College on Tour Results

Last week was an extraordinary week for ex-college guys so I knew it'd be unlikely that we'd see similar results this week. Year listed after the college is the last year they were in school.

May 25 through today:

French Open:
#56 Steve Johnson (USC '12) lost in the 3rd round to #9 Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 after defeating #24 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 6-3 in R1 and #54 Sergiy Stakhovsky 2-6, 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 in R2

Top 20 - Who Is Coming Back & Who Is Departing (Part 3)

I looked over 1-10 and 11-15 a few days ago so today I'll look at the teams that finished the year ranked 16-20.

The new recruits section is from tennisrecruiting.net and from school releases so its possible some of those guys may not end up where they are currently showing. Several teams will probably have some guys coming in from outside the U.S. so we probably won't know any names until the schools put out a release or we see the name on the roster in August or January. BC=Blue Chip, 5*=5 star, etc.

Top 20 - Who Is Coming Back & Who Is Departing (Part 2)

I looked over 1-10 a few days ago so today I'll look at the teams that finished the year ranked between 11-15.

The new recruits section is from tennisrecruiting.net and from school releases so its possible some of those guys may not end up where they are currently showing. Several teams will probably have some guys coming in from outside the U.S. so we probably won't know any names until the schools put out a release or we see the name on the roster in August/January. BC=Blue Chip, 5*=5 star, etc.

Year-End Recap & Thoughts on NCAAs in Waco

The books have been closed on the 2014-15 season though technically we still have one more set of singles/doubles rankings to tackle when they come out next Wednesday.

Virginia won its 2nd NCAA Championship in the last 3 years while Oklahoma won its 1st National Team Indoor Championship and finished as NCAA Runner-Up for the 2nd year in a row. 

Each of the 3 "Grand Slams" had a different champion in both singles and doubles so the wealth was spread out evenly this year.

Top 20 - Who Is Coming Back & Who Is Departing (Part 1)

Well its time to put the 2014-15 season in the rear-view mirror and start looking ahead to next year. There are 4 teams (TCU/USC/Texas/Duke) in the final top 10 that will have to replace 4 starters so those teams could face an uphill climb next year to return to the top 10.

The new recruits section is from tennisrecruiting.net so its possible some of those guys may not end up where they are currently showing. Several teams will probably have some guys coming in from outside the U.S. so we probably won't know any names until the schools put out a release or we see the name on the roster in August/January.

I'm sure we'll also see some guys transfer as we do every year. We probably won't know those until they show up on a new roster in the fall or we see a name with a different school beside it on the ITA All American list of participants in late September. I've added a new tab at the top to keep up with transfers throughout the summer.

Final ITA Team Rankings Released

Virginia and Vanderbilt finished atop the men's and women's rankings after each won the NCAA National Championship.  Oklahoma finished #2 after holding down the top spot virtually the entire season.

TCU and Illinois swapped spots at 4 and 6 after the Illini went out in the Round of 16 while TCU made it all the way to the semifinals. 

Columbia and South Florida moved into the top 16 which will give them both a chance to host a regional for next year's National Team Indoors (assuming they put in a bid and it meets the qualifications).  The regionals take place during the ITA Kickoff Weekend on January 22-24 and the participants for each regional will be decided early next week. 

NCAA Singles & Doubles Champions

Congrats to Virginia's Ryan Shane for coming from behind to beat Wake Forest's Noah Rubin to win the 2015 NCAA Singles Championship.  Shane would probably admit that things didn't look particularly good when he trailed 6-3, 5-3 but he stayed the course and pulled away in the 3rd set for the 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 win.

Rubin came out quick and opened up a 5-0 lead in the 1st set but Shane wouldn't give the set away as he held for 5-1, broke for 5-2, and held once more for 5-3. Rubin then served out the set after a multi-deuce game to take the opening set 6-3.

Side Note:  After Shane broke Rubin's 5-1 service game the rain and lighting came so play outside was halted and moved indoors for the remainder of the match.

Great Week for Past College Guys

Throughout the slower summer months I'm going to try and do a weekly post on Sundays highlighting the performance of current college guys as well as recent grads out on the ATP Pro Tour.  I'm sure I'll miss some because there are a ton of guys out there playing but I should be able to hit on the guys that do well (quarters-finals)

May 18-24:
#242 Daniel Nguyen (USC '12) won a $15K Future in Daegu, Korea - it was Nguyen's 7th career pro title.
#789 Sadio Doumbia (UGA '12) won a $10K Future in Annaba, Algeria - it was Doumbia's 1st career pro title.

2015 NCAA Tournament - All Team Results

NCAA Interactive Bracket & Printable Bracket
Master Lineups 

Facts & Figures

Doubles Records

National Title Contenders - positives/negatives/comments

Past NCAA Tournament History

Bobby's bracket

NCAA Singles & Doubles Results

I added the results to the tab at the top plus the singles result are on the right side of the page too - doubles results are down near the bottom.

