Several conference tournaments got underway on Wednesday, with an abbreviated schedule, but they really got going on Thursday with the ACC and SEC having four matches each.
All four matches at the SEC Tournament in Columbia, South Carolina, were hotly contested with South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, and Kentucky the day’s winners.
The four matches at the ACC were quite as suspenseful with Virginia Tech rolling over Miami 4-0, Georgia Tech pulling away from Louisville 4-1, Notre Dame holding off Duke 4-1, and NC State edging Clemson 4-2.
Both of the matches in Ojai were 4-0 shutouts with Cal and Stanford overwhelming Washington and Oregon.
Due to traveling down to Memphis for the AAC Tournament, I didn’t have the time to really dive
into Thursday’s matches but you can let the video clips and box scores tell you the story. For all the men’s schedules make sure you check out my conference tournament page and my live scoring page has links, in chronological order, for all of Friday’s matches.
WATCH: Benton clinches a 4-1 win over Arkansas for the #Gamecocks. #7thMan pic.twitter.com/t3TauvNdRwGamecock M. Tennis (@GamecockMTennis) April 21, 2016
#50 (11) South Carolina 4, #18 (6) Arkansas 1
4/21/2016 at Columbia, S.C. (Carolina Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. #58 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) vs. #25 Mike Redlicki (AR) 4-6, 6-4, 5-2, unfinished
2. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) vs. #72 Jose Salazar (AR) 6-7 (5-7), 6-6 (2-2), unfinished
3. Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Santiago Munoz (AR) 6-1, 6-0
4. Giammarco Micolani (AR) def. Alex Fennell (SC) 6-3, 6-3
5. Thomas Mayronne (SC) def. Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 7-6 (8-6), 6-0
6. Wood Benton (SC) def. Johan den Toom (AR) 6-2, 0-6, 6-3
Doubles Competition
1. #67 Gabriel Friedrich/Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. #19 G. Micolani/Mike Redlicki (AR) 6-4
2. Alex Fennell/Sam Swank (SC) def. Jose Salazar/Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-1
3. Andrew Schafer/Yancy Dennis (SC) vs. Santiago Munoz/Johan den Toom (AR) 4-5, unfinished
Match Notes:
(6) Arkansas 19-8, 7-5 SEC; National ranking #18
(11) South Carolina 14-14, 4-8 SEC; National ranking #50
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,4,5,6)
SEC Tournament (2nd Round)
Post-Match Quotes from head coach Josh Goffi via SC’s recap
“Unbelievable job by our team. The best part of the day is that they reset after doubles. They came out like warriors, and it was an absolute battle. Arkansas brought it and was a little more subdued today knowing they had to come for business on our courts. [Our guys] did a phenomenal job shutting them down. There were about three or four momentum shifts in the match, and our guys just stayed steady — trusted the game plan, trusted matchups, trusted what they do in practice every day. They got it and absolutely deserved it.”
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#34 (7) Vanderbilt 4, #33 (10) LSU 2
4/21/2016 at Columbia, S.C. (Carolina Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. #52 Jordan Daigle (LSU) def. #34 Daniel Valent (VU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
2. #70 Justin Butsch (LSU) def. #103 Cameron Klinger (VU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
3. Rhys Johnson (VU) vs. Gabor Csonka (LSU) 6-2, 1-6, 5-4, unfinished
4. Baker Newman (VU) def. Boris Arias (LSU) 6-0, 6-3
5. Kris Yee (VU) def. Andrew Korinek (LSU) 7-6, 6-3
6. Alex Ross (VU) def. Simon Freund (LSU) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. #14 Cameron Klinger/Rhys Johnson (VU) def. #8 Jordan Daigle/Boris Arias (LSU) 7-6 (8-6)
2. Justin Butsch/Tam Trinh (LSU) def. Tate Allwardt/Pen Binet (VU) 6-3
3. Baker Newman/Daniel Valent (VU) def. Gabor Csonka/Andrew Korinek (LSU) 6-3
Match Notes:
(10) LSU 14-11, 5-7 SEC; National ranking #33
(7) Vanderbilt 17-12, 6-6 SEC; National ranking #34
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,6,2,1,5)
SEC Tournament (2nd Round)
Post-Match Quotes from Vandy’s recap
“I think that the doubles point tuned out to be key,” said head coach Ian Duvenhage. “Those guys are in the top ten, so we knew it was going to be tough close match. Last time Cam and Rhys beat them pretty badly, and we were sure that it wasn’t going to be that easy again. They were up 5-4 and Rhys hit an ace that was huge for us, and we just played some clutch points there in the end to clinch the doubles point.”
