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College Tennis Review: Is your Team Speeding Forward or Off the Rails?

Posted by Admin on April 7, 2016

Posted in: College Tennis, Jeff McMillan. Tagged: 2016, Alabama, Analysis, arizona, Baylor, college tennis, Drake, Duke, georgia, Harvard, Iowa, Loyola Marymount, NCAA, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, San Diego State, SMU, Southern Cal, stanford, TCU, Tennessee, USF, Utah State, UTSA, Wake Forest, washington. Leave a comment

College Tennis Review: Is Your Time Speeding Forward or Off the Rails?
Jeff McMillan, Tennis Atlantic

April is crunch time in college tennis and this season has been a wild one thus far which will undoubtedly set up for a wild finish to the regular season. Here is my look at how certain teams are doing heading down the final tracks of the season.

(the real fun gets started in the off the rails segment at the end.)

Speeding Forward

These teams that are hitting their stride just at the right time and show no signs of slowing.

Wake Forest: The Deacs are on an absolute tear right now and are looking ominous to any team in the country. Even before the massive win in Chapel Hill they were looking great by plowing through several ranked teams. Sunday’s win in Chapel Hill was a culmination of great fight and showed exactly what Wake Forest is capable of moving forward. A huge matchup with Virginia looms.

Georgia: For the early half of the season UGA was not looking all that imposing, certainly not compared to their lofty standards. Ranked as low as 19, the Dawgs were starting to become somewhat overlooked nationally. All that has changed in a hurry in the last few weeks. Georgia revved up their speed on the tracks with a huge home win over Ohio State on March 20^th and have turned the speed to maximum following the dominating performance in College Station this past Friday. Many people expected A&M to win that match and believed that if Georgia was to win it would be in the fashion of sneaking out a 4-3 thriller. Instead the Bulldogs punched the Aggies in the mouth and stole a 4-1 win. They are now 8-0 in the SEC and it looks like once again the SEC title will be heading to Athens.

SMU: Even before the last couple of week this was already a great season for the Mustangs of SMU. Then they decided to turn things up yet another notch by knocking off top 10 Oklahoma State and conference rival USF within the span of little over a week. Now the talk has shifted from will the Mustangs make the NCAA tournament to can they actually host a regional? Regardless of if they host one or not, nobody will want to see the red hot Ponies as their opponent as the season comes to a head.

TCU: This is a team that has not lost since February and one that has not lost at all this year on an open air court. They have not been without their tests but it seems like it’s becoming a college tennis regularity to see a TCU twitter video of Head Coach Roditi celebrating a big win as the Frogs yet again get the victory. The most recent example of this was their heart stopping victory over Texas A&M in front of a hostile crowd. TCU was definitely considered to be a title contender before the year began and they have not shown any signs of disappointing that expectation.

Southern Cal: The whispers of a USC down year had turned to full volume statements following the stunning loss to Washington. But in college tennis things can change in one weekend. The past weekend the Trojans dominated their NorCal conference rivals to make a huge statement. In both matches, the Trojans dropped the doubles point to Cal and Stanford respectively and in both they stormed back in singles to end up with convincing wins. It goes without saying that no matter what the season is, nobody should ever look past the USC Trojans in May.

Northwestern: The Wildcats have been a pleasant surprise this year. People expected them to have a good team but I don’t think anyone anticipated them being this good. The guys from Evanston have only 2 losses on their resume (one of which has since been avenged) thus far and have shown no signs of slowing down. They look set to host a regional as they continue to impress week after week.

Gaining Traction

These teams might are starting to find the track just at the right time

Duke: This extremely young team has had a pretty disappointing year for Duke standards. The Blue Devils fell out of the rankings for a couple weeks in March and the season looked to be shot. But thanks to a good win over NC State on Friday, suddenly things are starting to look up for the Blue Devils. Even more encouraging than the win over NC State was the fight they gave Virginia in match largely expected to be a rout. If they can bring that level of play for the ACC tournament then they can be surprisingly dangerous. (I say ACC tournament because the rest of their regular season schedule is unfortunate with very tough matches vs Wake and UNC and a match vs Clemson which will give them no benefit to winning)

Washington: The NCAA tournament drought for the Huskies looks to be coming to an end this year. The team has shown a lot in recent weeks with solid wins, punctuated with the cornerstone win over Southern Cal. Some tough Pac 12 matches remain vs Stanford, Cal and Oregon but the Huskies look to be playing their best tennis at the right time.

Nebraska: The Cornhusker improvement has not necessarily been shown in wins so far but in how they have played in recent matches. They are starting to really compete vs every team in the Big 10. Only a matter of time before they pull off the desired upset win.

Alabama: Things did not look great for Alabama early in the year and it took a while for things to turn around but now the Crimson Tide look to be finding their game. They are in battles with every SEC team now and most recently pulled out an important win at Ole Miss. They have played themselves into a good position to make the NCAA tournament.

Loyola Marymount: The Lions have been one of the best unranked teams for the past couple of seasons, being right there and threatening ranked teams, so close to the top 75 promised land. Finally they have gotten there this year and are looking like a legitimate contender in the West Coast Conference thanks to 3 consecutive wins over ranked teams.

Utah State: Utah State has quietly built a very solid program out in Logan, one that been a consistent force in the Mountain West. The Aggies have been playing good tennis in recent weeks. They look to be emerging as the favorite to win the Mountain West which is the most evenly matched conference top to bottom in the country.

Losing Steam

These teams are started to slow down when it matters most

Oklahoma State: Not that long ago Oklahoma State was looking very dangerous and like a national title contender. Now they are looking very vulnerable to an early NCAA tournament upset. The Cowboys were badly hurt when their solid #2 player Temur Ismailov pulled a KU Singh (apologies to UGA fans) and abandoned the team midstream to go play in the pros. Suddenly the Pokes lineup is looking mighty thin and just at the wrong time as they are about to start the brutal Big 12 conference schedule.

Stanford: Just how many chances does this team need before people give up on them as a serious contender? All year people parrot how talented Stanford is and how they are going to start gelling at any moment now. I was one of these, I thought this year’s Stanford’s team was finally a legitimate one. But what do they do when they are presented with opportunity? Get blown away in singles by the LA Pac 12 power firm. They do not have a single signature win this year and are running out of opportunities once again.

USF: Similar to Oklahoma State, the Bulls were looking great in the early parts of the year but have since fallen off the pace. And it’s now looking possible that they are the 4^th best team in the AAC (behind Tulane, Tulsa and SMU). The loss to SMU on Saturday was a real eye opener to just how much this team is starting to skid on the tracks. They do not have a real solid option in the lower parts of the lineup and Roberto Cid is having to do too much on his own at the moment.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish are 2-6 in their last 8 ACC games and things are not looking good for their hopes of an NCAA tournament berth. Missing the NCAA tournament would be a pretty big disappointment for this veteran heavy team and it will be very hard for them to do so now.

Harvard: A heartbreaking loss for Harvard on Sunday vs Columbia was the cap on what has been a disappointing few weeks for the Crimson. They have lost to a number of teams that are considered to be around their level. They are just losing too many 50/50 matches. They need to find a way to get the killer instinct back.

Drake: After a hot middle part of the year, Drake has hit rough sledding recently. They would not be under the skidding category if it was not for the horrendous loss to William & Mary that they suffered in their most recent match. This match alone is the one that is putting Drake’s tournament chances in jeopardy (still a high chance to win their almost nonexistent conference though).

Off The Rails

These teams have lost the map, way off the tracks and have no way back on

Tennessee: Hey what are the Vols doing on this list?? They are on a 5 match tear! Well as impressive as it is to beat Murray State 4 times in a row when they do not field a full lineup in any of the matches, unfortunately the Vols still end up way off the rails. 0-8 in the SEC and not close to sniffing the top 75. The days of JP Smith, Rhyne Williams and Tennys Sandgren seem like eons ago now. Even the days of Reese and Libietis seem like fairytales now. One thing Tennessee can feel good about is that some teams still consider beating them warrants an excuse to have a mosh pit locker room celebration (see the South Carolina Gamecocks). Any more seasons like this though and teams will treat wins over Tennessee how they treat wins over Boston College. Oh wait some teams consider that win to be cause for rapturous celebration as well (see Clemson Tigers).

Iowa: At one point things were actually looking good for Iowa. They were in the top 35 in the rankings and it looked like they were going to have a rare good season for Iowa tennis. But then Big 10 play started. Well actually two of their worst losses came to non Big 10 teams (Lamar and Cal Poly got em). And they are no longer being competitive, many of the recent losses being routs. Good news for Iowa fans? They can still enjoy watching a 125 pound guy roll around with another 125 pound guy for a chance at an NCAA individual title on youtube replay (spoiler alert… The Hawkeye loses)

Arizona: This selection could be very controversial because it’s debatable whether the Arizona train was ever on the rails in the first place. Naoki Takeda does his best to try and drive the team forward but he alone can’t save a program that seems content to be completely irrelevant (several years now that Arizona has been a non-factor). I’m not sure you’ll believe me… but there’s a legend out there that Arizona once beat UCLA in tennis. In 2010 according to legend. Can’t possibly be true. Let’s stick to the true stories of how the Wildcats took down mighty UC Riverside.

San Diego State: San Diego is a very beautiful city. However it is probably a little less beautiful when you are stuck playing 2^nd fiddle to a cross-town school that is 1/6^th your enrollment size. This was actually supposed to be a good season for SDSU (the heart-eaters, not the fluffy tails from South Dakota) but they have never got on track all season. While they are supposed to be challenging San Diego they are falling behind even teams like UCSB and Santa Clara. Now they have played a tough schedule and the Mountain West is so evenly matched that anything is possible still for the Aztecs.

Baylor: It was always going to be crushing news for Baylor that the Baylor tennis training camps in Budapest and Dortmund would taking a year off this year but even still Baylor was expected to be a good team once again. Compared to the rest of the teams in this section, they are very good but for Baylor standards it is not good. Missing the NCAA tournament is a real possibility as the remaining parts of their schedule are brutal and they just failed to cash in on their best chance for a big win (at home vs Texas Tech. This is about as off the rails as Baylor tennis ever gets.

