NCAA First/Second Round Previews: Wake Forest & Oklahoma Regionals

Wake Forest Regional
Wake Forest Tennis Complex - Winston-Salem, NC

[6] Wake Forest Demon Deacons (29-5) vs. [49-64] Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (21-3) - Friday 3pm ET - Wake Forest earned the ACC's automatic berth after defeating No. 1 Virginia in the finals of the conference tournament while Coastal Carolina won the Big South's automatic berth after defeating Presbyterian 4-3. CCU only faced one ranked team this season with Duke shutting them out 4-0. 

Doubles Records: Wake Forest 27-6, Coastal Carolina 15-9

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Wake Forest 84, Coastal Carolina 75

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: UCLA & Northwestern Regionals

UCLA Regional
Sunset Canyon Recreation Center - Los Angeles, CA

[3] UCLA Bruins (22-2) vs. [49-64] Weber State Wildcats (14-7) - Friday 1pm PT - Both schools earned their conference's automatic berth after UCLA defeated Cal in the finals of the Pac-12 Tournament while Weber State punched its first ticket since 1992 with a win over Idaho in the finals of the Big Sky Tournament. Weber State went 0-3 against teams that were ranked at some point during the season the Wildcats losing to BYU, Utah, and UC Irvine by a combined score of 18-2. 

Note: These matches will be played at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, which is on the campus of UCLA, instead of the Los Angeles Tennis Center due to construction of the new football and basketball training facilities.

Doubles Records: UCLA 18-6, Weber State 13-8

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: UCLA 85, Weber State 72

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: TCU & Cal Regionals

TCU Regional
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center - Fort Worth, TX

[4] TCU Horned Frogs (24-3) vs. [49-64] Jackson State Tigers (6-18) - Friday 1pm CT - The only similarity between these two is that they both earned their leagues automatic berth with TCU defeating Texas Tech to win the Big 12 while Jackson State beat Alabama State to win the SWAC. TCU was one of the best teams in the country this year while Jackson State lost three times as many matches as they won. Jackson State won three matches in the SWAC, beat a D2 school, and beat a NAIA school twice while going 0-7 against ranked opponents. To make matters even worse Jackson State's post season roster does not include their usual No. 3 and No. 4 singles players, Miguel Martin Gomez and Stylianos Gkontsaris.  

Doubles Records: TCU 19-8, Jackson State 5-16

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: TCU 85, Jackson State 65

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: Ohio State & Texas A&M Regionals

Ohio State Regional
Stickney Tennis Center (Varsity Courts) - Columbus, OH

[5] Ohio State Buckeyes (30-2) vs. [49-64] Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (15-6) - Saturday 1pm ET - Ohio State earned the Big Ten's automatic berth after defeating Illinois in the finals of the conference tournament while Tennessee Tech earned the Ohio Valley's automatic berth after knocking off Eastern Kentucky in the finals. TTU will be playing without its No. 2 singles player, Alex Arovin, who was defaulted in the finals of the conference tournament so I'm guessing whatever he did must have carried at least a two-match suspension - rough way to end your collegiate career. 

Doubles Records: Ohio State 28-4, Tennessee Tech 11-10

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Ohio State 85, Tennessee Tech 74

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: Florida & Texas Tech Regionals

Florida Regional
Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex (Linder Stadium) - Gainesville, FL

[9] Florida Gators (18-6) vs. [49-64] North Florida Ospreys (11-11) - Saturday Noon ET - The Florida regional is the only regional that had all four teams get in after winning their conference tournament. Florida got the SEC's automatic bid after beating Georgia in the finals of the SEC Tournament while North Florida earned its first-ever NCAA berth after defeating USC-Upstate in the finals of the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Florida has won the doubles point nine straight times (7 of 9 opponents ranked inside top 50) and in fact they've only dropped three individual doubles matches in that nine-match span. UNF has won the doubles point in 12 of its last 13 matches though none of those opponents were ranked inside the top 50. 

