Last May at the NCAA Championship Final versus USC , Oklahoma won the doubles point but then couldn’t follow up in singles. Today they won the doubles point and then stepped up its game even more during singles play in route to a 4-2 win over #1 USC which gave the Sooner program its 1st ever National Team Indoor Championship.
Things didn’t start out looking great for Oklahoma as it looked like USC was going to run them off the court by taking commanding leads on all 3 doubles courts. While USC’s #2 doubles tandem of Max De Vroome and Eric Johnson would cruise to a 6-1 win, the other 2 USC teams wouldn’t be able to close out their respective matches. At #3 doubles USC’s Nick Crystal and Connor Farren would lead 5-2 but after an OU hold the Sooner tandem of Florin Bragusi and Alex Ghilea would break on the deciding point for 4-5 and would then reel off an additional 3 games to win the court 7-5. All said and done Bragusi an Ghilea fought off 4 match points in route to the comeback win. While USC was cracking under pressure at #3 the Trojan #1 doubles team of Yannick Hanfmann and Roberto Quiroz was looking to avoid the same thing as they served for the match up 5-4. After going up 40-30 to give USC 2 match points, Oklahoma’s Axel Alvarez and Dane Webb would take the next 2 points to tie it at 5. 2 holds of serve later the deciding match went to a tiebreak. OU would go up 3-0 in the tiebreak and not look back as they took it 7-4 and with that Oklahoma had capped off an incredible comeback and taken the doubles point for the 1-0 lead.
Oklahoma rode the momentum from doubles and took the opening set on 5 of 6 courts with only Spencer Papa coming up short on 4. Dane Webb (pictured below) would be the 1st to close out his match with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Jonny Wang at #3 singles to extend the Sooner lead to 2-0.
USC’s Eric Johnson would put USC on the board a few minutes later as he knocked off Papa 6-4, 6-1 at #4 singles to make the score 2-1 Oklahoma. With USC rallying at 1, 5, and 6, Oklahoma needed something to turn the tide back in its favor and its #2 Axel Alvarez would do just he trick as he broke the Roberto Quiroz serve in the 3rd game of the 2nd set and would close out Quiroz a short while later with a 7-6(3), 6-2 win. The Sooner lead would stand at 3-1 but USC had now taken the 2nd set on each of the 3 remaining courts. USC’s Yannick Hanfmann would go up an early break on 1 and lead 2-0, the match at 6 between Nick Crystal and Jose Salazar would stay on serve until deep into the 3rd, and Oklahoma’s Alex Ghilea would go up an early break against USC’s Max De Vroome at 5. The first of those 3 to finish would be at #6 as USC’s Nick Crystal would break Salazar to take the match 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 which would trim the OU lead to 3-2. Oklahoma’s Andrew Harris would get the match at #1 back on serve while at 5 Alex Ghilea would hold on to the break lead and work himself into position for a match point on the De Vroome serve at 5-3. Just as he had done the day prior against Baylor, it would be Ghilea that would clinch the win but this time the clinch meant a little more than normal as it gave Oklahoma the 4-2 win and the National Team Indoor Championship.
