[1] Virginia Cavaliers (29-4) vs. [11] Oklahoma Sooners (20-10) – Tuesday 6pm CT – Well here we are again with the same matchup as last year though for most of the regular season it didn’t look like it would end up that way. Virginia had some ups and downs and had its ACC regular season and postseason winning streaks get snapped while Oklahoma lost 10, yes 10, matches and went out in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Both teams have hit their peak this week with the return of a pair of starters that missed most of the year with regular season injuries. Andrew Harris (knee/groin) is anchoring the OU lineup which has let everyone else slide down a spot while Alex Ritschard (shoulder) has helped strengthen the middle of the UVA lineup.
These two actually met just a little over two months ago on these same courts in Tulsa with Virginia winning 4-3 though the match wasn’t as close as the score. Aragone clinched at 4-1 but they played the remaining matches out with OU winning both. All six singles matches will be different this time due to Harris and Ritschard re-entering the lineup.
Virginia won last year’s final 4-1 in a match where Virginia was in control just about the entire time. There will be one rematch from that one with J.C. Aragone and Florin Bragusi matched up at No. 5 this year after playing at No. 6 last year.
2016 Regular Season Meeting
#4 Virginia 4, #13 Oklahoma 3
March 12, 2016 at Tulsa, OK (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #41 Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU) def. #13 Ryan Shane (VA) 6-2, 7-5
2. #3 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. #99 Alex Ghilea (OU) 7-5, 6-3
3. Spencer Papa (OU) def. #47 Collin Altamirano (VA) 7-6(5), 6-2
4. #116 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. #92 Maxime Mora (OU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Florin Bragusi (OU) 6-0, 6-4
6. Andre Biro (OU) def. Mac Styslinger (VA) 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #6 Ryan Shane/Luca Corinteli (VA) def. #24 Spencer Papa/Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU) 6-2
2. #7 Mac Styslinger/Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. #46 Alex Ghilea/Andrew Harris (OU) 6-3
3. Andre Biro/Maxime Mora (OU) def. J.C. Aragone/Collin Altamirano (VA) 6-2
Match Notes:
Virginia 12-2; National Ranking #4
Oklahoma 7-6; National Ranking #13
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,1,2,4,3,6)
2015 NCAA Championship Match
#3 Virginia (29-3) def. #1 Oklahoma (29-3) 4-1
May 19, 2015 – Hurd Tennis Center Grandstand Courts
Doubles Competition
1. #2 Luca Corinteli/Ryan Shane (UVA) def. #57 Harris/Ghilea (OU) 8-4
2. #42 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Mac Styslinger (UVA) def. Webb/Papa (OU) 8-5
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (UVA) def. Axel Alvarez/Jose Salazar (OU) 8-5
Singles Competition
1. #1 Axel Alvarez (OU) vs. #8 Ryan Shane (UVA) 6-4, 5-5, UF
2. #20 Mitchell Frank (UVA) def. #7 Andrew Harris (OU) 7-5, 7-5
3. #77 Collin Altamirano (UVA) def. #44 Dane Webb (OU) 6-3, 6-3
4. #19 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA) def. #103 Alex Ghilea (UVA) 6-3, 6-4
5. Spencer Papa (OU) def. Alexander Ritschard (UVA) 6-3, 6-2
6. Florin Bragusi (OU) vs. J.C. Aragone(UVA) 7-6 (5), 4-6, 1-0, UF
Match Notes:
Virginia 29-3
Oklahoma 29-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,3,4,2)
Doubles Records: Virginia 29-4, Oklahoma 17-12
These two actually met just a little over two months ago on these same courts in Tulsa with Virginia winning 4-3 though the match wasn’t as close as the score. Aragone clinched at 4-1 but they played the remaining matches out with OU winning both. All six singles matches will be different this time due to Harris and Ritschard re-entering the lineup.
Virginia won last year’s final 4-1 in a match where Virginia was in control just about the entire time. There will be one rematch from that one with J.C. Aragone and Florin Bragusi matched up at No. 5 this year after playing at No. 6 last year.
