Gameday Vs. Ohio State

Light rain has continued to fall over Athens all morning. The bruins are awaiting confirmation by the NCAA committee to play either outdoors at Dan Magil or indoors at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The confirmation should come around 1 PM. Coach Billy is preparing the team to play at Georgia Tech.

Boys grabbed a light warmup today at the hotel and are grabbing lunch right now.

From the view outside the hotel window it does not look like the light drizzle is planning on stopping anytime soon. I think the odds are we head to Georgia Tech. Unsure of live stream video and live scores at Georgia Tech but I will try to keep you guys posted.
The USC vs. UNC match will be commencing soon as well as the Baylor vs Virginia match. The Baylor vs. Virginia match has been moved to the Georgia Tech Indoor courts in Atlanta. I know there are indoor cameras at those courts but I do not believe the NCAA is utilizing them for these matches.

Update: Bruins are headed to Atlanta to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on the campus of Georgia Tech. First serve is scheduled at 6:45 PM Eastern Time

Elite 8 Preview

Bruins sweep the Tennessee Volunteers  4-0 after a great showing from the guys in singles. Bruins took all 6 first sets. Clay took the sealed the final first set breaker in dominating fashion. Gage was first to finish and looked great coming off the court. Senior Captain Adrien Puget was able to take down Fickey and is looking in great form coming into NCAA’s. The battle to clinch was between Karue and Marcos. Seconds after Puget clinched Marcos was able to seal the bruins a spot in the Elite 8.

Bruins will play Ohio State in the Elite 8 after they had a thrilling finish to their Round of 16 match. Similar to the Buckeyes match against UVA in the indoor finals the fate went down to Metka’s hands. Metka was down 4-1 in the deciding set and all looked dismal for the bucks before Alford (FL) allowed him to claw his way back into the match. Alford was able to scrounge up two match points in the tiebreaker but Metka was able to persevere and setup an Elite 8 matchup with the Bruins.

All the men’s teams have the day off today.

The bruins have not met the buckeye’s this year but they have met every year for the last three years with the Bruins taking the previous 2 meetings. It will definitely be a thrilling matchup tomorrow.

Another exciting matchup will be Baylor vs. Virginia and surprise team UNC vs Oklahoma. Both match-ups could be a big tossup.

 

 

Gametime vs. Tennessee

Bruins have taken the practice court here at McWhorter! It looks like great weather,  hopefully not as cold tonight as it was for the Women’s matches last night. 

Underway here in Athens for the Round of 16!!
Bruins take a big doubles point against Tennessee. Great playing from Clay and Joe. Adrien and Karue coming in clutch saving Marcos and Mackie from some match points.

Singles underway now!

Bruins snag all six first sets! Clay playing a close and entertaining one against Reese.

Stay tuned for updates!
Go Bruins!

Round of 16 Mid-day Update

Halfway through today and some quick sub 3 hour matches have completed. 

SC takes down Columbia 4-0. 

Texas took down the Cal Bears 4-1 in a match that I thought would be a lot closer. Congratulations to Cal on a solid season and making it to the final site here in Athens representing the Pac-12.  

The late morning matches featured the reigning champion UVA taking down Notre Dame 4-1. The match featured a CLOSE doubles point that UVA snuck out with on Courts 2 and 3, both with a 8-6 scoreline. Styslinger was the lone cavalier to go down today in straights sets 6-2 7-5. 

On the McWhorter courts Baylor took out the Fighting Illini 4-0. 

On right now are the host team UGA taking on UNC. A HUGE crowd showing up in Athens as always. 

On the McWhorter courts 2nd seeded Oklahoma is taking on Kentucky. 

Bruins are scheduled to play on the McWhorter courts at 7PM (EST) against the Tennessee Volunteers. While the higher 3rd seeded Ohio State Buckeyes take on 14th seeded Florida on the main courts. 

Bruins grabbed a hit on the IM courts earlier today and are resting in the hotel rooms getting ready for today’s FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!

Stay tuned as I will be live blogging throughout today’s match!

GO BRUINS!

 

As the season draws closer and closer to the historic Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia I decided to dust off the keyboard and update you all on this year’s Championships.

