Vanderbilt Vanquishes Virginia & Stanford Out Muscles Michigan

One half of the women's semifinals are set after both Vanderbilt and Stanford came through their respective quarterfinal matches against Virginia and Michigan.

While the scores of the two matches look fairly similar in reality they didn't have much in common. Vanderbilt absolutely crushed Virginia in doubles winning at both No. 2 and No. 3 by 6-0 scores. The match at No. 2 finished in 24 minutes while the match at No. 3 took 26 minutes.

Georgia Rallies Past USC, Oklahoma Whips Wake, UCLA Tops Stanford, Florida and North Carolina Roll

After a great first half of the day in Tulsa we were treated to a gem in the evening as Georgia and USC went toe-to-toe for the better part of three hours. USC came into the round of 16 with the worst doubles winning percentage (.409) out of the teams still left in the field but that didn't stop them from getting off to a quick start against Georgia.

USC's No. 1 team of Nick Crystal and Laurens Verboven opened the match by holding on the deciding point to take a 1-0 lead and then they'd break Austin Smith to go up 2-0. Crystal held for 3-0 before Ben Wagland finally put Georgia on the board with a hold for 1-3. Verboven held on the deciding point for 4-1 and then USC broke Austin Smith on the deciding point to go up 5-1. Crystal went up 40-15 on his next service game but had to hit a service winner on the deciding point to win it 6-1.

Ohio State Outlasts Texas & Virginia Holds Off Oklahoma State

I think we now know that nothing is going to be easy for anyone in this year's NCAA Tournament as evidenced by yesterday's women's matches and today's first three men's matches.

Ohio State and Texas were supposed to start at 9 a.m. this morning but due to the wet courts outside they got put on hold and stayed on hold for a while. It seemed like the plan was to have them play indoors after the conclusion of the TCU/Cal match but the decision was made to move them outdoors so at 12:12 p.m. central time doubles finally begin under grey skies.

Cal Wins A 4-3 Thriller To Kick Off Friday's Schedule

Well that didn't take long - we already have our first upset of the day as No. 13 California withstood a late rally by TCU to hold on for a 4-3 win. The match was supposed to be played outdoors but it had to be played indoors since the courts were still wet from yesterday's rain plus there was still a light mist in the air up until about 10:30 a.m.

Cal dropped the doubles point in the regular season meeting but then took over in singles and won 4-2; today Cal got off to the quick start in doubles by going up early breaks on a few courts but closing them out wouldn't be easy.

Women's Round of 16 - Upsets Rule The Day

Projected Lineups

Round of 16 Schedule - Tulsa, OK - Thursday
[3] North Carolina vs. [14] Virginia - 10am ET/9am CT - UVA 4-2
[6] Vanderbilt vs. [11] Auburn  - 10am ET/9am CT - Vanderbilt 4-0
[7] Miami vs. [10] Michigan - 1pm ET/Noon CT - Michigan 4-3
[2] Florida vs. [15] Stanford - 1pm ET/Noon CT - Stanford 4-3
[1] California vs. [16] Texas Tech - 5pm ET/4pm CT - Cal 4-0
[8] Pepperdine vs. [17-32] Texas - 5pm ET/4pm CT - Pepperdine 4-0
[5] Georgia vs. [12] Oklahoma State - 8pm ET/7pm CT - Oklahoma State 4-0
[4] Ohio State vs. [17-32] Georgia Tech - 8pm ET/7pm CT - Live Scoring - Ohio State 4-2

Links to Note:
Host Site
Live Scoring/Video
Live Scoring/Video (Stillwater)

NCAA Round of 16 Previews - UCLA/Stanford, Wake/Oklahoma, Georgia/USC, UNC/Miss St

[3] UCLA Bruins (24-2) vs. [17-32] Stanford Cardinal (15-10)  - Friday 8pm ET - UCLA booked its spot in the Sweet 16 after shutting out both Weber State and San Diego while Stanford knocked off Notre Dame 4-1 and Northwestern 4-3. UCLA is the only team to make the Sweet 16 every year since the tournament was expanded to 64 teams in 1999 while Stanford is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2012. This will be the fourth meeting of the year with UCLA taking the previous three. 

