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.
Friday, October 30, 2015
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)
Friday, October 23, 2015
Regional & SEC Fall Classic Updates
In Albuquerque at the Mountain Regional, 4 of the top 10 seeds were knocked out in the first 2 days and then today 4 of the top 6 went down in the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals. Utah and Denver each have 2 guys in the semifinals with Dan Little sets to face Yannik James and Matt Cowley to meet Diogo Rocha.
Seeded Upsets (w UTRs listed after school name - *means reliability <100%)
Daniel Echeverry (Utah St/11.24*) def. [15] Freddie McGeehan (Utah/12.45) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
Mark Kovacs (Idaho/12.11) def. [5] Thomas Tenrerio (Boise St/12.94) 2-6, 6-0, 6-1
[31] Keaton Cullimore (BYU/13.75*) def. [10] Toby Mitchell (Boise St/12.98) 6-3, 6-2
[26] Matt Cowley (Utah/12.19) def. [16] Cristofer Goncalves (NMSU/12.39) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
Romai Ugarte (Utah St/12.69*) def. [7] Alex Gasson (Denver/12.84) 6-4, 4-3 ret.
Tim Handel (N Arizona/11.97) def. [9] Bart Van Leijsen (New Mexico/12.73) 7-6, 6-1
Seeded Upsets (w UTRs listed after school name - *means reliability <100%)
Daniel Echeverry (Utah St/11.24*) def. [15] Freddie McGeehan (Utah/12.45) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
Mark Kovacs (Idaho/12.11) def. [5] Thomas Tenrerio (Boise St/12.94) 2-6, 6-0, 6-1
[31] Keaton Cullimore (BYU/13.75*) def. [10] Toby Mitchell (Boise St/12.98) 6-3, 6-2
[26] Matt Cowley (Utah/12.19) def. [16] Cristofer Goncalves (NMSU/12.39) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
Romai Ugarte (Utah St/12.69*) def. [7] Alex Gasson (Denver/12.84) 6-4, 4-3 ret.
Tim Handel (N Arizona/11.97) def. [9] Bart Van Leijsen (New Mexico/12.73) 7-6, 6-1
Thursday, October 22, 2015
SEC Fall Classic
In addition to the 5 USTA/ITA Regionals taking place this weekend there will also be 9 SEC teams sending guys to Auburn, Alabama for the 2015 SEC Fall Classic.
Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt are the 9 teams participating with Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, and Texas A&M not attending. Texas A&M has a good excuse though - they participating in the USTA/ITA Texas Regional.
Singles Seeds:
1. Danny Valent (Vanderbilt)
2. Giammarco Micolani (Arkansas)
3. Maxx Lipman (Florida)
4. Marko Krickovic (Auburn)
5. Elliott Orkin (Florida)
6. Rhys Johnson (Vanderbilt)
7. Filip Kraljevic (Ole Miss)
8. Thomas Mayronne (South Carolina)
Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt are the 9 teams participating with Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, and Texas A&M not attending. Texas A&M has a good excuse though - they participating in the USTA/ITA Texas Regional.
Singles Seeds:
1. Danny Valent (Vanderbilt)
2. Giammarco Micolani (Arkansas)
3. Maxx Lipman (Florida)
4. Marko Krickovic (Auburn)
5. Elliott Orkin (Florida)
6. Rhys Johnson (Vanderbilt)
7. Filip Kraljevic (Ole Miss)
8. Thomas Mayronne (South Carolina)
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
USTA/ITA Regional Championships (2nd Week)
7 of the 12 Men's Regionals were completed last weekend with the other 5 taking place this coming weekend. Below are the 5 taking place this week with information that's available as of this moment.
