The field for this year's Oracle/ITA Masters was announced today with 28 of 31 conferences sending a representative for the October 13-16 event in Malibu, California. The full selection criteria is here but in essence the top returning player from each conference was given the opportunity to participate with some accepting and others opting out. There was originally only supposed to be one wild card in each draw but there ended up being four due to the A10, Sun Belt, and SWAC not having a men's representative while the Atlantic Sun, Horizon, and Mountain West didn't have one on the women's side.
Several of the higher ranked Big Ten guys must have passed because Mikael Torpegaard (POY), Aleks Vukic, Konrad Zieba, Sam Shropshire, and Hugo Di Feo were all ranked higher than Purdue's Gergely Madarasz.
Texas's George Goldhoff, who finished last year ranked #40, was the Big 12 selection since last year's POY Julian Lenz graduated and TCU's Cameron Norrie and Alex Rybakov passed.
Texas A&M's Arthur Rinderknech was the top returning player in the SEC as was Stanford's Tom Fawcett in the Pac-12 while Georgia Tech's Chris Eubanks was last year's ACC POY.
Texas freshman Yuya Ito (14.69), Kentucky sophomore Ryotaro Matsumura (14.46), North Carolina freshman Sara Daavettilla (12.09), and UCLA freshman Ena Shibahara (12.10) earned their at-large selections due to their high Universal Tennis Ratings (UTR).
Men's Singles (as of August 26, 2016)
Just about all the top returning female players in each of the Power 5 conferences elected to participate with Hayley Carter, Luisa Stefani, Francesca Di Lorenzo, Ellen Perez, and Katarina Adamovic representing the ACC, WCC, B1G, SEC, and B12. It looks like the one exception was in the Pac-12 where Stanford's Taylor Davidson got the nod even though Cal's Maegan Manasse was the conference POY and top returning player
The Mountain West didn't send a representative after it's POY Mayar Sherif Ahmed transferred from Fresno State to Long Beach State.
Women's Singles (as of August 26, 2016)
Several of the higher ranked Big Ten guys must have passed because Mikael Torpegaard (POY), Aleks Vukic, Konrad Zieba, Sam Shropshire, and Hugo Di Feo were all ranked higher than Purdue's Gergely Madarasz.
Texas's George Goldhoff, who finished last year ranked #40, was the Big 12 selection since last year's POY Julian Lenz graduated and TCU's Cameron Norrie and Alex Rybakov passed.
Texas A&M's Arthur Rinderknech was the top returning player in the SEC as was Stanford's Tom Fawcett in the Pac-12 while Georgia Tech's Chris Eubanks was last year's ACC POY.
Texas freshman Yuya Ito (14.69), Kentucky sophomore Ryotaro Matsumura (14.46), North Carolina freshman Sara Daavettilla (12.09), and UCLA freshman Ena Shibahara (12.10) earned their at-large selections due to their high Universal Tennis Ratings (UTR).
Men's Singles (as of August 26, 2016)
Or Ram-Harel
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Tulsa
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American
|
Chris Eubanks
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Georgia Tech
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Atlantic Coast Conference
|
Jack Findel-Hawkins
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North Florida
|
Atlantic Sun
|
George Goldhoff
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Texas
|
Big 12
|
Robert Livi
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St. John’s
|
Big East
|
Nathan Boneil
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Portland State
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Big Sky
|
Sam Matheson
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Liberty
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Big South
|
Alec Adamson
|
UC Davis
|
Big West
|
Juan Estevarena
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College of Charleston
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Colonial
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Adam Moundir
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Old Dominion
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Conference USA
|
Jeffrey Schorsch
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Valparaiso
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Horizon League
|
Shawn Hadavi
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Columbia
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Ivy League
|
Kei Ezaka
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Quinnipiac
|
Metro Atlantic
|
Stjepan Sisko
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Toledo
|
Mid-American
|
Alex Chepik
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Bethune-Cookman
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Mid-Eastern
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Vinny Gillespie
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Drake
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Missouri Valley
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Jaime Barajas
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Utah State
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Mountain West
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Eduardo Mena
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Tennessee Tech
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Ohio Valley
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Arthur Rinderknech
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Texas A&M
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SEC
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David Biosca
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East Tennessee
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Southern
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Michael Feucht
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Lamar
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Southland
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Diogo Rocha
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Denver
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Summit League
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Michael Nguyen
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Army
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Patriot
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Guilherme Hadlich
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Pepperdine
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West Coast
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Airam Castellano
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UMKC
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WAC
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Jacob Whalley
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Fairleigh Dickinson
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Northeast
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Tom Fawcett
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Stanford
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Pac-12
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Gergely Madarasz
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Purdue
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Big Ten
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Max Tchoutakian
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Baylor
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Oracle WC
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Lautaro Pane
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Pepperdine
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Host Site WC
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Yuya Ito
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Texas
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At-Large Selection
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Ryotaro Matsumura
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Kentucky
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At-Large Selection
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Just about all the top returning female players in each of the Power 5 conferences elected to participate with Hayley Carter, Luisa Stefani, Francesca Di Lorenzo, Ellen Perez, and Katarina Adamovic representing the ACC, WCC, B1G, SEC, and B12. It looks like the one exception was in the Pac-12 where Stanford's Taylor Davidson got the nod even though Cal's Maegan Manasse was the conference POY and top returning player
The Mountain West didn't send a representative after it's POY Mayar Sherif Ahmed transferred from Fresno State to Long Beach State.
