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.

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. 

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.

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

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

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.

Wake Forest Rally Stuns #1 UNC, Miss State Upsets Arky, Tulsa Wins At Tulane, Columbia Outlasts Harvard, & more

The weekend definitely went out with a bang with several 4-3 thrillers including Wake Forest's 4-3 upset win over top-ranked North Carolina.

North Carolina won the doubles point for the 12th time in its last 13 matches with a 6-4 win at No. 1 and a 6-3 win at No. 2. The Tar Heels rode the momentum from the doubles point and took five opening sets in singles.

Wake Forest freshman Dennis Uspensky earned the only first set for the Demon Deacons and he was also the first to finish with a 6-0, 6-3 rout over UNC freshman Anu Kodali. It was Uspensky's 10th win in his last 11 matches.

Monday Recap: TCU Wins a 4-3 Thriller of Texas A&M

What a match it was tonight in College Station between No. 3 TCU and No. 7 Texas A&M. These two former Big 12 rivals went toe-to-toe for three hours and fifteen minutes and in the end the match was decided in a third-set tiebreak at No. 5 singles.

TCU Celebrates (Photo by Sarah Lane/Texas A&M Athletics)

Friday Recap: Mayhem in Music City, Nuts in the Emerald City, Gators Win In Starkville, Cal Survives, UAB, LMU, & UNLV Beat Ranked Teams

Another Friday brought us another round of stunning upsets as a pair of top 10 teams went down on the road.

Vanderbilt won its third consecutive match by a 4-3 score as it stunned No. 7 Texas A&M 4-3. The Commodores took the doubles point when Tate Allwardt and Baker Newman knocked off Max Lunkin and AJ Catanzariti 7-6(5) at No. 2.

Sunday recap: Georgia Knocks off Ohio State, Virginia Scalps Florida State, Oklahoma Beats Cal, Florida Blasts Ole Miss

There were several close matches on Sunday but there was only one that saw a top-five team go down. Georgia, ranked No. 19, was hosting No. 4 Ohio State on a mild and breezy day in Athens. After a week of sunny skies and temperatures in the high-70s, the conditions in Athens weren't as favorable with cloudy skies, an increasing breeze, and temperature hovering in the mid-50s. Despite the conditions a crowd of just over 1000 filled into the Dan Magill Tennis Complex and they were treated to a stellar performance by the home-standing Bulldogs.

Georgia Wins!! (Photo Courtesy of Bill Kallenberg)

I personally thought Ohio State would roll in doubles, but Georgia seemed determined to not let that happen.

Friday Recap: Noles Rally Past Hokies, Upsets Galore In the SEC, Tulane Outlasts San Diego, UNF Upsets Georgia St

Friday was a wild day of tennis with several teams coming from behind to pull out thrilling wins. The biggest comeback of the day took place in Blacksburg as No. 23 Florida State appeared to be down and out against No. 40 Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 but Florida State turned it around in singles and took first sets at one through four.

FSU's Benjamin Lock cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Joao Monteiro at No. 1 but Virginia Tech answered with a 7-6, 6-3 win from Aaron Gomez at No. 6.

Kentucky Holds Off Bama, FSU Slides Past Duke, Wisconsin Wins In Des Moines, Georgia Tech Tops NC State

Friday and Saturday brought us a ton of upsets but things leveled out on Sunday with most higher ranked teams holding court and getting the win.

Florida State capped off a nice weekend by defeating No. 66 Duke 5-2. The Seminoles claimed the doubles point by sweeping all three courts and then it took four opening sets in singles.

Friday night's hero, Marco Nunez, was first off the court with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Vincent Lin at No. 2 and his teammate Jose Gracia would put the Noles up 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Ryan Dickerson at No. 5.

More Upsets - Northwestern Beats #8 Illinois For First Time Since '97, Mississippi State Blanks #12 Kentucky & More

The weekend of upsets continued on Saturday with three higher ranked team going down on top of the seven that were upset yesterday. The biggest upset in terms of ranking took place in Starkville but I'll start off in Evanston where Northwestern was looking to snap a 27-match, 19 year, losing streak to in-state rival Illinois.