Mountain (Albuquerque, NM) - Oct 21-25 - Draws
Top 16 Singles Seeds:
1. Henry Craig (Denver)
2. Diogo Rocha (Denver)
3. Hayden Sabatka (New Mexico)
4. Parker McGuiness (Utah)
5. Thomas Tenrerio (Boise State)
6. Shane Monroe (BYU)
7. Alex Gasson (Denver)
8. Dan Little (Utah)
9. Bart Van Leijsen (New Mexico)
10. Toby Mitchell (Boise State)
11. David Fox (Denver)
12. Yannick James (Denver)
13. Andrey Goyachkov (BYU)
14. Jamie Barajas (Utah State)
15. Freddie McGeehan (Utah)
16. Cristofer Goncalves (New Mexico State)
Mountain (Albuquerque, NM) - Oct 21-25 - Draws
Top 16 Singles Seeds:
1. Henry Craig (Denver)
2. Diogo Rocha (Denver)
3. Hayden Sabatka (New Mexico)
4. Parker McGuiness (Utah)
5. Thomas Tenrerio (Boise State)
6. Shane Monroe (BYU)
7. Alex Gasson (Denver)
8. Dan Little (Utah)
9. Bart Van Leijsen (New Mexico)
10. Toby Mitchell (Boise State)
11. David Fox (Denver)
12. Yannick James (Denver)
13. Andrey Goyachkov (BYU)
14. Jamie Barajas (Utah State)
15. Freddie McGeehan (Utah)
16. Cristofer Goncalves (New Mexico State)
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Atlantic & Carolina Regionals Crown Champs
Both the Atlantic and Carolina Regionals came to a close today with players from Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, Wake Forest, and North Carolina State picking up titles.
Virginia Tech's Joao Monteiro won the singles championship at the Atlantic Regional, which was hosted by Virginia Tech, with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Old Dominion's Adam Moundir. Monteiro won each of his 6 matches in straight sets with his wins coming over Temple's Santiago Canete, William & Mary's Aidan Talcott, Penn State's Matt Barry, Old Dominion's Michael Weindl, Penn State's Aws Laaribi, and Moundir in the final.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Southwest, Southeast, Ohio Valley, & Central Crown Champions
Monday was a great day for Indiana's Sam Monette as the Hoosier senior swept the podium by taking both the singles and doubles crown at the Ohio Valley Regional. Monette knocked off Tennessee Tech's Edu Mena 6-1, 6-3 in the singles final and then teamed up fellow senior Daniel Bednarczyk to defeat Ball State's Lucas Anderson and Andrew Stutz 6-1, 6-2 in the doubles final. Monette didn't drop a set all week in route to winning 7 singles matches and 6 doubles matches.
— Indiana Men's Tennis (@IUMTennis) October 19, 2015
Championship Monday
There will be 4 more USTA/ITA Regional singles and doubles champions crowned today with each winner earning a main draw berth into next month's National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in New York.
Below is what is in store for today - Tennessee has a blog running for the Ohio Valley, Arkansas is running live scoring for the Central, Florida's twitter will have updates for the Southeast, USC & UCLA will have twitter updates for the Southwest, UNC will have twitter updates for the Carolina, and Virginia Tech has live streaming video for the Atlantic.
Below is what is in store for today - Tennessee has a blog running for the Ohio Valley, Arkansas is running live scoring for the Central, Florida's twitter will have updates for the Southeast, USC & UCLA will have twitter updates for the Southwest, UNC will have twitter updates for the Carolina, and Virginia Tech has live streaming video for the Atlantic.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Super Bowl Champ Crowned, Hinnisdaels Wins In T-Town, Success on the Tour
There were 2 bids handed out today to next month's Men's National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships (NIIC) and those went to Georgia Gwinnett's Kevin Konfederak and Auburn's Max Hinnisdaels.
Konfederak, who won the NAIA singles championship on Saturday, won the all-division Super Bowl today by defeating Asuza Pacific's Jan Meyer 6-2, 6-2. A short while later Konfederak and Jordan Cox defeated Concordia's Jui Mao and Ofir Ginat 6-2, 6-4 to win the Super Bowl doubles title.