2016 Regular Season Meeting
#4 Virginia 4, #13 Oklahoma 3
March 12, 2016 at Tulsa, OK (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #41 Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU) def. #13 Ryan Shane (VA) 6-2, 7-5
2. #3 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. #99 Alex Ghilea (OU) 7-5, 6-3
3. Spencer Papa (OU) def. #47 Collin Altamirano (VA) 7-6(5), 6-2
4. #116 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. #92 Maxime Mora (OU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Florin Bragusi (OU) 6-0, 6-4
6. Andre Biro (OU) def. Mac Styslinger (VA) 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #6 Ryan Shane/Luca Corinteli (VA) def. #24 Spencer Papa/Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU) 6-2
2. #7 Mac Styslinger/Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. #46 Alex Ghilea/Andrew Harris (OU) 6-3
3. Andre Biro/Maxime Mora (OU) def. J.C. Aragone/Collin Altamirano (VA) 6-2
Match Notes:
Virginia 12-2; National Ranking #4
Oklahoma 7-6; National Ranking #13
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,1,2,4,3,6)
2015 NCAA Championship Match
#3 Virginia (29-3) def. #1 Oklahoma (29-3) 4-1
May 19, 2015 – Hurd Tennis Center Grandstand Courts
Doubles Competition
1. #2 Luca Corinteli/Ryan Shane (UVA) def. #57 Harris/Ghilea (OU) 8-4
2. #42 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Mac Styslinger (UVA) def. Webb/Papa (OU) 8-5
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (UVA) def. Axel Alvarez/Jose Salazar (OU) 8-5
Singles Competition
1. #1 Axel Alvarez (OU) vs. #8 Ryan Shane (UVA) 6-4, 5-5, UF
2. #20 Mitchell Frank (UVA) def. #7 Andrew Harris (OU) 7-5, 7-5
3. #77 Collin Altamirano (UVA) def. #44 Dane Webb (OU) 6-3, 6-3
4. #19 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA) def. #103 Alex Ghilea (UVA) 6-3, 6-4
5. Spencer Papa (OU) def. Alexander Ritschard (UVA) 6-3, 6-2
6. Florin Bragusi (OU) vs. J.C. Aragone(UVA) 7-6 (5), 4-6, 1-0, UF
Match Notes:
Virginia 29-3
Oklahoma 29-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,3,4,2)
Doubles Records: Virginia 29-4, Oklahoma 17-12
UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Virginia 86, Oklahoma 84
FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of May 24th. 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 14.35) vs. #97 Andrew Harris (OU 14.81)
2. #33 Collin Altamirano (VA 14.27) vs. #25 Axel Alvarez (OU 14.30)
3. #9 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA 14.53) vs. #82 Spencer Papa (OU 13.97)
4. #78 Alexander Ritschard (VA 14.50) vs. #61 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.03)
5. #110 J.C. Aragone (VA 13.93) vs. Florin Bragusi (OU 13.85)
6. Henrik Wiersholm (VA 14.54) vs. Andre Biro (OU 13.75)
Dual-Match Records:
1. Shane 14-12 vs. Harris 6-3
2. Altamirano 24-4 vs. Alvarez 11-10
3. Kwiatkowski 23-6 vs. Papa 11-10
4. Ritschard 4-0 vs. Ghilea 12-7
5. Aragone 24-4 vs. Bragusi 11-6
6. Wiersholm 25-2 vs. Biro 18-5
1. Shane 14-12 vs. Harris 6-3
2. Altamirano 24-4 vs. Alvarez 11-10
3. Kwiatkowski 23-6 vs. Papa 11-10
4. Ritschard 4-0 vs. Ghilea 12-7
5. Aragone 24-4 vs. Bragusi 11-6
6. Wiersholm 25-2 vs. Biro 18-5
Breaking It Down
#1 Doubles
#4 Luca Corinteli/Ryan Shane (Virginia):
def. #10 Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe (OSU), 6-2
def. #1 Diego Hidalgo/Gordon Watson (UF), 6-3
vs. #9 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal), 4-4, DNF
#24 Axel Alvarez/Andrew Harris (Oklahoma)
def. #13 Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (Wake Forest), 6-2
def. #2 Mackie McDonald/Martin Redlicki (UCLA), 6-3
vs. #11 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (UGA), 5-4 DNF
Comments – Both teams have been playing well this week with each 2-0 but I think Shane and Corinteli get the win. Prediction: UVA 7-5
#2 Doubles
#16 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Mac Styslinger (Virginia)
def. Lucas Gerch/Jurence Mendoza (OSU), 6-1
vs. #80 Maxx Lipman/Elliott Orkin (UF), 5-5, DNF
def. Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal), 6-3
Alex Ghilea/Spencer Papa (Oklahoma)
def. #79 Petros Chrysochos/Jon Ho (Wake Forest), 6-4
def. Joseph Di Giulio/Karue Sell (UCLA), 7-6 (4)
def. Paul Oosterbaan/Jan Zielinski (UGA), 6-4
