There were several close matches on Sunday but there was only one that saw a top-five team go down. Georgia, ranked No. 19, was hosting No. 4 Ohio State on a mild and breezy day in Athens. After a week of sunny skies and temperatures in the high-70s, the conditions in Athens weren't as favorable with cloudy skies, an increasing breeze, and temperature hovering in the mid-50s. Despite the conditions a crowd of just over 1000 filled into the Dan Magill Tennis Complex and they were treated to a stellar performance by the home-standing Bulldogs.
I personally thought Ohio State would roll in doubles, but Georgia seemed determined to not let that happen.
Ohio State's No. 3 team of Matt Mendez and Hugo Di Feo earned the first break when they broke the Wayne Montgomery serve from 30-40 to go up 2-1. Hugo Di Feo would then hold on the deciding point for 3-1 with an Emil Reinberg forehand sailed wide. Clip of that point also shows Ohio State's interesting formation with Mendez standing on the same side as Di Feo.
Georgia would get its first break of the day at No. 2 when Jan Zielinski hit a perfect lob on the deciding point to break the Ralf Steinbach's serve to make it 3-1. However Ohio State's Steinbach and Martin Joyce would break the Paul Oosterbaan serve at love to put it back on serve at 3-2*.
Meanwhile over at No. 1 it would be Georgia's Austin Smith and Ben Wagland that would earn the first break. Smith/Wagland went up 0-40 on Herkko Pollanen's 3-3 service game before finally breaking on the deciding point to go up 4-3.
Back at No. 2, Georgia's Paul Oosterbaan and Jan Zielinski would break Ralf Steinbach's 3-4 service game from 30-40 to go up 5-3. Oosterbaan would then serve it out at love with Zielinski hammering home an overhead on match point to give Georgia the 6-3 win. (clip below is the break for 5-3; didn't get match point because scoreboard was showing 30-0)
After falling behind 3-1 at No. 3, Georgia's Emil Reinberg would hold and then he and Wayne Montgomery would break Matt Mendez to make it 3-3. Montgomery would hold at love for 4-3 and then the slow clap began with Georgia having a match point at No. 1 on the Mikael Torpegaard 3-5 service game. Austin Smith would hit a nice backhand return at Torpegaard's feet and the Buckeye sophomore wasn't able to get it back over and that was the match.
The wind didn't seem to be as much a factor during the doubles point but once singles got underway it seemed to pick up a good bit.
Ohio State was looking to rebound after losing the doubles point, for only the fourth time in 18 matches, but it wasn't going to be easy. The Buckeyes started off well in singles and actually had break leads on five of the six courts but they'd only be able to take first sets at No. 1 and No. 6.
Ohio State's Mikael Torpegaard jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on Austin Smith at No. 1 before Smith held, broke, and held to pull with 4-3. After an exchange of holds, Torpegaard would hold on the deciding point to take the opening set 6-4. Clip on left shows Torp breaking Smith from 30-40 in opening game of the match and the clip on the right is set point for Torp.
Torpegaard would go up an early break in the second set before Smith broke on the deciding point to even it at 2-2. Torpegaard would break back and then take the next three after that to win it 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour and 17 minutes. Clip on left is Smith breaking for 2-2; clip on right is the final two points of the match.
Ohio State's Hugo Di Feo started off the match at No. 2 by holding on the deciding point and then he'd hold on another deciding point to go up 2-1 (clip on left). Di Feo would snag the first break of the match when he broke Wayne Montgomery on the deciding point to go up 3-1 (clip on right).
Montgomery would break back from 15-40 and then consolidate the break for 3-3. Montgomery would break again, this time from 30-40, to go up 4-3 but Di Feo would break right back from 15-40 to make it 4-4. Di Feo would hold for 5-4 and then Montgomery held on the deciding point, which was also a set point for Di Feo, to make it 5-5 (clip on left). Montgomery broke for 6-5 and then held from 40-30 to take the opening set 7-5 (clip on right).
Montgomery raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set and was up 0-40 on Di Feo's serve but the Buckeye redshirt freshman managed to hold for 2-5. Di Feo broke from 30-40 for 3-5 but Montgomery broke back to win it 7-5, 6-3 in 1 hour and 28 minutes.
Meanwhile down at No. 6, Ohio State freshman Martin Joyce had a match point with Georgia freshman Jan Zielinski serving at 4-6, 4-5 (40-40). Zielinski managed to get the hold for 5-5 as the clip will show (sorry about the pole). Quick note: the only break of the match up until this point was when Joyce broke Zielinski to take the first set 6-4.
After a pair of holds, Zielinski and Joyce went to a tiebreak. Zielinski jumped out to a double mini-break lead at *4-1 but Joyce got one back to make it 5-2*. Zielinski got one of the next two to go up *6-3 but Joyce rattled off three straight to even it at 6-6. Zielinski took the mini-break back and then won the set 7-6(6) when he hit a forehand down the line that Joyce couldn't get back into play. The clip starts with Zielinski serving up 6-3 then after Joyce ties it at 6-6 it skips to Zielinski serivng at 7-6.
As Zielinski was forcing a third set at No. 6, Georgia's Nick Wood was trying to close out Herkko Pollanen at No. 5. Wood jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the match and held on the deciding point to close out the first set 6-2 (clip).
The second set started with four straight holds until Wood broke to go up 3-2. Wood would hold again a few games later to make it 5-3 but Pollanen would hold and then break Wood from 30-40 to even it at 5-5. Clip shows the 30-40 point where Wood mis-hits and overhead.
After each held one more time, Pollanen would jump out to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak and end up forcing a third set by taking 7-6(5).
Over at No. 3 singles, Georgia's Paul Oosterbaan and Ohio State's Chris Diaz were locked in a pretty tight battle in which service breaks were more the norm than service holds.
Diaz broke Oosterbaan to start the match (left) but Paul broke right back for 1-1. Diaz would break again on the deciding point for 2-1 (right). but Oosterbaan broke back from 15-40 to make it 2-2.
Oosterbaan would get the first hold of the match, and take his first lead, when the 6'7" redshirt sophomore from Kalamazoo ripped an ace on the deciding point.
Oosterbaan went up 30-40 on Diaz's 2-3 service game but the Buckeye senior came back to hold for 3-3 when Oosterbaan wasn't able to do enough with a mid-court forehand (left). Oosterbaan then held for 4-3 and broke for 5-3 but Diaz would break back from 30-40 to stay in the set (right).