SINGLES

Championship - May 25th - 12pm central
#8 [8] Ryan Shane (VIrginia) def. #6 [7] Noah Rubin (Wake Forest) 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1

National Championship Recap; Virginia def. Oklahoma 4-1 & Vanderbilt def. UCLA 4-2

For the 2nd time in the last 3 years the Virginia Cavaliers are the National Champions after Brian Boland's team knocked off #1 Oklahoma 4-1 on a pleasant sunny afternoon in Waco.

Men's National Championship Preview

It's all come down to this ladies and gentlemen - #1 Oklahoma takes on #3 Virginia for the 2015 Men's NCAA National Championship.

Oklahoma is making its 2nd ever appearance in the finals after falling to USC 4-2 last year. Virginia is back in the finals for the 4th time in 5 years with the Cavaliers winning in its last appearance in 2013 over UCLA in a memorable 4-3 match.

[1] Oklahoma (30-2) vs. [3] Virginia (28-3) - Tuesday 1pm - Oklahoma is coming off a 4-3 win over #6 TCU Virginia beat #2 Baylor 4-2. Oklahoma won the regular season meeting in Norman 4-3 but it was close, close match that had several 3rd sets - for a refresher on how that match went you can read my recap.

NCAA Semifinals - Oklahoma and Virginia Win Marathon Thrillers to Advance to the Finals

After days of rain it was hot and very humid for the semifinals and all four teams had to fight the elements just as much as their opponents.  By the time the dust cleared after just over 4 hours we had #1 Oklahoma and #3 Virginia sitting atop the podium after Oklahoma held off #6 TCU 4-3 and Virginia outlasted #2 Baylor 4-2

I can attest the weather was very hot and I was standing in the shade so I can only imagine what it felt like for the players to stand out there and slug it out for hours on end.

I thought the crowd today was great for the 2 matches that were played simultaneously.  Early on there more people watching TCU/OU on the Riverside Courts but the stands gradually filled up on the Grandstand Courts and as both matches really picked up so did the crowds energy.

Semifinal Previews - Oklahoma/TCU & Baylor/Virginia

[1] Oklahoma (29-2) vs. [5] TCU (25-7) - Monday 1pm - Oklahoma is coming off a 4-2 win over #7 Georgia while TCU beat #13 North Carolina 4-1. Oklahoma won the regular season meeting in Norman 4-1 but all the singles match-ups will be different this time around except for the Alvarez/Chappell pairing. 

Regular Season Meeting:

#1 Oklahoma 4, #10 TCU 1

March 27, 2015 at Norman, OK

Singles competition

1. #19 Andrew Harris (OU 14.74) def. #37 Cameron Norrie (TCU 14.30) 7-6(5), 6-4

2. #7 Axel Alvarez (OU 14.59) vs. #36 Nick Chappell (TCU 13.82)  5-7, 6-4, 2-3 DNF

3. #76 Guillermo Nunez (TCU 13.72) def. #26 Dane Webb (OU 14.32) 6-3, 6-2

4. #65 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.15) def. Arnau Dachs (TCU 13.91) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

5. Spencer Papa (OU 13.81) def. Will Stein (TCU 13.30)  6-4, 6-3

6. Florin Bragusi (OU 13.51) vs. Facundo Lugones (TCU 13.64) 6-3, 6-7(5), 3-2 DNF

Doubles competition

1. #6 Webb/Alvarez (OU) def. #19 Chappell/Stein (TCU)  6-1

2. Harris/Ghilea (OU) def. Norrie/Johnson (TCU)  6-3

3. Papa/Bragusi (OU) vs. Blake/Lugones (TCU) 3-4 DNF

Match Notes:

Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2), Singles (3,5,1,4)

NCAA Quarterfinals: Big 12 Flexes Its Muscle & Virginia Hammers A&M

I was expecting 4 knock down drag em out fights but in the end there were 2 good matches and 2 that weren't as close as I anticipated.

It was expected to be another wet day with the chance of rain around 50% but the showers stayed away and for the most part is was a very pleasant day (for the spectators). It was overcast, humid, and windy for the first 2 matches and then the sun came out for the last 2 but the wind and humidity stayed around all day.

In the opening match of the day on the main Grandstand Courts it was #1 Oklahoma pushing past #7 Georgia 4-2.  This will be Oklahoma's second ever NCAA semifinal appearance with the first time coming last year.

Quarterfinal Previews - OU/UGA, TCU/UNC, UVA/aTm, BU/USC

The stage is set for Quarterfinal Saturday and it should be a good one with 7 of the top 8 seeds still alive. It wouldn't surprise me to see all 4 matches finish with a 4-3 score and I'd actually be pretty surprised if at least 1 higher seed didn't go down.