Comments – This is the most even matchup of the pair with Ghilea and Papa 3-0 while Kwiatkowski and Styslinger are 2-0. Prediction: Will Not Finish – Tied 6-6
#3 Doubles
Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (Virginia)
vs. Lukas Finzelberg/Tristan Meraut (OSU) 3-4, DNF
def. Alfredo Perez/Chase Perez-Blanco (Florida), 6-3
def. Mads Engsted/J.T. Nishimura (Cal), 6-2
Andre Biro/Max Mora (Oklahoma)
lost to Romain Bogaerts/Dennis Uspensky (Wake Forest) 6-0
Andre Biro/Austin Siegel (Oklahoma)
lost to Maxime Cressy/Austin Rapp (UCLA) 6-1
def. Wayne Montgomery/Emil Reinberg (UGA), 6-4
Comments – OU has tried two different doubles combinations and up until last night they hadn’t won more than 1 game in a match. Biro and Siegel rallied from 4-2 down to win yesterday but Aragone and Altamirano are the stronger team. Prediction: UVA 6-3
#1 Singles
#8 Ryan Shane (Virginia)
lost to 1. #56 Julian Cash (Oklahoma State) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
vs. #10 Diego Hidalgo (Florida), 6-3, 4-6, 3-1 DNF
vs. #30 Florian Lakat (California), 6-1, 6-6 DNF
#97 Andrew Harris (Oklahoma)
def. #13 Skander Mansouri (Wake Forest), 6-4, 6-4
lost to #6 Mackie McDonald (UCLA) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
lost to #17 Austin Smith (Georgia) 6-2, 6-4
Comments – Shane has been on his game all week while Harris’s lack of match play is starting to show. If Harris can find a way to return serve well he should able to stay in this match but he has to serve a lot better himself than he did yesterday against Austin Smith. I think Harris hangs around but Shane pulls through. Prediction: Shane (UVA) in 3
#2 Singles
#33 Collin Altamirano (Virginia)
def. Arjun Kadhe (Oklahoma State), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2
vs. #53 Alfredo Perez (Florida), 6-4, *5-4 DNF
vs. #31 Andre Goransson (California), 6-4, 2-3 DNF
#25 Axel Alvarez (Oklahoma)
vs. #27 Petros Chrysochos (Wake Forest) 6-3, 5-4
lost to #38 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) 7-5, 7-6(5)
lost to #32 Wayne Montgomery (Georgia) 1-6, 6-2, 7-5
Comments – Alvarez has lost two straight while Altamirano has only finished one match though it was the clincher against Oklahoma State and he was up in both of the others. Axel wasn’t able to close out his match yesterday against Montgomery after going up a break in the third plus he served for it up 5-4. Altamirano has had a few instances this year where he struggled to close a guy out but he’s been pretty solid this week. Prediction: Will Not Finish – Altamirano (UVA) leading
#3 Singles
#9 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Virginia)
vs. Lucas Gerch (Oklahoma State), 7-6 (3), 4-6, 5-5 DNF
def. #37 Elliott Orkin (Florida), 7-6 (2), 6-2
def. #85 Billy Griffith (California), 6-3, 6-0
#82 Spencer Papa (Oklahoma)
def. Jon Ho (Wake Forest), 6-3, 6-3
def. #58 Gage Brymer (UCLA), 6-3, 7-5
lost to #64 Paul Oosterbaan (Georgia) 6-4, 7-5
Comments – Papa had trouble with the big Oosterbaan serve after looking very sharp in his first two matches while Kwiatkowski has rebounded from a tough Round of 16 match to win the last two going away. Prediction: Kwiatkowski (UVA) in 2
#4 Singles
#78 Alexander Ritschard (Virginia)
def. Tristan Meraut (Oklahoma State), 7-6 (1), 6-1
def. #120 Chase Perez-Blanco (Florida), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
vs. #119 Filip Bergevi (California) 3-6, 3-4 DNF
#61 Alex Ghilea (Oklahoma)
def. Romain Bogaerts (Wake Forest), 6-1, 6-0
lost to #101 Karue Sell (UCLA) 7-6(3), 6-3
def. #123 Walker Duncan (Georgia), 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-2
Comments – Ritschard won his two matches in straight sets but he trailed in his match yesterday against Bergevi while Ghilea shook off a loss to Karue Sell by clinching yesterday against Walker Duncan. This is a must-court for Oklahoma and I think Ghilea wins a big one for the second day in a row. Prediction: Ghilea (OU) in 3
#5 Singles
#110 J.C. Aragone (Virginia)
lost to Lukas Finzelberg (Oklahoma State) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
vs. Gordon Watson (Florida), 7-6 (2), 4-6, 2-2 DNF
def. #124 Oskar Wikberg (California), 6-3, 6-4
Florin Bragusi (Oklahoma)