Diaz held for 5-5 and then each held one more time to sent it to a tiebreak. The tiebreak was on serve when Diaz was serving at 4-5 but Oosterbaan would take the next two points to close out the set 7-6(4).
Oosterbaan broke Diaz to start the second set and then held on the deciding point for 2-0. Oosterbaan would extend his lead to 3-1 before Diaz held (deciding point), broke (left), held, and broke on the deciding point to go up 5-3 (right).
Oosterbaan would break for 4-5 and hold for 5-5 but then Diaz held on the deciding point for 6-5 and then broke from 30-40 to send it to a third set.
So, while No. 3, No. 5, and No. 6 were just starting a third set, the match at No. 4 between Ralf Steinbach and Walker Duncan was already several games into the third set. Walker Duncan trailed 4-2 in the opening set but he came back to take a 6-5 lead. The Georgia freshman then broke from 30-40 to take the opening set 7-5 (clip).
Steinbach dominated the second set taking it 6-2 and then he went up 4-2 in the third. Duncan would hold, break, and hold to up 5-4 and then he'd have a match point on the deciding point. Steinbach hit a service winner for the hold (left) and then he broke Duncan from 30-40 (right), on a point he was seemingly out of, to go up 6-5.
Steinbach would go down 15-40 on his serve but he'd come back to get the hold and tie the match at 2-2 with a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 in 2 hours and 2 minutes.
Nick Wood was able to put his second set collapse behind him and run away from Herkko Pollanen in the third set and take it 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2 in a match that took 2 hours and 29 minutes.
The two remaining matches on court were both in the home stretch. Martin Joyce was serving for the match at No. 6 up 6-5, after breaking Zielinski at love, while Georgia's Paul Oosterbaan was serving for the match at No. 2 up 5-2.
Oosterbaan and Ohio State's Chris Diaz exchanged a plethora of breaks all day so it wasn't too surprising when Diaz broke from 30-40 to make it 3-5 (clip).
Diaz would hold for 4-5 but Oosterbaan would close it out with an easy overhead from 40-15 to take it 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 in 2 hours and 2 hours and 32 minutes. The first clip is the one I shot from the stands and the second was one that Georgia's SID shot from courtside.
The match at No. 6 was abandoned with Zielinski leading 4-1* in the tiebreak. Zielinski broke Joyce to force the tiebreak after trailing 6-5.
To see all these video clips in chronological order you can check out my twitter feed. Here is Georgia's highlight package.
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| Georgia Wins!! (Photo Courtesy of Bill Kallenberg) |
Ohio State's No. 3 team of Matt Mendez and Hugo Di Feo earned the first break when they broke the Wayne Montgomery serve from 30-40 to go up 2-1. Hugo Di Feo would then hold on the deciding point for 3-1 with an Emil Reinberg forehand sailed wide. Clip of that point also shows Ohio State's interesting formation with Mendez standing on the same side as Di Feo.
Georgia would get its first break of the day at No. 2 when Jan Zielinski hit a perfect lob on the deciding point to break the Ralf Steinbach's serve to make it 3-1. However Ohio State's Steinbach and Martin Joyce would break the Paul Oosterbaan serve at love to put it back on serve at 3-2*.
Meanwhile over at No. 1 it would be Georgia's Austin Smith and Ben Wagland that would earn the first break. Smith/Wagland went up 0-40 on Herkko Pollanen's 3-3 service game before finally breaking on the deciding point to go up 4-3.
Back at No. 2, Georgia's Paul Oosterbaan and Jan Zielinski would break Ralf Steinbach's 3-4 service game from 30-40 to go up 5-3. Oosterbaan would then serve it out at love with Zielinski hammering home an overhead on match point to give Georgia the 6-3 win. (clip below is the break for 5-3; didn't get match point because scoreboard was showing 30-0)
After falling behind 3-1 at No. 3, Georgia's Emil Reinberg would hold and then he and Wayne Montgomery would break Matt Mendez to make it 3-3. Montgomery would hold at love for 4-3 and then the slow clap began with Georgia having a match point at No. 1 on the Mikael Torpegaard 3-5 service game. Austin Smith would hit a nice backhand return at Torpegaard's feet and the Buckeye sophomore wasn't able to get it back over and that was the match.
The wind didn't seem to be as much a factor during the doubles point but once singles got underway it seemed to pick up a good bit.
Ohio State was looking to rebound after losing the doubles point, for only the fourth time in 18 matches, but it wasn't going to be easy. The Buckeyes started off well in singles and actually had break leads on five of the six courts but they'd only be able to take first sets at No. 1 and No. 6.
Ohio State's Mikael Torpegaard jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on Austin Smith at No. 1 before Smith held, broke, and held to pull with 4-3. After an exchange of holds, Torpegaard would hold on the deciding point to take the opening set 6-4. Clip on left shows Torp breaking Smith from 30-40 in opening game of the match and the clip on the right is set point for Torp.
Torpegaard would go up an early break in the second set before Smith broke on the deciding point to even it at 2-2. Torpegaard would break back and then take the next three after that to win it 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour and 17 minutes. Clip on left is Smith breaking for 2-2; clip on right is the final two points of the match.
Ohio State's Hugo Di Feo started off the match at No. 2 by holding on the deciding point and then he'd hold on another deciding point to go up 2-1 (clip on left). Di Feo would snag the first break of the match when he broke Wayne Montgomery on the deciding point to go up 3-1 (clip on right).
Montgomery would break back from 15-40 and then consolidate the break for 3-3. Montgomery would break again, this time from 30-40, to go up 4-3 but Di Feo would break right back from 15-40 to make it 4-4. Di Feo would hold for 5-4 and then Montgomery held on the deciding point, which was also a set point for Di Feo, to make it 5-5 (clip on left). Montgomery broke for 6-5 and then held from 40-30 to take the opening set 7-5 (clip on right).
Montgomery raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set and was up 0-40 on Di Feo's serve but the Buckeye redshirt freshman managed to hold for 2-5. Di Feo broke from 30-40 for 3-5 but Montgomery broke back to win it 7-5, 6-3 in 1 hour and 28 minutes.