For those that didn't see the notice tomorrow's matches have been moved up 2 hours to try and stay ahead of the rain so tune in at 11am eastern for 1st serve.

Let's dive in and get started:

[1] Oklahoma (27-2) vs. [8] Georgia (24-4) - Saturday 11am est.- Oklahoma is coming off a 4-3 win over #16 UCLA in a match that saw the Sooners win the doubles point and sweep the bottom 3 while Georgia beat #9 Texas 4-1 in a match where the Bulldogs took the doubles point and won at 2, 3, and 5. These teams are very familiar with each other because Oklahoma came to Georgia 3 times in a 4 month period to play in the Southern Intercollegiates, the Bulldog Scramble, and the MLK Invitational in Atlanta. In case you didn't know, OU Head Coach John Roddick is a Georgia graduate (98) and was also an assistant there from 2000 to 2002. OU's Assistant Coach Bo Hodge is also a Georgia graduate (04) and was part of the 2001 National Championship Team. This will be the 3rd time in 6 years that these two have met in the NCAA Tournament with Georgia beating OU in the 2010 Quarterfinals and the 2013 Round of 16.  

Schedule Update for Saturday

Times have been adjusted for Saturday’s NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships Quarterfinal matches at Baylor’s Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas.

The matches between Oklahoma-Georgia and TCU-North Carolina will begin at 10 a.m. central while the other quarterfinal matches between Virginia-Texas A&M and Baylor-USC will begin at 2 p.m. central - original match times were noon central and 4 p.m central 

In addition, due to expected congestion around the Ferrell Center/Turner Riverfront Complex on Saturday due to the NCAA Tennis Championships (10 am and 2 pm), Baylor commencement (2:30 pm) and Baylor baseball vs. Texas (3 pm) a shuttle system has been initiated. Shuttles will run from 8:30 am – 7 pm from the East Campus garage to Ferrell Center/Turner Riverfront Complex.

NCAA Round of 16: High Drama Early and Calm Waters Later

It was a wild and crazy Thursday with it taking 6+ hours to complete the opening matches due to a series of rain/lightning delays. Both the Oklahoma/UCLA and Georgia/Texas matches started outdoors and were finished indoors due to 3 rain delays and lastly a lightning delay.

Before I go through the matches I wanted to thank you guys on twitter for Periscoping some of the key points in the indoor matches where there wasn't streaming video available.  Big shout out to Jeff McMillan and Drew Mastin who both did a great job letting me and many others follow the end of the Oklahoma/UCLA and Georgia/Texas matches. Jeff also had footage of many of the key moments in the Virginia/Columbia match as well. They say a picture is worth a thousand words - well if that's the case then a video is worth a million words. It's so much better to be able to watch and experience these matches on some kind of video because words can only tell you so much.  Thanks again guys!!

The unpredictable Oklahoma doubles pairings surprised many of us by taking the doubles point with ease over UCLA.  Both Harris/Ghilea and Webb/Papa won 8-4 at #1 and #2 doubles.

Round of 16 Preview - Baylor/South Florida & USC/Duke

[2] Baylor (23-5) vs. [17-32] #18 South Florida (21-6) - Thursday 8pm - Baylor is coming off shutout wins over Bryant and #29 LSU while South Florida blanked #63 Boise State and #15 Virginia Tech. This is South Florida's first ever trip to the Round of 16 while Baylor is back for the 14th consecutive year. 

Doubles Records: Baylor 25-2, South Florida 22-5

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Baylor 86, South Florida 82

Round of 16 Preview - Virginia/Columbia & Texas A&M/Ohio State

[3] Virginia (25-3) vs. [17-32] Columbia (16-5) - Thursday 5pm - Virginia is coming off shutouts over St. John's and Minnesota while Columbia beat both Georgia Tech and Ole Miss by the same 4-1 score. Columbia went 0-4 this year against top 10 opponents though they were respectable in each loss (UGA 3-4, Texas 1-4, Oklahoma 2-4, USC 0-4). 

Doubles Records: Virginia 25-3, Columbia 15-6

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Virginia 87, Columbia 82

Round of 16 Preview: Illinois/North Carolina & TCU/Wake Forest

[4] Illinois (27-4) vs. [13] North Carolina (23-10) - Thursday 1pm - Illinois is coming off a 4-0 win over Green Bay and a 4-2 squeaker over #33 Drake while North Carolina blanked William & Mary and then won fairly comfortably over #20 Mississippi State 4-1. North Carolina welcomed Esben Hess-Olesen back to the singles lineup at #6 after he missed all but a handful of matches with injury troubles. Illinois won the regular season meeting 4-3 in a match that North Carolina played without its #2 Ronnie Schneider though Hess-Olesen was in at #3 so the bottom half of the lineup stayed the same.  The only singles rematches will come at #1 and #5. Below is the box score from that first meeting and here are a few video highlights that I shot when I was in attendance.  

