The 2015 fall season is in the books so let's take a look back at the guys that were a head above the rest. Of course you've got to start out with the guys that claimed the 3 fall majors which were the Oracle ITA Masters, the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American, and the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. After that I look at the guys that made strong runs in majors as well as several other tournaments.
Player (School/Year/UTR as of 12/1) - records listed are just in college events.
Dominik Koepfer (Tulane Sr/14.31) - What a tremendous fall for the senior from Furtwangen, Germany with a Championship, Runner-Up, and a Semifinal appearance at the 3 fall slams. Koepfer beat 10 ranked opponents with 8 of them being ranked inside the top 50.
PlaySight
Monday, November 30, 2015
Monday, November 23, 2015
Upcoming Month
Probably won't have a ton of posts over the next month but I'll have a fall wrap-up coming up in the next week or so and then I'll have my pre-season rankings out no later than January 1st.
The majority of teams have released their schedules for the upcoming season so if you want to see them all in one spreadsheet you can check out my google doc which is in my Team Schedules tab. Right now it just has men's schedules but I plan on adding women's in the next month.
It looks like the coaching carousel is done spinning for the year with all but 2 jobs filled. Here is a list of who left and who came in.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Koepfer & Di Lorenzo Rise To The Top, Takeda Takes the Jack Kramer, Andrews Shakes Hands With Dickie V, Fennell The Top Dog in Athens, Michnev Bags #1
It was Championship Sunday at the National Indoor Intercollegiates and Tulane senior Dominik Koepfer and Ohio State freshman Francesca Di Lorenzo would claim the singles championships while Texas Tech's Hugo Dojas and Felipe Soares and North Carolina's Hayley Carter and Whitney Kay would win the doubles championships.
Below are the final scores from all championship matches along with photos of the winners of the main draw events courtesy of the ITA. Here is the ITA's recap of the day's events and here is Colette Lewis's recap on Zoo Tennis which has more insight in the singles matches.
Below are the final scores from all championship matches along with photos of the winners of the main draw events courtesy of the ITA. Here is the ITA's recap of the day's events and here is Colette Lewis's recap on Zoo Tennis which has more insight in the singles matches.
Dominik Koepfer makes history as he becomes first @GreenWaveMTenn player to win #NIIC national title! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ByG7MmBHOq
— ITA Tennis (@ITATennis) November 15, 2015
Saturday, November 14, 2015
NIIC Day 3: Goransson Gets Past Eubanks; Koepfer Overpowers Monteiro
The singles finals are set at the National Indoor Intercollegiates and it'll be Cal's Andre Goransson taking on Tulane's Dominik Koepfer on the men's side and Clemson's Joana Eidukonyte meeting Ohio State's Francesca Di Lorenzo on the women's side.
Cal's Andre Goransson got the only break of the opening set when he broke Chris Eubanks's 5-5 service game and then he served it out to take the set 7-5. Below is a clip of Goransson's break (FYI, I recorded all the clips off ESPN3 so some are better than others but at least it's something)
The Georgia Tech sophomore would bounce back in the second set by breaking Goransson twice and he quickly took a 6-1 set to force a third.
Eubanks broke Goransson to start the third set by unloading on a forehand on the deciding point however Goransson would return the favor and break back from 15-40 to even it at 1-1. After a couple of quick holds it looked like Eubanks was going to get the break when he went up 0-40 on Goransson's 3-3 service game. Goransson quickly got it back to the 40-40 deciding point and then he used his forehand to pull Eubanks off the court and followed that up with a volley that Eubanks couldn't steer into play. Goransson had fought off each of the 4 break points and now led 4-3 and in fact he wouldn't lose another point on his serve the rest of the way.
Both guys would hold fairly easily up until Eubanks's 5-6 service game. Eubanks went up 30-0 but on the next point Goransson came in and hit a backhand volley that landed right on the line and with Eubanks standing almost on top of the ball he got handcuffed and sent his return deep to make it 30-15. Eubanks then pushed a forehand wide to make it 30-30 and then Goransson smacked a nice deep service return that Eubanks put into the net and with that Goransson had 2 match points. Eubanks hit a forehand winner to fight off the first match point but on the second MP Goransson got a nice return on Eubanks's second serve and a few points later he'd steer a backhand up the line that Eubanks would then put into the net and that was all she wrote - Goransson 7-5, 1-6, 7-5.
Cal's Andre Goransson got the only break of the opening set when he broke Chris Eubanks's 5-5 service game and then he served it out to take the set 7-5. Below is a clip of Goransson's break (FYI, I recorded all the clips off ESPN3 so some are better than others but at least it's something)
The Georgia Tech sophomore would bounce back in the second set by breaking Goransson twice and he quickly took a 6-1 set to force a third.
Eubanks broke Goransson to start the third set by unloading on a forehand on the deciding point however Goransson would return the favor and break back from 15-40 to even it at 1-1. After a couple of quick holds it looked like Eubanks was going to get the break when he went up 0-40 on Goransson's 3-3 service game. Goransson quickly got it back to the 40-40 deciding point and then he used his forehand to pull Eubanks off the court and followed that up with a volley that Eubanks couldn't steer into play. Goransson had fought off each of the 4 break points and now led 4-3 and in fact he wouldn't lose another point on his serve the rest of the way.