“We did a really good job on some courts, Baker Newman is playing really well right now. Kris Yee clinched by going a good job, and Alex Ross did a really good job at No. 6 also. It was a good win for us. We know that we played a pretty good match against the Gators in Gainesville this year, but not good enough, so we certainly feel like we can do better. We’re just going to go after it tomorrow.”
Post-Match Quotes from LSU’s recap
“The doubles point was extremely close, head coach Jeff Brown said. “It came down to a tiebreaker and was back and forth. A few of our guys responded really well to us losing doubles; a couple didn’t. Vanderbilt certainly got some momentum there.
“Things started to get a little closer, but we’ve got to do a better job of our whole lineup showing up everyday, Brown said. “For the rest of the way out we have to find a way to have everybody engaged in the match. Vanderbilt played well, and they deserved to win.
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#29 (9) Ole Miss 4, #40 (8) Alabama 3
4/21/2016 at Columbia, S.C. (Carolina Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. Gustav Hansson (UM) def. #50 Mazen Osama (AL) 7-5, 6-3
2. Stefan Lindmark (UM) def. #79 Korey Lovett (AL) 7-5, 6-7 (0-7), 6-4
3. B. O’Shaughnessey (AL) def. Filip Kraljevic (UM) 6-4, 6-4
4. Spencer Richey (AL) def. Grey Hamilton (UM) 6-3, 6-4
5. Fabian Fallert (UM) def. Matthew Rossouw (AL) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Landford Hills (AL) def. Zvonimir Babic (UM) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. #28 Zvonimir Babic/Filip Kraljevic (UM) def. #4 Korey Lovett/Mazen Osama (AL) 7-5
2. Fabian Fallert/Grey Hamilton (UM) def. Grayson Goldin/B. O’Shaughnessey (AL) 6-2
3. Spencer Richey/Matthew Rossouw (AL) def. Gustav Hansson/Stefan Lindmark (UM) 6-4
Match Notes:
(9) Ole Miss 15-9, 5-7 SEC; National ranking #29 (8)
Alabama 14-13, 5-7 SEC; National ranking #40
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,3,1,6,5,2)
SEC Tournament (2nd Round)
Post-Match Quotes from Ole Miss’s recap
Quoting Head Coach Toby Hansson“We found a way to win. It wasn’t pretty out there, but both teams were scrapping trying to get the win. Sometimes you have to just do whatever it takes to win. That’s the most important thing.
On depth of team impacting the victory
“Stefan has been there before and he’s a senior. We have a lot of faith in him. He wasn’t playing his best, but he somehow found the energy at the end and was able to break the guy and then close it out.
On getting ready to play Georgia
“Physically we have to recover, get some good food and rest, to get ready for tomorrow. Everybody is excited to play Georgia and hopefully we’ll see some good tennis out there.
Senior Stefan Lindmark
“When I saw that Fabi won, I knew that I had to give that extra effort to get it done for the team. I am happy I was able to serve it out and that we got the job done today. We are looking forward to playing Georgia again. It’s always close when we play them. Hopefully we can play better tomorrow and with a little luck on our side come out on top.
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#20 (5) Kentucky 4, (13) Tennessee 3
4/21/2016 at Columbia, S.C. (Carolina Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. #29 William Bushamuka (UK) def. #67 Luis Valero (UT) 6-2, 6-1
2. Igor Smelyanski (UT) def. #39 Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) 6-4, 6-4
3. Timo Stodder (UT) def. Nils Ellefsen (UK) 6-2, 6-4
4. Trey Yates (UK) def. Srdjan Jakoljevic (UT) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Austin Hussey (UK) def. Jack Schipanski (UT) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
6. Jake Stefanik (UK) def. Jack Heslin (UT) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Nils Ellefsen/Enzo Wallart (UK) def. #23 Luis Valero/Jack Schipanski (UT) 6-4
2. Igor Smelyanski/Jack Heslin (UT) def. William Bushamuka/Trey Yates (UK) 6-3
3. Timo Stodder/Srdjan Jakoljevic (UT) def. Gus Benson/Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) 7-6 (7-2)
Match Notes:
(13) Tennessee 12-17, 0-12 SEC
(5) Kentucky 19-8, 7-5 SEC; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,6,3,2,4,5)
SEC Tournament (2nd Round)
Post-Match Quotes from UK’s recap
“It’s never easy to go into the tournament and get a win against a team you’ve played before, head coach Cedric Kauffmann said reviewing the match. “I thought [Tennessee] came in a little confident after beating Auburn. I thought we played pretty good in doubles I think we’ve been beaten up all season and that Austin [Hussey] and Jake [Stefanik] really came through again for us on five and six and I’m really proud of those two boys.”
