Tulane Beats LSU For First Time Since '04 + See Who Is Playing Davis Cup

It had been 12 years since Tulane last defeated LSU but the Green Wave were able to get it done on Wednesday afternoon with a 4-2 win.

LSU took the doubles point with wins at #1 and #2 but Tulane rebounded in singles by picking up five first sets. Tulane's Constantin Schmitz rolled over Justin Butsch 6-0, 6-2 at #2 but LSU went back ahead when Gabor Csonka beat Alex Van Cott 6-2, 6-0 at #4. Tulane's Chi-Shan Jao evened the match at 2-2 with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Simon Freund at #5.

UCLA Outduels USC & San Diego Burns the Rice

Last season USC won all three meetings against UCLA, but so far this season it's Bruins 1 and Trojans 0. UCLA claimed this year's first edition of the Battle for LA by taking out #12 USC 5-2.

UCLA took the doubles point for the 10th time in 12 tries but it didn't do it with a win at #1. USC's Nick Crystal and Laurens Verboven surprised the ITA #3 team of Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki 6-4. Crystal/Verboven jumped out to a 4-1 lead before McDonald/Redlick won three straight to even it at 4-4. Crystal/Verboven held for 5-4 and then broke to win it 6-4.

3/1 Oracle/ITA Women's Rankings Release

Ladies and gentlemen we have a new #1 and it is The Ohio State University.  The Buckeyes took over the top spot from undefeated Cal due to having four top 10 wins, one of which was a road win over then # Michigan, and a total of five wins over top 24 opponents. Cal has three top 10 wins and a total of five top 20 wins.

This week's rankings used each team's five best wins as will the next two rankings after this week.

3/1 Oracle/ITA Men's Rankings Release

The second computer rankings of the year are out and as expected there was a lot of movement throughout the top 75. As I mentioned in the past it usually takes at least 3 weeks of computer rankings before things start to level out some but they really will come into better focus later in March when the number of countable wins climbs past five.

The top two stayed the same with North Carolina at #1 and Virginia at #2 while TCU jumped up to #3 off the strength of its ranked road wins over Illinois and Wisconsin. Oklahoma State came up from #9 to #5 due to its strong win over South Florida and Northwestern enters the top 10 at #9 due to it having five wins over ranked opponents.

The next two rankings will also use each team's five best wins so I expect my predictions to become more accurate with each passing week.

UCLA/USC Preview

It's once again time for the battle for LA as #6 UCLA hosts #12 USC. Both schools are coming off wins at Stanford with UCLA squeezing out a 4-3 win while USC was a little more impressive in its 5-2 win. Both will be heading to La Jolla for the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships later in the week so this will be a chance to get some momentum before the guys play in that individual tournament.

USC swept all three meetings last season with the Trojans winning 4-1 at home, 4-2 in Westwood, and 4-1 at the Pac 12 Tournament in Ojai though Max de Vroome and Nick Crystal are the only 2 returning starters from those USC teams. This will be USC's second dual-match this season at the LA Tennis Center after it defeated #30 Florida 4-3 during the Pac-12/SEC Challenge.

#12 USC (7-2) at #6 UCLA (9-2) - 5:30pm est/2:30pm pst - Live Scoring

3/1 Ranking Projections - New #1

Another week and another set of changes - this week's rankings use each team's 5 best wins after last week's used the best 4.

TCU should rise up to #3 after winning on the road at Wisconsin and Illinois while Oklahoma State should come up to #5 after beating South Florida at the Blue Gray.  Northwestern will move up to #9 thanks to five wins over top 30 opponents while it has just the one loss to Illinois.

Texas and Baylor will both make leaps into the top 15 after Texas won at #5 Wake Forest and Baylor beat #17 Memphis. Michigan will be up to #19 after a weekend sweep over #22 Tulsa and #28 Washington. Arkansas should move into the top 30 after winning at #10 Oklahoma on Sunday while Old Dominion will be just outside the top 30 after winning on the road at #25 NC State. Princeton should make a healthy jump after beating Auburn plus its road win over Penn is worth more points after the Quakers jumped into the top 75 last week.