Both guys would hold fairly easily up until Eubanks's 5-6 service game. Eubanks went up 30-0 but on the next point Goransson came in and hit a backhand volley that landed right on the line and with Eubanks standing almost on top of the ball he got handcuffed and sent his return deep to make it 30-15. Eubanks then pushed a forehand wide to make it 30-30 and then Goransson smacked a nice deep service return that Eubanks put into the net and with that Goransson had 2 match points. Eubanks hit a forehand winner to fight off the first match point but on the second MP Goransson got a nice return on Eubanks's second serve and a few points later he'd steer a backhand up the line that Eubanks would then put into the net and that was all she wrote - Goransson 7-5, 1-6, 7-5.
Jack Kramer, Dickie V, Bulldog Scramble, CCB Bama Scoring Updates
The seeds have held their own so far at the Dick Vitale Lakewood Ranch Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic with all 4 men's seeds and 3 of the top 4 on the women's side into the quarterfinals.
The seeds haven't faired as well at the Jake Kramer Tennis Classic in Rolling Hills, California with only 2 of the top 8 making it to the quarterfinals and only 1 of those 2 making the semifinals. USC junior Connor Farren will meet his teammate sophomore Thiabault Forget (son of Guy Forget) in the one semifinal while the #1 seed Arizona senior Naoki Takeda will face Stanford senior Maciek Romanowicz in the other.
Georgia's Nick Wood and Walker Duncan, Notre Dame's Daniel Rayl, South Carolina's Alex Fennell, and Harvard's Chris Morrow each went 2-0 on Day 1 of the Bulldog Scramble. Wood, Duncan, and Morrow each picked an additional doubles win as well.
Day 1 of the CCB Collegiate Invitational in Birmingham didn't produce any noteworthy upsets with South Alabama's Tuki Jacobs, Alabama's Danny Kerznerman, Tulane's Chi-Shan Jao, and Middle Tennessee's State's Gian Issa among the winners in the Crimson singles draw.
The seeds haven't faired as well at the Jake Kramer Tennis Classic in Rolling Hills, California with only 2 of the top 8 making it to the quarterfinals and only 1 of those 2 making the semifinals. USC junior Connor Farren will meet his teammate sophomore Thiabault Forget (son of Guy Forget) in the one semifinal while the #1 seed Arizona senior Naoki Takeda will face Stanford senior Maciek Romanowicz in the other.
Georgia's Nick Wood and Walker Duncan, Notre Dame's Daniel Rayl, South Carolina's Alex Fennell, and Harvard's Chris Morrow each went 2-0 on Day 1 of the Bulldog Scramble. Wood, Duncan, and Morrow each picked an additional doubles win as well.
Day 1 of the CCB Collegiate Invitational in Birmingham didn't produce any noteworthy upsets with South Alabama's Tuki Jacobs, Alabama's Danny Kerznerman, Tulane's Chi-Shan Jao, and Middle Tennessee's State's Gian Issa among the winners in the Crimson singles draw.
Friday, November 13, 2015
NIIC Day 2: Monteiro Upsets #1 Seed Kwiatkowski, Koepfer Only Seed Left
A day after the #1 seed on the women's side went down the men's #1 followed suit as Virginia Tech senior Joao Monteiro upset Virginia junior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 6-1, 7-6(4) in the NIIC quarterfinals. Kwiatkowski had beat Monteiro 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 back on September 20th in the finals of the UVA Ranked 1+1 but Monteiro was able to turn the tide today.
Stanford sophomore Tom Fawcett upset the #2 seed TCU sophomore Cameron Norrie 6-4, 7-6(8) so that means we'll be guaranteed to have a first time major winner on Sunday. Norrie of course won the Oracle Masters back in September while Kwiatkowski won the All-Americans in October.
Cal's Andre Goransson came back from a set down to win his Round of 16 match over Ohio State's Mikael Torpegaard then in his quarterfinal match he saw a 6-2, 5-1 lead evaporate as Texas A&M's Arthur Rinderknech won 4 straight games to even it at 5-5. Goransson managed to break on the deciding point to go up 6-5 and then he quickly served it out quickly to close out the 6-2, 7-5 win.
Tulane's Dominik Koepfer rolled over Wake Forest's Skander Mansouri 6-2, 6-2 in the Round of 16 then he followed that up with a gritty 7-6(6), 7-5 win over Illinois's Jared Hiltzik. Hiltzik had a set point in the first set tiebreak on his serve but Koepfer managed to win the last 3 points to take the set. In the second set Hiltzik led 5-3 but Koepfer battled back and took the next 4 games to close out the win.
Georgia Tech sophomore Chris Eubanks won both his matches in straight sets. He took out Ohio State junior Herkko Pollanen 7-5, 6-2 in the opening match and then got past Stanford's Tom Fawcett in the quarters by almost the same score of 6-2, 7-5. Fawcett led 5-2 in the second before Eubanks reeled off 5 straight to close it out.
As a reminder ESPN3's coverage will start on Saturday morning at 9am as they'll broadcast both the men's and women's singles and doubles semifinals. Here is the Saturday order of play with all 4 singles semis (2 men/2 women) being played on court 9 starting with the women.
