing at a very high level and if it weren’t for our players’ resilience and fight, we would have easily lost that match. I couldn’t be more proud of our team and our players. They stayed calm and found ways to get those singles wins. We are in one of the toughest conferences in the country and winning on the road against a good and well-coached team is hard to do. The “Frog” factor showed up today and now we put ourselves in a position to win the conference regular season.
Post-Match Quotes from head coach Michael Center via Texas’s recap
It’s getting later in the season, emotions are running high, there are things at stake with the conference tournament in positioning yourself, and NCAA seeding and the whole thing. So I told the guys before the match started that I’m really not looking to see how we play. What I want to see now is how we’re competing and how resilient we can be, and I thought we were really resilient today. We competed really, really hard. So in that regard, I’m really proud of the team and proud of the effort. I think we’re still improving, but we came up just a little bit short today. It was close all the way around, we just came up a little bit short.
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Cal made it 2 for 2 this year against Stanford this year after knocking off the Cardinal 4-2. Cal took the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 and then came out firing in singles by taking the opening sets on four courts.
Filip Bergevi extended Cal’s lead to 2-0 with a 6-0, 7-6 win over Nolan Paige at No. 4. Stanford’s Brandon Sutter was a late substitute in the singles lineup but his addition paid off as he took out Cal’s Mads Engsted 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6.
Cal’s Florian Lakat made it 3-1 with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Tom Fawcett at No. 1 and then Andre Goransson clinched the win by defeating David Wilczynski 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 at No. 2.
#16 Cal 4, #29 Stanford 1
April 16, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif. (Hellman Tennis Complex)
Doubles competition
1. #11 F Bergevi/F Lakat (Cal) vs. #41 T Fawcett/M Romanowicz (Stanford) 4-3 unf
2. Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. David Wilczynski/Nolan Paige (Stanford) 6-2
3. Mads Engsted/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Sameer Kumar/Yale Goldberg (Stanford) 6-1
Singles competition
1. #30 Florian Lakat (Cal) def. #10 Tom Fawcett (Stanford) 7-6(2), 6-3
2. #27 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. #72 David Wilczynski (Stanford) 3-6, 7-5, 6-1
3. #68 Billy Griffith (Cal) vs. Michael Genender (Stanford) 6-4, 6-7(6) Abandoned
4. Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. Nolan Paige (Stanford) 6-0, 7-6(3)
5. #103 Oskar Wikberg (Cal) vs. Sameer Kumar (Stanford) 6-4, 5-7, 0-2 Abandoned
6. Brandon Sutter (Stanford) def. Mads Engsted (Cal) 6-4, 6-3
Match Notes
Cal 15-5 (5-2 Pac-12); National ranking #16
Stanford 13-9 (4-3 Pac-12); National ranking #29
Order of Finish: Singles (4,6,1,2); Doubles (3,2)
“We knew today was going to be a challenge, Cal head coach Peter Wright said, “and Stanford came to Berkeley a day early to prepare, so we knew we had to bring out our best tennis. Seniors Mads Engsted and Oskar Wikberg were instrumental in earning us the doubles point.
“With Pac-12 Bay Area doing live TV, we also had Senior Day and McManus Legends Day, so it was our best crowd this year. Our fans are amazing, and they definitely made a difference today.
“Florian played one of his best matches of the year, and Andre is really starting to play well, Wright said. “Filip deserves a lot of credit for playing incredibly disciplined tennis. We’re all excited to finish the regular season with a win over our rival, and now we’re focusing our attention on the Pac-12 Championships and the NCAAs.
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Oregon more than likely locked up a spot in next month’s NCAA Tournament by picking up a huge 4-2 win on the road over No. 35 Washington.
The Ducks took the doubles point with a 7-5 win at No. 1 and a 6-4 win at No. 2. Each team picked up three first sets in singles but only three of those would finish in straight sets with Washington’s Mitch Stewart winning at No. 1 while Oregon’s Thomas Laurent and Jayson Amos won at No. 3 and No. 4.
Washington cut the Oregon lead to 3-2 with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Cormac Clissold at No. 5 but Oregon’s Ethan Young-Smith clinched the win by defeating Kawika Lam 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(2).
#41 Oregon 4, #35 Washington 2
April 16, 2016 at Seattle, Washington (Bill Quillian Stadium)
Doubles competition
1 #30 Amos/Soemarno (ORE) def. Foley/Watanabe (UW) 7-5
2 Maasland/Stevens (ORE) def. Lam/Sommer (UW) 6-4
3 Douglas/Hakak (UW) vs. Clissold/Laurent 5-6 (DNF)
Singles competition
1 #104 Mitch Stewart (UW) def. Daan Maasland (ORE) 6-4, 6-1
2 Enzo Sommer (UW) def. Simon Stevens (ORE) 6-7, 7-5, 5-4 (DNF)
3 Thomas Laurent (ORE) def. Gal Hakak (UW) 6-4, 6-4
4 #124 Jayson Amos (ORE) def. Jake Douglas (UW) 6-3, 6-2
5 Sebastian Hawken (UW) def. Cormac Clissold (ORE) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
6 Kawika Lam (UW) def. Ethan Young-Smith (ORE) def. Kawika Lam (UW) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(2)
Match Notes
Washington 16-8 (3-4 Pac-12); National ranking #35
Oregon 17-6 (3-4 Pac-12); National ranking #41
Order of Finish: Singles (4,1,3,5,6); Doubles (2,1)
Post-Match Quotes from Washington’s recap
“It’s was very disappointing to lose today, said head coach Matt Anger. “But I’m very excited about the game itself.