Doubles Records: Florida 19-5, North Florida 14-6

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Florida 84, North Florida 78

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: Virginia & Oklahoma State Regionals

Virginia Regional
Snyder Tennis Center - Charlottesville, VA

[1] Virginia (24-4) vs. [49-64] Monmouth (11-9) - Saturday Noon ET - Virginia is the No. 1 overall seed though it got in as an at-large after losing to Wake Forest in the finals of the ACC Championship. Monmouth earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth after coming back from 3-0 down to beat Quinnipiac in the finals of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). 

Doubles Records: Virginia 24-4, Monmouth 11-8

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Virginia 86, Monmouth 72

Pre-NCAA Tournament Rankings Released

The final set of rankings that was used to determine the NCAA field for both teams and individuals was released on Thursday. There weren't many differences from what I projected on Monday with the men's at-large cut-off falling at No. 42 while the women's at-large cut-off was No. 43. The Alabama men missed the field by .08 while the Fresno State women missed the field .23.

The men's singles at-large cut-off was No. 56 since there were eight automatic qualifiers that were ranked below that number.  No. 57 Strong Kirchheimer is listed as the first alternate though past experience tells us that at least three or four alternates (if not more) will make it in due to people dropping out due to injury or fatigue.

Welcome Back Arizona State's Men's Tennis

Finally some good news on the men's tennis front - Arizona State is bringing back its men's tennis program .

Here is the full release from ASU which you can also read below and here was the video of the press conference.

2016 NCAA Men's Team Selections

NCAA Men's Field

Interactive Bracket
Printable Bracket
Master Lineups - seems to cut-off after Tulsa - others listed below

Click below for more info

2016 NCAA Women's Team Selections

NCAA Women's Field

Interactive Bracket
Printable Bracket
Master Lineups

Final Women's Ranking Projections & Potential NCAA Selections & Seeds

64 teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament with that number comprised of 32 automatic qualifiers and 32 at-large bids (the AQs are at the bottom of the link). The at-large cut-off for the women's field ended up at 43 since there were 11 conference champions that were ranked in the top 43.

Final Men's Ranking Projections & Potential NCAA Selections

Well it has been one heck of a regular season but we are now officially headed to the postseason. The final regular season rankings were run twice to account for all the weekend's results and this set of rankings will be used to determine the NCAA Tournament field.

64 teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament with that number comprised of 31 automatic qualifiers and 33 at-large bids (the AQs are at the bottom of the link). The at-large cut-off for the men's field ended up at 42 since there were 9 conference champions that were ranked in the top 42. 

TCU Tops Texas Tech To Win the Big 12, Ohio State Is The King of the B1G, & More Conference Tournament Winners

Championship Sunday delivered some great matches throughout the country but the highest profile match took place in Stillwater as Texas Tech met TCU in the finals of the Big 12 Championships. The teams were regular season co-champs but Texas Tech got the No. 1 seed due to its win over TCU in the regular season.

Texas Tech won the doubles point in the regular season meeting and they'd do it again today after picking up a 7-5 win at No. 1 and a 6-4 win at No. 2.

MVC Finals: Wichita State Wins An Epic 4-3 Thriller

I thought I had seen it all after witnessing last year's 4-3 thriller but I think today's finish may have taken the cake. This was the sixth year in a row that Wichita State and Drake had met in the finals of the Missouri Valley Championships with Drake having won four of the last five. The weather in Wichita was definitely not ideal with match time temperatures right at 50 degrees, gray skies, and a stiff wind that was just under 20 miles per hour.

Wichita State came out fired up in doubles and would grab its first lead when Sergio de Vilchez and Eddie Stoica broke Calum MacGeoch to go up 3-1 at No. 3. Wichita State's No. 2 team of Miroslav Herzan and Haru Inoue would take their first lead when they broke Ben Lott to go up 4-2. Then seconds later Wichita State would go up a break at No. 1 when Jocelyn Devilliers and Tin Ostojic broke Bayo Philips to go up 3-2.