UTSA: I understand the concept of a down season after you lose several of your top players but how does a team go from a breakout year in 2015 to a 2-17 year in 2016? 2-17. (The Roadrunners actually have 3 wins but they never entered in the win over UIW on ITA so we can’t quite count that one can we?) When you fall behind Texas Rio Grand Valley in tennis after losing to them, a university that has existed for less than a year, you know things are bad. This tennis team does not do a very good job of distracting UTSA fans (they exist? Well I lived in San Antonio for 2 years and I met about 8 in a city of 1.3 million in that time so yes they exist) from their 3-9 football or their 5-27 men’s basketball team.

New @Shape_Magazine Invitational To Offer @VolvoCarOpen Wild Cards to College Players

Posted by Admin on January 27, 2016

Posted in: ATP, Charleston, Volvo Car Open. Tagged: charleston, college tennis, Duke, Family Circle Tennis Center, georgia, NCAA, Shape Magazine Invitational, South Carolina, Volvo Car Open, wild card. Leave a comment

Family Circle Tennis Center to host SHAPE Magazine Invitational,

Winners Receive Wild Card Entry into Volvo Car Open Main Draw

Family Circle Tennis Center

DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. – Family Circle Tennis Center announced today that it would host the inaugural SHAPE Magazine Invitational at its facility March 1^st – 3^rd, 2016. The tournament is a one-of-a-kind event that will connect female American student-athletes who aspire to play professional tennis after college.

The winners of the SHAPE Magazine Invitational, in both singles and doubles, will receive Wild Cards into the main draw of the Volvo Car Open, April 4 – 10, 2016. In addition, the singles finalist will receive a Wild Card into the qualifying round of the Volvo Car Open, April 2 – 3, 2016.

“The SHAPE Magazine Invitational provides an incredible opportunity for American women in college tennis to play at one of the biggest tournaments on the WTA Tour, the Volvo Car Open,” said Stephen Amritraj, USTA National Collegiate Coach. “This event is the latest example of showcasing college tennis as a pathway to the pros, and providing a tournament that we hope will be a staple on the calendar.”

To be eligible to compete in the SHAPE Magazine Invitational, an athlete must be affiliated with a NCAA school, either as a current player, past player (within the last three semesters), or with a signed letter of intent or verbal agreement for Fall 2016.

“We have worked with the USTA Collegiate Directors to secure a strong player field for March’s tournament,” said Rob Eppelsheimer, Family Circle Tennis Center Tennis Operations Director. “The purpose of this event is for junior tennis players to have an opportunity to compete at the next level, and for current college players to understand the world of professional tennis. For athletes to be guaranteed three matches in a competitive tournament is an enticing prospect.”

“SHAPE’s core mission is to empower women to achieve their personal goals,” explains Tim O’Connor, SHAPE Publisher. “We are honored to be able to provide a platform that will positively impact the future of young female athletes”.

volvocaropen

The player field has representation from athletes across the Southeast’s top universities, including Georgia, Alabama, Vanderbilt, North Carolina, South Carolina, Duke and College of Charleston, among others.

The tournament’s singles will consist of a round robin format with players divided into four groups. The winner of each group will advance to the semifinals. Group play will consist of two out of three sets, with a match tiebreak for the third set. Semifinals and finals will consist of two out of three sets

The doubles format will consist of single elimination. Group play will consist of two out of three sets with a match tiebreak for the third set.

—A. Alpino, Volvo Car Open

College Tennis: Early Season Preview and Results

Posted by Admin on January 26, 2016

Posted in: College Tennis, Jeff McMillan, NCAA. Tagged: Arkansas, Baylor, Buffalo, BYU, Clemson, college tennis, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, NCAA, Oregon, resno State, San Diego, South Carolina, Tulane, UC-Santa Barbara, UL-Lafayette, UTSA. Leave a comment

College Tennis: Early Season Preview and Results
Jeff McMillan, Tennis Atlantic

NCAA_Tennis_Logo

College tennis season is officially back in full swing! We had some great dual matches over the past weekend in the ITA indoor kickoff regionals in the second full weekend of the season. It is, of course, exceptionally early to be judging teams and players. However, based on early results there are a few teams that are obviously much better and much worse than a season ago.

I will explore which teams look to be the most improved from last year and also explore which teams appear to have taken significant steps back.

upswing

On The Upswing

San Diego

Each and every year the Torreros put out a strong team, making them one of the top “mid-major” programs in the entire country. This 2016 team appears to be their strongest team yet. Sporting three top 100 ranked ITA players and a top 10 ranked doubles team, San Diego went into snowy Durham (something Cal was unable to do as they had to cancel their trip to Durham) and came out as the winners of the regional. The veteran Torreros used their experience and poise to knock off the Duke Blue Devils on their home court which is no easy feat no matter how young Duke is this year. Senior #35 Uros Petronijevic led the way with a huge 6-4 7-5 win over #12 Nicolas Alvarez at the #1 position. That win in addition to the doubles point set the tone for the match and allowed Filip Vitek and Joshua Page to seal the victory.

Perhaps even more impressive than the win over a non-vintage Duke team was the 4-0 domination of Vanderbilt in the 1st round of the regional. Never letting the Commodores have a sniff at the win.

San Diego will now go on to Charlottesville to compete against the best teams in the country. Their performance there will go a long way to show just how good this team can be. This is THE year for San Diego. The Senior leadership of Uros Petronijevic, Jordan Angus and Romain Kalaydjian plus Junior Filip Vittek create the strong base for the team. These guys have all been together for a few years now and know what it takes to get over the hump and are ready to do so. UMBC transfer Jaan Kononov, who has experience playing #1 at the D1 level adds another layer of depth and dimension to the team as well.

The key for San Diego this year will be whether they can finish the year in the top 16 or not. It is vital that they do so they can host their own regional for once and not rely on the NCAA tournament committee to once again ship them to USC or UCLA and once again be a victim of location. This win over Duke and Vandy shows just what this team can do if they are removed from the confines of LA where they are again and again subject to being sent. Top 16 is absolutely vital. I think they can do it. The Torreros are a top 10 sleeper this year.

Kentucky

Last year Kentucky had a historically bad season. They finished the year outside the top 75 and fell way down in the pecking order of the SEC. It was a hard year for a program that had been used to success and was pushing nationally elite in the days of Eric Quigley. But it seems that the hard times were short lived for the Wildcats. Early into the year it is evident already that this UK team is far more talented and better than the team from a season ago. This team is stronger at the top with a blossoming player in William Bushamuka who will shoot up the rankings more and more as the season goes on. Freshman Ryotaro Matsamura is a massive influx of talent at #2 for this team. He will combine with Bushamuka for a good one-two punch this year. The improvement was immediately apparent last weekend as they went to Duke and shocked the Blue Devils. That is exactly the type of win that the UK team of a year ago was not capable of. They followed that win up with a nice win over an improved Michigan team this past weekend. In both matches Kentucky dominated the top 3 positions with Bushamuka and Matsamura rolling joined with Nils Ellefsen at #3.

The Wildcats do show signs of weakness at the bottom 3 positions however, as they struggled to get wins at 4-6 vs both Duke and Michigan. But the strength of the top 3 could be enough to offset that weakness. Plus if and when Beck Pennington returns to the lineup the Wildcats should turn that strong top 3 into a strong top 4.

Even with the lack of depth this team is certainly lightyears better than the 2015 edition of the Kentucky Wildcats and will make a push for the tournament. The SEC is a big jumble in the middle and I could see the Wildcats pulling some upsets and eventually becoming the breakthrough team of 2016 in that league.

Tulane

Tulane probably does not want to hear this after a gut-wrenching loss to Southern Cal in LA this past weekend but the Green Wave have one hell of a team this year and will be vying for a top 30 or even 25 spot this season. Not just any team can go into the City of Angels and take the mighty Trojans all the way to the wire. They were in the winning position for what would have been a massive upset and program changing win. The only negative you can take away from that effort in LA is that Tulane will now certainly not sneak up on anyone this year. Everyone in the college tennis world took notice of them after this weekend if they were not already aware of the team they have. Because this team is legit all across the board.

The current #1 ranked ITA player Dominik Koepfer spearheads the Green Wave’s ascension. He is backed by a nice mix of talented players including #63 Constantin Schmitz, #111 Sebastian Rey and the Van Cott twins.

Tulane made a move last year and was a much improved team from the 2014 team. They ended up being one of the last teams left out of the NCAA tournament, something that has undoubtedly made this year’s version even hungrier. They have all of their team back this year and they are a year stronger, more experienced and hungrier than ever to achieve more and I believe they will do just that and are my pick to win the American Athletic Conference this year.

Oregon

It could be a dangerous proposition to put too much stock in a near win vs a team that is clearly down from a year ago but that is exactly what I am going to with the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks took Baylor to the absolute limit in Waco before ultimately falling in a 3^rd set tiebreaker (a buster). Waco is one of those college tennis shrines where it is impressive to have a good performance there no matter how good the Baylor team is.

Last year, Oregon disappointingly missed out on the NCAA tournament and took somewhat of a step back from what was expected. However, the 2016 team looks better and back on track. Before falling in heartbreaking fashion to the Bears on Sunday, Oregon dismissed a pretty good Old Dominion team 4-1 and before that, beat a solid UC Santa Barbara team in routine 7-0 fashion. The Oregon of a year ago would have not beat those teams so soundly but they would have been in a battle. The ability to put away dangerous mid-majors like UCSB and Old Dominion shows that this team has its head in the right place. And the fact that they came to battle with Baylor also shows an improvement in team mentality and belief.