Sunday Regionals
Ohio Valley (Knoxville) Regional - Singles Draw + Blog
Semifinals
Central (Fayetteville) Regional - Singles Draw
Semifinals (Sunday) - Live Scoring
[3] Alex Ghilea (Oklahoma) def. [10] Michael Redlicki (Arkansas) 6-3, 6-4
[12] Julian Cash (Oklahoma St) def. [8] Felix Corwin (Minnesota) 6-1, 6-4
Championship (Monday) - Live Scoring
[3] Alex Ghilea (Oklahoma) vs. [12] Julian Cash (Oklahoma St)
Edu Mena (Tennessee Tech) def. Ricky Medinilla (Purdue) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5)
[15] Sam Monette (Indiana) def. [9] Alex Gornet (Louisville) 6-2, 7-6(7)
Championship (Monday)
[15] Sam Monette (Indiana) def. [9] Alex Gornet (Louisville) 6-2, 7-6(7)
Championship (Monday)
[15] Sam Monette (Indiana) vs. Edu Mena (Tennessee Tech)
Central (Fayetteville) Regional - Singles Draw
Semifinals (Sunday) - Live Scoring
[3] Alex Ghilea (Oklahoma) def. [10] Michael Redlicki (Arkansas) 6-3, 6-4
[12] Julian Cash (Oklahoma St) def. [8] Felix Corwin (Minnesota) 6-1, 6-4
Championship (Monday) - Live Scoring
[3] Alex Ghilea (Oklahoma) vs. [12] Julian Cash (Oklahoma St)
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Saturday Regional Updates + Konfederak/Meyer in Super Bowl Final
In addition to the 7 men's D1 regionals taking place this weekend there's also the National Small College Championships taking place in Sumter, South Carolina. The SC Nationals have the top players from D2, D3, JUCO, and NAIA battling for a coveted wild card into next month's National Indoor Intercollegiates in New York. The champs from each division meet in a 4-person/team draw to determine the Super Bowl champ.
The NAIA National Champion Georgia Gwinnett's Kevin Konfederak (13.79) defeated the JUCO National Champ Tyler JC's Ferran Calvo (13.11) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the one semifinal while D2 NC Azusa Pacific's Jan Meyer (13.83) defeated D3 NC Middlebury's Noah Farrell (12.43) 6-3, 6-2.
Konfederak and Meyer will meet Sunday morning at 10am - check out the ITA's event page for match recaps and quotes along with full results from each division.
The NAIA National Champion Georgia Gwinnett's Kevin Konfederak (13.79) defeated the JUCO National Champ Tyler JC's Ferran Calvo (13.11) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the one semifinal while D2 NC Azusa Pacific's Jan Meyer (13.83) defeated D3 NC Middlebury's Noah Farrell (12.43) 6-3, 6-2.
Konfederak and Meyer will meet Sunday morning at 10am - check out the ITA's event page for match recaps and quotes along with full results from each division.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Friday Regional Recap: Gators Chompin', Green Waves Rollin', Ohio Valley Wide Open
Southeast: The main draw got started on Friday and the host Florida Gators cleaned up going 8-0 which included Josh Wardell (13.18) beating Georgia's Walker Duncan (13.68) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. 11 of the top 16 seeds won their opening round match but Georgia's Wayne Montgomery and South Florida's Sasha Gozun weren't 2 of them. Florida State's Marco Nunez (13.41) upset the #2 seed Montgomery (14.51) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 while Miami's Max Andrews (13.56) beat the #8 seed Gozun (13.55) 6-3, 6-3.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Thursday Regional Recap: Elliott Yee upsets Pennington, Dzulynsky over Spec, Surat over Krickovic
Several regionals opened up today and it didn't take long for a few upsets to take place with the #1, #6, and #7 seeds getting beat in the 1st round of the Ohio Valley Regional in Knoxville.
Indiana senior Elliott Yee pulled off the biggest upset when he beat the #1 seed Kentucky's Beck Pennington 6-3, 6-4 in the 1st round. This was also a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) upset as well with Yee having a 11.91 UTR while Pennington's is 13.71.
Purdue junior Ricky Medinilla (12.66) upended the #6 seed Vanderbilt's Rhys Johnson (13.35) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the 1st round and Austin Peay junior Aaron Jumonville (12.29) knocked out the #7 seed Indiana's Daniel Bednarczyk (13.05) 7-5, 7-6(6).
The #1 seed in the Central Regional (Fayetteville, AR) also got upset as Nebraska's Andrew Dzulynsky (12.18) took out #1 Minnesota's Matic Spec (14.03) 6-4, 6-4 in the 2nd round. All other seeds players advanced to the 3rd round in Fayetteville.
