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NCAA Semifinal Preview – Virginia/Cal & Georgia/Oklahoma

by | May 23, 2016 | Blog | 13 comments

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[1] Virginia Cavaliers (28-4) vs. [13] Cal Bears (21-6) – Monday 4pm CT – Virginia advanced to its seventh straight NCAA semifinals with a 4-0 shellacking of Florida while Cal advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 1991 after winning a 4-3 thriller over Ohio State. These teams last met in the quarterfinals of the 2014 National Team Indoors in Houston though only a handful of guys were on those teams. Cal has been the cinderella story on the men’s side after taking out the No. 4 and No. 5 while Virginia played its best tennis yesterday in its match against Florida. If Virginia plays like it did in that match there isn’t anyone that’s going to beat them in these next two days.  

2014 National Team Indoors Quarterfinals 

#1 Virginia, #11 California 0 
February 14, 2014 at Houston, Texas (Downtown Club at the Met) 
Doubles Competition
1. Domijan/J.Shane (UVa) def. McLachlan/Goransson (Cal) 6-3 
2. Frank/Corinteli (UVa) vs. Bayane/Melton (Cal) 4-4 DNF 
3. Styslinger/Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Bergevi/Johnson (Cal) 6-2 
Order of Finish: 3,1 
Singles Competition
1. #3 Mitchell Frank (UVa) led #62 Ben McLachlan (Cal) 6-3, 5-1 DNF 
2. Alex Domijan (UVa) def. #68 Campbell Johnson (Cal) 6-1, 6-3 
3. Ryan Shane (UVa) def. Filip Bergevi (Cal) 6-0, 6-2 
4. Justin Shane (UVa) led #118 Andre Goransson (Cal) 6-4, 4-1 DNF 
5. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Gregory Bayane (Cal) 6-0, 6-1 
6. #62 Jordan Daigle (UVa) led Mads Engsted (Cal) 6-3, 3-2 DNF
Order of Finish: 5,2,3

Doubles Records: Virginia 28-4, Cal 18-7

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Virginia 86, Cal 84

FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of May 16th. For more details about UTR check out their website. 


The UTR Power 6 is the combined UTRs of the starting 6 (rounded to a whole #).  An individual win/loss to anyone with a UTR difference of 1.0 or greater would be considered an upset.   

Projected Singles Lineups
1. #8 Ryan Shane (VA 14.39) vs. #30 Florian Lakat (CAL 14.23)
2. #33 Collin Altamirano (VA 14.25) vs. #31 Andre Goransson (CAL 14.26)
3. #9 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA 14.50) vs. #85 Billy Griffith (CAL 14.34)
4. #78 Alexander Ritschard (VA 14.37) vs. #119 Filip Bergevi (CAL 14.24)
5. #110 J.C. Aragone (VA 13.90) vs. #124 Oskar Wikberg (CAL 13.63)
6. Henrik Wiersholm (VA 14.53)  vs. J.T. Nishimura (CAL 13.53)

O: Luca Corinteli (VA 13.68) 

Dual-Match Records:
1. Shane 14-12 vs. Lakat 10-8
2. Altamirano 24-4 vs. Goransson 12-11
3. Kwiatkowski 22-6 vs. Griffith 15-4
4. Ritschard 4-0 vs. Bergevi 19-3
5. Aragone 23-4 vs. Wikberg 12-4
6. Wiersholm 24-2 vs. Nishimura 11-4
Bench: Corinteli 10-3

Cal has been able to take the doubles point two matches in a row but I think their luck runs out today with Virginia picking up wins at No. 1 and No. 2. Both Florian Lakat and Andre Goransson played extremely physical matches yesterday so it’ll be interesting to see how they look less than 24 hours later. Cal has made a great run this week that has surpassed just about everyone expectations but I just can’t see them getting past Virginia. I’ll take Altamirano, Kwiatkowski, and Wiersholm with Shane also leading while Bergevi and Wikberg will have leads for Cal but won’t finish.  Prediction: Virginia 4-0

[7] Georgia Bulldogs (24-4) vs. [11] Oklahoma Sooners (19-10) – Monday 4pm CT – Georgia advanced to its first NCAA semifinal since 2013 with a 4-0 win over North Carolina while Oklahoma is into the semifinals for the third year in a row after outlasting UCLA 4-3. There are all kinds of interesting storylines in this one – Oklahoma head coach John Roddick is a Georgia graduate, Georgia assistant Bo Hodge (also a Georgia graduate) was an Oklahoma assistant for the previous four years before coming to Athens last summer, and Nick Papac, Georgia’s volunteer assistant, just graduated from Oklahoma last year. The teams last met in last year’s NCAA quarterfinals with Oklahoma winning 4-2 – there will be two individual rematches with Andrew Harris and Austin Smith playing at No. 1 after playing at No. 2 last year while Axel Alvarez and Wayne Montgomery will play at No. 2 after playing at No. 1 last year. 