Meanwhile down at No. 6, Ohio State freshman Martin Joyce had a match point with Georgia freshman Jan Zielinski serving at 4-6, 4-5 (40-40). Zielinski managed to get the hold for 5-5 as the clip will show (sorry about the pole). Quick note: the only break of the match up until this point was when Joyce broke Zielinski to take the first set 6-4.
After a pair of holds, Zielinski and Joyce went to a tiebreak. Zielinski jumped out to a double mini-break lead at *4-1 but Joyce got one back to make it 5-2*. Zielinski got one of the next two to go up *6-3 but Joyce rattled off three straight to even it at 6-6. Zielinski took the mini-break back and then won the set 7-6(6) when he hit a forehand down the line that Joyce couldn't get back into play. The clip starts with Zielinski serving up 6-3 then after Joyce ties it at 6-6 it skips to Zielinski serivng at 7-6.
As Zielinski was forcing a third set at No. 6, Georgia's Nick Wood was trying to close out Herkko Pollanen at No. 5. Wood jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the match and held on the deciding point to close out the first set 6-2 (clip).
The second set started with four straight holds until Wood broke to go up 3-2. Wood would hold again a few games later to make it 5-3 but Pollanen would hold and then break Wood from 30-40 to even it at 5-5. Clip shows the 30-40 point where Wood mis-hits and overhead.
After each held one more time, Pollanen would jump out to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak and end up forcing a third set by taking 7-6(5).
Over at No. 3 singles, Georgia's Paul Oosterbaan and Ohio State's Chris Diaz were locked in a pretty tight battle in which service breaks were more the norm than service holds.
Diaz broke Oosterbaan to start the match (left) but Paul broke right back for 1-1. Diaz would break again on the deciding point for 2-1 (right). but Oosterbaan broke back from 15-40 to make it 2-2.
Oosterbaan would get the first hold of the match, and take his first lead, when the 6'7" redshirt sophomore from Kalamazoo ripped an ace on the deciding point.
Oosterbaan went up 30-40 on Diaz's 2-3 service game but the Buckeye senior came back to hold for 3-3 when Oosterbaan wasn't able to do enough with a mid-court forehand (left). Oosterbaan then held for 4-3 and broke for 5-3 but Diaz would break back from 30-40 to stay in the set (right).
Diaz held for 5-5 and then each held one more time to sent it to a tiebreak. The tiebreak was on serve when Diaz was serving at 4-5 but Oosterbaan would take the next two points to close out the set 7-6(4).
Oosterbaan broke Diaz to start the second set and then held on the deciding point for 2-0. Oosterbaan would extend his lead to 3-1 before Diaz held (deciding point), broke (left), held, and broke on the deciding point to go up 5-3 (right).
Oosterbaan would break for 4-5 and hold for 5-5 but then Diaz held on the deciding point for 6-5 and then broke from 30-40 to send it to a third set.
So, while No. 3, No. 5, and No. 6 were just starting a third set, the match at No. 4 between Ralf Steinbach and Walker Duncan was already several games into the third set. Walker Duncan trailed 4-2 in the opening set but he came back to take a 6-5 lead. The Georgia freshman then broke from 30-40 to take the opening set 7-5 (clip).
Steinbach dominated the second set taking it 6-2 and then he went up 4-2 in the third. Duncan would hold, break, and hold to up 5-4 and then he'd have a match point on the deciding point. Steinbach hit a service winner for the hold (left) and then he broke Duncan from 30-40 (right), on a point he was seemingly out of, to go up 6-5.
Steinbach would go down 15-40 on his serve but he'd come back to get the hold and tie the match at 2-2 with a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 in 2 hours and 2 minutes.
Nick Wood was able to put his second set collapse behind him and run away from Herkko Pollanen in the third set and take it 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2 in a match that took 2 hours and 29 minutes.
Nick Wood wins it! Dawgs take the 3-2 lead! #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/tsCLvYcXj0— Georgia Tennis (@UGAtennis) March 20, 2016
The two remaining matches on court were both in the home stretch. Martin Joyce was serving for the match at No. 6 up 6-5, after breaking Zielinski at love, while Georgia's Paul Oosterbaan was serving for the match at No. 2 up 5-2.
Oosterbaan and Ohio State's Chris Diaz exchanged a plethora of breaks all day so it wasn't too surprising when Diaz broke from 30-40 to make it 3-5 (clip).
Diaz would hold for 4-5 but Oosterbaan would close it out with an easy overhead from 40-15 to take it 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 in 2 hours and 2 hours and 32 minutes. The first clip is the one I shot from the stands and the second was one that Georgia's SID shot from courtside.
Paul Oosterbaan wins it and the upset is complete! Dawgs win, 4-2! #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/Nw1YQpM6r4— Georgia Tennis (@UGAtennis) March 20, 2016
To see all these video clips in chronological order you can check out my twitter feed. Here is Georgia's highlight package.
#19 Georgia 4, #4 Ohio State 2
Mar 16, 2016 at Athens, Ga. (Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
Singles Competition
1. #5 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #27 Austin Smith (UGA) 6-4, 6-2
2. #25 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. #24 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) 7-5, 6-3
3. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. #65 Chris Diaz (OSU) 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 6-4
4. Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. #120 Walker Duncan (UGA) 5-7, 6-2, 7-5
5. Nick Wood (UGA) def. #46 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2
6. Jan Zielinski (UGA) vs. Martin Joyce (OSU) 4-6, 7-6, 6-6 (4-1*)
Doubles Competition
1. #5 Ben Wagland/Austin Smith (UGA) def. #11 Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 6-3
2. Paul Oosterbaan/Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. #13 Ralf Steinbach/Martin Joyce (OSU) 6-3
3. #62 Wayne Montgomery/Emil Reinberg (UGA) vs. Matt Mendez/Hugo Di Feo (OSU) 4-3*, unf
Match Notes:
Ohio State 16-2; National ranking #4
Georgia 10-3; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,2,4,5,3)
Official: Clark Weaver
T-3:11 A-1010
Georgia's coach Manuel Diaz, Nick Wood, and Paul Oosterbaan talked to several members of the press after the match and here are those recordings
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A week ago Florida State upset then No. 1 North Carolina but on Sunday it wasn't able to do it again as current No. 1 Virginia rolled to a 7-0 win.