 

This year’s draw can be found here:

 

http://i.turner.ncaa.com/dr/ncaa/ncaa7/release/sites/default/files/external/gametool/brackets/tennis-men_d1_2013.pdf

 

The following are the 16 Seeds and Host sites for this years Championships as per the NCAA committee:

1. USC
2. Oklahoma
3. Ohio State
4. Virginia
5. Baylor
6. UCLA
7. North Carolina
8. Texas A&M
9. Texas
10. Georgia
11. Duke
12. Illinois
13. Notre Dame
14. Florida
15. Kentucky
16. Columbia

The Following were the Automatic Conference Bids:

• South Florida (American Athletic)
• George Washington (Atlantic 10)
• Virginia (ACC)
• East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun)
• St John’s (Big East)
• Montana (Big Sky)
• Winthrop (Big South)
• Ohio State (B10)
• Baylor (Big 12)
• Cal Poly (Big West)
• UNC-Wilmington (Colonial)
• Tulsa (Conference USA)
• Green Bay (Horizon)
•  Columbia (Ivy)
• Marist (MAAC)
• Ball State (Mid-American)
• South Carolina State (Mid-Easter)
• Drake (Missouri Valley)
• Boise State (Mountain West)
• Bryant (Northeast)
• Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley)
• UCLA (PAC-12) 
• Army (Patriot)
• Texas A&M (SEC) 
• Elon (Southern)
• Texas A&M-CC (Southland)
• Alcorn State (SWAC)
• Denver (Summit)
• Louisiana-Lafayette (Sun Belt)
• San Diego (WCC)
• Idaho (WAC)

Maybe the most surprising win here is the San Diego over Pepperdine. Pepperdine has haunted San Diego for some time but San Diego was finally able to take home the WCC Conference title this year from Steinberg.

The at large bids as determined by the NCAA:

• USC
• Oklahoma State
• Michigan
• Vanderbilt
• Virginia Tech
• Texas
• Mississippi
• Illinois
• Notre Dame
• Northwestern
• Ole Miss
• Penn State
• Wake Forest
• Louisville
• Florida
• Florida St.
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• North Carolina State
• Oregon
• Georgia
• Stanford
• Kentucky
• Clemson
• Purdue
• Harvard
• Auburn
• Oklahoma

Great to see other Pac-12 schools (Oregon and Stanford) getting at large bids into this year’s tournament.

Also nice to see Penn State, a school flying under the radar but receiving an at large bid due to ranking.

Number of Schools By Conference:

• American Athletic – 3
• Atlantic 10 – 1
• Atlantic Coast – 9
• Atlantic Sun – 1
• Big East -1
• Big Sky -1
• Big South – 1
• Big 10 – 6
• Big 12 – 5
• Big West – 1
• Colonial 1
• Conference USA – 1
• Horizon – 1
• Ivy – 2
• MAAC – 1
• Mid American – 1
• Mid-Eastern – 1
• Missouri Valley – 1
• Mountain West – 1
• Northeast – 1
• Ohio Valley – 1
• Pac-12 – 5
• Patriot – 1
• SEC – 10
• Southern – 1
• Southland – 1
• SWAC – 1
• Summit -1
• Sun Belt – 1
• WCC – 1
• WAC – 1

It did not occur to me how strong the SEC conference was with 10 schools represented in this year’s championships. The ACC is not too far behind with 9 teams.

 

Now that you have all that information digested, lets talk regionals: 

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USC: Idaho, Oklahoma State, Michigan

I don’t see USC having much trouble in their regional. Hanfmann and Sarmiento have been playing great tennis. Also, don’t count out Quiroz who has been a rock for them at three all season.  I think the biggest challenge in their regional would be against Oklahoma State, the second highest ranked team in their regional. Look for this year’s number one overall seed to get by their regional.

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Vanderbilt: Virginia Tech, East Tennessee State, Columbia

If all goes well for the top two highest ranked teams in this regional, it should be a fun one against Columbia and Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt received the at large bid and Columbia is coming into the tournament by way of the Ivy League conference. Columbia has had a solid season with only one loss at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs back in January.

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Texas: Marist, Mississippi State, Lousiana-Lafayette

I’m predicting to see Texas take on Mississippi State here. Mississippi State (being not as big of a powerhouse as they were last year when they had top ranked freshman Romain Bogaerts) should still put up a good fight against the Longhorns.

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Texas A&M: Alcorn, Texas Tech, Cal

By far one of the trickiest regionals of the tournament. Cal is a solid team with notable wins over TCU and Tulsa. I got to see Texas Tech earlier this year and they are a team full of great competitors. This first round match would be the one I would like to go out and watch. Texas A&M is certainly the favorite here but I see Cal and Texas Tech in the mix for this regional.