A big reason for this improvement is the addition of super talented Freshman Thomas Laurent of France. He is a big add for Oregon and probably one of the most talented freshmen that the Oregon program has ever taken in. He was the player who suffered the clinching rough loss at #2 to Maxime Tchoutakian which was always going to be a tough spot for a freshman to get a big win on the road like that. The rest of the lineup is well balanced, with no weaknesses and no stand outs. Opposing teams will not know where their points will come from during any given match vs Oregon. Oregon should make the tournament this year and could push the Cali Quad in matches in the Pac 12.

On The Upswing honorable mentions: Arkansas, UC-Santa Barbara, Fresno State, BYU, Buffalo

Sliding Downward

downswing

Texas

Tough times were predictable following the departure of the talent laden senior class of 2015. Hess-Olesen, Glasspool and Berkowicz were the backbone and the limbs of Texas tennis the past couple of seasons and to suddenly be deprived of them was always going to be a big blow.

With that being said, the reloading process does not appear to be off to a very good start. Liam Caruana was supposed to be a stud #1 and a big get for the Longhorns, but instead he is playing in the Australian Open Juniors event and has decided against going to Austin for college tennis. A brief glimpse at this Longhorn lineup and it is evident that this team is nowhere close to the top 10 level Texas had become accustomed to the past two seasons. The results have backed that up thus far. A bad loss to a decent but not great Washington team and a lopsided loss to Florida did nothing to show that Texas will be better than the lineup indicates. They did gain a little bit of momentum with a very gutsy comeback effort vs Ole Miss, where they rallied from a set down on four courts and came up just short on one of the four courts. But still that is three losses already into this very young season.

The main problem with this team is at the top. George Goldhoff must take the reins at #1 pretty much by default. He has not been a great player for Texas in his career so far even at the #4 position, you could even say he has been somewhat disappointing and now he must play #1? That is not a recipe for success. Freshman Harrison Scott should be a decent player but he cannot do it all himself. Rodrigo Banzer could help a little bit despite taking one on the chin at #3 vs Ole Miss. John Mee should be a solid bottom of the lineup player in his 2^nd college season but early season results so far indicate he has taken a step back and will not be a big contributor so they must rely on less talented guys to hold down the bottom while struggling at the top.

The Big 12 will be brutal this year as every team aside from Texas looks to be absolutely loaded. Tough year ahead for the Longhorns.

Clemson

One of the teams that looks to be significantly worse this year from a season ago is the Clemson Tigers. Things did not look good ever since the fairly poor fall results in the individual events and the results thus far have not shown any signs of improvement. Two lopsided losses to Dartmouth and Penn State this past weekend showed the lack of talent on the team. There was never a moment in either match where it looked like Clemson had a chance to win. There were not even any what I like to call “create your own victory” scenarios that coaches love to throw out there. And Penn State and Dartmouth are not world beaters. Good teams? Yes. Teams that should be beating you 6-1 if you are an ACC team? No

The real sting in the tail, however, was the loss to Mercer the previous weekend. Mercer is probably not a top 150 caliber team (shown by their awful 6-1 loss to Southern Illinois after beating Clemson).

Now how did Clemson get to this point? Remember this team is only 2 years removed from back-to-back NCAA tournament 2^nd round appearances, being only 1 court away from a Sweet 16 trip each year. The answer is talent. This team has lost a lot of talent recently and has not replaced it. Luke Johnson is a very solid player at the #5 or #4 position but he is having to play #1 now, pretty much by default (much like Goldhoff of Texas as mentioned above). Alexandre Favrot was a bigtime recruit and is supposed to be a great player for Clemson this year. It would probably be best to put him at #1 and see what he can do versus the top talents in the country. The lack of growth from a few of the players at the bottom of the lineup hurts the team as well. Certain players have not shown improvement and therefore they accumulate quite a few losses lower in the lineup. And let’s not forget that Hampton Drake transferred to Duke after having a solid end to 2015 last year.

It’s unlikely that this team will finish the year in the top 75. They will need to have a few upsets in order for that to happen. They will need big contributions from some of the lower lineup guys and hope that Favrot has a breakout year at #1.

Louisville

The Louisville Cardinal are a hard team to figure out, mainly because they lack an identity and their team seems to be a jumble of players who don’t mesh well together. They are clearly not as good as a year ago thanks to the departure of Sebastian Stiefelmeyer, who had one of the best breakout years in the country last year for an individual. So far this year, they have been roughed up by Northwestern, roughed up by Memphis and lost to UC Santa Barbara in a surprise. They showed no lineup consistency in any of those 3 matches. Yes, it is early in the year and they have a very young team, so it is normal to fit and piece things together to see where players fit. But it is a little odd to have players drop in and out of the lineup the way Louisville does (they did this to an extent last year as well).

For instance, Jeffrey Brown and Sean Donohue did not make an appearance in the singles lineup vs UCSB and Brown not vs Memphis either despite player at 2 and 3 vs Northwestern. Also Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff did not play singles in the Cardinals first 2 matches against good competition and then suddenly appears at #3 vs UCSB. This type of lineup inconsistency will certainly keep the opposition guessing but at the cost of destroying team chemistry and individual confidence. This team will need to find some solid answers moving forward but it is looking unlikely with the lack of talent on the roster.

South Carolina

Clemson was not the only team from the Palmetto state that had a rough weekend on the road this past weekend. The Gamecocks equaled their rival’s tough weekend in New Hampshire with a tough weekend of their own in Columbus by falling in consecutive matches to Denver and Wichita State.

On paper, the Gamecocks should really be better this year than they were a year ago. They have an influx of some new talented freshmen and appear to have more depth plus they lost automatic loss machine Andrew Adams to graduation. So what exactly is going on with this team? They have issues at the top, with no dominant #1 type of player. The depth also appears to not be as strong as originally thought.

Gamecock coach Josh Goffi has made it a big point of emphasis in recent years to recruit Americans. This wins him some fans with those who believe college tennis has too many foreigners (I am not one of those people, I like foreigners playing the college game). Goffi gets praised for Americanizing the roster but does not get knocked for the team accumulating losses. You have to wonder if they are just relying too heavily on American freshmen to step in and immediately make a big impact in the college game. It is clear that Yancy Dennis in particular is going to need some time to adapt to the college game before being a big contributor for this team. O’Keefe and Mayronne will have to shoulder a lot of the burden if this team is to be competitive in the SEC this year. Can they do it? It will definitely help if Gabriel Friedrich ever returns from injury. All is not lost for this team (unlike the other 3 on this list), but things will be tough regardless.

Sliding Downward honorable mentions: Duke, Baylor, UTSA, UL-Lafayette

There is still a ton of tennis left to be played. We have only seen 5% of what these teams can do so far. Nothing is guaranteed. Any of these teams written about or listed in the honorable mentions can prove me wrong one way or another. One thing I CAN guarantee though is that this college tennis season will be 100% free from match fixing. And that is definitely not something the ATP can say.

Jeff McMillan (Clemson)

Pre-Tournament Men’s College Tennis Rankings: ACC & Big Ten

Posted by Admin on April 21, 2015

Posted in: College Tennis, Jeff McMillan, NCAA. Tagged: 2015, ACC, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 10, Big Ten Conference, Duke, georgia tech, Iowa, men's tennis, michigan, Michigan State, NCAA, Nebraska, North Carolina, Power Rankings, Virginia, Wisconsin. Leave a comment

Pre-Tournament Men’s College Tennis Rankings: ACC & Big Ten
Jeff McMillan, Tennis Atlantic

Before the NCAA tournament starts, let’s review what has transpired this past regular season. I will grade each power 5-conference teams’ season on an A to F scale based strictly on what they accomplished in the regular season vs. what was expected of them this year. (Only the SEC has completed their conference tournament out of the Power 5 conferences).
ACC

Virginia

Best Win: 6-1 vs Duke – Convincing score line over the biggest threat to them in the ACC
Worst Loss: 5-2 at Baylor – Yes it was in Waco but losing to the same team for a 2nd time in a matter of just over two weeks was not something you expect to happen to Virginia.
Team MVP: Colin Altamirano
Grade: B+

Having perpetual astronomical expectations makes the grading process a bit tougher on Virginia. 3 losses during the regular season would be considered a mild disappointment for the Cavs. But the team regrouped impressively and ran through ACC play unscathed yet again in convincing fashion. They are one of the teams in America that is capable of winning the national title.

Virginia Tech

Best Win: 6-1 vs. Duke – Playing without Amerigo Contini, the Hokies announced their presence to the college tennis world as a top 15 team by dispatching Duke, sweeping all 6 singles courts after dropping the doubles point. This win catapulted their season forward.
Worst Loss: 5-2 at Wake – The Hokies have no bad losses, this one is selected by default.
Team MVP: Hunter Koontz – only 2 losses all year. Rock in the middle of the lineup
Grade: A+
About the best season possible for Virginia Tech. Nobody expected the Hokies to be as good as they have been this year by having only 3 losses all year and all to good teams. They vastly separated themselves from the middle of the ACC pack where they were expected to be and put themselves into the title contender pack.

Wake Forest

Best Win: 4-3 vs TCU – The won over TCU was Wake’s first big win of the year and assuaged the hurt of losing back-to-back matches vs Texas and Virginia.
Worst Loss: 4-3 at NC State – The one loss to a team outside the top 30 and the loss that holds Wake’s ranking back from being even better than it is now. This loss to a feisty NC State team is what is keeping Wake out of the top 10. Bogaerts and Ho’s inability to win 3rd sets in this match was particularly disappointing.
Team MVP: Noah Rubin – Beat several top players and is the reason why Wake has moved above the 20-30 range where they had been stuck for a few years. He is truly one of college tennis’s top talents.
Grade: A-

A good year was expected from Wake and they matched those expectations, but did not surpass them. Very dangerous team moving forward with Rubin at the top of the deck. Look out for the Deacs come NCAA tournament time.