Interesting notes: Stanford won the doubles point in each of those three previous matches yet UCLA came back and won each time. UCLA will have played the exact same singles lineup in all four matches while Tom Fawcett is the only Stanford player to have stayed in the same spot all year. Michael Genender started the year at #6 singles but has worked his way up to #2. 

NCAA Round of 16 Previews - Virginia/Oklahoma State, Florida/SMU, Ohio State/Texas, TCU/Cal

[1] Virginia Cavaliers (26-4) vs. [16] Oklahoma State Cowboys (20-7) - 1pm ET - Virginia advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 4-0 win over Monmouth and a 4-1 win over Penn State while Oklahoma State beat Bryant and Arkansas 4-0. Oklahoma State will only be playing 75 miles from its Stillwater campus so it should have a good amount of fan support but it'll take a Herculean effort to get past Virginia. 

Doubles Records: Virginia 26-4, Oklahoma State 18-8

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Virginia 86, Oklahoma State 82

FloSports and ITA Partnership, Tulsa Weather, Michigan Appeal Denied, Who Plays Good Doubles

This morning it was announced that FloSports and the ITA have entered into a five-year agreement where FloSports will provide live streaming for up to 15 ITA events per year including all ITA National Championships (Men's and Women's All-American, Men's and Women's D1 and D3 National Team Indoors) in a paid subscription model.  This is going to be nice for all the events where streaming wasn't available but it'll be interesting to see what changes on the events where streaming was provided for free. Here is the full release from the ITA that you can read at your convenience.

NCAA Women's Round of 16 - By The Numbers

Yesterday I gave you all the men's numbers now today let's go through the women's numbers.

I have them broken down by team, player, winning percentage, Universal Tennis Rating, ITA Ranking, country, and then broken down by individual position. It'll probably be easier to view them on the google doc at this link.

NCAA Men's Round of 16 - By The Numbers (Whole Lot Of Them)

The regional rounds are over so now we can look forward to Friday's Round of 16. Before I start in on my match previews I wanted to let everyone see the figures on each team's top seven singles players.

I have them broken down by team, player, winning percentage, Universal Tennis Rating, ITA Ranking, ATP ranking, country, and then broken down by individual position. It'll probably be easier to view them on the google doc at this link.

Chaotic Sunday - SMU, Texas, and Stanford Pull Off Upsets

What a crazy day it was on Sunday with not one, not two, but three regional hosts going down. The day started off in College Station with the resumption of Saturday's match between Texas A&M and Texas and it finished in Lubbock with SMU kicking the door down and stunning Texas Tech.

When the season started if you told me that Texas would be in Tulsa for the NCAA Round of 16 I would have told you to go see a doctor. Well Texas made a believer of me and many today after going into enemy territory and knocking off Texas A&M in a 4-3 thriller.

The match originally began on Saturday but after Texas A&M took the doubles point the match was stopped early in singles due to rain. Play resumed Sunday morning at 11am central and within a matter of minutes Texas had five first sets in the bag after Rodrigo Banzer, Adrian Ortiz, and George Goldhoff closed out sets on 4, 2, and 1.

Sunday Score Update

Second Round:
[1] Virginia def. [33-48] Penn State 4-1
[2] North Carolina def. [17-32] Tulane 4-0
[5] Ohio State def. [33-48] Virginia Tech 4-2
[7] Georgia def. [33-48] Baylor 4-1
[17-32] SMU def. [8] Texas Tech 4-2
[9] Florida def. [17-32] South Florida 4-0
[13] Cal def. [17-32] Ole Miss 4-0
[17-32] Stanford def. [14] Northwestern 4-3
[16] Oklahoma State def. [17-32] Arkansas 4-0
[17-32] Texas def. [12] Texas A&M 4-3

Saturday Recap: Mississippi State Routs Illinois, Wake Holds Off Michigan, USC Pulls Away From Ga Tech, & More

It's hard to believe that going into the fall Matt Roberts only had two returning players from his 2014-15 squad yet here we sit today with Mississippi State heading to the Round of 16 after routing Illinois 4-0.

