We are three days removed from North Carolina’s stunning win over Virginia but I went back and recapped the whole weekend in an article that I did for the Tennis Recruiting Network. If you haven’t already seen it give this link a click.
Here are is my top 25 based off what I’ve seen so far – I have notable wins and all losses listed for reference. The number inside [ ] is where I had them last week.
1. North Carolina (10-0) [5] – won at Virginia, UCLA, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Illinois. Tar Heels won the National Team Indoors in unbelievable fashion beating Virginia in Charlottesville. Next decent sized matchup comes on March 11th when UNC goes to Tallahassee to play Florida State.
2. Virginia (8-1) [1] – wins over TCU, Wake Forest, San Diego, and Kentucky; 4-2 loss to North Carolina. It was a great week up until the close loss to North Carolina in the NTI finals. UVA takes an almost two week break then goes to Illinois on February 27th.
3. UCLA (7-2) [2] – wins over Texas A&M, Georgia (2X), and San Diego; losses to Virginia and North Carolina. UCLA rebounded after its lopsided loss to Virginia and made it to the NTI semifinals. Bruins have a week and a half to get ready for its February 27th match at Stanford and then welcomes in USC on March 1st.
4. TCU (5-2) [6] – wins over Oklahoma State, USC, Illinois, and Texas; losses to Virgina & Cal. Horned Frogs made it the NTI semis for the first time since 2001 before Virginia beat them 4-1.
5. Wake Forest (10-2) [8] – wins over Oklahoma (2X), USC, and Tennessee (2X); losses to Virginia & Oklahoma State. Wake took it to Oklahoma for a second time and then gave Virginia all it wanted before losing 4-3. Demon Deacons rolled over USC in a consolation match. Wake has a week and a half to get ready for a visit from Texas and Texas Tech on February 27th and 28th.
6. Ohio State (10-1) [3] – wins over Texas A&M, Baylor, Virginia Tech, and Texas; lost to North Carolina. Buckeyes came up short in doubles and in too many spots in singles against UNC but rebounded with a slim win over Texas A&M. They’ll face Texas A&M again this Friday in Cbus and then Florida comes in on Sunday.
7.Texas A&M (10-2) [4] – wins over Columbia, South Florida, Baylor and Florida State; losses to Ohio State & UCLA. Aggies got past Columbia before coming up just short against UCLA and Ohio State. Big weekend coming up with a pair of indoor matches at Ohio State (again) and Illinois.
8. Oklahoma State (8-1) [7] – wins over Wake Forest, Minnesota, at Memphis, Arkansas; 4-3 loss at TCU – After taking last week off the Cowboys welcome in Georgia State on Saturday and then the following weekend it’s off to Montgomery, Alabama for the Blue Gray Classic with South Florida, Auburn, Alabama, Boise State, and Princeton also participating.
9. Texas Tech (12-1) [11] – wins over Georgia, Baylor, Ole Miss, and Florida; 4-1 loss to North Carolina – Red Raiders gave North Carolina a decent challenge and then won a pair of matches in the consolation draw over Baylor and Georgia. Tech welcomes in UTSA and Utah State this Saturday and the following weekend it goes to NC State and Wake Forest.
10. Cal (4-1) [12] – wins over TCU, at Texas, San Francisco; 4-3 loss at Tulsa – The Bears were idle last week but they’ve got a the “Big Slam” on Saturday at Stanford.
11. USC (6-2) [14] – wins over South Florida, Florida, and Tulane; losses to TCU and Wake Forest – Trojans won a gritty 4-3 match over South Florida and then lost a 4-3 heart-breaker to TCU in a match that came down to a third set tiebreak. They didn’t have anything left in the tank against Wake Forest and lost 4-0. Trojans go to Stanford on February 26th then they go to Westwood to face UCLA on March 1st.
12. Oklahoma (5-3) [13] – wins over Illinois and San Diego; losses to Wake Forest (2X) and North Carolina. All in all I’d say it wasn’t that bad of a weekend for OU after it rebounded from a loss against Wake Forest by beating both San Diego and Illinois. This team will be better once Andrew Harris returns to the singles lineup though Axel Alvarez needs to pick it up a bit.