North Carolina

Best Win: 5-2 vs Duke – Another team with their best win of the season being over Duke. UNC played a great match in their win over their hated rival. Brayden Schnur played impressively in his return from injury that day.
Worst Loss: 5-2 at Louisville – Even without Schnur, a puzzling loss for the Tar Heels. Louisville took it to them in doubles and on 3 of the singles courts to wrap up the upset in fairly quick fashion.
Team MVP: Robert Kelly – The Freshman was a rock for the Tar Heels all season long in the lower part of the lineup and helped the Tar Heels survive the long absence of Schnur.
Grade: B-

A very good year was expected from the Tar Heels and they have been mildly disappointing, not fully meeting those expectations. A lot of that blame goes to Brayden Schnur’s injury however so they are not graded as harshly based on that. With Schnur back, the Heels could be a very dangerous team in May.

Duke

Best Win: 4-3 at Illinois – Winning in Champaign is never easy. And through the year Illinois has proven to be one of the top teams in the nation, so Duke’s early season win their looks mighty impressive now.
Worst Loss: 4-3 at Georgia Tech – Even playing without Alvarez, Duke should beat Georgia tech every time. This loss was a very low note to end the regular season on.
Team MVP: Nicolas Alvarez –No brainer here. One of the best players in the nation already as a freshman. His signature win this year was the 3 set clincher over Noah Rubin to secure the Devils win over the Deacs.
Grade: B

Duke has been solid all year long. Nothing really spectacular but still very good nonetheless. The team has shown depth problems as of late and those will need to be corrected come tournament time. They have lost a bit of steam down the stretch.

Louisville

Best Win: 5-2 vs. North Carolina – The most impressive win by far for the Cardinals this season. Showed their ability to step up to a higher ranked opponent and win.
Worst Loss: 5-2 vs Drake – Tough to choose the 1st match of the season as the worst loss but the Cardinals do not have any glaring poor losses on their resume, so this one falls into the worst category by default.
Team MVP: Sebastian Stiefelmeyer – Bursting onto the scene in the fall with winning the All-American championship in Tulsa, Stiefelmeyer continued to impress this season in dual play and cemented his place as a top 10 player in the nation. His signature win was a close victory over Colin Altamirano.
Grade: A-

Have to give Louisville a high grade based on the consistency of their play all season long. They beat the teams they were supposed to beat while still challenging the teams ranked above them.

Notre Dame

Best Win: 4-3 at Florida State – Wins over Northwestern and Oklahoma State are other candidates but the win over FSU is more critical because it was in conference play and was on the road vs. a FSU team that was on fire at the time. Alex Lawson’s 3rd set breaker win over Jose Gracia sealed the dramatic win in Tallahassee.
Worst Loss: 4-2 vs. Columbia – Columbia is a good team but this loss cost Notre Dame a chance at the indoor nationals in nearby Chicago, losing on their home courts to an underdog Ivy League team has to count as a pretty big disappointment.
Team MVP: Quentin Monaghan – Starting in March, Monaghan gave the ACC another top player after he dismissed ranked opponent after ranked opponent and improved his ranking to #9 in the nation.
Grade: C+

A bit of a drop-off was expected after losing Greg Andrews from last year but there were periods of the year where Notre Dame struggled. Ending the regular season in the lower 30s puts them on the right side of the tournament bubble, but one more loss here or there would have put their tournament chances squarely in jeopardy.

Florida State

Best Win: 5-2 at NC State – Winning in Raleigh in fairly convincing fashion in a match that was supposed to be an absolute toss-up that slightly favored the home team qualifies as FSU’s best win of the season.
Worst Loss: 4-2 vs. Florida – I chose this loss as the worst loss of the season because it left FSU in the same position they have been for a number of years now, playing 2nd fiddle in their own state (3rd fiddle this year with the advent of USF). It was a massive match on ESPN3 and FSU had plenty of chances to win, but once again they failed to beat their archrival, in a match that was very winnable for the Noles.
Team MVP: Michael Rinaldi – His improvement to being a ranked player this season was a big part of FSU’s success.
Grade: B-

Another middle of the road season for FSU as expected. They did not have any signature wins but did not have any terrible losses either. This team did what was expected of them but nothing more. How much longer will stagnation be accepted at FSU?

NC State

Best Win: 4-3 vs. Wake Forest – Massive win for the Wolfpack in a match they were big underdogs in. This win over a highly ranked team is single handedly keeping them in the NCAA tournament-ranking zone.
Worst Loss: 4-3 vs. Harvard – This loss to Harvard cost NC State any chance of playing in the national indoor tournament and started their year off on a sour note.
Team MVP: Simon Norenius – One of the most underrated players on the ACC for a long time. Norenius racked up the wins in the lower part of the line-up, being almost a sure point for the Pack each match and while more losses crept into his record as he moved up the line-up he remained a critical player for the Wolfpack.
Grade: C-

NC State was expected to have a better season based on the fact that Austin Powell and Robbie Mudge are seniors and this was their last chance to make a big impact in the ACC, but instead the team took a slight step back rather than steps forward. Next year will be a tough year for NC State

Georgia Tech

Best Win: 4-3 vs. Duke – Finally! The win that Georgia Tech was looking for all season. After several 4-3 heartbreakers, including one to rival and top 5 team Georgia, the Jackets finally secured a big upset in the last match of the regular season. It probably came too late to get an NCAA berth, but still a very nice win.
Worst Loss: 4-3 vs. Louisville – This was the match that Georgia Tech desperately needed to keep any chances of the NCAA tournament alive and it was one that they should have won at home.
Team MVP: Christopher Eubanks – The 6’7 freshman had several very good wins during the season and provided a nice punch at the top of the lineup for the Yellow Jackets all season long.
Grade: C+

An improvement from a year ago but still it was a season of almost for Georgia Tech. They almost had a splendid year but instead will more than likely be sitting at home come tournament time again this year. Watch out for the bunch from Atlanta next year though.

Clemson

Best Win: 4-3 vs. Texas Tech – At the time of Alejandro Augusto’s comeback win over Huga Dojas to send the match to doubles where Clemson would eventually win (different format because of the rain at Blue/Gray) this win did not seem that big. But as the season wore on and Texas Tech continued to soar up the rankings, this win got bigger and bigger.
Worst Loss: 4-3 vs. NC State – A lot to chose from here. Could have gone with the tone setting losses to Memphis or Auburn but I went with the loss to NC State because of how close Clemson was to the win at home. Leading the whole match, the Tigers could not finish the deal and the nail was put into the coffin for any NCAA tournament chances after losing to NC State.
Team MVP: Luke Johnson – Ran through the ACC for a few matches, beating all comers. He was the only player on the team who consistently showed up during the entire ACC season.
Grade: D

A very disappointing year for the Tigers. A slight drop-off was expected after the departure of Dom Maden, but looking at the returning roster this was thought to be a bubble tournament team at worst. But instead it is highly likely that Clemson will finish 2015 out of the top 75.

Miami

Best Win: 6-1 vs. George Washington – Yes I’m serious
Worst Loss: 4-3 vs. Pepeprdine – This was the tone setting loss for the Hurricanes. Blowing set leads on courts 5 and 6 cost Miami what would have been an important ranked win and maybe could have sent the season in a different direction entirely.
Team MVP: Christian Langmo – Only player on the team that showed decent improvement as the season went on, culminating in a huge win over #4 Ryan Shane of Virginia.
Grade: F

An awful year all around. This was expected to be an improvement year with the addition of Piotr Lomacki. The Hurricanes registered no wins worth anything at all and had a string of several 7-0 losses in ACC play in a row. Miami needs a change ASAP if they want their tennis program to get back on a respectable level.

Boston College does not award men’s tennis scholarships so they cannot be considered in this season recap.

Big Ten

Illinois

Best Win: 4-2 at Texas A&M – Without Farris Gosea, the Illini had just come off a huge in itself over Texas in Austin. With only 1 day of rest the Illini went into College Station and knocked of the upstart Aggies in impressive fashion.
Worst Loss: 4-3 vs. Minnesota – A low note to end the regular season on, it was the first “bad” loss that the Illini accumulated all season.
Team MVP: Aleks Vukic – The Freshman lost only 2 dual matches all season long and was a rock in the middle part of the lineup all season. The Illini have had critical contribution from all players but Vukic has been the most solid of them all.
Grade: A

A very good season from Illinois. They have positioned themselves very well for the NCAA tournament and Big Ten Tournament. This is the best team that Illinois has had probably since their national title team of 2003. The NCAA tournament will determine if this season can be bumped up to an A+.

Ohio State

Best Win: 4-3 vs Texas – Even though the Longhorns would get revenge later in the season in Austin, tis win was still a very important one for the Buckeyes and kept them on track for another top 10 season.
Worst Loss: 5-2 at Tulsa – Tulsa had already established themselves as giant killers after their big win over Southern Cal, so Ohio State should have been ready for the challenge of going into Tulsa but instead they left with a 5-2 loss that set their ranking back and the season in general back.
Team MVP: Mikael Torpegaard – The Danish Freshman became a pretty stable part of the top of the lineup as the season went on. His signature win being over Andrew Harris of Oklahoma.
Grade: B-

The 2015 season was a slight step back for Ohio State, but considering the loss of Peter Kobelt from the year before, the step back was not all that unexpected. Who knows what this team could have done if Hugo Di Feo had been cleared to play this year by the NCAA.

Minnesota

Best Win: 4-3 vs. Illinois – A huge win for Minnesota tennis, beating a perennial Big Ten power and boosting themselves into the top 25 and announcing their legitimacy to the otherwise unknowing college tennis world.
Worst Loss: 5-2 at Harvard – After winning doubles, losing 5 of 6 singles courts vs a team that Minnesota should probably beat was disappointing. This loss held back their ranking for much of the season as well and kept people from considering them a legit Big Ten threat.
Team MVP: Matic Spec – His emergence at the #2 spot as the season wore on ended up being the key for Minnesota. He complimented Leandro Toledo’s strong play at #1 by being a very strong #2 giving Minnesota a formidable top 2.
Grade: A-

Minnesota had a great regular season. Before the win over Illinois they were about a B in grading but the massive win over Illinois boosted the season in so many ways, from ranking to national perception and positions them well for the NCAA tournament coming up.