Indiana senior Elliott Yee pulled off the biggest upset when he beat the #1 seed Kentucky's Beck Pennington 6-3, 6-4 in the 1st round. This was also a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) upset as well with Yee having a 11.91 UTR while Pennington's is 13.71.
Purdue junior Ricky Medinilla (12.66) upended the #6 seed Vanderbilt's Rhys Johnson (13.35) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the 1st round and Austin Peay junior Aaron Jumonville (12.29) knocked out the #7 seed Indiana's Daniel Bednarczyk (13.05) 7-5, 7-6(6).
The #1 seed in the Central Regional (Fayetteville, AR) also got upset as Nebraska's Andrew Dzulynsky (12.18) took out #1 Minnesota's Matic Spec (14.03) 6-4, 6-4 in the 2nd round. All other seeds players advanced to the 3rd round in Fayetteville.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
USTA/ITA Regional Championships (Updated Draws)
Over the next 2 weeks regional championships will be held in every ITA region with the champion of each advancing to next month's National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship which will held at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
Below is the list of regionals that are taking place this week with the others being played the following week. The ITA's page below also has the same list and they should have draws added in as well. I'll add them in too as they become available.
Below is the list of regionals that are taking place this week with the others being played the following week. The ITA's page below also has the same list and they should have draws added in as well. I'll add them in too as they become available.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
NCAA D1 Tennis Committee Meeting Recap
A few months back the NCAA Division 1 Men's and Women's Tennis Committee had its annual meeting to discuss different topics/items for the upcoming season. The information is available to the general public on ncaa.org but it can be tough to find so I figured I'd share the report here and talk about some of the interesting things that they discussed.
Below are the conferences whose champions are guaranteed a bid into the 64-team NCAA Tournament. The Southland (Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Lamar, New Orleans, Nicholls St, Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word) was granted a waiver to get a bid despite only having 4 eligible teams last season. Both Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word recently made the move from Division 2 to Division 1 and thus are ineligible for postseason play until the 2017-18 season.
In its review of the 2015 NCAA Championships they talked about needing to spruce up the selection show with more commentary about specific match-ups. They also mentioned that travel distance and conference opponent restrictions played a role in where teams were placed in the bracket (not new).
Below are the conferences whose champions are guaranteed a bid into the 64-team NCAA Tournament. The Southland (Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Lamar, New Orleans, Nicholls St, Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word) was granted a waiver to get a bid despite only having 4 eligible teams last season. Both Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word recently made the move from Division 2 to Division 1 and thus are ineligible for postseason play until the 2017-18 season.
In its review of the 2015 NCAA Championships they talked about needing to spruce up the selection show with more commentary about specific match-ups. They also mentioned that travel distance and conference opponent restrictions played a role in where teams were placed in the bracket (not new).
Monday, October 12, 2015
Thai-Son Kwiatkowski Rolls To All-American Singles & Doubles Championship
Virginia's Thai-Son Kwiatkowski is the 2015 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Singles Champion after routing Tulane's Dominik Koepfer 6-0, 6-2 in the finals in a match that took around 55 minutes to complete.
Kwiatkowski was in control from start to finish by working Koepfer from side-to-side and more points than not ended with a Koepfer miss with many coming off the forehand wing. Kwiatkowski played great defense but also hit some huge forehands to finish off several games.
3 of Koepfer's 7 service games went to the deciding 40-40 point and he lost all 3. Koepfer struggled at the net and lost 3 different games on a volley that he either mishit or didn't place well enough.
Kwiatkowski was in control from start to finish by working Koepfer from side-to-side and more points than not ended with a Koepfer miss with many coming off the forehand wing. Kwiatkowski played great defense but also hit some huge forehands to finish off several games.
3 of Koepfer's 7 service games went to the deciding 40-40 point and he lost all 3. Koepfer struggled at the net and lost 3 different games on a volley that he either mishit or didn't place well enough.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Kwiatkowski/Koepfer Into Finals, Norrie & Tearney Win Futures, UGA Club Team Takes Fall Invitational
After a few close matches on Saturday, Sunday brought a pair of straight sets wins with little suspense as Virginia's Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and Tulane's Dominik Koepfer each rolled into the finals.