All main draws results are below:
Stanford sophomore Tom Fawcett upset the #2 seed TCU sophomore Cameron Norrie 6-4, 7-6(8) so that means we'll be guaranteed to have a first time major winner on Sunday. Norrie of course won the Oracle Masters back in September while Kwiatkowski won the All-Americans in October.
Cal's Andre Goransson came back from a set down to win his Round of 16 match over Ohio State's Mikael Torpegaard then in his quarterfinal match he saw a 6-2, 5-1 lead evaporate as Texas A&M's Arthur Rinderknech won 4 straight games to even it at 5-5. Goransson managed to break on the deciding point to go up 6-5 and then he quickly served it out quickly to close out the 6-2, 7-5 win.
Tulane's Dominik Koepfer rolled over Wake Forest's Skander Mansouri 6-2, 6-2 in the Round of 16 then he followed that up with a gritty 7-6(6), 7-5 win over Illinois's Jared Hiltzik. Hiltzik had a set point in the first set tiebreak on his serve but Koepfer managed to win the last 3 points to take the set. In the second set Hiltzik led 5-3 but Koepfer battled back and took the next 4 games to close out the win.
Georgia Tech sophomore Chris Eubanks won both his matches in straight sets. He took out Ohio State junior Herkko Pollanen 7-5, 6-2 in the opening match and then got past Stanford's Tom Fawcett in the quarters by almost the same score of 6-2, 7-5. Fawcett led 5-2 in the second before Eubanks reeled off 5 straight to close it out.
As a reminder ESPN3's coverage will start on Saturday morning at 9am as they'll broadcast both the men's and women's singles and doubles semifinals. Here is the Saturday order of play with all 4 singles semis (2 men/2 women) being played on court 9 starting with the women.
All main draws results are below:
Thursday, November 12, 2015
NIIC Day 1 - Top Men's Singles Seeds Roll, #1 Dubs Ousted
6 of the top 8 seeds on the men's side won their opening round matches while 7 of the top 8 on the women's side did though the 1 that lost on the women's side was the #1 seed Virginia's Danielle Collins.
The men's doubles #1 seed Virginia's Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and Mac Styslinger were upset in the 2nd round by Texas Tech's Hugo Dojas and Felipe Soares 7-6(5), 6-4.
Links to bookmark:
NIIC - Men's 1st Round:
[1] Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA) def. Benjamin Lock (FSU) 6-2, 6-4
Konrad Zieba (NU) def. Max Hinnisdaels (AUB) 6-4, 6-2
[5] Hugo Di Feo (OSU) def. Kevin Konfederak (GG) 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3
Joao Monteiro (VT) def. Diego Hidalgo (UF) 7-6(6), 6-3
[3] Dominik Koepfer (TUL) def. Chris Diaz (OSU) 6-1, 6-4
Skander Mansouri (WF) def. Guillermo Nunez (TCU) 6-3, 7-5
[8] Jared Hiltzik (ILL) def. Uros Petronijevic (SD) 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2
David Wilczynski (ST) def. Shawn Hadavi (CU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Andre Goransson (CAL) def. Diogo Rocha (DU) 6-1, 6-2
Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. [6] Roberto Cid (USF) 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4
Austin Smith (UGA) def. Martin Redlicki (UCLA) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-2
[4] Arthur Rinderknech (aTm) def. Dovydas Sakinis (DRT) 6-3, 6-4
Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Sam Monette (IU) 6-4, 6-4
Chris Eubanks (GT) def. [7] Nicolas Alvarez (Duke) 6-4, 6-2
Tom Fawcett (ST) def. Quentin Monaghan (ND) 6-2, 6-4
[2] Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. Alex Ghilea (OU) 6-0, 6-3
The men's doubles #1 seed Virginia's Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and Mac Styslinger were upset in the 2nd round by Texas Tech's Hugo Dojas and Felipe Soares 7-6(5), 6-4.
Links to bookmark:
ITA host page
Live Scoring
Live Scoring (Mobile)
Live Blog
RadioTennis - Live Tennis Chat
ESPN3
NIIC Facts
Live Scoring
Live Scoring (Mobile)
Live Blog
RadioTennis - Live Tennis Chat
ESPN3
NIIC Facts
NIIC - Men's 1st Round:
[1] Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA) def. Benjamin Lock (FSU) 6-2, 6-4
Konrad Zieba (NU) def. Max Hinnisdaels (AUB) 6-4, 6-2
[5] Hugo Di Feo (OSU) def. Kevin Konfederak (GG) 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3
Joao Monteiro (VT) def. Diego Hidalgo (UF) 7-6(6), 6-3
[3] Dominik Koepfer (TUL) def. Chris Diaz (OSU) 6-1, 6-4
Skander Mansouri (WF) def. Guillermo Nunez (TCU) 6-3, 7-5
[8] Jared Hiltzik (ILL) def. Uros Petronijevic (SD) 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2
David Wilczynski (ST) def. Shawn Hadavi (CU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Andre Goransson (CAL) def. Diogo Rocha (DU) 6-1, 6-2
Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. [6] Roberto Cid (USF) 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4
Austin Smith (UGA) def. Martin Redlicki (UCLA) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-2
[4] Arthur Rinderknech (aTm) def. Dovydas Sakinis (DRT) 6-3, 6-4
Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Sam Monette (IU) 6-4, 6-4
Chris Eubanks (GT) def. [7] Nicolas Alvarez (Duke) 6-4, 6-2
Tom Fawcett (ST) def. Quentin Monaghan (ND) 6-2, 6-4
[2] Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. Alex Ghilea (OU) 6-0, 6-3
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Jack Kramer Classic, Lakewood Ranch Dickie V, Bulldog Scramble, Georgia Signs Ponwith
Over the next 4 days the big headline grabber will be the National Indoor Intercollegiates in New York but there are a few other events taking place that are I'll keep an eye on too.