Oklahoma Recap
USC Recap
ITA Recap
Jonathan Kelley (Zoo Tennis) Recap
[2] Oklahoma 4, [1] Southern California 2
Doubles competition
1. #5 Alvarez/Webb (OKLA) def. #1 Hanfmann/Quiroz (USC) 7-6 (7-4)
2. #38 De Vroome/Johnson (USC) def. Papa/Harris (OKLA) 6-1
3. Florin Bragusi/Alex Ghilea (OKLA) def. Nick Crystal/Connor Farren (USC) 7-5
Singles competition
1. #7 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) vs. #26 Andrew Harris (OKLA) 4-6, 6-4, 4-4, unfinished
2. #11 Axel Alvarez (OKLA) def. #24 Roberto Quiroz (USC) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
3. #31 Dane Webb (OKLA) def. #20 Jonny Wang (USC) 6-0, 6-4
4. Eric Johnson (USC) def. Spencer Papa (OKLA) 6-4, 6-1
5. #63 Alex Ghilea (OKLA) def. Max De Vroome (USC) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
6. #49 Nick Crystal (USC) def. Jose Salazar (OKLA) 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,4,2,6,5)
All Main Draw Results:
Semifinals:
#2 Oklahoma 4, #10 Baylor 2
Doubles:
1. #40 Zsiga/Lupieri (BU) vs. #5 Alvarez/Webb (OU) 4-2
2. Lenz/Galeano (BU) def. Papa/Harris (OU) 6-2
3. Schneider/Felipe Rios (BU) def. Salazar/Ghilea (OU) 6-1
2. Lenz/Galeano (BU) def. Papa/Harris (OU) 6-2
3. Schneider/Felipe Rios (BU) def. Salazar/Ghilea (OU) 6-1
Singles:
1. #26 Andrew Harris (OU) vs. #10 Julian Lenz (BU) 6-1, 4-6, 5-5 DNF
2. #11 Axel Alvarez (OU) def. #67 Max Tchoutakian (BU) 6-4, 6-4
3. #31 Dane Webb (OU) def. #27 Tony Lupieri (BU) 6-4, 6-0
4. Spencer Papa (OU) def. Diego Galeano (BU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
5. #63 Alex Ghilea (OU) def. Mate Zsiga (BU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-0
6. Felipe Rios (BU) def. Jose Salazar (OU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
Match Notes:
Order of Finish – Doubles (3,2) Singles (3,2,4,6,5)
#1 USC 4, #4 Georgia 1
Doubles:
1. Smith/Wagland (UGA) def. #1 Hanfmann/Quiroz (USC), 6-4
2. Eric Diaz/Pasha (UGA) vs.#38 De Vroome/Johnson (USC), 5-5, unf.
3. Montgomery/Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Crystal/Connor Farren (USC), 6-1
Singles:
1. #17 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) vs. #7 Yannick Hanfmann (USC), 6-4, 3-6, 4-1, unf.
2. #24 Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. #21 Austin Smith (UGA), 7-6(2), 6-3
3. #15 Nathan Pasha (UGA) vs. #20 Jonny Wang (USC), 3-6, 6-2, 3-3, unf.
4. Eric Johnson (USC) def. Nick Wood (UGA), 6-1, 6-1
5. Max De Vroome (USC) def. Ben Wagland (UGA), 7-5, 6-1
6. #49 Nick Crystal (USC) def. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA), 6-2, 6-4
6. #49 Nick Crystal (USC) def. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA), 6-2, 6-4
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (4,6,5,2)
Quarterfinals:
#10 Baylor 4, #3 Virginia 3
Doubles competition
1. #37 Shane/Luca Corinteli (UVA) vs. #40 Zsiga/Lupieri (BU) 6-6 (5-3) DNF
2. Lenz/Galeano (BU) def. #41 Mac Styslinger/Kwiatkowski (UVA) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Schneider/Felipe Rios (BU) def. Mitchell Frank/Altamirano (UVA) 6-3
Singles competition
1. #10 Julian Lenz (BU) def. Mitchell Frank (UVA) 6-2, 6-0
2. #4 Ryan Shane (UVA) def. #67 Max Tchoutakian (BU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
3. #27 Tony Lupieri (BU) def. #1 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA) 6-4, 7-6 (10)
4. Collin Altamirano (UVA) def. Diego Galeano (BU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Mate Zsiga (BU) def. Alexander Ritschard (UVA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
6. J.C. Aragone (UVA) def. Vince Schneider (BU) 6-3, 6-4
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,4,6,2,3,5)
#2 Oklahoma 4, #7 North Carolina 1
Doubles competition
1. Axel Alvarez/Dane Webb (OKLA) def. Brayden Schnur/Oystein Steiro (UNC) 6-1