Women's Singles (as of August 26, 2016)
Name
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School
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Conference
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Ksenia Laskutova
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Tulsa
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American
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Aspen Cervin
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Saint Louis
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Atlantic 10
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Hayley Carter
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North Carolina
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Atlantic Coast Conference
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Katarina Adamovic
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Oklahoma State
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Big 12
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Sydney Liggins
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Xavier
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Big East
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Marianna Petrei
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Idaho
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Big Sky
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Lauren Proctor
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Winthrop
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Big South
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Francesca Di Lorenzo
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Ohio State
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Big Ten
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Maeva Razakasoa
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Long Beach State
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Big West
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Liza Fieldsend
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College of Charleston
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Colonial
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Katherine Ip
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Rice
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Conference USA
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Kana Daniel
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Penn
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Ivy League
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Sitilia Rencheli
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Quinnipiac
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Metro Atlantic
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Ariadna Blinova
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Akron
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Mid-American
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MIna Matsuba
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Bethune-Cookman
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Mid-Eastern
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Gabriela Porubin
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Wichita State
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Missouri Valley
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Lidia Yanes Garcia
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Austin Peay
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Ohio Valley
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Ellen Perez
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Georgia
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SEC
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Ansley Speaks
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Furman
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Southern
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Lucile Pothier
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Abilene Christian
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Southland
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Marine Cartier
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Alabama State
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Southwestern
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Julia O'Laughlin
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Denver
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Summit League
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Alexandria Stiteler
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South Alabama
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Sun Belt
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Sabrina Faybyshev
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Boston
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Patriot League
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Rimpledeep Kaur
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New Mexico State
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WAC
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Luisa Stefani
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Pepperdine
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West Coast Conference
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Shreya Pasricha
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Fairleigh Dickinson
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Northeast
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Taylor Davidson
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Stanford
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Pac-12
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Blair Shankle
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Baylor
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Oracle WC
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Laura Gulbe
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Pepperdine
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Host Site WC
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Sara Daavetilla
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North Carolina
|
At-Large Selection
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Ena Shibahara
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UCLA
|
At-Large Selection
|
John Isner looked like he was in serious trouble against Frances Tiafoe but he battled back from two sets down to win 7-6(3) in the fifth. Isner trailed 3-1 in the third set tiebreak but rallied to take it 7-5. Isner got broke to go down 5-3 in the fifth but he broke back from 30/40 and then held from 40/15 to even it at 5-5. Isner led the fifth set tiebreak start to finish to move on to the second round.
Both Mackenzie McDonald and Saketh Myneni had two set leads on their opponents but unfortunately neither was able to close the door. Myneni led 5-2 in the fifth and had a match point at 30/40 but the chair overturned a double fault and Vesely ended up holding and then pulled away from the badly cramping Myneni.
CiCi Bellis, 2017 Stanford commit, was the only female winner of the three player with college ties (potential). After the match during her interview she was asked whether she would still go to college at Stanford - she said she plans on going though her criteria for making that decision has changed from the past.