The Jack Kramer Tennis Club in Rolling Hills Estates, California will host the Jack Kramer Classic with 12 mainly west coast teams sending players to compete. Those 12 schools are USC, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Cal Poly, Loyola Marymount, UC Santa Barbara, Pepperdine UC Irvine, and SMU. The tournament site is here and it has a list of competitors with draws likely to be released on Thursday. Some of the bigger names competing are UCLA's Gage Brymer, USC's Robbie Bellamy and Jack DeVine, Arizona's Naoki Takeda, Washington's Jake Douglas and Enzo Sommer, Oregon's Daan Maasland, Pepperdine's Stefan Menichella, SMU's Samm Butler and Hunter Johnson.
National Indoor Intercollegiate Draws
The draws are out and we are less than 24 hours away from first serve of the 2015 National Indoor Intercollegiates in the NYC. The tournament starts on Thursday morning and finishes on Sunday. ESPN3 will have streaming video of the semifinals and finals on Saturday and Sunday. Ken Thomas of RadioTennis.com will broadcast all weekend, the USTA has a live blog that will run, and Columbia will provide live scoring so as a fan you should be covered from all angles.
Links to bookmark:
Below are the all the draws and my google doc has the men's draw sorted by preseason ITA ranking, seed, UTR, school, and country. I'll have the women's draw sorted by those same things shortly.
Links to bookmark:
Below are the all the draws and my google doc has the men's draw sorted by preseason ITA ranking, seed, UTR, school, and country. I'll have the women's draw sorted by those same things shortly.
Monday, November 9, 2015
Davis Crocker Wins The Big 10 Indoors Singles Title, NIIC's 3 Days Away, Ybarra Wins Top Flight Of UTR Texas Open
Michigan redshirt sophomore Davis Crocker won the Big 10 Indoor Championship by knocking off Northwestern freshman Ben Vandixhorn 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals then he beat Nebraska freshman Toby Boyer 6-3, 6-2 in the finals. All said and done Crocker went 6-0 on the week in singles play and only dropped 1 set. Boyer earned his spot in the finals by defeating Indiana's Matt McCoy 6-4, 6-3
Congrats to @DJCTennis for winning the singles title at the Big Ten Indoor Tourney! 〽️🏆🎾 #goblue pic.twitter.com/8BsASshdeU
— Michigan Tennis (@umichtennis) November 9, 2015
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Friedrich Wins in Orlando + Several Guys Have Pro Success
South Carolina's Gabriel Friedrich knocked off teammate Harrison O'Keefe 6-3, 6-7(0), 6-4 in a live streamed match on ESPN3 to win the top singles flight at the USTA Clay Court Invitational in Orlando.
Comments from SC recap:
“What a way to end the tournament,” South Carolina head coach Josh Goffi said. “I couldn’t be more proud of Gabriel and Harrison. Both kept raising their level to trump the other’s momentum gains and, consequently, we ended up with a very high-level match at the end. They were respectful, yet extremely competitive, and that’s one of the hardest things to do when you’re playing your teammate. It’s disappointing that there had to be a loser today because both of them played great and got better throughout the match. In the end, the Gamecocks won, and it’s a great day for our program.”
Comments from SC recap:
“What a way to end the tournament,” South Carolina head coach Josh Goffi said. “I couldn’t be more proud of Gabriel and Harrison. Both kept raising their level to trump the other’s momentum gains and, consequently, we ended up with a very high-level match at the end. They were respectful, yet extremely competitive, and that’s one of the hardest things to do when you’re playing your teammate. It’s disappointing that there had to be a loser today because both of them played great and got better throughout the match. In the end, the Gamecocks won, and it’s a great day for our program.”
Recap: Friedrich Tops O’Keefe in Three Sets for USTA Clay Court Title
https://t.co/PB5TA3dum3
#Gamecocks pic.twitter.com/wpUEugNMxq
— Gamecock M. Tennis (@GamecockMTennis) November 8, 2015
Saturday, November 7, 2015
All-Gamecock Men's & All-ACC Women's Final in Orlando
The champion of the USTA Clay Court Invitational Gold draw is guaranteed to be a South Carolina Gamecock after sophomores Gabriel Friedrick and Harrison O'Keefe each won twice on Saturday.
Friedrich (13.68) opened up with a 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal win over Troy's Giovani Samaha (12.94) and then beat Pepperdine's Guilherme Hadlich (13.68) 6-3, 6-4 in the semis while O'Keefe (13.49) beat Baylor's Jimmy Bendeck (13.22) 6-2, 7-6(4) in the quarters and Pepperdine's Pedro Iamachkine (13.09) 6-4, 6-4 in the semis.