Thai-Son Kwiatkowski actually fell behind Stanford's Tom Fawcett 2-0 in the opening set but then he reeled off 5 straight games to go up 5-2. After a Fawcett hold, Kwiatkowski would serve out the set and then go up an immediate break in the second set to put Fawcett on his heels. Kwiatkowski wouldn't let up and would close out the 6-3, 6-2 win in just over an hour.
Dominik Koepfer would book his spot to the finals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Cal's Andre Goransson. Koepfer broke the Goransson serve in the 10th and final game of each set to close it out.
Thai-Son Kwiatkowski actually fell behind Stanford's Tom Fawcett 2-0 in the opening set but then he reeled off 5 straight games to go up 5-2. After a Fawcett hold, Kwiatkowski would serve out the set and then go up an immediate break in the second set to put Fawcett on his heels. Kwiatkowski wouldn't let up and would close out the 6-3, 6-2 win in just over an hour.
Dominik Koepfer would book his spot to the finals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Cal's Andre Goransson. Koepfer broke the Goransson serve in the 10th and final game of each set to close it out.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Down to the Final 4
Saturday was a busy day for the guys in Tulsa with both the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals held within hours of each other but by the time the dust cleared we had our final 4 and they all happen to be top 16 seeds.
The 8 morning matches saw 6 finish in straight sets with Tom Fawcett, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Hugo Di Feo, Dominik Koepfer, Uros Petronijevic, and Andre Goransson each winning somewhat comfortably.
The 8 morning matches saw 6 finish in straight sets with Tom Fawcett, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Hugo Di Feo, Dominik Koepfer, Uros Petronijevic, and Andre Goransson each winning somewhat comfortably.
Both Ronnie Schneider and Konrad Zieba needed 3 sets in their Round of 16 matches though both cruised in the 3rd set taking the final set by 6-2 scores. The one thing that was a little strange was the fact that Ronnie Schneider and Shane Vinsant started their Round of 16 match a good two and a half hours after several of the other matches. In fact as the 3rd set started the 3 other quarterfinal matches had already began.
Tennis On Campus - Fall Invitational
The courts at the Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina will be packed this weekend as coed teams from 48 schools across the country compete in the 6th annual USTA Tennis on Campus Fall Invitational.
The University of Florida is going for 3 in a row at the Fall Invitational and they opened up their defense of the title with 3 wins yesterday including a 24-16 win over Ohio State in the Round of 16. The event utilizes the same scoring format as World Team Tennis.
Below is the list of the schools participating and you can follow the event at TOC's event page. Here is Friday's recap and here are some more FAQ about Tennis On Campus for those not familiar.
The University of Florida is going for 3 in a row at the Fall Invitational and they opened up their defense of the title with 3 wins yesterday including a 24-16 win over Ohio State in the Round of 16. The event utilizes the same scoring format as World Team Tennis.
Below is the list of the schools participating and you can follow the event at TOC's event page. Here is Friday's recap and here are some more FAQ about Tennis On Campus for those not familiar.
Friday, October 9, 2015
All-American 2nd Round: #1 Monaghan, #2 Alvarez, #6 Cid, #8 Montgomery Upset
Rain pushed play indoors on Day 2 of the main draw in Tulsa but that didn't hurt Auburn's Marko Krickovic as the qualifer knocked off the #1 seed Quentin Monaghan (Notre Dame) 1-6, 7-5, 7-5. Monaghan cruised to a 6-1 opening set but Krickovic turned it around in the 2nd set and went up 5-2. Krickovic got broke serving for the set up 5-2 and 5-4 but then he broke Monaghan to go up 6-5 and finally got a service hold to take the set 7-5. The 3rd set stayed on serve until Krickovic broke for a 4-3 lead and then he consolidated the break with a hold for 5-3. Monaghan would come back from 0-40 down on his serve to hold for 5-4 and then he'd go up 0-40 on the Krickovic serve before breaking from 30-40 to even the match at 5-5. Krickovic would break back on the 40-40 deciding point by clubbing a Monaghan second serve and then finishing at the net with an overhead. Krickovic didn't fool around on his next service game and held quickly at love to finish off the upset win.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Main Draw Round 1 Results
Today was the beginning of the main draw at the All-Americans in Tulsa but things didn't exactly go as planned. Play was supposed to begin at 9am central but due to an issue with the draw the ITA had to redo it which meant that play was pushed back by 3 hours until 12pm central. The issue was that all 16 qualifiers were set to face a top 16 seed which isn't the way it's supposed to be done so after the draw was restructured we had 31 new match-ups with only the Nicolas Alvarez/Joao Monteiro pairing staying the same.