Men's First Round
#22 [20] John Isner (Georgia '07) def. #124 [WC] Frances Tiafoe 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 7-6(3)
#25 [23] Kevin Anderson (Illinois '07) def. #86 Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 7-5, 6-4
#227 [Q] Jan Satral def. #412 [WC] Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA '16) 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
#48 Jiri Vesely def. #143 [Q] Saketh Myneni (Alabama '10) 7-6(5), 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
#21 [19] Steve Johnson (USC '12) vs. #79 Evgeny Donskoy - 5:30 pm (4th/Gstand)
#105 [WC] Rajeev Ram (Illinois '03) vs. #67 Daniel Evans - 11:00 am (1st/Ct. 4)
#97 Benjamin Becker (Baylor '05) vs. #7 [6] Kei Nishikori - 11:00 am (1st/Gstand)
Men's Second Round
#22 [20] John Isner (Georgia '07) vs. #108 Steve Darcis
#25 [23] Kevin Anderson (Illinois '07) vs. #123 Vasek Pospisil
Women's First Round
#102 Evgeniya Rodina def. [WC] Danielle Collins (Virginia '16) 6-1, 6-2
#67 Cagla Buyukakcay def. #74 Irinia Falconi (Georgia Tech '10) 6-2, 6-1
#158 [Q] Catherine Bellis ('17 Stanford cmt) def. #65 Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-3
#723 [WC] Ellen Perez (Georgia Jr) vs. #49 Shuai Zhang - 12:30 pm (2nd/Ct. 9)
#72 Nicole Gibbs (Stanford '13) vs. #153 [Q] Aleksandra Krunic - 1:00 pm (2nd/Ct. 6)
Women's Second Round
#158 [Q] Catherine Bellis ('17 Stanford cmt) vs. #55 Shelby Rogers
24 comments:
Sun Belt Women's Representative is interesting as she was #3 on her own team, Hortense from A&M CC must have declined as well as many others
How can this be considered on par with the other collegiate majors? Like the ITA initiative but clearly the top players aren't taking much stock in this event. The lack of interest from the best players added to the idea of having each conferences top player makes this a weak field. I Think they could have over saturated the fall schedule with too many "majors". The top guys want to mix in pro events in the fall and if you add in the indoors, and all-Americans to the oracle that's about 3 weeks of missed school.
Why is Matt Manasse at the US Open? Shouldnt he be with the team?
He is coaching Alison Riske
Bobby. How do coaches from expensive schools like Stanford, Miami, attract players when they only have 4 1/2 scholarships to give? Even if they offer 70% to a player, it still leaves them with 20k to 25k per year to pay. Are they able to offer any other scholarships (academics) to compensate for the difference?
Thanks
I thought last year's field was too exclusive and small but this year it went the opposite way and is too inclusive. This event won't have much impact on rankings because only a few will be ranked so that probably attributed to some passing as well.
For this event to be special it needs to be held in mid-September but by being in October it's just going to be one of many. The ITA Regional Championships, which are the qualies for the National Indoor Intercollegiates, are played over two weekends and the first weekend coincides with this event. If given a choice I'd think most guys/gals would rather play the ITA Regionals to have a chance at going to New York.
The new Hall of Fame/Grass Masters event took the September slot that the Oracle/ITA Masters had last year.
sorry meant Southland, my goof, the Sun Belt Rep was the best player from last year
That was the main complain from Mario Rincon in Miami. Added to the fact that Miami doesn't offer much academic aid to students it made it very hard to recruit. Again this is according to him. I know Stanford and most of big time school private schools, offer great academic packages which is not the case with Miami.
Stanford gives tons of aid based on need, I don't think they even offer student loans as an option for tuition, you either pay or get a grant. They have a huge endowment.
That being said, they rarely have depth on men's or women's squad anymore
Stanford doesn't give merit aid/academic scholarships, just athletic scholarships. They do give financial aid based on need, but a lot of tennis players wouldn't meet that criteria. Generally speaking, if you can afford to play tennis, you probably don't qualify for financial aid. But if you need financial aid you probably don't have the experience need to be a seasoned top player that adjusts to rigors of college tennis and travel. But people "sell the farm" for their kid to go to Stanford. Of course a family can take private student loans or a parent can take plus loans to finance little junior. But agree, Stanford's depth has been weak for a long time, an NCAA Championship is nowhere in sight for them. Somehow the NCAA Champs for the last several years manage to recruit good players, no reason Stanford shouldn't be able to. However, a top player will choose another school over Stanford..cause they want the ring more, and a path to the pros. Being the guy to build a team around can be over rated. 4 years isn't long enough.
Is it just me or is the Nike gear for US Open ridiculous? Juan Martin Del Potro in day glow yellow, pink shoelaces? And last year's was horrible too? What guys wants to wear pink and bright yellow?
No one has depth in women's. That's what happens when 300 programs have 8 full scholarships. Not quite sure what Stanford womens team you have been watching though.
You know how I know you're old?
Stanford women usually only have 5/6 solid players, and fill the rest with 3 and 4 stars at best. 2014 they had a girl who local high school player who didn't do anything in local juniors starting at 3 doubles. In general they don't recruit foreigners expect Canada (zhao) or UK
In contrast across the bay at Cal, they often have 50/50 or lean toward slight edge toward foreign players (men and women).