13. Georgia (4-3) [9]- wins over Columbia, Memphis, Georgia Tech; losses to UCLA (2X), Texas Tech – Bulldogs lost a tough one to UCLA, then held off Columbia, before a disappointing loss against Texas Tech in a match where it just couldn’t win the big points. Georgia really needs to get Walker Duncan back in the lineup because right now its losing too many matches at 3, 4, 5 and 6. Georgia is off until East Tennessee State comes in on February 28th.
14. Illinois (6-3) [10] – wins over South Florida, Northwestern, Notre Dame (2X), Duke; losses to North Carolina, TCU, Oklahoma – The Illini got outplayed in too many spots in its loss against TCU but did pull out a close one against South Florida. A win over Oklahoma would have salvaged the weekend but they couldn’t get a win from the lower half of the lineup. Big match at home this Sunday against Texas A&M – definitely a winnable match but somebody down low has to rise to the occasion.
15. Columbia (4-3) [15] – wins over Stanford, Minnesota, North Florida; losses to Texas A&M, Georgia, and Baylor. Columbia had a chance in each of its three matches last weekend but just couldn’t find a way to get a W. Really great play from Shawn Hadavi at #1. Lions host both New Mexico and Minnesota this weekend and should win both comfortably especially since it already beat Minnesota once this year.
16. South Florida (4-3) [16] – wins over San Diego, Florida State, LSU; losses to Texas A&M, USC, Illinois – The Bulls actually got the best first round matchup that it could have hoped for when it drew USC, but unfortunately a few guys that I think would have won 7/8 times of 10 happened to lose (Cotrone/Gozun). Bulls also came up just short against Illinois before salvaging the weekend with a win over San Diego. South Florida plays San Diego again this weekend at home plus South Carolina comes to Tampa as well.
17. Northwestern (8-1) [17] – wins over Tulsa, Kentucky, Notre Dame, at Duke, Rice; 4-0 loss at Illinois. The NU Wildcats took out the KY Wildcats 6-1 last Saturday and they’ve got a couple of decent teams coming in this weekend when NC State and Vanderbilt visit. Northwestern should win both of those without too much of an issue as long as they aren’t caught looking ahead to the February 25th match against TCU.
18. San Diego (4-4) [18] – wins over UC Irvine, Vanderbilt, at Duke; losses to UCLA, Virginia, Oklahoma, South Florida. Toreros had a rough draw but that’s what happens when your are the #16 seed in a field with 16 teams. San Diego got blown out by Virginia, as expected, but it held its own against Oklahoma and South Florida before losing 4-0 and 4-2. I’ve been a little surprised by Jaan Kononov’s performance so far because I thought the January UMBC transfer was going to come in and really take care of business down low but so far he’s 0-5 and only won one set.
19. Ole Miss (3-1) [19] – win at Texas and Baylor; 4-0 loss to Texas Tech – Rebels were off last week but they’ve got a tough match this Sunday when Memphis comes to town. Memphis beat them the last time they played 3 years ago (NCAA 2nd Round) so Ole Miss better be ready for a fight because Memphis is going to be ready for them.
20. Virginia Tech (5-2) [20] – wins over Alabama & Boise State; 4-0 loss to Stanford, 4-0 loss at Ohio State. The Hokies blew out UMBC over the weekend but won’t play another competitive match until NC State and Virginia come to Blacksburg on March 4th and 6th.
21. Baylor (6-4) [21]- wins over Columbia, Oregon, UC Irvine; losses to Ohio State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Ole Miss – The Bears got waxed pretty good by Ohio State and then dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to Texas Tech. They did salvage the weekend by coming from behind to beat a tough Columbia 4-3. Baylor is idle until Memphis comes to town on February 27th in what’ll be the first of many tough matches between now and the end of the year. Baylor has to find some more consistency down low because if it doesn’t it’s going to be tough for them to even qualify for the NCAAs this year.
22. Florida State (6-2) [22] – wins over Mississippi State & Alabama; 4-3 loss at South Florida, 4-3 loss at Texas A&M – The Seminoles were off last week and won’t play a tough match until going to Florida on February 27th.
23. Florida (4-2) [23] – win at Texas; 4-3 losses to Texas Tech and USC – Gators whipped up on Furman last Saturday but they’ve got a tough one coming up Sunday when they go to Columbus to face Ohio State. I’m not expecting a Gators win but a close loss on the road against a top 5 team would be considered acceptable.