Sunday Recap: TCU Too Good For Illini, Arkansas Stuns Oklahoma, Wake Topples Texas Tech, ODU Beats NCST

One day you're on the top of the mountain and the next day your toppling down the hill. Illinois took the court today against #8 TCU just 16 hours removed from its big win over #2 Virginia so you had to figure they'd have a tough time replicating the same energy in such a short span.

It was sunny and 65 degrees outside at match time but the 25-30 mile per hour wind gusts kept play indoors. I knew the crowd wouldn't be as big as Saturday night but I was impressed with the Sunday afternoon turnout of just over 400.

Illinois Stuns #2 Virginia, Texas Shocks #5 Wake Forest, UCLA Holds Off Stanford, Okie State Drills USF

Man oh man what a day of tennis it was - we had some blowouts, some upsets, and some really big shockers. College tennis action was played outside in sunny skies, outside in windy conditions, and indoors in calm conditions. I'll start off with the match that I attended in Champaign-Urbana between #11 Illinois and #2 Virginia.

The temperature in C-U was in the mid-40s so there wasn't any doubt about whether the match would be played inside or outside. After having my complementary piece of pizza I walked into the Atkins Tennis Center and within the first 60 seconds I found out that Virginia would be playing without its #1 Ryan Shane. I talked with Ryan for a minute just before doubles and he said he's had a few things bothering him for a while and it was decided that it would be best to rest until he's back to 100%. He obviously wanted to be out there playing but at the same time he knew he needed to take care of his body so he could compete at the highest level in the later stages of the season. So Virginia had to retool two of its three doubles pairings and move everyone up a spot in the singles lineup.

Saturday Preview - Oklahoma St/South Florida, UCLA/Stanford, Virginia/Illinois

#9 Oklahoma State (10-1) vs. #14 South Florida (7-3) (Montgomery, AL) - 1:30pm est/12:30pm cst - Live Scoring - These teams were originally slotted in opposite ends of the draw at the Blue Gray but a last minute change was made and they'll end up facing each other in the semis. Oklahoma State is coming off a 4-0 win over Alabama in a match that could have finished 4-3 because the Tide led on each of the three remaining courts. South Florida was challenged by Boise State on Friday but still won it 4-0 and it probably would have finished 7-0 had it been played out.

South Florida loves playing outdoors while Oklahoma State is probably a little better indoors so I think that may help determine the outcome. Both teams have played great doubles this season so that should be a tightly contested point.

SC Stomps Stanford, Michigan Tops Washington, Texas Tech Beats the Pack, & More

The featured match of the day took place in Palo Alto with Stanford hosting USC in a non conference matchup. Stanford had dropped the doubles point in three consecutive matches and it didn't get off to the best start after USC's Rob Bellamy and Jake DeVine picked up a quick 6-2 win at #3. However a short while later Stanford's Nolan Paige and David Wilczynski would win 6-3 at #2 and then Tom Fawcett and Maciek Romanowicz sealed the doubles point with a 6-4 win at #1.

USC quickly turned things around in singles by taking five opening sets and Nick Crystal needed just over an hour to finish off David Wilczynski 6-3, 6-1 at #2. Stanford would end up being just as dominant in the second set as USC was in the first because the Cardinal took four second sets while USC's Jack Jaede forced a split at #5.

Weekend Preview (2/26-28)

I highlighted some of the top matches of the weekend in a post I did on the ITA's site and below I'll go over all the rest.

The featured match of the day on Friday takes place in Palo Alto between last season's Pac-12 co-champions #29 Stanford and #13 USC. This is a non-conference match, with the official conference match coming on April 2 in LA, though it's a match both teams want and a match that Stanford really needs. Stanford has dropped the doubles point three matches in a row and if they lose it again today I think it's looking at a fourth straight loss. If Stanford takes the doubles point I think it picks up its first win since beating Santa Clara back on February 2nd.

UNCW Clips #25 NC State & Memphis Holds Off SMU

North Carolina State returned to the top 25 this week and had four matches scheduled for the weekend with two of them ranked opponents. However the Pack may have been caught looking ahead to Friday's showdown with #6 Texas Tech because this afternoon it was upset by unranked UNC Wilmington 4-3.

Despite being an upset in terms of ranking, it wasn't a surprise in terms of recent history because this was actually the third time in the last four meetings that the Seahawks have clipped the Wolfpack.