In the Garnet draw final it'll be Pepperdine's Lautaro Pane (12.83) taking on Penn State's Tomas Hanzlik (13.21) after Pane knocked off Central Florida's Jose Sangroniz (12.50) 6-1, 6-3 and Hanzlik beat Georgia Tech's Andrew Li (12.97) 6-3, 6-2.
In the women's Gold draw it'll be NC State's Martina Frantova (10.42) versus Virginia Tech's Ilinca Stoica (10.50). Frantova hasn't dropped a set all weekend and dispatched the #1 seed Florida's Josie Kuhlman (11.33) 6-3, 6-4 in the semis. Stoica has only dropped 1 set in her 4 matches after getting past Florida's Brianna Morgan (11.10) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.
Both finals will be broadcast on ESPN3 with coverage starting at 9am est on Sunday - don't forget to tune in!!
Both finals will be broadcast on ESPN3 with coverage starting at 9am est on Sunday - don't forget to tune in!!
Friday, November 6, 2015
Friday Tournament Results
Pepperdine, Baylor, and South Carolina each have 2 guys still remaining in the Gold Draw of the USTA Clay Court Invitational while Georgia Tech and Troy have the others.
The Nebraska brother duo of Dusty and Toby Boyer won the Big 10 Indoors doubles championship with a 6-3 win in the final over Penn State's David Kohan and Christian Lutschaunig. Singles play begins on Saturday and finished on Monday.
It hasn't been the best fall so far for Wake Forest's Romain Bogaerts (14.29) as he fell to 0-5 after getting upset by Navy's Austin Jones (12.36) 7-6(4), 6-3 at the Wake Forest Fall Invitational.
The Nebraska brother duo of Dusty and Toby Boyer won the Big 10 Indoors doubles championship with a 6-3 win in the final over Penn State's David Kohan and Christian Lutschaunig. Singles play begins on Saturday and finished on Monday.
It hasn't been the best fall so far for Wake Forest's Romain Bogaerts (14.29) as he fell to 0-5 after getting upset by Navy's Austin Jones (12.36) 7-6(4), 6-3 at the Wake Forest Fall Invitational.
College on Tour - Friday Update
After a week with no titles the former/current guys are storming back this week with several in contention at Futures, Challengers, and ATP Masters events across the world.
The big story yesterday was #13 John Isner (Georgia '07) knocking off the great #2 Roger Federer 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-6(5) in the 3rd round of the Paris Masters. Isner hammered 27 aces with 0 double faults and won 73% of points on his serve. Big John also won a higher % of points on Federer's serve (29%) than Roger won on John's (27%). Next up for John in the quarterfinals is the speedy Spaniard David Ferrer. Ferrer owns a 5-1 H2H advantage though that was the same margin that Federer had against John prior to yesterday.
The big story yesterday was #13 John Isner (Georgia '07) knocking off the great #2 Roger Federer 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-6(5) in the 3rd round of the Paris Masters. Isner hammered 27 aces with 0 double faults and won 73% of points on his serve. Big John also won a higher % of points on Federer's serve (29%) than Roger won on John's (27%). Next up for John in the quarterfinals is the speedy Spaniard David Ferrer. Ferrer owns a 5-1 H2H advantage though that was the same margin that Federer had against John prior to yesterday.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Men's Seeds Get Roughed Up in Orlando, LSU Fall Invite Underway
Thursday wasn't a great day to be a top 8 seed at the USTA Clay Court Invitational in Orlando with seeds in the Gold singles flight scratching out a sub-par 2-6 record. Of course the seeds were based on the preseason ITA rankings and didn't take into account whether guys had much clay court experience and as you'll see below the guys with clay court experience excelled. Women's seeds on the other hand faired very well going 6-2..
The #1 seed Florida's State Michael Rinaldi (13.62) was upset by Troy's Giovani Samaha (12.94) 7-5, 6-3 though Samaha had to be much more comfortable with the surface and having played in multiple clay court Futures events over the summer plus he played 4 rounds of qualies in Birmingham over the weekend. Rinaldi on the other hand last played a competitive match on clay at this same event in 2013 and he failed to win in either of those 2 matches.
The #1 seed Florida's State Michael Rinaldi (13.62) was upset by Troy's Giovani Samaha (12.94) 7-5, 6-3 though Samaha had to be much more comfortable with the surface and having played in multiple clay court Futures events over the summer plus he played 4 rounds of qualies in Birmingham over the weekend. Rinaldi on the other hand last played a competitive match on clay at this same event in 2013 and he failed to win in either of those 2 matches.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Upcoming Tournaments - B1G Indoors, USTA Clay Courts, LSU Invite, Commodore Scramble, WF Fall Invite, UTR Texas
Florida State is the host for the 2015 USTA Clay Court Invitational which will take place in Orlando at the ESPN Wide World of Sports and the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. ESPN3 will have streaming video on Thursday and Sunday and all results will be posted on the tournament's twitter feed. Tournament draws are posted below with the top 8 seeds from the top singles brackets shown as well.
Participating men's teams: Florida State, Baylor, Central Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Penn State, Pepperdine, South Alabama, South Carolina, Stetson, and Troy.