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Baylor: Texas A&M-CC, Stanford, Tulsa

The first round match of Stanford and Tulsa could be an interesting one. With Stanford’s early loss in this year’s Pac-12 tournament to Oregon I’m sure those guys are hungry to end their season on a better note. I do not see Baylor getting challenged too much in this regional, they are a top 5 team that is deserving of their seeding, especially with their win over the Bruins earlier this year.

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Illinois: Ball State, Drake, Memphis

Memphis was a strong team that made it to the Sweet 16 last year. I’m surprised that they have not had as great a year though (especially with all the upperclass men they have). Coach Davidson and his bulldogs had their regional at UCLA last year and he is no doubt building a great program over there. Last time Memphis and Drake met this year the Bulldogs ousted them 4-3. I like the Bulldogs in that first round match. The fighting Illini are coming off a 2-4 loss to Ohio State. Not all was lost though, their 1 and 2 players (Hiltzik and Gosea) both took down Kobelt and Pollanen respectively to earn the only 2 points for the Illini . Both were really great wins for them.  I like Illinois in this regional.

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Notre Dame: Green Bay, Northwestern, Ole Miss

I have not seen Ole Miss or Northwestern play this year but I do know that this is a streaky Ole Miss team that could win or lose depending on the day. But this year’s team does have a 4-3 victory over 8th seed Texas A&M so they could cause some trouble with Notre Dame in their regional.

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UVA: Army, UNC-Wilmington, Army, Penn State

The defending champions are clearly still in great form this year with a 23-2 record. Their only losses coming to them by way of  Ohio State and UCLA in 4-3 clinchers. Honestly do not see UVA having much trouble getting out of this regional. The singles results of their top 3 this year are almost spotless: Domijan is on a 14 match win streak, Frank is on an 8 match win streak, and Freshman Thai-Son Kwiatkoswki is on a 15 match win streak. Definitely don’t bet against UVA in this regional.

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Ohio State: Bryant, Wake Forest, Louisville

The Indoors National Champions were given an ‘okay’ regional. Wake Forest would be the team to watch out for here. Headlined by sophomore Romain Bogearts. The Deacons defeated their first round matchup Louisville earlier this year 5-2. They also have notable close losses to top 15 teams: Texas, Notre Dame, and Duke. Wake Forest could definitely make this an interesting regional.

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Florida: St. John’s, Florida State, South Florida

Florida did not make it out of their regional last year when they were defeated by Denver. I don’t see Coach Shelton wanting to repeat that this year. The Gators have a 4-2 over rival Florida State earlier this year. I like Florida here as long as they don’t repeat what happened last year.

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Duke: Winthrop, Tennessee, Elon

I see Duke and Tennessee making their way to their first round match-ups. The second round could be interesting. Duke and Tennesse met earlier in February and Tennessee took them out 4-2. It definitely doesn’t help that Duke’s Michael Redlicki isn’t playing either. Tennessee has had some bad losses as of late with 0-4 losses to UGA, Florida, and Texas A&M. They are also coming off of a first round loss to Ole Miss in the SEC conference tournament.

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UCLA: Cal Poly, San Diego, Boise State

I definitely don’t want to say much here. But, all four teams here got into the tournament by way of their automatic conference bids, so they are all coming off of wins. I want to make a note that Pepperdine is no where to be found in this year’s tournament after Brett Massi and his Torreros took them out in the West Coast Conference Tournament.

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North Carolina: South Carolina State, South Carolina, George Washington

I can’t say I have seen much of any of these teams play this season. George Washington is coming in by way off the auto bid from the Atlantic 10 conference and have their biggest win this season against #50 VCU. They also have a 4-0 loss to Wake Forest. South Carolina is definitely overshadowed by all the other schools in the SEC. This is a great team with good victories over Harvard (4-0), USD (4-3), Ole Miss (4-2), and Vandy (4-1). I see South Carolina and North Carolina fighting here to make their way to Athens.

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Georgia: Oregon, North Carolina State, Jacksonville State

I have to say its great to see another PAC-12 team in the mix here. Oregon is coming off a good win over Stanford in the PAC-12 tournament where they eventually lost to the Bruins in the semifinals. UNC State is definitely a great team with wins over Notre Dame and Wake Forest. A win over UGA though could be tough against the Athens’ crowd.