Watch the video highlights from NBC29 in Charlottesville
Official: Clark Weaver
T-3:11 A-1010
Thank you #DawgNation for helping us #FillMagill! #BestFansInTheNation #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/Cyb4wWNt59— Georgia Tennis (@UGAtennis) March 20, 2016
Georgia's coach Manuel Diaz, Nick Wood, and Paul Oosterbaan talked to several members of the press after the match and here are those recordings
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A week ago Florida State upset then No. 1 North Carolina but on Sunday it wasn't able to do it again as current No. 1 Virginia rolled to a 7-0 win.
Watch the video highlights from NBC29 in Charlottesville
#1 Virginia 7, #23 Florida State 0
Mar 20, 2016 at Charlottesville, Va. (Boars Head Sports Club)
Singles competition
1. #13 Ryan Shane (VA) def. #30 Benjamin Lock (FS) 6-3, 6-2
2. #47 Collin Altamirano (VA) def. #97 Marco Nunez (FS) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
3. #3 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. Michael Rinaldi (FS) 6-3, 6-3
4. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Aziz Dougaz (FS) 6-1, 6-1
5. #116 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Jose Gracia (FS) 7-5, 6-1
6. Mac Styslinger (VA) def. Jake Albo (FS) 7-6, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #6 Ryan Shane/Luca Corinteli (VA) vs. #26 Benjamin Lock/Marco Nunez (FS) 5-4, unfinished
2. #7 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Mac Styslinger (VA) def. Michael Rinaldi/Aziz Dougaz (FS) 6-2
3. J.C. Aragone/Collin Altamirano (VA) def. Jose Gracia/Jack Haffey (FS) 6-2
Match Notes
Florida State 12-5, 4-2 ACC; National ranking #23
Virginia 14-2, 4-0 ACC; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,1,5,3,6,2)
T-2:31 A-279
Post-Match Quotes from UVA's recap
“Florida State is an outstanding team,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “It really took a complete effort from our entire team today. I am very proud of the way that we played and of the results this weekend.”
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Third-ranked TCU made it a weekend sweep of the Ivy League with a 4-0 shutout over No. 35 Dartmouth. Guillermo Nunez sat out in singles for the second match in a row but TCU still managed to win all nine completed singles sets.
#3 TCU 4, #35 Dartmouth College 0___________________________________________________________
Third-ranked TCU made it a weekend sweep of the Ivy League with a 4-0 shutout over No. 35 Dartmouth. Guillermo Nunez sat out in singles for the second match in a row but TCU still managed to win all nine completed singles sets.
.@RoditiTCUTennis gets "video bombed" in today's recap by @og_redwidow & @gdm96_ #GoFrogs #TCUTennishttps://t.co/PzCFlDPoLg— TCU Men's Tennis (@TCUMensTennis) March 20, 2016
Mar 20, 2016 at Fort Worth, Texas (Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #2 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. #55 Sakinis, Dovydas (DART) 6-2, 6-2
2. #16 Alex Rybakov (TCU) vs. Riccardi, Ciro (DART) 6-2, 3-4, unfinished
3. #109 Eduardo Nava (TCU) vs. Wall, George (DART) 6-3, 4-4, unfinished
4. Jerry Lopez (TCU) def. Fliegner, Max (DART) 6-2, 6-1
5. Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Glasnovic, Roko (DART) 6-1, 7-5
6. Trey Daniel (TCU) vs. Grabill, Eddie (DART) 6-3, 3-4, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Hudson Blake/Reese Stalder (TCU) vs. #59 Sakinis, Dovydas/Glasnovic, Roko (DART) 3-5, unf
2. Cameron Norrie/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Wall, George/Tannenbaum, Brendan (DART) 6-1
3. Guillermo Nuñez/Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Schmidt, Max/Fliegner, Max (DART) 6-1
Match Notes
Dartmouth College 11-6; National ranking #35
TCU 13-2; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,1,5)
A-212
Post-Match Quotes from TCU's recap
Head Coach David Roditi - “This was a very solid win against a very good Dartmouth team. I thought our new doubles combinations paid off. Trevor (Johnson) and Guillermo (Nuñez) played really well at No. 3 and they had never played together and it was kind of fun to see a very dynamic team. I am just happy that regardless of who they played with, they were ready to play and followed the fundamentals of doubles.
“In singles, we did a good job of jumping all over them. We won all of the first sets and that put Dartmouth in a very tough position. I do think that Dartmouth was making a run there in the second sets in every match and they were up in almost every match except on courts one and three so this could have been a five-hour match, but Trevor was able to break at 5-all and served it out beautifully just being aggressive, coming forward and playing his type of game that pays off for him. I am happy for where we are because I think we are in a good place.”
On the upcoming match against No. 7 Northwestern
“Now we have a battle with Northwestern on Tuesday. I know it’s a little breezy out and cold here so it is probably not the best weather to come and sit on the bleachers, but we are going to need our fans on Tuesday. We are going to need our students and staff to come out and eat lunch here at the tennis center. The match could be indoors because its supposed to be really windy, but we are going to need everything we have to go up against this team that is No. 7 in the nation and won 11 straight matches. They are an indoor team so it is going to be a battle.”
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The Pac-12 was trying to go 4-0 on the weekend against the Big 12 at the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge in Indian Wells and USC did its part with a 4-1 win over No. 21 Baylor.
Baylor jumped out to the early 1-0 lead when Felipe Rios and Jimmy Bendeck came back from 6-3 down in the tiebreak to beat Tanner Smith and Jack Jaede 7-6(9) in the deciding match at No. 3.
USC really dominated in singles and took all six opening sets and Max de Vroome, Jake DeVine, Logan Smith, and Thibault Forget would each win in straight sets to complete the 4-1 win. Below was the only clip of a match point in singles - DeVine hammers a service return to win it at No. 3:
The Pac-12 was trying to go 4-0 on the weekend against the Big 12 at the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge in Indian Wells and USC did its part with a 4-1 win over No. 21 Baylor.
Baylor jumped out to the early 1-0 lead when Felipe Rios and Jimmy Bendeck came back from 6-3 down in the tiebreak to beat Tanner Smith and Jack Jaede 7-6(9) in the deciding match at No. 3.