Saturday Recap: TCU/Texas Tech Win in the Big 12, Ohio State/Illinois Come Through in the Big Ten, Tickets Punched in the WCC, MAC, Summit, & Big West

Semifinal Saturday was a busy one with two of the closest matches taking place at the same time in Stillwater at the Big 12 Championships.

TCU edged Oklahoma in the regular season 4-3 and even though Andrew Harris wasn't playing today you figured it would be still be a close one. TCU's usual No. 4 Eduardo Nava was out as well so each team had to shuffle its lineup a bit.

TCU took the doubles point but it was anything but easy - well it was easy at No. 3 but not on the other two courts. Cameron Norrie and Alex Rybakov won 6-1 at No. 3 but OU's Spencer Papa and Alex Ghilea picked up a 7-5 win at No. 1. OU's Axel Alvarez and Austin Siegel broke to go up 6-5 but TCU's Guillermo Nunez and Trevor Johnson would break Siegel to send it to a tiebreak. OU was serving up 5-4 in the tiebreak but TCU would win three of the next four points to close it out 7-5.

MVC Saturday Recap: Wichita State & Drake Will Meet In The Finals

The finals are set at the 2016 Missouri Valley Championships after both Wichita State and Drake ran through their competition from Illinois. In the opening match of the day the No. 1 seed Wichita State met the No. 3 seed Illinois State. The weather wasn't exactly ideal at match time (53 degrees/15 mph winds/overcast) but it improved as the day went on.

Wichita State's No. 2 team of Miroslav Herzan and Haru Inoue didn't have any issues with the conditions as they rolled, and I mean rolled, to a 6-0 win over Illinois State's Christoffer Greve and Dylan Steffens in a match that took all of 11 minutes.

Friday Recap: Baylor Stuns Okie State, Oklahoma Hold Off Texas, Chalk at the B1G, San Diego/Pepperdine To Meet in WCC Finals, Farewell to UMBC & Hartford

Every year there are a handful of teams that play their way into the NCAA Tournament and after Baylor's performance today we can add another team to that list. Baylor came in to today's match against Oklahoma State firmly on the bubble and most likely needed a win to earn its spot in the NCAAs.

Due to the inclement weather the match was moved indoors and since there was a log-jam of matches to be played they played singles first. Oklahoma State won the regular season meeting less than two weeks ago in a match that was played indoors in Stillwater so you figured they had to feel pretty confident about their chances.

Thursday Recap: UCSB and Cal Poly to Meet in Big West Finals, Big Ten & WCC Undereway

The top two seeds at the Big West Tournament advanced to the championship match with No. 1 UC Santa Barbara shutting out No. 4 UC Irvine while No. 2 Cal Poly gutted out a 4-2 win over No. 3 UC Davis. UCSB and Cal Poly met in the regular season finale last Saturday with UCSB coming out on top by a 5-2 score in a match that was played at Cal Poly.

UCSB took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 then the Gauchos picked up straight set wins from Morgan Mays, Cody Rakela, and Teague Hamilton at 3, 5, and 6. UCSB was in control at No. 2 when it was abandoned due to the clinch while Irvine was up at No. 1 and No. 4 had just split sets.

4/26 Oracle/ITA Women's Rankings with Top 10 Profiles & Bubble Watch

Florida moved at No. 1 after winning the SEC Tournament while Cal fell to No. 2. North Carolina dropped one spot to No. 3, Georgia stayed at No. 4, and Ohio State and Vanderbilt swapped spots at No. 5 and No. 6. Miami stays at No. 7, Pepperdine moved up one spot to No. 8, Duke dropped one spot to No. 9, and Auburn moved into the top 10 for the first time in school history.

This set of rankings used each team's nine best wins as will next week's unpublished rankings which will be used to make the at-large selections for the NCAA Tournament.