UNCW won a tightly contested doubles point with both #1 and #3 going to tiebreaks. UNCW won 6-2 at #2 and when Xander Veys/Javier Restrepo and pulled it out 7-6(4) at #1 the Seahawks had the crucial doubles point.

Blue Gray NTC, BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge, & National Alumni Championships

I wanted to make a mention of a couple of events that are coming up over the next few months with one of them getting started tomorrow (Friday).

Six men's and six women's teams will converge on Montgomery, Alabama for the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. The Classic stated all the way back in 1949 and has evolved over the years from an individual event to a team event. One of the things that makes this such a unique event are the host families that take in the teams every year. The players and coaches love coming to Montgomery which is why several teams have been participating in this event for years and will likely keep coming back. There are a slew of positives testimonials that you can read over which talk about all the finer points of the weekend experience.

Catherine Isip's Lucky Gamble Pays Off

Catherine Isip graduated from Saint Mary's College in 2013 with a degree in Sports Management

by Joey Dillon

Catherine Isip had a junior tennis career most would dream of. She was named a Top 10-blue chip recruit out of Southern California and was on the radar for a number of top schools. A twist of fate

2/23 Oracle/ITA Women's Rankings Release

Cal stays at #1 in the first computer rankings of the year while Ohio State came up three spots to #2 and Michigan came up five spots to #3.

As a reminder these rankings are based off last week's rankings, which were done by the rankings committee, so I'd expect to see a lot more shifting next week too. This week the computer used each team's 4 best wins but for the next 3 weeks it'll use each team's 5 best wins.

2/23 Oracle/ITA Men's Rankings Release

The first computer rankings of the year are out with the ACC occupying three of the top five spots. North Carolina is sitting pretty comfortably at #1 with a nine point lead over #2 Virginia though Virginia has an almost eleven point lead over Ohio State.

As a reminder these rankings are based off last week's rankings, which were done by the rankings committee, so I'd expect to see a lot more shifting next week too. This week the computer used each team's 4 best wins but for the next 3 weeks it'll use each team's 5 best wins.

2/23 Rankings Projection

When the new ITA rankings come out tomorrow it'll be the first computer poll of the season after the ranking committee voted on all the polls up until this point. Usually there are some pretty big changes after the computers take over because teams are now ranked on what they've actually done as opposed to being ranked on its reputation.

Anyone with enough free time can calculate the rankings using the ITA's formula though I don't recommend it because it is highly timely consuming.  There's always a chance I made a calculation error somewhere but by and large they are usually pretty close. These 2/23 rankings utilize each team's 4 best wins (with best being determined by who gives you the most ranking points).  Road wins are given a 10% bonus so beating the 65th ranked team on the road would get your more points than beating the 64th ranked team at home.

Sunday Recap: Texas A&M Wins At Illinois, Ohio State Outlasts Florida, Memphis Wins in Oxford, & More

Texas A&M had been on the road for the last week and a half, and had lost its last three, but it managed to come from behind today to beat Illinois 4-2 despite playing without one of its top starters. Texas A&M senior Shane Vinsant missed today's match against Illinois due to a blister on his foot but the Aggies managed to stay focused in his absence and the team performed much better in singles than it did in doubles. The weather was right around 50 degrees outside but they played it indoors anyway. I was a little surprised at the lighter turnout of around 175 because I've been to Atkins in the past for some big matches and have seen well over 500 on hand.

Sunday Preview - Texas A&M at Illinois

#7 Texas A&M (10-3) at #12 Illinois (6-3) - 1pm est/12pm cst - Texas A&M comes into this one having dropped three in a row after starting 10-0 while Illinois has split its last four though it dropped two of three during the National Indoors. As has been the case all season, Illinois has been relying on the top of its lineup to get it done with the bottom struggling to come through. The doubles point is going to be essential for the Illini because without it I really don't see them winning.

Doubles record: Illinois 5-4 (4-0 at home), Texas A&M 11-2 (1-1 away)
Indoor record: Illinois 6-3 (4-0 at home), Texas A&M 2-3 (1-1 away)

Saturday Recap: Cal Wins The Big Slam; Penn State Still Unbeaten, Mississippi State Rides the Wave

It was Big Slam Saturday at The Farm and as expected Cal and Stanford gave us another 4-3 classic. Last season each team won at the other's place and this year is starting off the same after Cal gutted out a 4-3 win in a match that took 3 hours and 59 minutes.