No. 21 @BaylorMTennis takes doubles point over No. 12 @USCMensTennis with huge 7-6 (9) victory in No. 3 position pic.twitter.com/rfcRPXsYtz— ITA Tennis (@ITATennis) March 20, 2016
Line 3 singles: Jake DeVine wins 6-1, 6-3. Trojans lead the Baylor Bears 3-1 #usc #usctennis #trojans #fighton pic.twitter.com/Mm9QVd2dlA— USC Men's Tennis (@USCMensTennis) March 20, 2016
#12 USC 4, #21 Baylor 1
Mar 20, 2016 at Indian Wells, Calif. (Indian Wells Tennis Garden)
Singles competition
1. #32 Max de Vroome (USC) def. #17 Julian Lenz (BU) 6-2, 6-1
2. #35 Nick Crystal (USC) vs. #56 Max Tchoutakian (BU) 6-4, 4-3
3. #113 Jake DeVine (USC) def. Felipe Rios (BU) 6-1, 6-3
4. #40 Logan Smith (USC) def. Will Little (BU) 6-3, 6-2
5. #91 Thibault Forget (USC) def. Jimmy Bendeck (BU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Laurens Verboven (USC) vs. Tommy Podvinski (BU) 6-2, 5-3
Doubles competition
1. #74 Nick Crystal/Laurens Verboven (USC) def. #12 Julian Lenz/Will Little (BU) 7-5
2. Max Tchoutakian/Tommy Podvinski (BU) def. Max de Vroome/Jake DeVine (USC) 6-3
3. Felipe Rios/Jimmy Bendeck (BU) def. Tanner Smith/Jack Jaede (USC) 7-6 (11-9)
Match Notes
USC 10-3; National ranking #12
Baylor 11-7; National ranking #21
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,1,3,4)
BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge presented by Oracle
Post-Match Quotes from Baylor's recap
“I want to thank Oracle for hosting the event. It’s an elite event, really special for our team to be here in this environment with everything that it has to offer. I think it’s really much appreciated that their support of college tennis is led by Mark Hurd. We’re really excited about that.” –head coach Matt Knoll on the BNP Paribas Collegiate Challenge
“The competition was tough. These teams were really good, and you have to give them all the credit in the world. These three teams (Illinois, California, USC) came out and made it hard on us. We have a young team that’s growing, and I think we knew it was going to be a challenge to play this level of competition, but we were excited to come out and play these good teams. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way on the scoreboard, but we gained a lot and our guys are getting better. We’re excited about going back, practicing in a few days and getting after it again.” – Knoll on the team’s performance at the event
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Cal was trying to make it a Pac-12 sweep of the weekend and before the match with Oklahoma Cal's Florian Lakat got the chance of a lifetime when he was asked to help warm up world No. 1 Novak Djokovic for his match against Milos Raonic.
Oklahoma was able to secure the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead when Andre Biro and Max Mora won the deciding match at No. 3 by a 7-5 score.
Each team would take three first sets and in an interesting twist all six would finish in straight sets. Cal's Oskar Wikberg rolled over Mora 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5 but OU retook the lead when Andre Biro beat J.T. Nishimura 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6. Spencer Papa made it 3-1 Boomer Sooner when he defeated Billy Griffith 6-3, 7-6 at No. 2 but Florian Lakat was able to use that pre-match inspiration to defeat Axel Alvarez 7-6, 6-2, at No. 2.
Filip Bergevi tied the match at 3-3 with a 7-6, 6-3 win over Florin Bragusi at No. 4 but Alex Ghilea brought it home for OU and defeated Andre Goransson 7-5, 6-4 at No. 3.
Nice job by the ITA crew for getting some video clips of several match points since live scoring coverage was limited in the non-Baylor matches.
Florida won its third straight match with a 6-1 win over No. 22 Ole Miss. Florida took the doubles point and won five of six singles matches with Ole Miss's lone point came at No. 2.
#24 Florida Gators (M) 6, #22 Ole Miss 1
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Cal was trying to make it a Pac-12 sweep of the weekend and before the match with Oklahoma Cal's Florian Lakat got the chance of a lifetime when he was asked to help warm up world No. 1 Novak Djokovic for his match against Milos Raonic.
Florian Lakat of @CalMensTennis warming up world No. 1 @DjokerNole for the #BNPPO16 men's singles final pic.twitter.com/YtPdLk7MQt— ITA Tennis (@ITATennis) March 20, 2016
No. 15 @OU_MTennis takes the doubles point over No. 14 @CalMensTennis with a 7-5 win in the No. 3 spot— ITA Tennis (@ITATennis) March 20, 2016
Onto singles pic.twitter.com/p7rQuRrX7s
Filip Bergevi tied the match at 3-3 with a 7-6, 6-3 win over Florin Bragusi at No. 4 but Alex Ghilea brought it home for OU and defeated Andre Goransson 7-5, 6-4 at No. 3.
Alex Ghilea upsets No. 10 Andre Goransson 7-5, 6-4 to clinch the 4-3 win for @OU_MTennis pic.twitter.com/6v6vlnSlkc— ITA Tennis (@ITATennis) March 20, 2016
#15 Oklahoma 4, #14 California 3
Mar 20, 2016 at Indian Wells, Calif. (Indian Wells Tennis Garden)
Singles competition
1. No. 31 Florian Lakat (Cal) def. No. 41 Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU) – 7-6, 6-2
2. Spencer Papa (OU) def. No. 37 Billy Griffith (Cal) – 6-3, 7-6
3. Alex Ghilea (OU) def. No. 10 Andre Goransson (Cal) – 7-5, 6-4
4. Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. Florin Bragusi (OU) – 7-6(2), 6-3
5. No. 52 Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. No 92 Max Mora (OU) – 6-1, 6-2
6. Andre Biro (OU) def. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) – 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal) def. No. 46 Axel Alvarez Llamas /Andrew Harris (OU) – 6-2
2. Alex Ghilea/Spencer Papa (OU) def. Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (Cal) – 6-0
3. Andre Biro/Max Mora (OU) def. Mads Engsted/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) – 7-5
Match Notes:
Oklahoma 8-7; National ranking #15
California 8-3; National ranking #14
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,6,2,1,4,3)
BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge presented by Oracle
Post-Match Quotes from OU's recap
"We played a very tough match against a really good Cal team," head coach John Roddick said. "We fought hard and pulled it out in the end. Alex had the biggest win of he collegiate career to clinch the match, so that was great to see."
Post-Match Quotes from Cal's recap
“Amazing,” Lakat said. “I’d never hit with one of those top players before. Obviously I was a little nervous coming in. It was kind of a dream that’s come true. We all want to maybe go pro after college, and getting to play my favorite player – the No. 1 player in the world before his final – was an amazing privilege. It was a great 45 minutes. It was a lot of fun.”