“Today was a beautiful day and a great day for college tennis to be on display as it should be, said Anger. “I didn’t like the ultimate result today though and we just came up on the short end.
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Cal was one match away from an undefeated regular season but its bay area rivals, No. 17 Stanford, wouldn’t have any of it and stunned the top-ranked Bears 4-3. Cal got things started off on the right foot by taking the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 and then the Bears also took four opening sets in singles.
Stanford only took two first sets but Carol Zhao and Krista Hardebeck both finished in straight sets at No. 1 and No. 4 to give the Cardinal the 2-1 lead.
Cal’s Klara Fabikova tied the match at 2-2 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Taylor Davidson at No. 2 and it looked like Lynn Chi was going to make it 3-2 when she had a lead late in the third set against Stanford’s Carolina Doyle. Chi led 5-4 and 6-5 but Doyle held both times and forced a third set tiebreak. Chi was serving up 5-2 in the tiebreak but Doyle won six of the next seven points to close it out 8-6. (Stanford’s recap said Doyle fought off five match points in the TB but at most it would have been four if Chi led 6-2)
Cal’s Karla Popovic tied the match at 3-3 by winning two close sets to close out Melissa Lord at No. 6. In the deciding match at No. 5, Stanford’s Caroline Lampl would break Olivia Hauger’s 3-4 service game and then serve it out to give the Cardinal the upset win.
#17 Stanford 4, #1 Cal 3
April 16, 2016, in Stanford, Calif. (Taube Family Tennis Stadium)
Doubles Competition
1. #3 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (Cal) def. #4 Taylor Davidson/Caroline Doyle (Stanford) – 6-4
2. Klara Fabikova/Olivia Hauger (Cal) def. Melissa Lord/Carol Zhao (Stanford) – 7-5
3. #49 Krista Hardebeck/Caroline Lampl (Stanford) vs. Lynn Chi/Maria Smith (Cal) – 6-5 unf.
Singles Competition
1. #56 Carol Zhao (Stanford) def. #10 Maegan Manasse (Cal) 6-1, 6-4
2. #12 Klara Fabikova (Cal) def. #33 Taylor Davidson (Stanford) 6-4, 6-4
3. #87 Caroline Doyle (Stanford) def. #68 Lynn Chi (Cal) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6)
4. #102 Krista Hardebeck (Stanford) def. #73 Denise Starr (Cal) 6-2, 6-3
5. Caroline Lampl (Stanford) def. #114 Olivia Hauger (Cal) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
6. Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Melissa Lord (Stanford) 7-6 (1), 7-5
Match Notes
Stanford 13-5 (8-1 Pac-12); National Ranking #17
Cal 19-1 (7-1 Pac-12); National Ranking #1
Order of Finish: Singles (1,4,2,3,6,5); Doubles (1,2)
“It was a great match, Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. “I was really pleased with how we started the match with doubles. I thought we played much smarter and more consistent on all three courts in doubles. It was really good to get the doubles point and get momentum. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to carry it through in a couple of singles matches.
“Stanford made some adjustments from the last time we faced them. It was a good lesson for us today. We battled hard and pushed till the last point. Credit to Stanford; they battled hard as well. This is why our matches are so great for our players’ long-term development you learn so much whether you win or lose.
“Winning and losing’s part of tennis. We’re still on our path, and we are still looking to get better, with the postseason now upon us. This is what we’ve been training for. We’ll learn from this. We’re excited to move forward with this team.
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Top-seeded Coastal Carolina became the first team to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament by coming back from 3-1 down to defeat the No. 2 seed Presbyterian 4-3 in the finals of the Big South Conference Tournament.
Presbyterian looked like it had the match in control virtually the entire way. The Blue Hose took the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 and then took four first sets in singles.
CCU’s Vuk Velickovic was the first to finish with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 2 but PC’s Brandon Mills answered with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 4. PC’s Diego Manzanas came back from a set down to defeat Rick Timmerman 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5 so the Blue Hose were just a point away from sewing up its first ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.
PC’s Alexander Lykou had what appeared to be a commanding 6-1, 5-3 lead on Jabor Al-Mutawa at No. 1 but Jabor Al-Mutawa won the last 10 games of the match to take it 1-6, 7-5, 6-0. CCU’s Luiz Faria tied the match at 3-3 with a come from behind 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Ben Kelley at No. 6.