Both Cal and Stanford obviously have top notch acedimics, but Cal can get athletes with average grades into school, but Stanford cannot (all sports not just tennis)
Ha. Cause I sound like your grandfather?
I don't care. I'm old but that gear is ATROCIOUS.
That is as incorrect as can possibly be. You don't win the national championship and have the best program in recent and all-time history with 5/6 "solid" players. Stanford has 8 full scholarships and you can be assured that all 8 are filled with superstars. They might have some 3-4 star walk-ons that don't play, but no one has good walk-ons.
Nike has been terrible at designs for years as well as their color combinations. Shirts are boring with the same line or rectangle across it for 20 years. Luckily, others have really stepped up like Adidas and Asics. I am not old either, just have taste.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/tennis/another-grand-slam-another-outfit-turning-heads/news-story/9de5e79f35f609488c8ae87dee5e7a8c
Check the Stanford women's roster, 6 solid players. Two of the girls were local high school players, neither outstanding at all. They were struggling last year before zhao came back in the spring, that is why they were seeded so low at Ncaa's
Yeah they were struggling...BEFORE WINNING THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. They have Sofia Kenin the #1 junior in the world on the way. Oh and CiCi Bellis. You probably rate CiCi as just another "solid" player?
Stanford women were ranked 15th going into Ncaa's, mostly because zhao only played in spring. I am not sure why you even dispute that they have depth. I never said they don't have top talent, because they obviously do. All I said was that they regularly don't have depth beyond #6.
I live right near Stanford, so I know who the bottom of the roster players are. I am guessing they don't use all 8 scholarships each year, because I know the 2 lowest girls on roster are not on scholarship.
I seriously doubt bellis will make it to Stanford after her run at us open. She is getting very close to top 100, which is the ranking she says she will turn pro at.
I agree about Bellis but think you just don't know much about your hometown team and/or depth across the board for women's tennis.
As I'm sure you know, being a Stanford expert, from the round of 32 until the final, Stanford had very close matches. Four 4-3s and a 4-2.
3 of Stanford's 4 points in the NCAA final (a 4-3 win) were at 4-6 singles. in the semifinal 2 of their points were at 5 & 6 singles. In the elite 8 ALL FOUR of their 4 points were at 3-6 singles. In the Sweet 16 they won 5-6 singles and in the round of 32 they won 4-6 singles.
In those rounds their top half went 6-8 and their bottom half went 13-2. They won the NCAA only BECAUSE of their depth.
If you are counting depth as the 7th and 8th scholarships, because of injury and other factors there are hardly any schools out there that have unbelievable 7s and 8s. Matter of fact not a lot of schools have good 5s and 6s. Stanford did, which is why they won.
But don't let facts get in the way of your argument.
I mentioned in my original post they they have 5/6 solid players, and not much beyond that. This season they have 8 players on roster and 1 has no rating (local high school player), and one was 3 star. There is another girl on team who was 4 star junior, but has made no impact on the team (even in fall tournaments), and was not an outstanding junior here in norther cal.
All three of those girls went to private high schools with tuition cost of $40k per year, so you would assume they can afford Stanford tuition.
I never said that the team didn't have depth from 4-6, so your ripping on me for something I didn't say.
If you look the roster for Cal, UCLA, and other California Pac 12 school in California they have more quality players, and that was my point.
Then again you only need to get 4 points to win a match, but that was not the initial poster was commenting on.
I'm ripping you because what you're saying doesn't make any sense and in the face of contradicting hard facts you keep spouting off nonsense.
Stanford's current team is made of recruiting classes ranked #2, #1 and #1 in the country (the didn't sign anyone in '14). Hard to beat that.
Their current players:
Taylor Davidson - blue chip - #7 in her class
Caroline Doyle - blue chip - #4 in her class
Caroline Lampl - blue chip - #14 in her class
Melissa Lord - blue chip - #2 in her class
Kim Yee - blue chip - #39 in her class
Emma Higuchi (coming in Jan.) - blue chip - #7 in her class
Emily Arbuthnott - England - #30 in the world in the juniors - top 600 WTA
Looks like they have one open scholarship. Maybe someone else in January.
Yes, they have some walk-ons I dare you to find another team that has 7 players as highly rated. Last year they had Hardebeck and Zhao, who were just more of the above.
You're ripping the defending national champs who won with the bottom of their lineup by saying they don't have depth. You can maybe say their #8 isn't very good. Cal and UCLA have more quality players? The girls wearing the national championship rings might argue with that.
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