“We played an incredibly exciting match today, and even though we lost, we are playing high-quality tennis,” Cal head coach Peter Wright added. “This has been an incredible weekend for us on many levels, including having dinner at (Oracle chairman) Larry Ellison’s house where Rafael Nadal gave an inspirational talk to all of the players on Friday night. We played on the tournament grounds of the BNP Paribas event, and we were treated to exceptional hospitality. Florian Lakat had an incredible experience warming up Novak Djokovic on center court for the final today.
“We played two very high-quality teams, and I feel we’re engaged in a process that will lead us to success in the postseason. Doubles turned out to be key for us today, and while it’s obviously disappointing to lose, there were many bright spots along the way. We’re excited about starting the Pac-12 season next weekend.”
_____________________________________________________________#24 Florida Gators (M) 6, #22 Ole Miss 1
Mar 20, 2016 at Gainesville, Fla. (Ring Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. #21 Diego Hidalgo (FLA) def. #103 Stefan Lindmark (OM) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Gustav Hansson (OM) def. #33 Elliott Orkin (FLA) 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 1-0 (10-8)
3. #75 Alfredo Perez (FLA) def. Fabian Fallert (OM) 6-3, 6-1
4. #51 Chase Perez-Blanco (FLA) def. Filip Kraljevic (OM) 6-1, 6-3
5. Gordon Watson (FLA) def. Grey Hamilton (OM) 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
6. McClain Kessler (FLA) def. Vinod Gowda (OM) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Zvonimir Babic/Filip Kraljevic (OM) def. Diego Hidalgo/Gordon Watson (FLA) 5-3
2. #60 Elliott Orkin/Maxx Lipman (FLA) def. Fabian Fallert/Grey Hamilton (OM) 6-4
3. Alfredo Perez/Chase Perez-Blanco (FLA) def. Stefan Lindmark/Gustav Hansson (OM) 6-3
Match Notes
Florida 9-4; National ranking #24
Ole Miss 7-6; National ranking #22
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,4,5,1,2,6)
A-240
Post-Match Quotes from Florida's recap
Assistant Coach Mark Merklein
On how the team was physically prepared for two Top-25 matches this weekend…
"That was a concern, coming in. We knew we had two really tough teams this weekend. Physically, we are training hard. The guys are doing work day in and day out. That is really all we can control is being fit and knowing that we are ready to compete and they are doing that. The guys have really bonded well and bought into the work piece of it. It gives them a chance to compete against anybody, any day."
On playing out the singles match and physical aspect of the match…
"It is tough. The match is over, but the guys continue to fight for the team and for themselves. Physically, you have to dig deep for the match because it is extended. Elliott, again, is a guy that is never going to give up. I can say that across the board with all of the guys on our team. No one is going to give in whether the match is live or not. That is what makes this group special and I feel like we have a great opportunity this year to do some damage."
Post-Match Quotes from Ole Miss's recap
Quoting Head Coach Toby Hansson…
“We lost a close doubles point. In singles we worked hard and created some opportunities, but we were not able to take advantage of them today and put pressure on Florida. I know this team will bounce back from this loss.”
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Mississippi State, ranked No. 25, rebounded from a Friday loss to Texas A&M by winning at LSU 4-2. LSU took the doubles point but State was able to get it done in singles.
MSU picked up straight set wins from Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic at No. 3 and No. 6 and then Mate Cutura and Rashab Agarwal added three-sets at No 1. and No. 2 to give the Bulldogs the win.
Post-Match Quotes from LSU's recap
Post-Match Quotes from MSU's recap
Vandy made it 2 for 2 on the weekend with another thrilling 4-3 win with this one coming in Knoxville over Tennessee.
The Vols took the doubles point and jumped out to a 3-1 lead when Jack Schipanski and Jack Heslin won at No. 4 and No. 6 but there weren't any more Jacks left and Vanderbilt rallied to take the remaining courts.
Rhys Johnson, who was the hero of Friday's 4-3 win over Kentucky, was the first one off the court at No. 2 and then freshman Cameron Klinger won in three-sets at No. 3. Kris Yee came back from a break down in the third set to win at No. 5 and Danny Valent broke Luis Valero to go up 5-4 in the third and then served it out for the win at No. 1.
Second-ranked North Carolina got a test from its Triangle rival NC State but the Tar Heels were able to clean up down low and win 5-2. Due to cold and wet weather the match was played indoors at NC State's four-court facility so the matches at No. 5 and No. 6 didn't go until a singles match finished up.
UNC took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 then it picked up straight sets wins from Brett Clark, Robert Kelly, Jack Murray, and Anudeep Kodali.
NC State picked up straight set wins from Simon Norenius and Thomas Weigel at No. 1 and No. 2.
#44 SMU def. Marquette 4-0 - SMU recap
#51 Notre Dame def. Miami 5-2 - ND recap
#67 Western Michigan def. Buffalo 5-2 - WMU recap
#69 Duke def. Boston College 5-2 - Duke recap
Rained Out:
#57 UNC Wilmington vs. Louisiana Lafayette
VCU vs. UTSA
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Mississippi State, ranked No. 25, rebounded from a Friday loss to Texas A&M by winning at LSU 4-2. LSU took the doubles point but State was able to get it done in singles.
MSU picked up straight set wins from Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic at No. 3 and No. 6 and then Mate Cutura and Rashab Agarwal added three-sets at No 1. and No. 2 to give the Bulldogs the win.
#25 Mississippi State 4, #48 LSU 2
3/20/2016 at Baton Rouge, La. (LSU Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. #36 Mate Cutura (STATE) def. #102 Jordan Daigle (LSU)
6-3, 2-6, 6-4
2. #77 Rishab Agarwal (STATE) def. #106 Gabor Csonka (LSU)
3-6, 7-5, 6-2
3. Nuno Borges (STATE) def. Justin Butsch (LSU) 6-2, 7-5
4. Simon Freund (LSU) vs. Niclas Braun (STATE) 2-6, 6-4,
3-3, unfinished
5. Andrew Korinek (LSU) def. Trevor Foshey (STATE) 6-3, 3-6,
7-5
6. Strahinja Rakic (STATE) def. Boris Arias (LSU) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #8 Boris Arias/Jordan Daigle (LSU) def. Niclas Braun/Nuno
Borges (STATE) 6-2
2. Justin Butsch/Tam Trinh (LSU) vs. Mate Cutura/Vaughn
Hunter (STATE) 4-3, unfinished
3. Gabor Csonka/Andrew Korinek (LSU) def. Strahinja Rakic/Trevor
Foshey (STATE) 6-2
Match Notes
Mississippi State 12-4, 4-2 SEC; National ranking #25
LSU 8-8, 1-5 SEC; National ranking #48
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (6,3,1,2,5)
A-174
“Doubles was a good point for us,” Head Coach Jeff Brown
said. “Their singles lineup has been very strong at the one, two, three and
four spots and they got the bonus today because Boris (Arias) didn’t have his
best day. It was difficult. It was a fine margin of error that we could have
squeaked through but we couldn’t quite get it done.”