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Kentucky: Denver, Clemson, Purdue

I guess I would not count out Denver in this regional because of what they did to Florida last year. Kentucky has had a great season with wins over Ohio State, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss. I would not be surprised to see them in Georgia.

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Oklahoma: Harvard, Montana, Auburn

The overall #2 seeded Oklahoma has been a great team all season behind their 1 and 2 players Alcorta and Alvarez. Coach Roddick has built a solid program this season and are definitely one of the favorites to go deep into the tournament this year.

 

Hopefully I was able to give you some insight on this year’s tournament. It’s definitely going to be a fun one (like always).

 

Until Regionals!

 

GO BRUINS!

 

-Raymond

Sherwood Cup (Almost) Roundup

It has been a really great showing for the Bruins in the 13th annual Sherwood Collegiate Cup hosted by the beautiful Sherwood Country Club in Westlake, CA.

Some notable people missing from the draw: Raymond Sarmiento (plantar fasciitis), Yannick Hanfmann (knees), and our  senior co-captain Adrien Puget (knee rehab)

A really great showing from two of our freshmen, Mackie McDonald and Gage Brymer.

Some notable wins:

Gage Brymer (UCLA) def. Max de Vroome (USC) 3-6, 7-6, 6-2

Also Mackie’s win over the tournament’s second seed Julien Lenz.

Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. Julien Lenz (Baylor) 6-4, 6-4

Another Freshman, Joe DiGiulio fell JUST SHORT in a tightly contested three set match with Quiroz. It was a great match that Joe can take a lot from.

Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) 4-6, 7-6, 7-5

An interesting match that many people were anticipating was Clay’s match against Connor Farren. It was a tough match for both players as they struggled in each other’s service games. Clay was able to pull out strong in the third.

Clay Thompson (UCLA) def. Connor Farren (USC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

The semifinals was an all bruin occasion that ended earlier today with Marcos and Clay both coming through in straight sets over the two freshmen.

Clay Thompson (UCLA) def. Gage Brymer (UCLA) 6-4, 6-3

Marcos Giron (UCLA) def. Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4

Should be a battle tomorrow morning against the number one ranked player in the nation against the eleventh.

Marcos received a main draw wildcard into the Maui Challenger that begins Tuesday and will be playing a Lucky Loser/Qualifier. Some former bruins also in that challenger are Nick Meister and Daniel Kosakowski.

And finally, the season begins this Wednesday against UC Irvine at 2 PM!!

Goodbye to Max!

Max finished off his UCLA academic career this fall and will be heading back to France to pursue his professional career. Could not have asked for a better guy to have on the team and I am definitely going to miss always being mistaken for him.
But seriously Maxi its been a blast having you around and I wish you the best of luck in your pro career!

Once a BRUIN always a BRUIN!!

Photo courtesy of UCLA Athletics

Back In Action!

I feel like it is time to fire this baby back up again as the guys prepare for their regional coming up at the University of Pepperdine in Malibu, CA. 

The lineup for regionals this year will be: 

-Gage Brymer (Freshman): Gage is coming off a little ankle sprain that caused him to miss out on playing his first collegiate events representing UCLA, one of which included the All-Americans in Tulsa. The sprain was minor but all precaution was taken. He’s been on the practice court for a little longer than a week and I’m excited to see this guy play in his first collegiate match in blue and gold.   

-Joseph DiGulio (Freshman): Joe has been having a good fall. A notable tournament this Fall for Joe was the SDSU invitational. Joe loss in the finals of that tournament to a fellow freshmen from ‘SC Robbie Bellamy. 

-Michael Guzman (Freshman): Guzman wil also be making his second collegiate appearance for the Bruins at Pepperdine after playing the SDSU Fall Invitational. 

-Mackie McDonald (Freshman): Mackie was given a 9th seed in this year’s Regional. He’s playing in Ray’s quarter which looks to be a tough one. Mackie has been having a great fall that included a tough 3 set loss to the eventual winner of the ITA All-American’s in Tulsa, Mitchell Frank (UVA). 

-Dennis Mkrtchian (Junior): Dirk came up just short in this tournament last year to Marcos in Irvine. He’s not one to forget something like that and I’m sure he’s coming into this tournament with a lot of confidence. Dirk was given the 6th seed and is in Hanfmann’s (USC) half of the draw. 

-Karue Sell (RS Junior):  Karue has been having a good fall that included a win in the consolation draw of the Battle of the Bay in San Francisco over Eric Johnson (USC). Karue was given a 9th seed in Quiroz’s (USC) quarter of the draw. 