Even though Northwestern was shutout by the Illini earlier this season it had to be optimistic with a big home crowd on hand. Northwestern got things started off on the right foot by claiming the doubles point for the 12th time in 14 tries with a 6-4 win at No. 2 and a 6-3 win at No. 3.

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

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

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

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

ITA Women: Top Seeds Cruise In Friday's ITA Kickoff

Six of the ITA Kickoff Regionals began today and all No.1 seeds cruised without much difficulty. Fresno State was the lone No.3 seed to earn a scalp into tomorrow's final. UGA and UNC were the top 2 teams to play and routed Wyoming and Yale, respectively. The closest match of the weekend, ranking-wise, was No.18 Ohio State's 4-3 thriller over No.19 Pepperdine. Tomorrow should bring some tighter matches and a few upsets. For my predictions for the entire weekend, check out my preview here.

Kentucky Upsets #13 Duke, Washington Too Much for #12 Texas, Northwestern Rolls

Well that didn't take long - on the first weekend of the season a pair of Top 15 teams got upset as unranked Kentucky went into Durham and beat #13 Duke 4-3 and #62 Washington rebounded from a Friday loss to UCSB and knocked off #12 Texas by a 4-3 score. As I mentioned when the preseason rankings came out a week ago, the rankings didn't really take into account the number of starters that some teams lost and thus ranked a few of them way too high. Both Texas and Duke fell into that category because each team had to replace 4 starters and most of the replacements were freshman.

Anyway back to the day's events starting first in Durham. Duke and Kentucky battled it out in doubles with all 3 matches going back and forth. Kentucky went up an early double break at #1 and led 3-0 but Duke would claw back and end up taking it in a tiebreak. Duke had the break lead at #2 but lost it only to break late and take it 7-5. Duke also had the early break lead at #3 but Kentucky came back to forth a tiebreak which Duke ultimately won.

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

2nd Round Preview

I'm obviously making the assumption that my first round picks will be correct so based off those picks this is how I have the 2nd round playing out.  The doubles records and stats are as of Thursday so if the guys win or lose a match on Friday the numbers would change.

Oklahoma  Regional

Headington Family Tennis Center - Norman, OK

[1] Oklahoma (25-2) vs. [17-32] Northwestern (21-9) - 2pm est - This will be the second time this season that these two have met with Oklahoma winning 4-1 during the Kickoff Weekend in a match that was surprisingly close.  

NCAA 1st Round Previews: North Carolina & Illinois Regionals

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

[13] North Carolina (21-10) vs. [49-64] William & Mary (16-12) - Friday 1pm - William & Mary got the automatic bid by beating the College of Charleston 4-1 in the Colonial Championship while North Carolina got an at-large bid after falling to #3 Virginia 4-0 in the ACC semifinals. William & Mary went 0-7 against ranked opponents with the closest loss being 4-3 to Old Dominion.

The UTR Power 6 is the combined UTRs of the starting 6 (rounded to a whole #).  An individual win/loss to anyone with a UTR difference of 1.0 or greater would be considered an upset.   

Doubles Records: UNC 22-9, W&M 20-8

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: UNC 84, W&M 75

Saturday Preview: SEC Semis + 2 Big Ones In the Big 12

Texas is the place to be today with 4 matches taking place between Top 20 teams.  It is semifinal Saturday at the SEC Tournament in College Station with the top 4 seeds set to meet up.  There's been a threat of rain each of the last 2 days which has forced matches to be moved up but as of now it looks like the rain should stay away until later in the day.

In Fort Worth, #7 TCU will host #10 Texas and over in Lubbock #16 Texas Tech will try to make it 2 huge upsets in the last week as they host #2 Baylor.


#2 Texas A&M (19-4) vs. #3 Mississippi State (19-6) - 1pm est - Live Scoring - Texas A&M won the regular season meeting 4-1 in Starkville (box score below) but it was a match that came down to the wire with Mississippi State in a winning position on the 2 courts that didn't finish. State gutted one out yesterday against Florida while Texas A&M rolled over LSU so the Aggies probably have some fresher legs.