24. Stanford (5-3) [24]- wins over Virginia Tech & San Diego State; 4-3 loss at Columbia, 4-3 loss at Texas, 4-2 loss to TCU – Huge, huge match this Saturday when Cal comes to town for the “Big Slam”. Both teams were off last week so fatigue won’t be a factor but nerves could be. If Stanford wants to host a NCAA regional this is the type of match it needs to win.
25. Oregon (9-1) [25] – wins over UCSB, Old Dominion, Denver, at Nebraska; 4-2 loss at Baylor – Ducks won at Loyola Marymount on Saturday and then this weekend both Boise State and Indiana come to town. I don’t see Oregon having any problem with a down Boise State team but Indiana is going to give them a heck of a match.
You're right not sure why I forget him initially – Steve Johnson, Eric Johnson, Jonny Wang, Ray Sarmiento, Daniel Nguyen – all great examples of Americans that played extremely well under Peter's watch.
Was Stevie Johnson considered a good development job of American talent? Peter Smith should be around the top of the list!
Hello in there, Peter Smith?
In my opinion, the "Carolina blueprint" is devoping a certain percentage of local talent and committing to it. By committing to it, that means scholarship money. There is no shortage of talent in Texas. If all the money has gone overseas, then yes it would be hard to bring in talent to a "mediocre school in a dumpy town". I will say Raleigh is not a dumpy town and NC State is not mediocre school. I can't speak to the others.
It baffles me that people think you can easily "follow that blueprint," especially at the schools you mentioned. North Carolina is one of the best public schools in the country and is in a beautiful location. It's not super easy these days to get a top American kid to go to a school like TTU, which is a mediocre academic institution and in a dumpy town.
Whoa, don't lump Texas Tech in with NC State, Miss St, and VCU. The Red Raiders do have one American in their top 6!
Kudos to UNC! #1. 6 of their top 7 are American, including 3 from the state of NC! Hopefully schools like NC State, Miss State, Texas Tech, and VCU can see this blueprint and recruit more Americans!
One could argue Ohio State could be #3, as they have one loss and beat A & M but lost to Unc similar to Ucla.
No I don't think so. I think this year is just a coincidence that they have no Americans. They have had plenty in the past and are likely recruiting more for the future. They have never been a team like Mississippi State, Texas Tech or VCU that recruit almost exclusively foreigners.
Hello Jeff, <br />From a few coaches I have heard that "some coaches can develop talent, some coaches can recruit talent". Obviously the elite programs do both. Given NC State's recent success, do you feel they are getting away from trying to develop American talent?
as well as Sean Weber and Beck Bond.
NC State has had good Americans recently. Robbie Mudge and Austin Powell were 4 year standouts who just graduated, both from the south. So NC State is not opposed to American players at all.
I am a huge Georgia fan, but agree wholeheartedly with your assessment and ranking. It might even be a bit generous. I know anyone can play the "could-a, should-a, would-a" game, but two tough losses to UCLA that could have gone either way and the Texas Tech upset have really put a dent in the season so far. BTW, not to spit sour grapes or fault him in any way as I wish him all the best for a great career, but what a HUGE difference T. Paul would have made had he not turned pro at 18 y.o. But I guess any team could make the same statement about a star recruit who chose some other option. Much thanks for your analysis and great coverage of college tennis, it is deeply appreciated.
Thanks for your response. My son is not tennis recruiting #1 so UVA is probably out. We have met a number of coaches mentioned and Coach Boswami and Coach Paul seem to be very impressive. Glad that they come with your recommendation.<br />Thank you
NC State would have been #26 had I kept going – they've got a big one this Friday at Northwestern. <br /><br />I've always thought Ty Tucker at Ohio State has done a nice job developing a few 4-star and lower end 5-stars into solid lower lineup players.<br /><br />Nobody gets more high-end Americans than Brian Boland and it's very rare to see a guy regress once he gets on campus. <br /><br />Ramsey Smith at Duke, Sam Paul at UNC, Manny Diaz at Georgia, Billy Martin at UCLA, and Bid Goswami at Columbia all come to mind. <br /><br />Josh Goffi at South Carolina has been bringing in a lot of mid to lower end Blue Chips and it seems like he's close to breaking through but it hasn't quite happened yet.
Dear Bobby,<br />I really enjoy your blog. As a parent of a child who wants to play high level college tennis your site has been invaluable.<br />I thought NC State might have made the top 25. I have been impressed with them this year. Unfortunately it looks like their whole line up is foreign.<br />Who are some of the coaches that you feel are successfully developing American talent?