Men's Seeds (Gold)
1. Michael Rinaldi (Florida St)
2. Nathan Rakitt (Georgia Tech)
3. Mariano Porter (Central Florida)
4. Runhao Hua (Michigan)
5. Alex Gornet (Louisville)
6. Mraco Nunez (Florida St)
7. Gabriel Friedrich (South Carolina)
8. Matt Barry (Penn St)
Participating men's teams: Florida State, Baylor, Central Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Penn State, Pepperdine, South Alabama, South Carolina, Stetson, and Troy.
Men's Seeds (Gold)
1. Michael Rinaldi (Florida St)
2. Nathan Rakitt (Georgia Tech)
3. Mariano Porter (Central Florida)
4. Runhao Hua (Michigan)
5. Alex Gornet (Louisville)
6. Mraco Nunez (Florida St)
7. Gabriel Friedrich (South Carolina)
8. Matt Barry (Penn St)
Monday, November 2, 2015
NIIC Selections, UMBC Cut, Top 20 College Tennis Facilities
The National Indoor Intercollegiate selections were released today and while they were pretty straight forward there were a few last minute changes.
In the men's singles draw, Florida's Diego Hidalgo got in as a 7th at-large due to North Carolina's Ronnie Schneider pulling out. I know Ronnie has had shoulder issues in the past so that could be why he's out.
Georgia's Austin Smith (14.41) got the at-large selection that was reserved for the player with the highest UTR.
Duke's Nicolas Alvarez, who was the Oracle Masters Runner-Up, got the ITA's wild card and Illinois's Jared Hiltzik was awarded the USTA's wild card despite not participating in any collegiate events this fall.
In the men's singles draw, Florida's Diego Hidalgo got in as a 7th at-large due to North Carolina's Ronnie Schneider pulling out. I know Ronnie has had shoulder issues in the past so that could be why he's out.
Georgia's Austin Smith (14.41) got the at-large selection that was reserved for the player with the highest UTR.
Duke's Nicolas Alvarez, who was the Oracle Masters Runner-Up, got the ITA's wild card and Illinois's Jared Hiltzik was awarded the USTA's wild card despite not participating in any collegiate events this fall.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Sunday Wrap Up - De Vroome Wins SoCal, Jared Hiltzik Wins UTR Decatur Open, Kentucky & Oregon Win 2 Flights, Sisko Wins MAC
USC senior Max De Vroome won the 59th annual Southern California Intercollegiate Championships by defeating UCLA senior Karue Sell 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2 in the championship match which was held on the campus of UCLA at the LA Tennis Center. De Vroome was the #1 seed and Sell was the #3 seed.
Congrats on a great tournament, Karue! #UCLA #gobruins @USTASoCal @USCollegeTennis pic.twitter.com/ddEcaCknfs
— UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) November 1, 2015
Friday, October 30, 2015
Weekend Tournaments (Updated Through Saturday)
We're still 2 weeks out from the National Intercollegiate Indoors so between now and then there are a few fall tournaments taking place throughout the country.
Louisville is hosting the Louisville Invitational this weekend with teams several teams from the Ohio Valley Region participating along with Marquette and Northwestern Ohio. The tournament format features three flights of singles and doubles and will be played both indoors and outdoors. Draws are below and here (updated with Saturday's results). Louisville's twitter will have score updates.
A Singles Final: Gian Issa (MTSU 13.05) vs. Nils Ellefsen (KY 12.55)
B Singles Final: Kevin Lai (KY 12.71) vs. Adrian Mag (Butler 11.72)
C Singles Final: John Tougher (Lipsc 11.21) def. Dan Lineberry (SIUE 11.31) 7-6(2), 6-4
UNLV is hosting the Larry Easley Memorial Classic this week with players coming in from Arizona, Boise State, Grand Canyon, Mesa CC, Northern Arizona, Oregon, and Oklahoma State. The tournament will have two flights of singles and one flight of doubles. Arizona's twitter will have some updates of matches involving Wildcats. Draws are here and Friday/Saturday results are further down.
Louisville is hosting the Louisville Invitational this weekend with teams several teams from the Ohio Valley Region participating along with Marquette and Northwestern Ohio. The tournament format features three flights of singles and doubles and will be played both indoors and outdoors. Draws are below and here (updated with Saturday's results). Louisville's twitter will have score updates.
A Singles Final: Gian Issa (MTSU 13.05) vs. Nils Ellefsen (KY 12.55)
B Singles Final: Kevin Lai (KY 12.71) vs. Adrian Mag (Butler 11.72)
C Singles Final: John Tougher (Lipsc 11.21) def. Dan Lineberry (SIUE 11.31) 7-6(2), 6-4
UNLV is hosting the Larry Easley Memorial Classic this week with players coming in from Arizona, Boise State, Grand Canyon, Mesa CC, Northern Arizona, Oregon, and Oklahoma State. The tournament will have two flights of singles and one flight of doubles. Arizona's twitter will have some updates of matches involving Wildcats. Draws are here and Friday/Saturday results are further down.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Detailed NCAA Study on Sports Sponsorship & Participation Research
The NCAA recently released its sports sponsorship and participation rates report and the numbers confirmed what we all knew - tennis, especially men's tennis, is on the decline. The report tracks student-athlete participation by sport and gender dating back to the 1981-82 season and tracks teams dropped and added since 1988-89.