Once play begin there was 1 top 8 seed to get upset with #5 Romain Bogaerts of Wake Forest going down to Denver's Diogo Rocha 6-3, 6-3. This was also a Universal Tennis Rating upset with Rocha having a 13.23 UTR and Bogaerts a 14.37 UTR.
There were 2 other Top 16 seeds to get defeated with Georgia's Austin Smith and Texas Tech's Felipe Soares getting knocked out by Texas A&M's Shane Vinsant and USC's Nick Crystal.
The ITA's recap has a few quotes from some of the winners.
All-American 1st Round Results:
Once play begin there was 1 top 8 seed to get upset with #5 Romain Bogaerts of Wake Forest going down to Denver's Diogo Rocha 6-3, 6-3. This was also a Universal Tennis Rating upset with Rocha having a 13.23 UTR and Bogaerts a 14.37 UTR.
There were 2 other Top 16 seeds to get defeated with Georgia's Austin Smith and Texas Tech's Felipe Soares getting knocked out by Texas A&M's Shane Vinsant and USC's Nick Crystal.
The ITA's recap has a few quotes from some of the winners.
All-American 1st Round Results:
[1] Monaghan (ND) def. [WC] Lovett (AL) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
[Q] Krickovic (AU) def. [WC] Pritchard (TU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
[9-16] Fawcett (ST) def. Lomacki (UM) 6-4, 6-4
[Q] Duncan (UGA) def. [Q] Bushamuka (UK) 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(5)
[7] Schneider (UNC) def. Torpegaard (OSU) 6-4, 7-6(5)
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Qualifying Is Complete - Main Draw Starts Tomorrow
After 5 days of qualifying the field is now set for the main draw at this year's ITA Men's All-American Championships.
Florida freshman Alfredo Perez pulled off the somewhat rare feat of going 7-0 over the last 5 days by coming from the pre-qualifying draw to the qualifying draw and now to the main draw. Ohio State's Matt Mendez, who got into the qualifying draw as a lucky loser, almost joined Perez in the main draw but after rallying from 5-2 down in the 3rd to tie it at 5-5 he would drop the final 2 games and lose 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to North Carolina's Robert Kelly.
Perez is joined by 2 other freshman in the main draw with Georgia's Walker Duncan and Ohio State's Hugo Di Feo also qualifying.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Qualifying Draw Continues - Seeds Continue To Fall
There were 32 seeded players in the 128 man qualifying draw but only 11 are still alive as we head to the final day of qualifying at the All-American's in Tulsa.
There were 3 Top 10 seeds knocked out on Tuesday as San Diego's Jordan Angus defeated the #1 seed, UCLA's Martin Redlicki, 6-3, 6-4, Northwestern's Konrad Zieba defeated the #8 seed, Cal's Filip Bergevi, 7-6(7), 6-2, and Tulane's Constantin Schmitz cruised past the #9 seed, Oklahoma State's Arjun Kadhe, 6-4, 6-1.
The 3 Top 10 seeds that made it to the final round of qualies are Memphis's Andrew Watson (#2) who defeated UCLA's Karue Sell 7-6(3), 6-4, USC's Max De Vroome (#5) who got past Arkansas's Jose Salazar 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2, and Florida State's Michael Rinaldi (#10) who defeated Charlotte's Jordi Ferrer 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
There were 3 Top 10 seeds knocked out on Tuesday as San Diego's Jordan Angus defeated the #1 seed, UCLA's Martin Redlicki, 6-3, 6-4, Northwestern's Konrad Zieba defeated the #8 seed, Cal's Filip Bergevi, 7-6(7), 6-2, and Tulane's Constantin Schmitz cruised past the #9 seed, Oklahoma State's Arjun Kadhe, 6-4, 6-1.