Post-Match Quotes from UT’s recap
“Again, I thought the effort was tremendous,” Tennessee head coach Sam Winterbotham said. “They fought til the end. I’m proud that they did that. They’re not quitters. They can say that and mean it. The reality is this season didn’t go the way we expected or wanted. I’ll own that. Preparation for next season starts now.”
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#16 California 4, #37 Washington 0
Thursday, April 21 | Ojai, Calif. | Libbey Park
Doubles Competition
1. No. 11 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal) def. Piers Foley/Wendell Watanabe (UW) 6-4
2. Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) vs. Kawika Lam/Enzo Sommer (UW) 5-2 Abandoned
3. J.T. Nishimura/Mads Engsted (Cal) def. Jake Douglas/Gal Hakak (UW) 6-1
Singles Competition
1. No. 27 Florian Lakat (Cal) def. No. 91 Mitch Stewart (UW) 6-2, 6-4
2. No. 28 Andre Goransson (Cal) vs. Enzo Sommer (UW) 1-6, 6-6(2-2) Abandoned
3. No. 82 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Gal Hakak (UW) 6-3, 6-3
4. Filip Bergevi (Cal) vs. Jake Douglas (UW) 2-6, 6-2, 3-0 Abandoned
5. No. 122 Oskar Wikberg (Cal) vs. Sebastian Hawken (UW) 7-6(5), 4-2 Abandoned
6. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Kawika Lam (UW) 6-0, 6-0
Match Notes
California 16-5; National ranking #16
Washington 17-9; National ranking #37
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,3,1)
Pac-12 Championships Second Round
Post-Match Quotes from Cal’s recap
“Washington is a well-coached team, and we knew we had a big challenge today, Cal head coach Peter Wright. “Winning the doubles point definitely put us on the right foot, but Washington quickly took two first sets in singles and for a moment there, things looked like they were going Washington’s way. Credit our guys with digging and playing well, especially on the sudden-death deuce points. We’re excited about the win, and we look forward to a rematch with USC in the semifinals tomorrow.
Post-Match Quotes from UW’s recap
“Our guys played really hard today, said head coach Matt Anger. “I’m very happy with the way they played coming out of the doubles. We didn’t get off to as good of a start as I had thought we would since we played yesterday and were used to the conditions.
“We were a little more tentative than I would have hoped, said Anger. “We came out stronger in singles, but unfortunately we weren’t able to stay out there long enough on a couple of courts to finish off the matches and make it closer.
“They’re a good team and probably a top-16 and host team in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, said Anger. “I’m definitely proud of our guys, and cannot wait to play more tennis this year.