Here is some of the highlights or should I say lowlights of the report:
In 2014-15, the sport with the highest number of women’s teams dropped was tennis with nine, followed by golf and lacrosse. The women’s sports that have been dropped the most since 1988-89 are cross country and golf with 241 programs dropped and indoor track and field with 239 programs eliminated in the NCAA.
Here is some of the highlights or should I say lowlights of the report:
In 2014-15, the sport with the highest number of women’s teams dropped was tennis with nine, followed by golf and lacrosse. The women’s sports that have been dropped the most since 1988-89 are cross country and golf with 241 programs dropped and indoor track and field with 239 programs eliminated in the NCAA.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
How To Grow College Tennis & Regional Roundup
I wrote an article for ZooTennis talking about how to grow college tennis and what I think are the keys to making the sport sustainable for years to come. Make sure you give it a read and don't hesitate to provide feedback over on Colette's site or right here.
Yesterday concluded the 2 weeks of USTA/ITA Regional play which determined the automatic qualifiers for the National Indoor Intercollegiates which will be held from November 12th through 15th at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Click here for a full list of qualifiers along with my picks for the at-large and wild cards on the men's side.
Below were the results from each regional final on the Men's side:
Yesterday concluded the 2 weeks of USTA/ITA Regional play which determined the automatic qualifiers for the National Indoor Intercollegiates which will be held from November 12th through 15th at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Click here for a full list of qualifiers along with my picks for the at-large and wild cards on the men's side.
Below were the results from each regional final on the Men's side:
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Final Day of Regional Play - Sakinis Wins Northeast & Rinderknech Wins Texas
Dartmouth's Dovydas Sakinis was the #1 seed for a reason as he proved his worth today when he ran through Columbia freshman Victor Pham to win the Northeast Region singles title.
Sakinis got the first break of the match when he broke Pham to go up 5-3 then followed that up with a hold from 40-15 to take the opening set 6-3. Sakinis went up an early break in the second set and then went up 3-1 after holding on the deciding point. Sakinis would break again to go up 5-2 and then the big lefty would close out the Championship after hitting a big serve out wide followed by a big forehand crosscourt winner to seal the 6-3, 6-2 win.
Comments from Dartmouth recap
“I am very happy for Dovydas,” head coach Chris Drake said. “Any time you get to this stage of the tournament, you hope to be able to bring your best level of tennis. There was no doubt that Dovydas was able to do that. From the first point, he played an extremely professional match. Once he got ahead, he never let his opponent mount any legitimate comeback.”
Sakinis got the first break of the match when he broke Pham to go up 5-3 then followed that up with a hold from 40-15 to take the opening set 6-3. Sakinis went up an early break in the second set and then went up 3-1 after holding on the deciding point. Sakinis would break again to go up 5-2 and then the big lefty would close out the Championship after hitting a big serve out wide followed by a big forehand crosscourt winner to seal the 6-3, 6-2 win.
Comments from Dartmouth recap
“I am very happy for Dovydas,” head coach Chris Drake said. “Any time you get to this stage of the tournament, you hope to be able to bring your best level of tennis. There was no doubt that Dovydas was able to do that. From the first point, he played an extremely professional match. Once he got ahead, he never let his opponent mount any legitimate comeback.”
Monday, October 26, 2015
Pollanen Wins Midwest, Wilczynski Takes Northwest, & Sakinis/Pham To Meet in Northeast
Going into today semifinals many figured Ohio State would have 1 of its 2 guys make the finals but even the biggest of Buckeye fans wouldn't have banked on 2 but that's just what happened.
Buckeye junior Herkko Pollanen (UTR 13.39) cruised to a 6-1 opening set against the #1 seed Quentin Monaghan (UTR 14.08) but the Notre Dame senior took the second set 6-4 after breaking Pollanen's 4-5 service game. Pollanen went ahead for good in the third set after breaking Monaghan's 2-2 service game and Herkko would break again to close out the match for the 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win.
Buckeye senior Chris Diaz (14.02) advanced to the finals after knocking off Northwestern junior Strong Kirchheimer (13.60) 7-6(6), 7-5 though Kirchheimer definitely had his chances in both sets. Kirchheimer broke Diaz to go up 5-3 in the opening set but he'd be unable to serve the set out as Diaz broke back and held for 5-5. In the opening set tiebreak Kirchheimer came back from 5-2 down to lead 6-5 and had set point on his serve but Diaz won both points on Kirchheimer's serve and then won the next on his to take the tiebreak 8-6. In the second set Diaz would break Kirchheimer's 5-6 service game to close out the win.
In the all-Buckeye final, Pollanen would jump out to a 3-1 lead in both sets and while he finished off the opening set without any issues Diaz would make a match of it in the second. Despite the push by Diaz, Pollanen would break Diaz's 5-6 service game to clinch the championship and automatic berth in next month's National Indoor Intercollegiates.
It's the 4th year in a row that an Ohio State Buckeye has won the Midwest singles title with Mikael Torpegaard taking it last year and Peter Kobelt winning it the 2 years prior.