State got off to a quick start in doubles and went up early breaks at No. 2 and No. 3. State's No. 3 team of Rishab Agarwal and Niclas Braun would win four straight games to go up 5-2 and they'd end up winning 6-3. State's Trevor Foshey and Luka Sucevic led 4-2 at No. 2 but Illinois's Alex Jesse and Aiden Jiang would end up breaking back and forcing a tiebreak. Before the tiebreak really got going State's No. 1 team of Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter would break serve to win 7-5 and clinch the doubles point. It was the first time since mid-February that State had won the doubles point in back-to-back matches.

Saturday Score Update

First Round:
[1] Virginia def. Monmouth 4-0
[2] North Carolina def. College of Charleston 4-0
[5] Ohio State def. Tennessee Tech 4-0
[7] Georgia def. South Carolina State 4-0
[8] Texas Tech def. New Mexico State 4-0
[9] Florida def. North Florida 4-0
[13] Cal def. Army 4-0

Friday Men's Recap - LSU and Oregon Pull Off Seeding Upsets

The opening day of the NCAA Tournament is in the books and as you can see from the scores below there were a few surprises. All the top seeds cruised with only Illinois yielding a point while a pair of 33-48 seeds pulled off mild upsets.

Friday Finals:
[3] UCLA def. Weber State 4-0
[4] TCU def. Jackson State 4-0
[6] Wake Forest def. Coastal Carolina 4-0
[10] USC def. UNLV 4-0
[11] Oklahoma def. UT Arlington 4-0
[12] Texas A&M def. George Washington 4-0
[15] Illinois def. Western Michigan 4-1
[17-32] Texas def. Lamar 4-0
[17-32] San Diego def. Vanderbilt 4-0
[17-32] Michigan def. East Tennessee State 4-3
[17-32] Georgia Tech def. UC Santa Barbara 4-1
[17-32] Mississippi State def. Memphis 4-1
[33-48] LSU def. Rice 4-3
[33-48] Oregon def. Tulsa 4-1

Bobby's Bracket

Here were all my picks listed out for what it's worth.

First Round:
[1] Virginia def. Monmouth 4-0
[17-32] Columbia def. Penn State 4-0
[16] Oklahoma State def. Bryant 4-0
[17-32] Arkansas def. Wichita State 4-2

NCAA Men's Tournament Facts & Figures

We are less than 24 hours away from the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. All 16 women's sites will play Friday/Saturday while 7 men's sites will do the same with the other 9 playing Saturday/Sunday.

Here are your live scoring links and daily schedules for all men's and women's matches

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: North Carolina & Illinois Regionals

North Carolina Regional
Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center - Chapel Hill, NC

[2] North Carolina Tar Heels (25-4) vs. [49-64] College of Charleston Cougars (19-6) - Saturday Noon ET - North Carolina got in as an at-large after falling to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament while Charleston punched its ticket by defeating UNC Wilmington in the finals of the Colonial Conference Tournament. Charleston went 1-5 against ranked opponents with the one win coming over UNC Wilmington. Charleston went 0-2 against ACC opponents falling to Virginia Tech and Clemson by a combined score of 13-1. Charleston has two starters that began their collegiate careers elsewhere with Juan Estevarena transferring in from Mississippi State while Garrett Gordon transferred in from Georgia Tech. 

Doubles Records: North Carolina 22-7, College of Charleston 15-9

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: North Carolina 84, College of Charleston 75

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: Georgia & USC Regionals

Georgia Regional
Dan Magill Tennis Complex - Athens, GA

[7] Georgia Bulldogs (20-4) vs. [49-64] South Carolina State Bulldogs (12-8) - Saturday 1pm ET - Georgia was awarded an at-large berth after falling to Florida in the finals of the SEC Tournament while South Carolina State got the MEAC's automatic berth for the eighth year in a row after defeating Florida A&M in the finals. SCSU played five teams that were ranked during the season and went 0-5 while being outscored 32-1. SCSU will be making its 14th all-time appearance at the NCAAs with a record of 0-13. 

Doubles Records: Georgia 16-7, South Carolina State 10-10

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Georgia 84, South Carolina State 74

NCAA D1 Bracket Challenge

Fill out your men's bracket and see how you do against the field - all just for fun so enjoy it!

2016 NCAA D1 Men's Championships
2016 NCAA D1 Women's Championships

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