Northwestern

Best Win: 4-3 at Vanderbilt – Early season win that positioned Northwestern for good things in 2015. Strong Kirchheimer’s 3rd set breaker win at #3 sealed the dramatic win in Nashville over a strong SEC team.
Worst Loss: 4-1 at Rice – A loss that came out of nowhere quite frankly. I don’t know if the Wildcats weren’t ready or the underestimated the Owls but this was a bad loss in every way for Northwestern.
Team MVP: Alp Horoz Pips Sam Shropshire for this award because of his overall solidness at the #6 position. Horoz evolved as one of the best #6 players in the Big Ten and had critical wins in several Northwestern’s close wins.
Grade: B

A very solid season for Northwestern overall. A few 4-3 losses kept the season from being anything more but the Northwestern team kept their heads above water and have gave themselves a good chance to do something more in the tournament.

Indiana

Best Win: 4-2 vs. Oregon – This win showed that Indiana was a solid team and was ready for Big Ten play. By knocking off a middle-tier Pac 12 team who had higher ambitions, Indiana boosted their own ambitions.
Worst Loss: 5-2 at Michigan State – Disastrous loss. Perhaps the single most critical loss for any team in the country when it is all said and done. This loss to an unranked and unthreatening Spartan team could very well cost Indiana a spot in the NCAA tournament. It has certainly put them squarely on the bubble when a win could have all but cemented their spot in the NCAA’s.
Team MVP: Sven Lalic – Had a few critical wins that gave Indiana close wins, most notably the win over Penn State. Lalic held down the middle part of the lineup well and bridged the top to the bottom nicely.
Grade: B-

Overall a pretty decent season from Indiana. A definite improvement from 2014. However if the loss to Michigan State costs them a spot in the tournament, the season will look a lot less successful than it looked just last week before the loss.

Penn State

Best Win: 4-1 vs. USF – This win was the crown jewel of Penn State’s glittery early season success. It announced their presence to the college tennis world and led many to believe that big things were coming from Penn State tennis this season.
Worst Loss: 5-2 vs. Penn – While the with over USF was a sparling jewel, the loss to unranked Penn was the ugly smudge that signaled that the upcoming season was going be more complex than it first appeared. Penn State would follow with several other bad losses (to VCU, to UNC-Wilmington and to Michigan State).
Team MVP: Tomas Hanzlik – Remained steady in the middle of the lineup despite the turbulent waters of the Penn State tennis season.
Grade: D

A harsh grade on the surface but this season went south so quickly that it should be graded low. I don’t know if it has ever happened before that a team that qualifies for the Indoor National Tournament in February misses the NCAA tournament in the same season, but the Nittany Lions could do just that. An early season top 20 ranking was flushed down the drain with several bad losses. Barring a few upsets in the Big Ten tournament, Penn State will finish 2015, a season that began with such promise, in extremely disappointing fashion.

Michigan State

Best Win: 5-2 at Indiana – Played the roll of ultimate spoiler in Bloomington. Potentially crashing the Hoosiers NCAA tournament chances in the last match of the regular season.
Worst Loss: 4-3 at Western Michigan – An inexcusable loss to the MAC team from Kalamazoo for the 2nd straight season. This loss torpedoed any chances that Michigan State had to turn their season around starting in Big Ten play.
Team MVP: Gijs Linders – Absorbed many body blows in the season at #1 but despite those losses was able to end the season on a strong note, accumulating a few wins.
Grade: C-

Not having JP Mullane for much of the season hurt the Spartans, but still the team underperformed and did not come close to the NCAA tournament in the end. They did somehow manage to get the #7 seed in the Big Ten tournament and that boosts the grade a bit. Could finish the season outside the top 75.

Iowa

Best Win: 4-2 vs. Wichita State – Only win over a ranked team all season for Iowa. Signaled a potential break through year early on for the Hawkeyes.
Worst Loss: 4-2 at Cornell – This loss blew a chance to get another ranked non-conference win and cost them a chance to position themselves nicely before Big Ten play.
Team MVP: Leftis Theodorou – Accumulated a good record playing at #3 and #2 for Iowa. Was the most likely player for Iowa each match to get a win for the team. A strong season for the freshman, good things to come for him in Iowa City.
Grade: C+

2015 was a step forward for Iowa tennis. Expectations are fairly low for Iowa tennis and having the team in the top 75 for most of the season is an accomplishment. The success wore off as Big Ten play went on, but there are signs of improvement for the program.

Wisconsin

Best Win: 4-3 at Michigan State – Only win over a competitive team all season for Wisconsin.
Worst Loss: 4-1 vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay – No disrespect meant to UWGB, but this should never ever happen.
Team MVP: Josef Dodridge – Actually won a decent amount of matches at #1 in the middle part of the season vs. Big Ten competition, enough to get the honor of team MVP.
Grade: F

A horrible year for Wisconsin tennis. Could not beat any teams with a pulse and lost to some very poor teams. Wisconsin tennis has taken many large steps back in recent seasons, as the other sports in the Badger Athletic Department continue to achieve great success. The Sweet 16 appearance team of Marek Michalicka and Moritz Baumann feels a millennium away at this point.

Nebraska

Best Win: 4-3 at Denver – At the time this was an encouraging win and led some to believe that Nebraska was going to be a decent team in 2015.
Worst Loss: 5-2 at Wisconsin – Only truly bad loss for Nebraska tennis in 2015. Every other loss is to ranked teams and teams that you would expect to beat Nebraska. Losing to the Badger train wreck is inexcusable.
Team MVP: Dusty Boyer – Finished 2015 with an impressive 3 set win over Mikael Toregaard of Ohio State, this added to his already impressive list of wins over Matt Hagan of Iowa and Leonard Stakhovksy of Penn State making him a decent #1 for the Cornhuskers.
Grade: C-

Nebraska did not have many expectations entering 2015 and they did nothing during the season to indicate that there should have been any to begin with. A very ho-hum nondescript season for Nebraska tennis, it did not reach terrible depths but it also was not very successful.

Michigan

Best Win: 6-1 vs. Memphis – A shocking display of tennis from Michigan. The one match of the season where the Wolverines played good tennis on all courts and swept aside a Memphis team that will probably be participating in the NCAA tournament.
Worst Loss: 4-0 at Nebraska – Getting swept by a subpar Cornhusker team was the first real indication that not only was this Michigan team a big step back from previous Michigan teams but also that they were simply a bad tennis team (all losses before this had been to decently ranked teams).
Team MVP: Runhao Hua – The Freshman from Shanghai had by far the best year of any Michigan Wolverine. He provided a winning record at the #3 slot and was the only player that other teams scouted for when facing Michigan this season. Hua will be the foundation of the next few years for the rebuilding of Michigan tennis.
Grade: C–

A tough year was expected for Michigan in 2015 so it is impossible to give them too low of a grade despite the horrendous overall record (only had 6 wins all year). There were few positive signs but with coach Adam Steinberg at the helm you have to believe that things in Ann Arbor are going to get sunnier soon. The night is always darkest before the dawn and it’s hard to imagine a darker year of Michigan tennis than 2015.

Purdue

Best Win: 6-1 over IUPUI – This was a tough one. The other options were wins over Dayton, Eastern Illinois and Morehead State….
Worst Loss: 5-2 at DePaul – A very poor loss for any team that is in a power 5 conference.
Team MVP: Diego Acosta – His win over Aron Hiltzik alone gives him team MVP.
Grade: F

After having a breakthrough year in 2014 by making the NCAA tournament, Purdue fell to abysmal depths in 2015. They were the worst team out of all power 5-conference teams who give men’s tennis scholarships. There were guys playing at the lower parts of the lineup who should not be on any D1 team let alone on a Big Ten team. Will there be any answers for next year? What happened ion 2015?

Check back in the next few days for the grading recap of the Big 12, Pac 12 and the SEC.

Jeff McMillan (Clemson)

Tennis Atlantic’s @ITATennis Kickoff Weekend All-Star Line-Up

Posted by Admin on January 27, 2015

Posted in: ITA, Jeff McMillan, NCAA. Tagged: All Stars, college, Columbia, Duke, International Tennis Association, ITA, Kickoff Weekend, NCAA, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, TCU, tennis, Virginia.

Tennis Atlantic’s @ITATennis Kickoff Weekend All-Star Line-Up
Jeff McMillan, Tennis Atlantic

This past weekend the dual college tennis season finally got into full gear after the long off-season with the ITA kickoff weekend. Fifteen schools hosted regionals of four teams, with each team guaranteed two matches. The fifteen regional winners will join host Illinois in Chicago for the national indoor event in February.

There were many close matches, upsets and near upsets and showed that this college tennis season will be one to follow closely with the plethora of talent spread across the country.

After all the matches, Tennis Atlantic has chosen our All-Star Line-Up based on the players’ performance to help their team qualify for the national event in Chicago.

ITA Kickoff Weekend All-Star Line-Up:

1. Soren Hess-Olesen, Texas

Soren Hess-Oleson (Photo Credit: NCAA)

Heading the top spot in the all-star line-up is senior Soren Hess-Olesen from the Texas Longhorns. Hess-Olesen entered the weekend as one of the nations top players coming in at #13 in the ITA rankings and the Aarhus, Denmark native backed up his ranking in impressive fashion. Texas was heavily favored to win their region in Austin, but was tested a bit more than expected with stern challenges coming from Minnesota and Florida State. Hess-Olesen was the solid rock that kept the team from succumbing to the oncoming challengers. He took care of the 17th ranked player in the nation, Leandro Toledo of Minnesota in routine 6-1 7-5 fashion, which set the tone for the 4-1 win over Minnesota. On Sunday he absorbed everything that talented Zimbabwean Ben Lock threw at him and breezed past the FSU #1 6-2 6-3 which was a key point in a tight 4-3 win.