2015 NCAA Quarterfinals 

[1] Oklahoma def. [8] #7 Georgia 4-2 
May 16, 2015 – Hurd Tennis Center Grandstand Courts 
Doubles Competition 
1. #57 Andrew Harris/Alex Ghilea (OU) def. #1 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (GA) 8-3 
2. Dane Webb/Spencer Papa (OU) vs. Wayne Montgomery/Nathan Pasha (GA) 6-7 unf. 
3. Axel Alvarez/Jose Salazar (OU) def. Eric Diaz/Paul Osterbaan (GA) 8-5 
Singles Competition 
1. #1 Axel Alvarez (OU 15.19) def.#24 Wayne Montgomery (GA 14.61) 6-1, 6-1 
2. #7 Andrew Harris (OU 15.05) vs. #30 Austin Smith (GA 14.32) 4-6, 6-4, 5-4 (15-30) unf. 
3. #31 Nathan Pasha (GA 14.38) def. #44 Dane Webb (OU 14.22) 6-2, 6-3 
4. #103 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.42) def. Ben Wagland (GA 13.49) 7-6(4), 7-5 
5. NickWood (GA 13.85) def. Spencer Papa (OU 13.90) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 
6. Florin Bragusi (OU 13.64) def. Paul Oosterbaan (GA 13.85) 6-4, 6-2 
Match Notes: 
Oklahoma 29-2 
Georgia 24-5 
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,3,6,5,4)


Doubles Records: Georgia 19-8, Oklahoma 16-12

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Georgia 84, Oklahoma 84
Projected Singles Lineups
1. #17 Austin Smith (UGA 14.52) vs. #97 Andrew Harris (OU 14.76)
2. #32 Wayne Montgomery (UGA 13.98) vs. #25 Axel Alvarez (OU 14.29)
3. #64 Paul Oosterbaan (UGA 14.01) vs. #82 Spencer Papa (OU 13.96)
4. #123 Walker Duncan (UGA 13.62) vs. #61 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.02)
5. Jan Zielinski (UGA 13.76) vs. Florin Bragusi (OU 13.85) 
6. Nick Wood (UGA 13.80) vs. Andre Biro (OU 13.74)
O: Emil Reinberg (UGA 13.42); Maxime Mora (OU 13.68)

Dual-Match Singles Records
1. Smith 20-5 vs. Harris 6-2
2. Montgomery 14-10 vs. Alvarez 11-9
3. Oosterbaan 16-7 vs. Papa 11-9
4. Duncan 15-5 vs. Ghilea 11-7
5. Zielinski 10-7 vs. Bragusi 10-6
6. Wood 16-2 vs. Biro 17-5

Georgia got off the court an hour quicker than OU did yesterday but Harris and Biro were the only ones that played three sets. Oklahoma has won the doubles point two matches in a row against teams that were pretty strong so it’ll be interesting to see if they can keep the magic going for a third day in a row in front of what should be a raucous later afternoon crowd. I like Montgomery, Oosterbaan, and Wood for Georgia but I think OU will take the point and get wins from Harris, Ghilea, and Bragusi. If Georgia can find a way to win the doubles point, like yesterday, they might be able to lean on OU in singles and get a quick win or two which would put a ton of pressure on them to come back. I’m going to take Boomer Sooner but if Georgia takes the doubles point I think the Dawgs will be playing for a Natty tomorrow nite!  Prediction: Oklahoma 4-3. 

13 Comments

  1. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    Tuesday late afternoon/early evening

  2. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    Bobby the individual tournament starts Wednesday. Shouldn't the draws be out by now?

  3. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    OU wins 4-3.

  4. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    UVA makes pretty short work of Cal

  5. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    Current match is truly awful. Will be over in less than 90 minutes.

  6. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    How is Henrik Wiersholm playing 6 for Virginia? UTR wise he is the highest on the team and has a very strong dual match record. Shouldn't he be playing higher up?

  7. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    I thought Smith played really well against De Vroome, going for really big shots off both wings, much bigger than I saw him played before. I didn't watch much of him yesterday, but if he plays today like he did on Friday, I'm afraid Harris may not be a match. <br /><br />Likewise, I like the Alvarez I saw on Friday against Chrysochos, a lot like last year. Redlicki constant big serves and free points must have got to him yesterday…

  8. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    UGA 4-2

  9. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    I feel like too many seniors are going through senioritis after stellar junior years. Axel and Ryan Shane are just 2 examples.

  10. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    Agreed, last year Alvarez was mostly untouchable but he has been quite touchable this year.

  11. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    Uv 4-0, ou 4-1

  12. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    This year's Axel is far from last year's Axel

  13. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    You like Montgomery?? Alvarez beat him 6-1 6-1 last year in a complete mismatch