“I feel bad for the guys today,” Brown said. “They did make
a lot of improvements that we as a team demanded out of them from recent
matches. For the most part we did a lot of things but they still came up short
today. We have to keep building on the positives and fix a couple of things and
prepare for our next match.”
“Today was a great team effort from all eight Bulldogs,”
head coach Matt Roberts said. “LSU competed very well and required us to be
mentally tough at all spots and to compete together as one unit. Rishab, Nuno
and Mate all showed incredible poise under pressure today to win the way they
did against a tough team in LSU. “
“It took Rishab a little bit today to step up and play
physical,” Roberts said. “Once he started looking for his forehand more,
everything flowed from there including his return and transition on big points.
He learned from his loss Friday and did a great job coming back and winning.”
“We will continue to focus on each player’s development this
week and get ready for another awesome home weekend,” Roberts said. “The team
is excited to return home for Friday night and Sunday afternoon at A.J. Pitts.”
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Vandy made it 2 for 2 on the weekend with another thrilling 4-3 win with this one coming in Knoxville over Tennessee.
The Vols took the doubles point and jumped out to a 3-1 lead when Jack Schipanski and Jack Heslin won at No. 4 and No. 6 but there weren't any more Jacks left and Vanderbilt rallied to take the remaining courts.
Rhys Johnson, who was the hero of Friday's 4-3 win over Kentucky, was the first one off the court at No. 2 and then freshman Cameron Klinger won in three-sets at No. 3. Kris Yee came back from a break down in the third set to win at No. 5 and Danny Valent broke Luis Valero to go up 5-4 in the third and then served it out for the win at No. 1.
#68 Vanderbilt 4, Tennessee 3
Mar 20, 2016 at Knoxville, TN (Goodfriend Tennis Center - Indoors)
Singles competition
1. #54 Daniel Valent (VU) def. Luis Valero (UT) 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4
2. Rhys Johnson (VU) def. Timo Stodder (UT) 6-4, 6-0
3. Cameron Klinger (VU) def. Srdjan Jakovljevic (UT) 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-4
4. Jack Schipanski (UT) def. Baker Newman (VU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Kris Yee (VU) def. Preston Touliatos (UT) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
6. Jack Heslin (UT) def. Alex Ross (VU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #20 Luis Valero/Jack Schipanski (UT) def. Rhys Johnson/Cameron Klinger (VU) 6-4
2. #76 Preston Touliatos/Jack Heslin (UT) def. Daniel Valent/Pen Binet (VU) 6-2
3. Baker Newman/Tate Allwardt (VU) def. Timo Stodder/Srdjan Jakovljevic (UT) 6-2
Match Notes:
Vanderbilt 11-8; National ranking #68
Tennessee 5-9
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,4,6,3,5,1)
Post-Match Quotes from Vanderbilt's recap
“You know, we talked about the fact that we needed to turn our season around, so I think we’re not quite there yet. But this weekend is a huge step in the right direction. I’m particularly happy with Danny (Valent) who has been struggling, and for him to come trough and win in the clincher like he did was terrific. Cam (Klinger) did another great job. Rhys (Johnson) did a great job getting off the court quickly. And I’m glad to see Kris getting back on the winning side of things.”
“It was a very very special effort we made today,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “We were in a bad place and down 2-1 when it started raining and in trouble on Alex Ross’ court. So, once we went inside Alex lost and we were down 3-1. At that point we knew to have a chance we needed to win three matches in three sets.”
“It wasn’t a perfect effort, we didn’t play real well in doubles today, which was surprising because we’ve been playing well. But we’ve found a way, two matches in a row, to get it done on the road.”
“He (Valent) played a very tentative doubles match, and I spoke to him following the match and I said look ‘We’ve got to take our shots aggressively and hit the ball with conviction… and even if we miss we’re just a few shots from turning it around.’ He started singles the same, tentatively, but he realized at some point that he wasn’t going to win that way… he had to be aggressive and go for shots. Once he started going in, his confidence turned around. The way he won the match was superb; breaking at 4-4 and then the way he held… he was playing aggressive. The lesson to our hole team is that you don’t back into great accomplishments, you have to play aggressively and go for your shots.”
Post-Match Quotes from Tennessee's recap
"It's been a real challenge for us all season," Tennessee head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "I thought once again, we positioned ourselves with a chance to win the match. We're just having a hard time seeing that part of the match through."
"I'm certainly encouraged that Jack Heslin and Jack Schipanski kept fighting and kept competing and got their rewards from that today," Winterbotham said. "The rest of the team put themselves in position to win the match. We have to be more positive in those moments. Less hopeful, more assertive. If we make that adjustment between now and the end of the year, we'll turn the corner. We're going to keep fighting. We're not going to give up."
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Second-ranked North Carolina got a test from its Triangle rival NC State but the Tar Heels were able to clean up down low and win 5-2. Due to cold and wet weather the match was played indoors at NC State's four-court facility so the matches at No. 5 and No. 6 didn't go until a singles match finished up.
UNC took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 then it picked up straight sets wins from Brett Clark, Robert Kelly, Jack Murray, and Anudeep Kodali.
NC State picked up straight set wins from Simon Norenius and Thomas Weigel at No. 1 and No. 2.