2. Nicolas Alvarez, Duke

At the #2 spot in the all-star lineup is the Duke freshman from Lima, Peru. Alvarez announced his presence on the college tennis scene in the fall with several big wins, as he quickly became one of the top players in the nation already as a freshman. He entered the kickoff weekend ranked #18 in the nation and he would face stout competition at the #2 slot in the Durham region. He began the weekend with a huge 7-6(1) 6-3 win over #12 Romain Bogaerts of Wake Forest that became a huge point in an important early season win for Duke over upstart ACC rival Wake Forest. Wake is thought to have one of the best top 2 combos in the country with Noah Rubin and Romain Bogaerts, but Alvarez disrupted that with his huge win over Bogaerts. Alvarez followed up the impressive win vs Wake with another impressive win over the talented freshman from Memphis Andrew Watson 6-4 6-4 who is ranked #23 in the country to lead Duke to Chicago.

3. Matt Barry, Penn State

The biggest surprise of the kick-off weekend was Penn State’s qualification for the final 16. The underdogs from the Big Ten upset host Kentucky before knocking off favored USF to qualify for Chicago despite only being ranked #26 heading into the weekend. A big part of Penn State’s qualification was the play of junior Matt Barry from Lido Beach, NY. Barry actually played at the #4 slot in the first match vs. host Kentucky. Barry took out crafty Kevin Lai 6-4 6-4 in a match that many would consider a surprise result. His win was the most solid keg in Penn State’s sweep of the 3-6 positions that gave the Nittany Lions the huge win over Kentucky. On Sunday Barry backed up his great win over Lai with a huge comeback win at the #3 position vs USF. Barry dropped the first set vs Oliver Pramming 5-7 which put Penn State in a perilous position. Barry started a rally for his team on court 3 by taking the 2nd set 6-4 and eventually closing the rally by winning the 3rd set 6-2 and sending Penn State tennis to an unprecedented level.

4. Ashok Narayana, Columbia

Representing the Ivy League in Chicago will be Columbia who had a close win over Tennessee and then an epic win over host Notre Dame. The standout for Columbia in these two wins was Houston, TX senior Ashok Narayana. Narayana took care of Luis Valero of Tennessee in a 7-5 6-2 solid win that was a key point in the Lions 4-3 win over the Vols. On Sunday Columbia and Notre Dame would battle in what is already an early season candidate for match of the season. Each of the 6 singles courts went to a 3rd set with the result entirely in the air. Narayana’s turnaround proved to be the key in the match. After dropping the first set 1-6 to Eric Schurrenberger, Narayana would rally. In the end Narayana out dueled the Notre Dame junior, who had just won the decisive 3rd set tiebreaker in the previous match that lead Notre Dame past Oklahoma State and set up the matchup with Columbia. 1-6 7-5 6-4 Narayana def Schurrenberger and Columbia will be in Chicago amongst the best teams in the nation.

5. Jose Antonio Salazar, Oklahoma

Oklahoma is considered to be one of the top favorites to win the national title this season and if they wish to achieve this goal the key is how some of the new pieces fit into the team. Jose Salazar is one of those new players. The Canary Islands native fit right into the Sooner lineup this weekend and had two solid wins. He defeated James Hignett of New Mexico 7-5 6-1 in the first round to give the Sooners a no drama win over the heavy underdogs. On Sunday though it was a different story as the Northwestern Wildcats gave Oklahoma everything they wanted. Salazar was blitzed in the first set 2-6 by Alp Horoz from Turkey and it was looking like Oklahoma may be headed for an unexpected exit from the kick-off weekend. But Salazar rallied and dominated the next two sets 6-2 6-0 which proved to be instrumental in shifting the momentum of the match and led the Sooners to overcoming the stiff challenge from the Wildcats in a 4-1 win.

6. Ricardo Jorge, Ole Miss

Rounding out the kickoff weekend all-star is Ole Miss sophomore Ricardo Jorge. The Tavira, Portugal native came through with two 3 set wins that lifted his Ole Miss Rebels to Chicago after two very close wins over Florida and South Carolina. Ole Miss looked dead to rights vs Florida after going down 3-0 in Gainseville as did Jorge who had lost the first set to Oliver Landert 3-6. But Jorge kept the hopes alive for Ole Miss after a tense 2nd set tiebreak in which he emerged the victor 7-6(5) he rode his momentum into the 3rd set and took the match with a 6-4 3rd set win as Ole Miss beat Florida 4-3. Jorge provided his team with another 3 set win on Sunday when he defeated Thomas Mayronne of South Carolina 6-1 3-6 6-2. Jorge’s two huge wins at #6 over the weekend was a big boost for Ole Miss as they became one of the only two SEC teams to qualify for Chicago.

Honorable Mentions
Max Schnur, Columbia
Dragos Ignat, Columbia
Guillermo Nunez, TCU
Gustav Hansson, Ole Miss
Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Virginia

Jeff McMillan (Clemson)

Five Shine @ITATennis Tulsa Fall All-Americans

Posted by Admin on October 12, 2014

Posted in: Jeff McMillan, NCAA. Tagged: AJ, all-american, Ben Lott, Catanzariti, college, Drake, Duke, fall, kwiatkowski, Lousiville, NCAA, Nicolas Alvarez, sebastian stieflemeyer, tennis, Texas A&M, thai-son, tulsa, Virginia.

Five Shine @ITATennis Tulsa Fall All-Americans
Jeff McMillan, Tennis East Coast

Players from around the country competed in the Tulsa Fall All-Americans the past week and a half. The event in Tulsa is an annual tournament, mammoth in size and comprising players from nearly every D1 team in the nation. The tournament started in the pre-qualifying, continued through the qualifying draw and concluded in the main draw Monday. The players were placed in each draw based on pre-season ranking and previous season accomplishment. Players starting in the pre-qualifying draw had to win 7 matches in order to get into the 64 player main draw. 4 players fought their way all the way form the pre-qualifying draw and into the main draw: Jack Murray of North Carolina, AJ Catanzariti of Texas A&M, Jonathan Ho of Wake Forest and Thomas Stillman of Texas-San Antonio.
The 10-day event was full of great matches, upsets, emerging players and overall great play. Of the many players who played in Tulsa 5 in particular stood out:

Ben Lott: Drake. Junior from Newcastle, England.
Tulsa results
QR1: def Wayne Montgomery, Georgia, 6-1 6-4
QR2: def Benjamin Lock, Florida State, 6-2 6-3
QR3: def Ashok Narayana, Columbia, 7-5 6-3
R1: lost to Jared Hitzlik, Illinois, 6-4 7-5
CON: def Harrison Adams, Texas A&M, 6-4 6-4
CON: lost to Chris Diaz, Ohio State, 7-5 6-2

Lott came into Tulsa as an unseeded player in the qualifying draw. He announced his presence in Tulsa with a dominating win over Wayne Montgomery of Georgia who was the hottest young player in the nation prior to this tournament, having just won the Southern Intercollegiate event in Athens. He followed that up with a routine win over Lock, who will likely be the #1 player for Florida State this year. He qualified for the main draw with a win over Narayana. His dream of winning it all was lost with a first round loss to Hitzlik but he backed up his qualifying success with a straight sets win over Texas A&M’s top player Harrison Adams. His tournament ended with a loss to eventual consolation draw runner-up Chris Diaz. Overall, it was a very impressive result for Lott of Drake, who always puts out a very solid tennis program.

Nicolas Alvarez: Duke. Freshman from Lima, Peru.
Tulsa results
QR1: def Nathan Rakitt, Georgia Tech, 6-4 6-4
QR2: def Stefan Lindmark, Ole Miss, 6-4 7-5
QR3: def Tin Ostojic, Wichita State, 6-2 7-5
R1: def Andre Goransson, Cal, 6-0 3-6 6-2
R2: def Jared Hitzlik, Illinois, 2-6 7-5 6-4
R3: def Roberto Cid, USF, 6-3 5-7 6-4
QF: lost to Yannick Hanfmann, Southern Cal, 6-1 6-1

Alvarez was a highly touted freshman coming into Duke this year. He is an accomplished ITF player and figured to immediately make a big impact for the Duke Blue Devils. He proved those thoughts to be exactly right this week in Tulsa with his impressive display. He began his run with a win over Georgia Tech’s #1 player Rakitt and followed that up with two straight set wins over Lindmark and Ostojic. He then won 3 straight 3 set matches to get all the way to the quarterfinals. His wins over Hitzlik and Cid are the particularly good ones considering the elite nature of those two players on a national scale. He will be a big player in the ACC and the nation as a freshman this year.

A.J. Catanzariti: Texas A&M. Freshman from Pittsburgh, PA
Tulsa results
PR1: def Sergio de Vilchez, Wichita State, 6-4 6-0
PR2: def Simon Freund, LSU, 6-2 6-3
PR3: def Matt Frost, Drake, 6-3 6-4
PR4: def Ben Davis, MTSU, 7-5 6-1
QR1: def Eric Johnson, Southern Cal, 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3
QR2: def David Biosca, ETSU, 7-6(2) 6-1
QR3: def Chris Diaz, Ohio State, 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3
R1: lost to Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Virginia, 7-6(5) 6-4
CON: def Albert Wagner, Louisville, 6-1 6-2
R2: lost to Ronnie Schneider, North Carolina, 7-5 7-5

Catanzariti was the only player in the entire field to win 7 matches in a row to get into the main draw (the other 3 pre-qualifiers had byes in R1 so they only won 6 matches to get in the main draw). He mowed down players in the pre-qualies with the signature win being over Davis of MTSU. In qualifying he knocked off Eric Johnson, one of the key parts of USC’s national title team from last year. His win over Chris Diaz is the standout win of the tournament for the freshman. Catanzariti’s two losses were to two of the best players in college tennis and he was able to give them two tight sets each. Catanzariti proved this week that he will play a role in A&M’s season this year in the SEC.