Round of 16 Preview - Oklahoma/UCLA, Georgia/Texas

We are just a few days away from the start of the Round of 16 in hopefully sunny Waco so let's start peeling the layers away and breaking down each match.

[1] Oklahoma (26-2) vs. [16] UCLA (17-9) - 10am est - Oklahoma is coming off a 4-0 win over New Mexico State and a 4-1 win over Northwestern while UCLA steamrolled both Florida Gulf Coast and Texas Tech 4-0. Even though Oklahoma won both matches comfortably the one area they didn't look as good in was doubles. OU dropped the point to Northwestern for the 2nd time this year and even New Mexico State challenged OU by winning at #2 doubles before OU clinched at #3 by a tight 8-6 score.  UCLA's strength all year has been its top 3 but against Texas Tech on Saturday the Bruins swept the bottom 3 and that was with Gage Brymer still on the sidelines. 

National Title Contenders

I've previewed all the 1st and 2nd round matches for this coming weekend; now I'll take a more in-depth look at the top 8 seeds in the men's field.  I'll list what I think are each team's positives, negatives/concerns, and reasonable expectations along with potential roadblocks.

I put this out last Thursday but have updated the records and #s - everything else is still the same.

#1 Oklahoma (26-2)

Likely Road To National Championship - #16 UCLA, Georgia/Texas, Illinois/TCU/Wake Forest, Baylor/Virginia/USC.

Positives:

• Axel Alvarez & Andrew Harris - best 1-2 punch in the game with #1 Axel Alvarez and #7 Andrew Harris a combined 42-4 in dual match play.  Alvarez is undefeated and Harris's 4 losses came at #1. Knowing you have an almost guaranteed 2 points at 1 and 2 is huge.
• Florin Bragusi - been Mr. Clutch this season winning the deciding match against the former Mr. Clutch Ohio State's Kevin Metka, Virginia's J.C. Aragone, and Baylor's Felipe Rios. He also clinched against Rios in another match that was still tight and did the same against North Carolina's Oystein Steiro. 
• Alex Ghilea - has been Mr. Clutch #2 winning the deciding match against Texas's George Goldhoff and Baylor's Mate Zsiga. Ghilea also clinched against TCU's Arnau Dachs and USC's Max De Vroome in matches that were coming down the wire.
• Confidence - this team knows how to win when it counts. 

NCAA 2nd Round - South Florida & Columbia Pull Off Upsets - Other Seeds Advance

After a wild and crazy first round of the NCAA Tournament, we had a more tame second round with 9 of the 16 matches being shutouts. 14 of the top 16 seeds advanced with Columbia and South Florida pulling off the mild upsets.

#17 Columbia punched its second ever ticket to the Round of 16 with a 4-1 win over #14 Ole Miss. Columbia took the doubles point with wins at 2 and 3 but Ole Miss would take four opening sets in singles. Ole Miss's Nik Scholtz would even the match at 1-1 with a straight set win over Winston Lin at #1 but Columbia's Ashok Narayana and Shawn Hadavi would close out their respective matches in straight sets at 3 and 5 to put Columbia up 3-1. Columbia's Dragos Ignat, Mike Vermeer, and Bert Vancura would each take the 2nd sets after dropping the first and in a race to the finish line it'd be Vancura that would provide the clincher with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win at #6.

The Madness Has BEGUN!!

The 1st round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament is in the books and while there were plenty of 4-0 blowouts (20) there were several nail-biters with 5 matches finishing with a 4-3 score and 2 of those 5 finishing in a 3rd set tiebreak.  The weather played a big role on Day 1 with several regionals experiencing delays and some having to move indoors.

Quick Summary:

• #1 seeds went 16-0 versus #4 seeds with 15 of 16 being a 4-0 final.  Va Tech/ETSU 4-1 was the exception.
• #2 seeds were 13-3 versus #3 seeds 
• Drake, Pepperdine, and San Diego State were the #3 seeds to crash the party. 
• 20 matches finished with a 4-0 final
• 4 matches finished with a 4-1 final
• 3 matches finished with a 4-2 final
• 5 matches finished with a 4-3 finals (2 were 7-6 in 3rd)  
• Teams winning the doubles point went 24-7
• San Diego State, Pepperdine, Stanford, Minnesota, Columbia, Northwestern, and Drake were the 7 teams to lose the doubles point but yet win the match.  
• Regionals delayed by weather: USC, UCLA, Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, Illinois, Oklahoma