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#32 Stanford 4, #35 Oregon 0
Thursday, April 21 | Ojai, Calif. | Libbey Park
Doubles Competition
1) No. 39 Fawcett/Romanowicz (STAN) d. Amos/Armando Soemarno (ORE) 6-4
2) Paige/Wilczynski (STAN) d. Maasland/Stevens (ORE) 6-1
3) Yale Goldberg/Kumar (STAN) vs. Clissold/Laurent (ORE) 5-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1
Singles Competition
1) No. 12 Tom Fawcett (STAN) d. Daan Maasland (ORE) 6-3, 6-1
2) Michael Genender (STAN) vs. Simon Stevens (ORE) 3-6, 4-4, unfinished
3) No. 77 David Wilczynski (STAN) vs. Thomas Laurent (ORE) 1-6, 6-1, 1-3, unfinished
4) Nolan Paige (STAN) d. Jayson Amos (ORE) 6-4, 6-4
5) Maciek Romanowicz (STAN) d. Cormac Clissold (ORE) 6-4, 6-4
6) Sameer Kumar (STAN) vs. Ethan Young-Smith (ORE) 7-5, 1-1, unfinished
Match Notes
Stanford 14-9; National ranking #32
Oregon 18-7; National ranking #35
Order of finish: 1, 4, 5
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#41 Notre Dame 4, #68 Duke 1
Apr 21, 2016 at Cary, NC (Cary Tennis Park)
Singles competition
1. #32 Quentin Monaghan (ND) vs. #21 Nicolas Alvarez (DU) 6-2, 2-6, 1-4, unf
2. Josh Hagar (ND) def. Catalin Mateas (DU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Eddy Covalschi (ND) def. Vincent Lin (DU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
4. Alex Lawson (ND) vs. TJ Pura (DU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 4-2, unf
5. Josh Levine (DU) def. Kenneth Sabacinski (ND) 6-2, 6-1
6. Grayson Broadus (ND) def. Daniel McCall (DU) 6-1, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #12 Alex Lawson/Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Catalin Mateas/Vincent Lin (DU) 6-3
2. #44 Eddy Covalschi/Josh Hagar (ND) vs. Nicolas Alvarez/TJ Pura (DU) 2-5, unf
3. Grayson Broadus/Nicolas Montoya (ND) def. Jason Lapidus/Daniel McCall (DU) 6-2
Match Notes
Duke 11-14; National ranking #68
Notre Dame 15-12; National ranking #41
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,5,3,6)
Post-Match Quotes from ND’s recap
“This is a big win for us because we respect their program so much, the Callaghan Head Men’s Tennis Coach Ryan Sachire said. “I think we’re playing pretty well and doing a really good job of being calm and playing our best tennis in the biggest moments. I think that’s what good teams do to separate themselves in close matches. The key over the last month or so has been to play our best tennis when we need it the most.
“Our senior leadership at No. 1 doubles was awesome, Sachire said. “Nico and Grayson played a good match at three, but for Quentin and Alex to come out against a good team, they played really well. They saw pretty early on that the doubles point would come down to their match, I think, and they stepped up and took it, and that was a big first point for our team.
“I think a big, big moment was when Eddy won the first set, Sachire said. “He was the last first set to finish and that was a big one. It was going to be either 3-3 in first sets or 4-2 in our favor and his first-set win in the long tiebreaker there gave us a little bit of separation and breathing room.
“[McCall] played a really good tiebreaker at the end of the second set, but I wasn’t worried, Broadus said. “The match was even. I just came out there really energetic and did the basic things to get the win and came up better than he did.
Post-Match Quotes from Duke’s recap
“It’s unusual for us, head coach Ramsey Smith said. “I’ve never been in a situation where we haven’t been in the team event. We’re going to do everything we can to get Nico [Alvarez] ready for NCAAs. He’s peaking at the right time and I think he can go far.
“It was a great complete match for Nico, Smith added. “I’m really disappointed for him that he didn’t get to finish because he had things in control in the third set. I thought he really handled adversity really well. Quentin took the first set, but then Nico reset, refocused, stuck with it, had a good game plan and broke Quentin down. That’s really, really hard to do because that’s what Quentin’s game is. Nico is playing great tennis.
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#30 Georgia Tech 4, Louisville 1
Apr 21, 2016 at Cary, N.C. (Cary Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Christopher Eubanks (GT) def. Alex Gornet (UL) 7-6, 6-2
2. C. Morin-Kougoucheff (UL) def. Carlos Benito (GT) 6-4, 6-4
3. Cole Fiegel (GT) vs. Jeffrey Brown (UL) 6-7, 3-4, unfinished
4. Daniel Yun (GT) def. Brandon Lancaster (UL) 6-3, 6-2
5. Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. George Hedley (UL) 6-4, 6-2
6. Michael Kay (GT) vs. Sean Donohue (UL) 7-5, 3-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Casey Kay/Michael Kay (GT) def. Alex Gornet/George Hedley (UL) 6-4
2. Carlos Benito/Christopher Eubanks (GT) vs. Jeffrey Brown/C. Morin-Kougoucheff (UL) 5-4, unf
3. Andrew Li/Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. Sean Donohue/Courtney Lock (UL) 6-2
Match Notes
Louisville 15-17
Georgia Tech 16-7; National ranking #30
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (4,2,1,5)
ACC Championship first round
Post-Match Quotes from head coach Kenny Thorne via GT’s recap
“We lost the doubles point against them in the regular season, but we did a good job in all three doubles matches today. They played singles much better toward the end of the season than they did against us earlier in the season, and it was a battle today and a lot tougher this time. Our guys have been resilient and fighting solid all year. It was good to see Nathan get the clinching point for us, and for Daniel to be the catalyst and get off the court quickly in singles.