Thai-Son Kwiatkowski: Virginia. Sophomore from Charlotte, NC
Tulsa results
QR1: def Kevin Metka, Ohio State, 3-6 6-2 6-3
QR2: def Martin Redlicki, UCLA, 6-2 7-6(4)
QR3: def Felipe Rios, Baylor, 6-2 6-4
R1: def AJ Cantazariti, Texas A&M, 7-6(5) 6-4
R2: def Winston Lin, 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3
R3: def Austin Smith, Georgia, 6-1 6-7(3) 6-3
QF: def Julian Lenz, Baylor, 6-2 6-3
SF: lost Sebastian Stieflemeyer, Louisville, 6-1 3-6 6-1

The Virginia sophomore was a quiet rock last year as a freshman. He went through the whole season with only 1 loss with little fanfare. His stellar record may have gone unnoticed on the national scale because he was playing lower in the UVA line-up. But in Tulsa, Thai-Son showed that he will be unnoticed no longer. In his first match he avenged his only collegiate loss by rallying to beat big serving Buckeye veteran Kevin Metka. He then dispatched highly touted UCLA freshman Michael Redlicki, who is expected to be one of the best freshmen in the nation this year before finishing the qualifying campaign with a dominating win over Felipe Rios. After beating Catanzariti in round 1 of the main draw, Kwiatkowski showed his true potential. He defeated Winston Lin and Austin Smith, both of whom were top 15 players in the country last year. Thai-Son showed solid mental strength in each match after he lost the 2nd set and the momentum in both before putting together rock solid 3rd sets. In the quarterfinals Kwiatkowski dominated the #1 seed in Tulsa and Baylor kingpin Julian Lenz in a match that shows just how good the Cavalier is going to be this year. His run came to an eventual end to red-hot Sebastian Stieflemeyer in 3 sets but nonetheless it was an immense week for Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and shows that he will be one of the nation’s top players this year and will be a big part of UVA’s attempt to recapture the national title.

Sebastian Stieflemeyer: Louisville. Senior from Vienna, Austria
Tulsa results
QR1: def Ace Matias, UNLV, 6-1 6-2
QR2: def Ricky Medinilla, Purdue, 6-0 0-6 7-6(3)
QR3: def Robert Kelly, North Carolina, 6-2 1-6 6-2
R1: def Bruno Semenzato, Duke, 4-6 6-2 6-0
R2: def Soren Hess-Olesen, Texas, 6-4 6-2
R3: def Samir Iftikhar, New Mexico, 6-1 7-6(1)
QF: def Dominic Koepfer, Tulane, 4-6 6-3 6-2
SF: def Thai-Son Kwiathowski, Virginia, 6-1 3-6 6-1
F: def Yannick Hanfmann, Southern Cal, 6-3 6-2

After the 10 day event, the many many matches and the players from around the country competing in Tulsa, an unlikely winner emerged. That unlikely winner was Sebastian Stieflemeyer, a senior from Austria for the Louisville Cardinals. Stieflemeyer has always been a solid #1 player for the Cardinals but never considered one of the nation’s elites. But that changed through a week of inspired play. His championship run almost ended in the qualifying draw after he barely survived a roller-coaster match with Purdue’s Ricky Medinilla. After the two traded bagel sets, Stieflemeyer outclassed the Mexican in the 3rd set tiebreak to keep his tournament alive. He then beat two ACC players in three sets each in order to get to a 2nd round showdown with Soren Hess-Olesen. Hess-Olesen was a big favorite coming in and a seemingly bad matchup for Stieflemeyer but the Louisville senior rolled through the Longhorn in two sets. Two fellow surprise players, Iftikhar and Koepfer, were Steiflemeyer’s next victims as he kept rolling into the semifinals. As previously mentioned, he knocked off the on-fire Kwiatkowski to set up a final with Southern Cal’s Yannick Hanfmann. Hanfmann, now a veteran, is one of the best players in the nation and arguably the one with the most ATP potential. He was expected to dismiss the upstart Stieflemeyer but the opposite occurred as Sebastian shockingly routined the USC Trojan to capture the title.

An overall amazing week that comes out of nowhere for Sebastian Stieflemeyer and it will be very interesting to see how he backs up this All-American championship.

2013 @USTA @TennisOnCampus Teams Heading to Hilton Head For Fall Invitational

Posted by Admin on October 4, 2013

Posted in: Tennis on Campus, USTA. Tagged: college, Duke, fall, Hilton Head, invitational, James Madison, On campus, South Carolina, teams, tennis, university, usta, Virginia.

2013 USTA TENNIS ON CAMPUS FALL INVITATIONAL TEAMS ANNOUNCED

Thirty-two Colleges and Universities Selected to Compete in
Season-Opening Tournament, Oct. 11 -13 in Hilton Head Island

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Oct. 1, 2013 – The United States Tennis Association has announced the 32 coed intramural and club tennis teams, representing colleges and universities throughout the country, selected to compete at the fourth annual USTA Tennis On Campus (TOC) Fall Invitational.

The Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center in Hilton Head, S.C., will host the event, taking place Oct. 11-13. The winner and runner-up from the tournament will qualify for an automatic bid to compete for the national title at the 2014 USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship in Surprise, Ariz., April 10-12, 2014.

“We’re thrilled for this year’s Fall Invitational, which serves as a national kick-off and builds excitement for the entire Tennis On Campus season,” said Glenn Arrington, National Manager, USTA Tennis On Campus. “This event continues to gain popularity each year. It’s a great opportunity for players to represent their college or university in a fun and competitive atmosphere.”

This year, 15 schools will make their debut at the 2013 TOC Fall Invitational. Duke University took home top honors at last year’s tournament, besting the University of Virginia, 26-23, in the final.

2012 Duke, Tennis on Campus

Participating teams for this year’s 2013 TOC Fall Invitational list include the following schools (representative section in parentheses):

The TOC Fall Invitational is designed to give students the chance to compete against club teams from other colleges to maximize their playing experience and to provide an opportunity to claim an automatic bid into the National Championship.

During the Fall Invitational, students will not only have an opportunity to socialize with other teams but also network with representatives from both the Tennis Industry Association and the Professional Tennis Registry to learn about future career opportunities in tennis. Following the tournament, schools continue to compete around the country on a section level, within the USTA’s 17 sections.

—Steve Pratt

Duke Edges UVa in Tennis on Campus Fall Invitational

Posted by Admin on October 21, 2012

Posted in: Tennis on Campus, University of Virginia, USTA. Tagged: Duke, Tennis on Campus, university, usta, uva, Virginia. Leave a comment

Duke beats UVA, 26-23, to win

USTA Tennis On Campus Fall Invitational

After Suffering Heartbreak Defeat to the Cavaliers Last Year, the Blue Devils

Hang On To Win Final As Both Schools Win Automatic Bids Into 2013 TOC Nationals

Champions Nonetheless

HILTON HEAD, S.C., Oct. 21, 2012 – The sting of losing in last year’s USTA Tennis On Campus Fall Invitational championship match never really left the returning players for Duke University.

On Sunday, many of the same Duke players who experienced that tough loss one year ago were able to avenge that defeat and celebrate a huge 26-23 victory over defending champion Virginia on Sunday in the final of the third annual event held at the Palmetto ResortTennis Center.

With victories in the morning semifinals, both Duke and Virginia captured automatic qualifying bids into next April’s USTA Tennis on Campus National Championships to be held in Surprise, Ariz.

“We feel like we kind of have a friendly rivalry with Virginia,” said Duke’s senior captain Stephanie Dudzinski from Peculiar, Mo. “We are both from different USTA sections but we tend to run into them a lot at these big events. I know our guys waited a full year for this match. It feels great to get into Nationals by winning the Fall Invitational.”

Leading 20-18 entering the final mixed doubles portion of the match, Dudzinski teamed with Ernesto Traulsen of Geneva,Switzerland, and quickly went up 5-3 against the Virginia pairing of Captain Derek Gale and Faby Chaillo. But Gale and Chaillo broke Traulsen’s serve and held for a 5-all tie. Duke pulled out the tiebreaker 5-3 to clinch the title.

“It was nervous-time at the end,” Traulsen said. “This was our goal when the season started, to win the Fall Invite and qualify for Nationals. But winning Nationals is obviously the top priority now.”

The team practices on the Duke’s courts on campus at Chapel Hill, N.C. Other key members of the team include women’s singles player Jennifer Huang of Chapel Hill and Jaisal Mariwala from India.

“We gave it all we had and came up a bit short,” Virginia’s Gale said.“It’s a tough one to lose, for sure. We got down a bit in doubles and could never recover. They are a solid team and we hope to see them again at Nationals.”

Meg Inscoe, a 28-year-old Kinesiology grad student from Athens, Ga., is back on the Georgia team after a four-year layoff. She was recognized as the oldest player taking part in the event on Sunday and helped lead the Bulldogs to the championship title in the Silver Bracket.

Inscoe played for the Bulldogs club team from 2006-08.“I’m a lot older than the other kids on the team, but I love it,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed coming back and playing on the team again.”

Growing up in Athens, Inscoe attended many an NCAA Championships match in her youth. “I wasn’t good enough to play on the team, so this was second-best,”she said, adding that she feels like part of the University of Georgia tennis community and assists at the summer Manny Diaz Tennis Camps.

Central Florida junior Leonard Lopez admits he’s a better tennis play than dancer, but he still managed to finish second in the dance-off Saturday night at the popular Player Party held on the courts of the Palmetto Dunes TC courts. “What a great experience and atmosphere this weekend, said Lopez, who danced to the song“Sleepy Head” by Passion Pit. “You really couldn’t ask for a better weekend.”

There was a tie for the Sportsmanship Award voted on by the teams with Ferris State University and College of Charleston (A) taking home the honor.

To view all the scores and draws from the first two days of play, go to:

http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=133326.For more information about the USTA Tennis On Campus program visit www.tennisoncampus.com.