Despite the loss Notre Dame's Quentin Monaghan will still be heading to New York as an at-large due to his #5 preseason ranking.
Buckeye junior Herkko Pollanen (UTR 13.39) cruised to a 6-1 opening set against the #1 seed Quentin Monaghan (UTR 14.08) but the Notre Dame senior took the second set 6-4 after breaking Pollanen's 4-5 service game. Pollanen went ahead for good in the third set after breaking Monaghan's 2-2 service game and Herkko would break again to close out the match for the 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win.
Buckeye senior Chris Diaz (14.02) advanced to the finals after knocking off Northwestern junior Strong Kirchheimer (13.60) 7-6(6), 7-5 though Kirchheimer definitely had his chances in both sets. Kirchheimer broke Diaz to go up 5-3 in the opening set but he'd be unable to serve the set out as Diaz broke back and held for 5-5. In the opening set tiebreak Kirchheimer came back from 5-2 down to lead 6-5 and had set point on his serve but Diaz won both points on Kirchheimer's serve and then won the next on his to take the tiebreak 8-6. In the second set Diaz would break Kirchheimer's 5-6 service game to close out the win.
In the all-Buckeye final, Pollanen would jump out to a 3-1 lead in both sets and while he finished off the opening set without any issues Diaz would make a match of it in the second. Despite the push by Diaz, Pollanen would break Diaz's 5-6 service game to clinch the championship and automatic berth in next month's National Indoor Intercollegiates.
It's the 4th year in a row that an Ohio State Buckeye has won the Midwest singles title with Mikael Torpegaard taking it last year and Peter Kobelt winning it the 2 years prior.
Despite the loss Notre Dame's Quentin Monaghan will still be heading to New York as an at-large due to his #5 preseason ranking.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Denver Sweeps Mountain, Orkin Takes Fall Classic, Steve Johnson Just Misses
It was a great day to be a Denver Pioneer in Albuquerque as Diogo Rocha took the singles championship over Utah's Dan Little and Henry Craig and Alex Gasson took the doubles championship over New Mexico's Hayden Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen.
Rocha didn't have an easy road to the title as 4 of his 6 matches went 3-sets and he had to come back from 3-1 down in the 3rd set today against Little before pulling it out 6-4 in the 3rd. Utah had a nice recap of today's match explaining the ebbs and flows - give it a read!
Craig and Gasson cruised until today's match but had to come back from a set down to win in a 3rd set supertiebreak over the Sabatka and Van Leijsen.
Rocha didn't have an easy road to the title as 4 of his 6 matches went 3-sets and he had to come back from 3-1 down in the 3rd set today against Little before pulling it out 6-4 in the 3rd. Utah had a nice recap of today's match explaining the ebbs and flows - give it a read!
Craig and Gasson cruised until today's match but had to come back from a set down to win in a 3rd set supertiebreak over the Sabatka and Van Leijsen.
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Saturday Regional Results
In South Bend at the Midwest Regional, 6 of the top 8 seeds moved into the quarterfinals where they'll be joined by Michigan's Carter Lin (12.51) who beat not 1 but 2 top 11 seeds. Lin first upset the #11 seed Toledo's Stjepan Sisko (13.30) 6-4, 6-4 then followed that up by beating the #7 seed Valpo's Jeffrey Schorsch (13.59) 6-4, 5-7, 7-5. Ohio State has 3 in the quarters with Chris Diaz, Ralf Steinbach, and Herkko Pollanen all advancing and they had a 4th in contention before freshman Martin Joyce fell to Illinois's Aron Hiltzik 6-3, 7-6 in the Round of 16. The host Irish have 2 still remaining in #1 Quentin Monaghan and Eddy Covalschi while Illinois's Aron Hiltzik and Northwestern's Strong Kirchheimer round out the quarters.
Midwest (South Bend, IN) - Singles & Doubles Draws
Round of 32
[1] Quentin Monaghan (Notre Dame) def. Toshiki Matsuya (Illinois) 6-3, 6-2
[12] Leopold Gomez Islinger (UW-Green Bay) def. [21] Matt Mendez (Ohio State) 6-1, 6-2
[5] Ralf Steinbach (Ohio State) def. Matej Svjetlicic (Western Michigan) 6-3, 5-7, 6-0
[17] Fedor Baev (Northwestern) def. [16] Alex Knight (Michigan) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Julian Childers (Illinois) def. [3] Sam Shropshire (Northwestern) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
[20] Eddy Covalschi (Notre Dame) def. [14] Josef Dodridge (Wisc) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5)
Midwest (South Bend, IN) - Singles & Doubles Draws
Round of 32
[1] Quentin Monaghan (Notre Dame) def. Toshiki Matsuya (Illinois) 6-3, 6-2
[12] Leopold Gomez Islinger (UW-Green Bay) def. [21] Matt Mendez (Ohio State) 6-1, 6-2
[5] Ralf Steinbach (Ohio State) def. Matej Svjetlicic (Western Michigan) 6-3, 5-7, 6-0
[17] Fedor Baev (Northwestern) def. [16] Alex Knight (Michigan) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Julian Childers (Illinois) def. [3] Sam Shropshire (Northwestern) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
[20] Eddy Covalschi (Notre Dame) def. [14] Josef Dodridge (Wisc) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5)