The 52-minute doubles point was extremely tight with breaks hard to come by at both #1 and #3. Cal's #2 team of Andre Goransson and Billy Griffith jumped out to a 5-2 lead but Stanford's Nolan Paige and David Wilczynski would come back and take five straight to win it 7-5.

The match at #1 stayed on serve until Stanford's Maciek Romanowicz double faulted on match point at 30-40 to give Cal's Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat the 7-5 win.

Big Slam Preview - Cal at Stanford

The big match of the day on Saturday takes place in Palo Alto as #22 Stanford hosts #18 Cal in the "Big Slam" Part 1. This will be a non-conference matchup with the official conference matchup taking place in Berkeley on April 16. Last season the teams met three times with Stanford taking two of the three by winning at Cal and in Ojai in the Pac-12 semis.

The first meeting in Berkeley was a wild 4-3 win by Stanford that saw Maciek Romanowicz come back from 5-2 down in the third to beat JT Nishimura 7-5 in the deciding match. Cal took the second meeting 4-3 when Billy Griffith held off Nolan Paige 6-4 in the third in the deciding match. Stanford won the rubber match 4-1 at the Pac-12 Tournament in a match that was extremely tight.

Cal is coming off a tremendous pair of wins over #3 TCU and #24 Texas while Stanford is coming off gut wrenching losses to those same two teams.

Friday Recap: Ohio St Hammers A&M, Nwestern Overwhelms NCST, OKST survies GAST

Sometimes rematches result in different outcomes and sometimes they don't - tonight's Ohio State/Texas A&M match in Columbus turned out to be the latter. These teams met just five days ago in the National Indoors consolation rounds with Ohio State pulling out a 4-3 squeaker but this evening it was all Buckeyes.

Last week Texas A&M won the doubles point, though Herkko Pollanen didn't play, but tonight with Pollanen playing at #1 with Mikael Torpegaard they and the team cruised past A&M.

Ohio State swapped Martin Joyce and Ralf Steinbach at #5 and #6 and Hugo Di Feo and Chris Diaz at #2 and #3. Texas A&M swapped Jordi Arconada and Shane Vinsant at #2 and #3 which meant both of those matchups stayed the same from the previous meeting. Harrison Adams also returned to the lineup tonight after sitting out on Sunday. (box score from last week is below tonight's box score)

Weekend Preview (2/19-21)

It's the first weekend after the National Indoors but there is no time for slowing down. Texas A&M is back on the road and is in Columbus tonight for a rematch against Ohio State (Buckeyes won 4-3 last Sunday) and then on Sunday it'll be in Champaign to face Illinois (I might make it to this one).

There are 7 ranked versus ranked matches on Friday highlighted by #7 A&M and #6 Ohio State but that #50 Indiana/#37 Oregon match has a lot of potential too.

#55 South Carolina and #17 San Diego will be in Tampa this weekend to play each other and #14 South Florida. San Diego and South Florida just played last Sunday in a NTI consolation match with USF winning 4-2.

My Top 25 - Week of 2/15 + My NTI Recap

We are three days removed from North Carolina's stunning win over Virginia but I went back and recapped the whole weekend in an article that I did for the Tennis Recruiting Network. If you haven't already seen it give this link a click.

Here are is my top 25 based off what I've seen so far - I have notable wins and all losses listed for reference. The number inside [ ] is where I had them last week.

1. North Carolina (10-0) [5] - won at Virginia, UCLA, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Illinois. Tar Heels won the National Team Indoors in unbelievable fashion beating Virginia in Charlottesville. Next decent sized matchup comes on March 11th when UNC goes to Tallahassee to play Florida State.

2/17 ITA Rankings Release

The post NTI Oracle ITA men's rankings are out and North Carolina is sitting pretty at #1 after winning the title. Since there weren't any published rankings last week we saw a good bit of movement throughout the Top 75 and also a lot of movement within the Top 10.

Both UCLA and Wake Forest came up five spots to #4 and #5 while Texas A&M dropped four spots to #7. Oklahoma and USC each dropped three spots to #8 and #9 while Texas Tech entered the top 10 at #10.

#56 Wisconsin made the biggest jump by coming up 18 spots from #74 after winning at then #23 Minnesota.