This event marked the third consecutive year that the USTA Tennis on Campus program has hosted a season-opening event, with 32 teams from across the country participating in the tournament. The event is designed to give students a chance to compete with other college club tennis teams from across the country, to learn about career opportunities from the Tennis Industry Association and the Professional Tennis Registry and provide an opportunity to claim an automatic bid into the National Championship. Following the tournament, schools continue to compete around the country on a sectional level, within the USTA’s 17 sections.

ABOUT USTA TENNIS ON CAMPUS: The USTA TOC program features more than 35,000 college students competing nationwide in intramural coed club play. Developed by the USTA in partnership with the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association, World TeamTennis and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the program gives college students the opportunity to build leadership skills, network in a coed sports environment and compete on a college team without the rigors of playing in a varsity program. With year-round match play, and sectional and national championship competition, students maintain active and healthy lifestyles through their college years. Since its inception in 2000, Tennis On Campus has grown significantly and today has programs on more than 600 college campuses across the country.

Sunday’s Results

GOLD BRACKET

Championship Match: Duke def. Virginia, 26-23

Semifinals: Virginia def. Colorado School of Mines (A), 27-12

Duke def. Central Florida A, 26-18

3^rd-4^th Place Match: Central Florida (A) def. Colorado School of Mines (A), 24-15

5^th-6^th Place Semifinal Match: UNC-Greensboro def. Clemson (A) 24-12

Cincinnati def. College of Charleston (A), 28-12

5^th-6^th Place Final Match: Cincinnati def. UNC-Greensboro, 24-17

Consolation Match: Kentucky def. Auburn, 30-12

Consolation Semifinals: Auburn def. NC State, 29-13

Kentucky def. Tennessee, 22-21

SILVER BRACKET

Championship Match: Georgia def. Elon, 23-19

3^rd-4^th Place Match: Ohio State def. UNC-Charlotte (B) by default.

5^th-6^th Place Match: Dayton def. Ferris State(A), 26-16

BRONZE BRACKET

Championship Match: Central Florida (B) def. Vanderbilt by default.

3^rd-4^th Place Match: Colorado School of Mines (B) def. Charleston, 25-15

5^th-6^th Place Match: Macon State def. Ferris State(B), 25-13

Sportsmanship Award (voted on by the teams)

Tie: Ferris State University; College of Charleston(A)

USTA Tennis On Campus Fall Invitational Champions

2010 – University of Alabama

2011 – University of Virginia

2012 – Duke University

—S. Pratt

Semis Set @TennisOnCampus Battle in Hilton Head

Posted by Admin on October 21, 2012

Posted in: Tennis on Campus, University of Virginia, USTA. Tagged: Central Florida, Colorado School of Mines, Duke, Tennis on Campus, usta, Virginia. Leave a comment

Semis Set @TennisOnCampus Battle in Hilton Head

HILTON HEAD, S.C., Oct. 20, 2012 – Defending champion Virginia will face Colorado of the Mines “A” team while Duke takes on the University of Central Florida “A” squad on Sunday in the semifinals of the Gold Bracket with the winners of each match earning an automatic bid into next Spring’s USTA Tennis On Campus Nationals.

All four teams got through their quarterfinal round in dramatic fashion on Saturday during the Tennis On Campus Fall Invitational kick-off event being played at the Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center. The four matches were decided by a total of seven games.

“There were really some incredible matches today and you could just feel the tension in the air as the last games were being played,” said tournament director Meghan Houk. “All four matches really could have gone either way, but it’s nice to see all four teams from four different USTA sections advance to the semifinals.”

Duke Captain Stepanie Dudzinski found herself in the final mixed doubles match down three overall games in the match against College of Charleston’s “A” team before she took the court. Dudzinski and her partner won their set 6-5 and Duke won two games in overtime to even the match and force a super tiebreaker, which the Blue Devils won taking the match, 25-24.

The Sunday semifinal against Central Florida will be a rematch of last season’s TOC Nationals first-round Gold Bracket match that Duke lost. So Dudzinski said revenge will be on her team’s mind. If Duke does manage to get past the tough Central Florida squad, it could set up a possible rematch of last year’s Fall Invitational final where Virginia beat Duke.

Central Florida’s top player Manas Rane said both Duke and his team are fielding totally different squads this season. “We only have two returners from last year,” the senior Rane said. “We were down 3-5 in our final mixed doubles match and came back to win it 6-5. We just barely eked it out today. There were some really tight matches all day.”

The University of Virginia is the defending champion of the USTA Tennis On Campus Fall Invitational. The Cavaliers play in the semifinals on Sunday.

Virginia will have a tough test in facing Colorado of the Mines “A” team led by No. 1 singles player Mark Taylor, the doubles team of Jordan Pease and Felipe Silva Ardila and mixed doubles player and captain Antonia McMullan.

“Our girls were a little bit off today, myself included,” McMullan said. “We hope to do even better in the matches tomorrow. But, either way I know we’ll enjoy the tennis because that’s the reason we all chose to come to this tournament.”

The 23-year-old grad student and TOC veteran Pease has played well all weekend and has drawn eyes to his court for his wrist toss. At the age of 5, the Bloomington, Minn., native Pease was in a farming accident and lost his right hand in a hay grinder.

He was forced to learn the game as a left-hander and to balance the ball on his right wrist before tossing it into the air.

“I played a lot sports growing up but just stuck with tennis,” said Pease, whose father played collegiately at North Dakota State. “You can get by with one hand in tennis.

“It’s so natural now I can balance anything on my wrist. I used to get a lot of people watching me, but not because I was good. The coach would bring over players to show them my toss and would tell them, ‘If he can do it, you can do it.’ I would be losing bad but all they wanted to see was me throw the toss. It was all about the toss, which is fine. My serve is the best part of my game. I think it’s because I have a great toss.”

He added: “It’s something a lot of people overlook in tennis, just how important the toss consistency is. It sets everything up. But I never took it for granted because it was always so hard to do. It was something I had to do.”

8 a.m. – Gold, Silver & Bronze Bracket Playoffs

10 a.m. – Gold, Silver & Bronze Bracket Finals

10 a.m. – TOC National Fall Invitational Gold Bracket Championship Match

Saturday’s Bracket Results

A: A team; B: B team

Gold Bracket Round of 16

Virginia def. Auburn, 26-12

UNC-Greensboro def. Alabama, 22-16

Colorado of Mines (A) def. North Carolina State, 24-15

Clemson (A) def. Old Dominion, 26-15

Duke def. Minnesota, 24-19

College of Charleston (A) def. Tennessee, 25-17

Georgia Tech def. Cincinnati, 27-21

Central Florida (A) def. Kentucky, 24-8

Gold Bracket Quarterfinals (winners)

Virginia def. UNC-Greensboro, 20-19

Colorado School of Mines (A) def. Clemson (A), 20-19

Duke def. College of Charleston (A), 25-24

Central Florida (A) def. Cincinnati, 24-20

Gold Bracket Quarterfinals (losers)

Auburn def. Alabama, 26-18

North Carolina State def. Old Dominion, 28-21

Tennessee def. Minnesota, 30-11

Kentucky def. Georgia Tech, 27-22

Silver Bracket Quarterfinals

Georgia def. UNC-Charlotte (A), 30-8

Ohio State def. Ferris State (A), 24-12

UNC-Charlotte (B) def. Dayton, 26-16

Elon def. Ohio University, 24-22

Silver Bracket Semifinals (winners)

Georgia def. Ohio State, 22-21

Elon def. UNC-Charlotte (B), 21-19

Silver Bracket Semifinals (losers)

Ferris State (A) def. UNC-Charlotte, 23-22

Dayton def. Ohio, 19-15

Bronze Bracket Quarterfinals

Central Florida (B) def. Macon State, 27-14

College of Charleston (B) def. Clemson, 24-13

Vanderbilt def. East Tennessee, 28-12

Colorado School of Mines (B) def. Ferris State (B), 30-9

Bronze Bracket Semifinals (winners)

Central Florida (B) def. College of Charleston (B), 22-20

Vanderbilt def. Colorado School of Mines (B), 27-13

Bronze Bracket Semifinals (losers)

Macon State def. Clemson (B), 27-21

Ferris State (B) def. East Tennessee, 22-21

Saturday’s Final Pool Play Results

Pool 3

Tennessee def. Colorado School of Mines (A), 27-21

Ohio State def. Clemson (B), 30-12

Note: Three teams tie with 2-1 records so percentage of games won determines who moves on. Colorado School of Mines (A) takes first (60.6%) and joins second-place Tennessee (58.7%), and Ohio State (56%) goes to Silver; Clemson (B) goes 0-3 to advance to the Bronze Bracket.

Pool 4

Clemson (A) def. Minnesota, 25-18

Ferris State (A) def. College of Charleston, 27-24

Note: Clemson (A) goes 3-0 to advance to the Gold Bracket; Minnesota goes 2-1 and also advances to the Gold Bracket while Ferris State (A) goes 1-2 and moves on to the Silver Bracket and College of Charleston (B) at 0-3 goes to the Bronze Bracket.

Pool 5

Duke def. Old Dominion, 29-12

UNC-Charlotte (B) def. East Tennessee State, 26-13

Note: Duke goes 3-0 to advance to the Gold Bracket while Old Dominion takes second (2-1) and also advances to Gold; UNC-Charlotte (B) goes 1-2 and moves on to the Silver Bracket and East Tennessee State (0-3) goes to Bronze.

Pool 6

North Carolina State def. Dayton, 24-21

College of Charleston (A) def. Vanderbilt, 28-12

Note: Three teams tie with 2-1 records so percentage of games won determines who moves on. College of Charleston (A) (57.3%) and North Carolina State (54.3%) advance to Gold Bracket and Dayton (50.4%) to Silver. Vanderbilt (0-3) moves on to the Bronze Bracket.

Past USTA Tennis On Campus Fall Invitational Champions

2010 – University of Alabama

2011– University of Virginia

—S. Pratt

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Because Matches Are Never Played in the Media Tent

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