2. Brett Clark/Robert Kelly (UNC) def. Spencer Papa/Andrew Harris (OKLA) 6-4
3. Jack Murray/Ronnie Schneider (UNC) def. Jose Salazar/Alex Ghilea (OKLA) 6-3
Singles competition
1. #26 Andrew Harris (OKLA) def. #6 Brayden Schnur (UNC) 7-6(5), 6-3
2. #11 Axel Alvarez (OKLA) def. #19 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) 6-1, 6-4
3. #31 Dane Webb (OKLA) vs. Brett Clark (UNC) 6-4, 3-6, 3-0, unfinished
4. Spencer Papa (OKLA) def. Oystein Steiro (UNC) 6-4, 6-2
5. #63 Alex Ghilea (OKLA) def. #104 Jack Murray (UNC) 7-5, 6-1
6. Jose Salazar (OKLA) vs. #75 Robert Kelly (UNC) 0-6, 6-3, 4-5, unfinished
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,4,5,1)
#1 USC 4, #8 Ohio State 1
Doubles competition
1. #1 Hanfmann/Quiroz (USC) def. #7 Steinbach/Metka (OSU) 6-4
2. #38 De Vroome/Johnson (USC) def. #36 Callahan/Diaz (OSU) 6-2
3. Crystal/Connor Farren (USC) vs. Torpegaard/Pollanen (OSU) 5-4 DNF
Singles competition
1. #7 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) def. #53 Chris Diaz (OSU) 7-6(4), 6-1
2. #24 Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. #30 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) 6-1, 7-5
3. Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. #20 Jonny Wang (USC) 6-3, 6-2
4. Eric Johnson (USC) def. #68 Ralf Steinbach (OSU) 7-5, 6-4
5. #110 Hunter Callahan (OSU) vs. Max De Vroome (USC) 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 DNF
6. Kevin Metka (OSU) vs. #49 Nick Crystal (USC) 7-6(5) 2-3 DNF
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,4,2,1)
#4 Georgia 4, #5 Illinois 2
Doubles competition
1. Ben Wagland/Austin Smith (GA) def. #11 Tim Kopinski/Ross Guignon (ILL) 7-6(4)
2. Nathan Pasha/Eric Diaz (GA) def. Jared Hiltzik/Farris Gosea (ILL) 6-3
3. Blake Bazarnik/Brian Page (ILL) def. Paul Oosterbaan/Wayne Montgomery (GA) 6-3
Singles competition
1. #17 Wayne Montgomery (GA) def. #41 Farris Gosea (ILL) 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)
2. #23 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) def. #21 Austin Smith (GA) 6-1, 6-1
3. #15 Nathan Pasha (GA) def. #37 Tim Kopinski (ILL) 7-5, 7-5
4. #69 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. Nick Wood (GA) 6-2, 6-4
5. Ben Wagland (GA) vs. #46 Aleks Vukic (ILL) 1-6, 6-4, 6-6 (5-6) DNF
6. Paul Oosterbaan (GA) def. Blake Bazarnik (ILL) 6-4, 6-4
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,6,4,3,1)
Round of 16:
#3 Virginia 4, #17 TCU 0
Doubles:
1. #24 Stein/Chappell (TCU) def. #37 Corinteli/Shane (UVa) 7-5
2. #41 Kwiatkowski/Styslinger (UVa) def. Nunez/Norrie (TCU) 7-6(2)
3. Altamirano/Frank (UVa) def. Blake/Johnson (TCU) 6-4
Order of Finish: 3,1,2
Singles:
1. Mitchell Frank (UVa) def. #18 Cameron Norrie (TCU) 6-3, 6-4
2. #4 Ryan Shane (UVa) def. #48 Nick Chappell (TCU) 7-6(1), 6-3
3. #1 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Arnau Dachs (TCU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Alexander Ritschard (UVa) vs. Will Stein (TCU) 6-1, 6-7, 0-1 DNF
5. J.C. Aragone (UVa) vs. #85 Facundo Lugones (TCU) 6-4, 4-6 DNF
6. #112 Guillermo Nunez (TCU) vs. #61 Mac Styslinger (UVa) 6-3, 6-6 DNF
Order of Finish: 3,1,23. Vince Schneider/Felipe Rios (BU) def. Chris Mengel/Bruno Semenzato (DUKE) 6-2
#10 Baylor 4, #6 Duke 1
Feb. 13, 2015 at Chicago, Ill. (Midtown Athletic Club)
Doubles competition
1. #34 Alvarez/Hemmeler (DUKE) vs. #40 Lupieri/Zsiga (BU) 5-2, DNF
2. Julian Lenz/Diego Galeano (BU) def. Josh Levine/Jason Tahir (DUKE) 6-2
Singles competition
1. #9 Nicolas Alvarez (DUKE) def. #10 Julian Lenz (BU) 6-4, 6-2
2. #67 Max Tchoutakian (BU) def. #38 Jason Tahir (DUKE) 7-6(7), 6-4
3. #27 Tony Lupieri (BU) def. #77 Raphael Hemmeler (DUKE) 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-1