The 3 Top 10 seeds that made it to the final round of qualies are Memphis's Andrew Watson (#2) who defeated UCLA's Karue Sell 7-6(3), 6-4, USC's Max De Vroome (#5) who got past Arkansas's Jose Salazar 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2, and Florida State's Michael Rinaldi (#10) who defeated Charlotte's Jordi Ferrer 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Pre-Q's Wrap Up and Qualies Get Started
The final round of the pre-qualifying draw was completed on Monday and the 16 pre-qualifers had a quick turnaround as they had to play again in the opening round of the qualifying draw. Below are the guys that came through pre-q's:
16 Pre-Qualifers
David Fox (Denver 12.66)
16 Pre-Qualifers
David Fox (Denver 12.66)
Yannick Zuern (North Florida 13.04)
Alfredo Perez (Florida 13.63)
Jose Salazar (Arkansas 13.77)
Maksim Kan (Wake Forest 13.18)
[9-16] John Mee (Texas 13.48)
[17-32] Sam Matheson (Liberty 12.54)
Leopold Gomez Inslinger (UW-Green Bay 12.77)
[17-32] Jordi Arconada (Texas A&M 13.59)
Cristobal Rivera (Loyola Marymount 12.92)
Howard Scott (UW-Green Bay 12.57)
Jerry Lopez (TCU 13.78)
[9-16] Ricky Medinilla (Purdue 12.67)
[5] Michael Riechmann (Texas 12.77)
Keivon Tabrizi (Wake Forest 12.85)
Jakob Amilon (UNLV 13.13)
Alfredo Perez (Florida 13.63)
Jose Salazar (Arkansas 13.77)
Maksim Kan (Wake Forest 13.18)
[9-16] John Mee (Texas 13.48)
[17-32] Sam Matheson (Liberty 12.54)
Leopold Gomez Inslinger (UW-Green Bay 12.77)
[17-32] Jordi Arconada (Texas A&M 13.59)
Cristobal Rivera (Loyola Marymount 12.92)
Howard Scott (UW-Green Bay 12.57)
Jerry Lopez (TCU 13.78)
[9-16] Ricky Medinilla (Purdue 12.67)
[5] Michael Riechmann (Texas 12.77)
Keivon Tabrizi (Wake Forest 12.85)
Jakob Amilon (UNLV 13.13)
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Day 2 Pre-Q Results + Qualie Draw Is Out (UTRs Added)
The 266 man pre-qualifying draw is down to the final 32 with 16 matches tomorrow to decide who goes on to the 128 man qualifying draw. It's interesting to note that only 8 of the 32 seeded players have made it to the final round and only 1 of the top 8 seeds is still alive.
If you look the qualifying draw further down you'll notice there are 19 spots reserved for guys coming from the pre-qualifying draw - 16 of those will be earned with the other 3 going to lucky losers. If the ITA does what the ATP/ITF does and awards the lucky loser spots to the highest ranked losers then that guarantees Michael Riechmann a spot since he is the highest remaining seed (#5) and John Mee, Ricky Medinilla, and Dave Bacalla would also have to be feeling good as well since they were seeded in the 9-16 bucket.
Here are you final pre-qualifying match-ups along with each player's Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) as of 10/5.