“I feel like we’re in a good place now with a match under our belts. Hopefully we’ll get after it tomorrow and play a little more relaxed against UNC.
Post-Match Quotes from Louisville’s recap
“That hurt,” said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. “We were in this match the entire time until the very end. Christopher beat a player he lost to in the regular season. Jeff (Brown) was way up in his match as well. Sean, Alex and George all had chances to win their first sets. We needed at least one of those to make it come down to the wire. But I want to take this time to thank seniors Alex Gornet and Jeff Brown for their four years of dedication to the program and me. I will miss them.”
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#44 NC State 4, Clemson 2
Apr 21, 2016 at Cary, N.C. (Cary Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Alex Favrot (CU) def. #54 Simon Norenius (NCST) 6-4, 6-2
2. #102 Thomas Weigel (NCST) def. Daffra Sanon (CU) 7-6 (5), 6-2
3. Luke Johnson (CU) def. #95 Nick Horton (NCST) 7-5, 6-2
4. Igor Saveljic (NCST) def. Austin Ansari (CU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Ivan Saveljic (NCST) def. Robert Dudley (CU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
6. Christian Harris (CU) vs. Shoti Meparidze (NCST) 4-6, 6-1, 4-4 dnf
Doubles competition
1. Simon Norenius/Thomas Weigel (NCST) def. Luke Johnson/Christian Harris (CU) 7-6(4)
2. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (NCST) def. Austin Ansari/Arturo Pinazo (CU) 6-3
3. Alex Favrot/Daffra Sanon (CU) def. Nick Horton/Michael Ogden (NCST) 6-3
Match Notes
NC State 18-13; National ranking #44
Clemson 16-14
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,3,4,2,5)
ACC Championship first round
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#36 Virginia Tech 4, Miami 0
Apr 21, 2016 at Cary, N.C. (Cary Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #22 Joao Monteiro (VT) vs. #38 Piotr Lomacki (UM) 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
2. #66 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT) vs. Max Andrews (UM) 7-5, 1-1, unfinished
3. #107 Amerigo Contini (VT) def. Jesse Flores (UM) 6-1, 6-1
4. #74 Edoardo Tessaro (VT) def. Fermin Calvo (UM) 6-0, 6-3
5. Mitch Harper (VT) def. Bernard Tefel (UM) 6-3, 6-1
6. Jai Corbett (VT) vs. Niclas Genovese (UM) 3-6, 5-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #15 Andreas Bjerrehus/Joao Monteiro (VT) def. #72 Max Andrews/Bernard Tefel (UM) 6-2
2. Amerigo Contini/Edoardo Tessaro (VT) vs. #66 Piotr Lomacki/Nile Clark (UM) 5-5, unfinished
3. Jai Corbett/Mitch Harper (VT) def. Jesse Flores/Kevin Bondar (UM) 6-4
Match Notes:
Miami 8-15
Virginia Tech 15-7; National ranking #36
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,4,5)
ACC Championship first round
How can you disagree when it is explicitly written in the rules that no team shall participate in the NCAA tournament when they have an under .500 cumulative record on the season? Do you know someone on the committee or something I'm not aware of?
Cal's win today was very important for that team. Otherwise they would likely meet Uva in the third round. In recent times that has not gone well.
I disagree. Let's see what the committee thinks.
South Carolina had to win today to get in – since they lost their record fell to 14-15 which meant they didn't meet the NCAA criteria of having at least a .500 record. If they would have pulled it out they would have made it – tough way to lose a match especially after Friedrich served for it at 5-4.
where will the Gamecocks be in the NCAA tournament? Sent to Wake Forest or UNC? 🙂