The conference championship would be decided in a third set at No. 3 between CCU’s Pedro Leme and PC’s Danny Bruce. Leme jumped out to a double-break 4-1 lead but Bruce came back to tie it at 4-4. Bruce was serving at 30-40 when he chipped a shot that was close to the line – Leme made a late out call which incensed both Bruce and the PC coaches. It was all for naught because the chair upheld the call and Leme would be serving for the match up 5-4.
Leme served it out from 40-30 and the Chanticleers were headed to the NCAA for the sixth time in school history.
#1 Coastal Carolina 4, #2 Presbyterian 3
April 16, 2016 at Lynchburg, VA
Singles competition
1. Al-Mutawa, Jabor (CCU) def. Alexander Lykou (PC) 1-6, 7-5, 6-0
2. Velickovic, Vuk (CCU) def. Alejandro Bejar (PC) 6-2, 6-3
3. Leme, Pedro (CCU) def. Danny Bruce (PC) 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-4
4. Brandon Mills (PC) def. Schneider, Sebastian (CCU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Diego Manzanas (PC) def. Timmerman, Rick (CCU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
6. Faria, Luiz (CCU) def. Ben Kelley (PC) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Leme, Pedro/Velickovic, Vuk (CCU) vs. Alexander Lykou/Brandon Mills (PC) 4-4, unf
2. Danny Bruce/Ben Kelley (PC) def. Faria, Luiz/Timmerman, Rick (CCU) 6-4
3. Joel Roberts/Diego Manzanas (PC) def. Al-Mutawa, Jabor/Schneider, Sebastian (CCU) 6-2
Match Notes:
Presbyterian 14-16, 6-2 BSC
Coastal Carolina 21-3, 8-0 BSC
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,4,5,1,6,3)
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Cal Poly stayed undefeated in Big West play with a thrilling 4-3 win over conference rival UC Davis. UCD took the doubles point but CP took five first sets in singles.
Cal Poly got straight sets wins from Garrett Auproux and Corey Pang at No. 2 and No. 3 while UCD’s Everett Maltby won in straights at No. 5.
Cal Poly’s Ben Donovan put the Mustangs ahead 3-2 with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win at No. 1 but UC Davis’s Tommy Lam tied it at 3-3 with a 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 6. Cal Poly’s Josh Ortlip would win the deciding match 6-4 in the third over Bryce McKelvie to give CP the 4-3 win.
#65 Cal Poly 4, #69 UC Davis 3
April 16, 2016 at San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Mustang Tennis Courts)
Doubles Competition
1. Alec Adamson / Adam Levie (UCD) def. Ben Donovan/Corey Pang (CP), 6-4
2. Brett Bacharach / Eli Whittle (UCD) vs. Garrett Auproux/Timothy Tan (CP), 4-3
3. Tommy Lam / Bryce McKelvie (UCD) def. Karl Enander/Dan Cardiff (CP), 6-1
Singles Competition
1. Ben Donovan (CP) def. Alec Adamson (UCD), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
2. Garrett Auproux (CP) def. James Wade (UCD), 6-1, 6-4
3. Corey Pang (CP) def. Brett Bacharach (UCD), 7-6, 6-1
4. Josh Ortlip (CP) def. Bryce McKelvie (UCD), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
5. Everett Maltby (UCD) def. Axel Damiens (CP), 6-3, 6-3
6. Tommy Lam (UCD) def. Sreyas Kolachalam (CP), 0-6, 6-3, 6-4
Match Notes
Cal Poly 13-8 (4-0 Big West)
UC Davis 15-6 (2-2 Big West)
Order of finish: Singles (2,3,5,1,6,4); Doubles (3,1)
If the field was chosen today there would be 6 in there – Oregon should make it as long as they don't lose to Arizona in the first round of the Pac-12 Tourney. Washington needs to beat Utah and then it'll probably depend on how everyone else around them does assuming they lose to Cal.
Hey Bobby, what are the chances that 6 teams from the Pac-12 make the NCAAs?
They are looking good at the moment – if they beat Penn State next week I think they'll host assuming they don't get upset before the semis of the B1G Tournament.
Tulane hurt itself with that loss to Rice – if they would have won that match they would have been the #3 seed.<br /><br />Tulane and Memphis have by far the toughest path – have to play each other, then South Florida, and if they beat USF then Tulsa/SMU winner. Going to be a great tournament. <br /><br />1. South Florida<br />2. Tulsa<br />3. SMU<br />4. Tulane<br />5. Memphis<br />6. Central Florida<br />7. Temple<br />8. East Carolina<br />9. UConn
Any idea the seeds at the AAC with Tulsa, SMU, Tulane all bunched up?
Bobby what are your thoughts about Northwestern hosting NCAAs after their win over 21 Michigan?
This year on Tuesday, May 3rd. Women at 5pm ET & Men at 5:30pm ET
When are NCAA draws usually released?
Looking very good for Cal to host – if they win at least one match at the Pac-12 Tournament that should cement it. Stanford is in no doubt.
Does this win mean that Cal will be hosting during the first round of the NCAAs? Will Stanford still make the tournament?