vs. Christian Seraphim (Wake Forest), 6-4, 4-4 DNF
def. Logan Staggs (UCLA), 6-4, 7-5
def. Jan Zielinski (Georgia), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Comments – Aragone is 1-1 with 1 DNF this week while Bragusi is 2-0 with 1 DNF. This is another must-court for OU and I think Bragusi wins again. Prediction: Bragusi (OU) in 3
#6 Singles
Henrik Wiersholm (Virginia)
def. Jurence Mendoza (Oklahoma State), 6-4, 6-3
def. McClain Kessler (Florida), 6-4, 6-2
def. Mads Engsted (California), 6-3, 6-4
Andre Biro (Oklahoma)
vs. Dennis Uspensky (Wake Forest), 6-4, 5-1 DNF
def. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
def. Nick Wood (Georgia), 7-6 (5), 7-5
Comments – Neither guy has lost this week and both have played extremely well but I’m going with Wiersholm in straights. Prediction: Wiersholm (UVA) in 2
Oklahoma has won the last two matches thanks to winning the doubles point and I think for them it is absolutely imperative for them to get off to a quick start. All three of Virginia’s doubles teams have been playing extremely well this week so unless they struggle a bit, or unless Oklahoma elevates its play a good bit, Virginia should win the point.
All six singles matches should be extremely competitive and if OU does drop the doubles point it better find a way to at least split first sets or the match could evaporate into the expected Tulsa heat.
Virginia has played lights out top to bottom the last two matches so it’ll be interesting to see if they can play at the level one more time.
I think we’re going to see Virginia win it’s third national title but I will say that if Oklahoma can win the doubles point and/or two of the top three singles matches I think they win.
If Virginia wins will we get to see Luca in the presser for the fourth match in a row or will Brian bring in the clincher?
Prediction: Virginia 4-2
Virginia (11/12) and Georgia (97/98) have lost two in a row but none has lost 3 <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
4,4
Oklahoma has now lost 3 finals in a row and none were especially close. Today's was probably the worst. Has anyone else lost 3 in a row?
Match officially moved indoors, congrats to uv on the title, outdoors I think it would have been very close but now I think uv wins for sure, it helps them in doubles and at every position but 2, look for an easy win….ill take doubles, 3,5,6 for a 4-0 win
We'll see what happens. I'm not at the match.
luckily this trend has not spilled over to the men yet
No, ESPNU will have swimming or diving. It will be streaming. Bobby has put the link up top. Tulsa's feed is pretty good for court cams. The NCAA feed only shows one court while you can move around on the Tulsa feed.
It is always bad when Stanford women win the championship. Why? Because they refuse to play in the Ita's. After they started this trend and continued to show extraordinary success, other teams have followed suit. First Florida joined them, then Baylor and last year Usc did as well<br /> If other teams perceive this as an advantage or if teams are not chosen to host regionald then this tournament will become obsolete.
is the final on espn?
#1 match between Shane and Harris will be some serious heavyweights going at it. Not to mention two beautiful one handers. Enjoy if you're there!
I am seriously hoping you are right. Papa is a bit of an enigma in that he has the strokes to play with anyone but loses some winnable matches too.<br /><br />Boomer Sooner!
wanna bet buddy? I am am the match tonight. Find me new the scoreboard I have a shirt that says "Boomer". We can lay down some cash
Papa will lose in straight sets.
No way on earth Papa loses to Thai-Son
I have yet to see any explanation as to why they went ahead and put Virginia indoors. the courts were dry. Why could they not put both matches outside at the same time?
Oklahoma may not have any legs left. They played later and had to play UGA and UCLA extremely hard. They also got the joy of playing in the ridiculous humidity last night while UVA got the climate control.
I think midnight strikes on Cinderella from Oklahoma. 4-0 Virginia!
One Uva advantage is that Oklahoma finished close to 11 last night while Uva barely broke a sweat earlier. Uva should be fresher today.