Sebastian Rey (Tulane 13.50) vs. David Fox (Denver 12.66)
Yannick Zuern (North Florida 13.04) vs. Julian Childers (Illinois 12.98)
Robert Herrera (East Tennesse State 13.32) vs. Alfredo Perez (Florida 13.63)
Julius Tverijonas (George Washington 12.96) vs. Jose Salazar (Arkansas 13.77)
Matt Mendez (Ohio State 12.74) vs. Maksim Kan (Wake Forest 13.18)
[9-16] John Mee (Texas 13.48) vs. [17-32] Gustav Hansson (Ole Miss 13.86)
[17-32] Sam Matheson (Liberty 12.54) vs. Jefta Kecic (Western Michigan 12.75)
Leopold Gomez Inslinger (UW-Green Bay 12.77) vs. Felix Rauch (Memphis 12.87)
If you look the qualifying draw further down you'll notice there are 19 spots reserved for guys coming from the pre-qualifying draw - 16 of those will be earned with the other 3 going to lucky losers. If the ITA does what the ATP/ITF does and awards the lucky loser spots to the highest ranked losers then that guarantees Michael Riechmann a spot since he is the highest remaining seed (#5) and John Mee, Ricky Medinilla, and Dave Bacalla would also have to be feeling good as well since they were seeded in the 9-16 bucket.
Here are you final pre-qualifying match-ups along with each player's Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) as of 10/5.
Sebastian Rey (Tulane 13.50) vs. David Fox (Denver 12.66)
Yannick Zuern (North Florida 13.04) vs. Julian Childers (Illinois 12.98)
Robert Herrera (East Tennesse State 13.32) vs. Alfredo Perez (Florida 13.63)
Julius Tverijonas (George Washington 12.96) vs. Jose Salazar (Arkansas 13.77)
Matt Mendez (Ohio State 12.74) vs. Maksim Kan (Wake Forest 13.18)
[9-16] John Mee (Texas 13.48) vs. [17-32] Gustav Hansson (Ole Miss 13.86)
[17-32] Sam Matheson (Liberty 12.54) vs. Jefta Kecic (Western Michigan 12.75)
Leopold Gomez Inslinger (UW-Green Bay 12.77) vs. Felix Rauch (Memphis 12.87)
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Day 1 Pre-Q Results
Day 1 of the All Americans is in the books with 6 of the top 8 seeds picking up wins on the the opening day of the pre-qualies.
Top 8 Seeds
1. Rogerio Ribeiro (East Tennessee State) - WON
2. Christian Cargill (William & Mary) - WON
3. Tito Moreiras (UTSA) - WON
4. Gabor Csonka (LSU) - WON
5. Michael Riechmann (Texas) - WON
6. Jonny Rigby (Southern Illinois) - WON
7. Maik Steiner (Western Michigan) - LOST
8. Luis Valero (Tennessee) - LOST
Top 8 Seeds
1. Rogerio Ribeiro (East Tennessee State) - WON
2. Christian Cargill (William & Mary) - WON
3. Tito Moreiras (UTSA) - WON
4. Gabor Csonka (LSU) - WON
5. Michael Riechmann (Texas) - WON
6. Jonny Rigby (Southern Illinois) - WON
7. Maik Steiner (Western Michigan) - LOST
8. Luis Valero (Tennessee) - LOST
Friday, October 2, 2015
All American Pre-Qualie Draw Is Out
The massive 266 person pre-qualifying draw for the All Americans is out as play officially gets underway on Saturday morning in Tulsa.
There are 20 guys that will meet in the Round of 512 so the road for those guys will be that much harder with each needing to win 5 times to reach the qualifying draw while the other 246 guys will only need to win 4 times to qualify.
Here are the top 8 seeds for the pre-q draw:
1. Rogerio Ribeiro (East Tennessee State)
2. Christian Cargill (William & Mary)
3. Tito Moreiras (UTSA)
4. Gabor Csonka (LSU)
5. Michael Riechmann (Texas)
6. Jonny Rigby (Southern Illinois)
7. Maik Steiner (Western Michigan)
8. Luis Valero (Tennessee)
There are 20 guys that will meet in the Round of 512 so the road for those guys will be that much harder with each needing to win 5 times to reach the qualifying draw while the other 246 guys will only need to win 4 times to qualify.
Here are the top 8 seeds for the pre-q draw:
1. Rogerio Ribeiro (East Tennessee State)
2. Christian Cargill (William & Mary)
3. Tito Moreiras (UTSA)
4. Gabor Csonka (LSU)
5. Michael Riechmann (Texas)
6. Jonny Rigby (Southern Illinois)
7. Maik Steiner (Western Michigan)
8. Luis Valero (Tennessee)