-Seth Stolar (Sophomore): Regionals will be Seth’s first tournament of the season. He will be playing 5th seed Clark Spinosa (USD) in the first round. 

-Ryoto Tachi (RS Junior): Ryoto is coming off a busy fall that includes a semifinal loss at the SDSU Fall Invitational. 

 

What about everyone else? 

-Marcos – Calling Marcos’ Fall quarter busy is an understatement.  His Fall included all the Southern California Future’s tournament, the Tiburon Challenger, and All-American’s in Tulsa. Needless to say he is grabbing some much needed rest and getting a grip on his school work as the quarter is quickly chugging along.  

– Clay – By way of winning the back-draw in Tulsa, Clay has already claimed his spot in New York.  Since he qualified he is not going to play the regional this year. 

-Adrien – Puget has opted to take the Fall off after undergoing a very successful knee surgery. He is expected to return back to Westwood Winter quarter. 

 

Match day vs Ohio State!

Let’s do it! Warmups have begun for the Ohio State match!!

VERY windy conditions today!

Getting set for battle!

 

WOW! Just a ridiculous battle out there today against the Buckeyes. One of the best if not the best match the Bruins have encountered all season. Guys have all stretched out, hydrating and taking ice baths in preparation for tomorrows final against the UVA Hoos. It always seems to be a battle against Ohio State, including last year’s quarterfinal encounter.

Congrats to Ohio State on a GREAT season. Left me on the edge of my seat from the first point to the last. Another great match that really embodies what College Tennis is all about.

It has been a long road this entire season all leading to this! Everyone looking and good and PUMPED FOR TOMORROWS MATCH!

 

GO BRUINS!

Ohio State Preview

The big semifinals tomorrow against Ohio State will be a rematch of last year’s quarterfinals matchup which was nothing short of a barn burner. This is a great team who has only dropped two matches this year: one to UVA indoors and one to Texas A&M which they avenged in the round of 16. In my opinion this will be one of the best teams we have played all season. Ohio State definitely has spent more time on the court than us during the championships, don’t know how much of a factor that will have on their guys.

Doubles point will be crucial as it proved in last year’s quarterfinal match.

Good matchup at one with Novi and Marcos who proved they are capable of beating any higher ranked team after they ousted Cunha and Hemmler of Duke. Kobelt and Smith are also coming off a pretty handily victory of Ray Sarmiento and Yannick Hanfmann.

Adrien and Karue versus Van Engelen and McCarthy will be a good one. Adrien definitely has great memories from last year’s Ohio State doubles match. Ohio State at two squeezed out the doubles proset against ‘SC 9-7 in the breaker so this could be a close one. I feel like this will be a proset where someone will take control and stay there.

Alex and Clay played well during the Vandy matchup and came out not as quick during the Duke matchup. They will definitely fired up, especially Brigham who helped Adrien clinch last year’s thrilling doubles point over Rola and Chase.

Singles Preview:

Dennis is coming off a huge upset straight set win over 9th ranked Henrique Cunha who is one of the most solid tennis players in the NCAA. At the same time Rola is coming off a very lopsided victory over Emilio Gomez. We all know that Dennis is capable of beating the best, I’m looking for him to come out firing, he is very focused during these championships and he has his eye on the prize.

Marcos is coming off a tough match against Fred Saba but I think he has an edge over Kobelt’s serve and bang game. Kobelt came up big over Ray-Ray 7-6 7-6….this will definitely be a great match to watch.

Adrien came out a little flat against Redlicki but once he got his groove going he was unstoppable. I’m looking for Adrien to fine his groove quicker against Connor Smith and take control as quick as possible.

Dirk definitely does not have great memories of playing Ohio State last year. I think that experience will bring out some great tennis in him, he is not a guy who likes to lose.

Karue! Karue had one of the most impressive wins I have seen from him this season against Jason Tahir of Duke. Dirk had not even finished his first set before Karue could shake hands. Karue is riding a great wave of confidence and I like him going toe to toe with either Constantin, Diaz, or Van Engelen. Ohio State seems to like to switch up this position very often…

All in all it will definitely be the biggest battle we will tackle ALL SEASON. Be sure to catch the live feed for live scoring AND VIDEO!

Heres the link to Championship Central:

http://www.fightingillini.com/ncaatennis2013/

GO BRUINS!