#2 North Carolina 5, #33 NC State 2
Mar 20, 2016 at Raleigh, N.C. (J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #73 Simon Norenius (ST) def. #12 Ronnie Schneider (NC) 6-2, 6-3
2. Thomas Weigel (ST) def. #38 Brayden Schnur (NC) 7-5, 6-2
3. #29 Brett Clark (NC) def. Ivan Saveljic (ST) 6-4, 6-4
4. #89 Robert Kelly (NC) def. Igor Saveljic (ST) 6-4, 7-5
5. #74 Jack Murray (NC) def. Chris Mikrovas (ST) 6-0, 6-0
6. Anudeep Kodali (NC) def. Michael Ogden (ST) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #3 Brett Clark/Robert Kelly (NC) def. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (ST) 6-4
2. Thomas Weigel/Simon Norenius (ST) def. Brayden Schnur/Ronnie Schneider (NC) 6-4
3. Andrew Gores/Jack Murray (NC) def. Michael Ogden/Chris Mikrovas (ST) 6-1
Match Notes:
North Carolina 18-1, 3-1 ACC; National ranking #2
NC State 12-10, 1-4 ACC; National ranking #33
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,1,4,3,5,6)
Post-Match Quotes from UNC's recap
“It’s always tough playing over here,” UNC coach Sam Paul said as his team packed up to head back to Chapel Hill. “Their kids always compete hard, so it’s always a tough environment. It’s a good win for us.”
Murray and Kodali had to sit through the first round of singles and warm up on the outdoor courts, but neither seemed bothered by the delay. “It’s nice to get a little bit of a rest between doubles and singles, but it’s tough because you have all this emotion after your match and then you’re sitting,” Jack Murray said. “You can’t really go crazy with cheering because you’ve got to conserve your energy. It’s tough to come back up in terms of your energy level, but I think I did a pretty good job today. I got on him early and just kept going.”
“We talked about that,” Paul said of the delay before starting the last two singles matches. “Jack has been around a lot and he stays focused on his court. I felt good about him being strong in any situation – he’s been there, done that. And I thought Anu played a good, solid match throughout and focused on what he was doing. That’s always a little tricky – momentum can switch. But they were ready.”
Other Sunday scores:
#9 Texas A&M def. #43 Alabama 6-1 - Bama recap
#9 Texas A&M def. #38 Rice 4-0 - Rice recap
#10 Wake Forest def. Clemson 7-0 - Wake Forest recap (includes video)
#13 Arkansas def. Auburn 7-0 - Arkansas recap
#40 Virginia Tech def. Louisville 6-1 - VT recapOther Sunday scores:
#9 Texas A&M def. #43 Alabama 6-1 - Bama recap
#9 Texas A&M def. #38 Rice 4-0 - Rice recap
#10 Wake Forest def. Clemson 7-0 - Wake Forest recap (includes video)
#13 Arkansas def. Auburn 7-0 - Arkansas recap
#44 SMU def. Marquette 4-0 - SMU recap
#51 Notre Dame def. Miami 5-2 - ND recap
#67 Western Michigan def. Buffalo 5-2 - WMU recap
#69 Duke def. Boston College 5-2 - Duke recap
Rained Out:
#57 UNC Wilmington vs. Louisiana Lafayette
VCU vs. UTSA
6 comments:
Important win for Georgia wouldn't you say? Dawgs were flirting with being outside the top 16 come tournament time.
Awesome Georgia-Ohio State match yesterday. Close matches and great fight by both teams.
Great crowd but very disappointing to see and hear the personally directed verbal abuse going on. Isn't tennis a gentlemen's sport?
You wouldn't have thought so yesterday based on fan behavior.
When did tennis fans become so rude? Does this happen at most college matches? It's one thing to cheer loudly for the ol' home team it's quite a different thing to level vulgar, personal, obscene comments at college level tennis players.
unfortunately this is becoming more and more common, especially on the men's side, call out TCU Coach and Big XII for opening this can of worms by allowing Fans freedom to go nuts. It is one thing to want to attract fan, but it is another thing for these fans to harass and be obnoxious and ruin the fan experience of others. There is a happy medium that needs to be found.
Yes I agree. Roditi and Knoll are over the top in trying to get fans to be openly obnoxious
Another "unfortunately":
Unfortunately, it is NOT just fans doing the verbal lambasting. I was at the men's National Indoors and was absolutely shocked by the behavior of the players. It was disgraceful and the majority of teams are guilty. The worst are the incessant shouts (after missed first serves) of "uh oh!," "on it," "pressure!," etc. in the most derogatory tone imaginable. It is all negative and shows no class or respect for the game of tennis and opponents).
I still haven't decided if it is worse when done by the guys who actually play (their matches have finished)--because they should know how difficult it is to be on court in such pressure situations--or when perpetrated by the guys who are on the roster but don't play.
Yes, TCU's condoning of these antics has obviously helped the problem mushroom out of control, but this loutish behavior could easily be curtailed by the coaches. However, it seems like the coach who wants to stop his team from doing it is few and far between since . . . "almost every other team is doing it and we will be at a disadvantage if we don't do it."
The ITA (led by the coaches who care about doing the right thing) needs to do something quickly, before this spirals even further out of control. My suggestion, which most likely will never happen, but could work at the expense of the next 16-team national event: Have the temerity to instruct the officials to issue point penalties (like they are going out of style) to the offending teams. Sure, the next National Indoors could be subjected to more point penalties than actual points played and some point penalties will be doled out incorrectly, but, oh boy, would that do the trick. And, I believe, in a sparsely attended event, it is very obvious as to who is responsible for the attacks. Maybe sacrificing the integrity of one National Indoors is necessary to safeguard the long term greatness of college tennis.
If anyone else witnessed how five or six North Carolina players harassed Ohio State's #1 Mikael Torpegaard while he was walking to the net to retrieve a netted first serve ("That's right, you're walking to get your first serve that went into the net," "Here comes the double!" "Pressure!") they would, I think, second my feelings. (I was watching this match solely as an avid fan of college tennis; the team I was there to support had already played that day.)
Hopefully, further discussion about this growing problem will take place.
You are correct. And the more teams do it the more it will get out of control. There are a few offending teams that do it a lot (Baylor, TCU, UNC etc.) but the problem is is that this spreads to their opponents to "get back" at those teams and then spreads to that teams opponents next match. So it becomes an everlasting snowball effect.
There is no team and fanbase that is "classy" anymore. I know Virginia fans like to say they are classy but yet there is that youtube video of a Virginia fan screaming in the face (literally just a few feet away) of Nathan Pasha about "he can't hit it in!!" about double faulting vs Domijan in the NCAA semifinals. It's out of control.
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