4. Diego Galeano (BU) vs.
5. Mate Zsiga (BU) vs. Chris Mengel (DUKE) 5-7, 6-3, 4-0 DNF
6. Vince Schneider (BU) def. Josh Levine (DUKE) 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-3
Match Notes:
Baylor 5-1; National ranking #10
Duke 9-1; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,2,6,3)
#7 North Carolina 4, #10 UCLA 2
Doubles:
1. #6 McDonald/Redlicki (UCLA) def. Schnur/Steiro (UNC) 6-1
2. Joseph Di Giulio/Sell (UCLA) def. Clark/Kelly (UNC) 6-2
3. Mkrtchian/Rapp (UCLA) vs. Murray/Schneider (UNC) 4-4 DNF
Order of Finish: 1,2
Singles:
1. #2 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) vs. #6 Brayden Schnur (UNC) 6-2, 6-7(3), 4-3 DNF
2. #19 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) def. #44 Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3
3. Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. Brett Clark (UNC) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Oystein Steiro (UNC) def. Gage Brymer (UCLA) 6-1, 7-5
5. #104 Jack Murray (UNC) def. Karue Sell (UCLA) 6-2, 6-0
6. Robert Kelly (UNC) def. Austin Rapp (UCLA) 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-4
Order of Finish: 5,4,3,6,2
#2 Oklahoma 4, #19 Ole Miss 1
Doubles
1. #5 Alvarez/Webb (OU) vs. #55 Hansson/Kallberg (Miss) 5-4 DNF
2. Papa/Harris (OU) def. Scholtz/Babic (Miss) 6-2
3. Salazar/Ghilea (OU) def. Lindmark/Grey Hamilton (Miss) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,3
Singles:
1. #59 Nik Scholtz (Miss) def. #26 Andrew Harris (OU) 7-6(5), 6-2
2. #11 Axel Alvarez (OU) vs. #78 Stefan Lindmark (Miss) 3-6, 6-4, 5-6 DNF
3. #31 Dane Webb (OU) def. Gustav Hansson (Miss) 6-2, 6-4
4. Spencer Papa (OU) def. William Kallberg (Miss) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(8)
5. #63 Alex Ghilea (OU) def. Zvonimir Babic (Miss) 7-5, 6-3
6. Jose Salazar (OU) vs. Vinod Gowda (Miss) 5-7, 7-6
Order of Finish: 3,5,1,4
Order of Finish: 3,5,1,4
#1 Southern California 4, #22 Penn State 0
Doubles competition
1. #1 Hanfmann/Quiroz (USC) vs. Stakhovsky/Laaribi (PSU) 5-6, unfinished
2. #38 Max De Vroome/Eric Johnson (USC) def. Alex Fennell/Matt Barry (PSU) 6-4
3. Nick Crystal/Connor Farren (USC) def. Roman Trkulja/Mike Reilly (PSU) 6-4
Singles competition
1. #7 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) def. #81 Leo Stakhovsky (PSU) 6-1, 7-6(4)
2. #24 Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. Alex Fennell (PSU) 6-3, 6-1
3. #20 Jonny Wang (USC) vs. Matt Barry (PSU) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
4. Eric Johnson (USC) def. Roman Trkulja (PSU) 6-1, 6-2
5. #104 Max De Vroome (USC) vs. Aws Laaribi (PSU) 7-5, 5-1, unfinished
6. #49 Nick Crystal (USC) vs. Thomas Hanzlik (PSU) 6-2, 5-3, unfinished
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,4,1)
#8 Ohio State 4, #9 Texas 3
Doubles competition
1. #7 Steinbach/Metka (OSU) def. Hess-Olesen/Glasspool (Texas) 6-3
2. Goldhoff/Berkowicz (Texas) def. #36 Callahan/Diaz (OSU) 6-4
3. Torpegaard/Pollanen (OSU) def. Michael Riechmann/Adrian Ortiz (Texas) 7-6
Singles competition
1. #16 Soren Hess-Olesen (Texas) def. #53 Chris Diaz (OSU) 6-4, 6-2
Agree with you Russ, this kid has been the workhorse of USC the last couple years, being a huge part of bringing home the NCAA title going undefeated there as well last year. He is playing some great tennis indeed, I saw he beat Quiroz in a future recently.
A shout out to Eric Johnson who had a monster of a tournament. Not only did he win all his singles, 3 of 4 doubles, he often did so in dominating fashion.<br /><br />I was there