4/26 Oracle/ITA Men's Rankings with Top 10 Profiles & Bubble Watch

Virginia stays at the top spot for the third week in a row despite the loss to Wake Forest in the finals of the ACC Championship. UCLA and North Carolina stay at No. 2 and No. 3 while Ohio State and TCU swap spots at No. 4 and No. 5.  Wake Forest and Georgia swap spots at No. 6 and No. 7 while Texas Tech moves up to No. 8. Florida moves up two spots to No. 9 and Oklahoma remains at No. 10. For further details on why the teams moved check out my profiles on each team further down below.

This set of rankings used each team's nine best wins as will next week's unpublished rankings which will be used to make the at-large selections for the NCAA Tournament.

4/26 Oracle/ITA Ranking Projections - NEW Women's #1

Virginia stays at No. 1 despite falling in the finals of the ACC Championship to Wake Forest. UVA's big win over North Carolina is what solidified their spot at the top though if UNC would have won that much they would have jumped up to No. 1. UCLA stays at No. 2 after winning the Pac-12 Championship with North Carolina staying at #3 after a semifinal showing at the ACC Championships. Ohio State rises one spot to No. 4 after beating both Northwestern and Illinois while TCU drops one spot to No. 5 after losing at Texas Tech.

There were some teams that improved their chances of qualifying for the NCAAs while there were others that really hurt themselves with some untimely losses. It's also going to be a battle to see who finishes in the top 16 and thus gets to host a NCAA regional.

More Conference Tournaments: South Florida Too Good For Tulsa, Charleston Beats UNCW, UT Arlington Rules The Sunbelt, & More

A good crowd of around 100 gathered in Memphis for the finals of the American Conference Championship where South Florida was looking to win the title for the third consecutive year. South Florida and Tulsa met just nine days prior with USF winning 7-0 though Tulsa sat its top singles player Or Ram-Harel so this one figured to be much closer.

The top seeded Bulls got off to a good start at No. 1 doubles while Tulsa went up an early break at No. 2.  USF's Vadym Kalyuzhnyy and Sasha Gozun broke on the no-ad point when Gozun cleaned it up the net to make it 4-2

Sensational Sunday Recap: Wake Stops UVA, Gators Walk the Dawg, Texas Tech Soares Over TCU, Buckeyes Wins Another B1G Crown

Sunday was a tremendous day for college tennis fans all across the country. There were over 1700 fans jammed into the Cary Tennis Park for the finals of the ACC Championship and probably at least five times that many watching throughout the country on ESPN3's national telecast. The final of the SEC Championships was also broadcast on ESPN3 while the final of the AAC Championships was broadcast on the American Network.

Wake Forest, Florida, Texas Tech, and South Florida may have been the winners of the day but the biggest winners were the supporters of college tennis. They were treated to a high-quality product that kept them on the edge of their seats and hopefully they'll continue coming back for seasons to come.

Bruins Poke The Bears to Win the Pac-12 Tournament

In the late match on Saturday night it was No. 2 UCLA gutting out a 4-1 win over No. 16 Cal to win the Pac-12 Championship. The Bruins played a sharp doubles point and picked up a 6-1 win from Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki at No. 1 and a 6-3 win from Austin Rapp and Max Cressy at No. 3.

Cressy/Rapp defeat Engsted/Nishimura 6-3 and Bruins take the doubles point over Cal pic.twitter.com/rEwqQBXZzL

— UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) April 24, 2016

Virginia Wins Thriller Over UNC, Wake Holds Off VT, Georgia & Florida Advance at SEC, OU Wins Bedlam, Bruins Win Pac-12

Semifinal Saturday was good as expected in the ACC with an almost three rain delay adding to the suspense.  North Carolina was looking for its third of the season over No. 1 Virginia and for the better part of four plus hours it looked like they'd get it.

In the high-profile doubles matchup at No. 1 it was the ITA No. 3 team of Brett Clark and Robert Kelly rolling over the ITA No. 2 team of Ryan Shane and Luca Corinteli. Clark and Kelly broke UVA to start the match and then broke again to go up 5-2. Robert Kelly would serve it out to give UNC the 6-2.