The start of the 2017 dual-match season is just a few weeks away so it’s time to look ahead to see what’s in store for the next five months. I listed the returning singles starters, returning depth players (didn’t list all just ones I think will have a chance to play), key departures, and additions. I’m sure they’ll be some January roster additions that haven’t been announced yet so these rankings are based off what is known to this point. The UTRs used for the freshmen are from January 1st.
2017 Men’s Preseason Top 25 (final ’16 ranking in parentheseis)
1. University of Virginia (1) – The back-to-back defending champs lose their No. 1 Ryan Shane but they reload with the addition of Carl Soderlund who was the ITA’s Preseason #1 Newcomer. Most teams have a roster with certain guys that are capable of playing at the top and others that are better suited for the bottom but Virginia’s roster is loaded full of guys who would play No. 1 on over 95% of D1 teams. Virginia used to be a great regular season team that won a lot of National Team Indoor titles but always came up short in the NCAAs but now they know how to hit their peak in May and win the big one. Virginia will be the team to beat and will be the prohibitive favorite to three-peat.
- Returning Singles Starters (5): Collin Altamirano, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Alex Ritschard, JC Aragone, Henrik Wiersholm
- Returning Depth: Luca Corinteli
- Key Departures: Ryan Shane (S1/D1), Mac Styslinger (D2)
- Additions: Carl Soderlund (14.60), Ammar Alhogbani (13.02), Aswin Lizen (12.96)
2. TCU (3) – The Horned Frogs seemed prime to make some noise in Tulsa last year but an upset loss to Cal in the Round of 16 left them wondering what might have been. It appears that everyone will be back, which wasn’t a given after the summer/fall that Cameron Norrie had, plus David Roditi added a solid Brit in Alastair Gray and Felipe Escobar is eligible after sitting out last year. It sounds like Eduardo Nava may be iffy this year due to surgery on his hamstring so he could be in for a redshirt year. I liked TCU a lot last season and I like them even more this year.
- Returning Singles Starters (6): Cameron Norrie, Alex Rybakov, Guillermo Nunez, Jerry Lopez, Eduardo Nava, Trevor Johnson
- Returning Depth: Reese Stalder, Trey Daniel
- Key Departures: Hudson Blake (D1)
- Additions: Alastair Gray (14.04), Felipe Escobar (13.17)
3. University of California-Berkeley (9) – The Bears finally broke through last year with huge wins over TCU and Ohio State in route to the NCAA semifinals. Peter Wright only loses one singles starter (Wikberg) and adds several freshmen with Bjorn Hoffmann expected to play at #5 or #6. This team tasted success last season and I expect they’ll be hungry for more this year.
- Returning Singles Starters (5): Florian Lakat, Andre Goransson, Billy Griffith, Filip Bergevi, JT Nishimura
- Returning Depth: Gunther Matta, Ryan Shen
- Key Departures: Oskar Wikberg (S5/D2), Mads Engsted (D3)
- Additions: Bjorn Hoffmann (13.77), Dominic Barretto (12.57), Connor Heap (12.18), Ryan Cardiff (10.95)
4. Wake Forest University (8) – Tony Bresky led Wake Forest to its first conference championship last season but unfortunately his squad got sent home early in Tulsa after a peaking Oklahoma ran them off the court. Bresky has to replace the middle of his lineup after losing Jon Ho and Romain Bogaerts but it looks like he’ll have two rock solid replacements in Borna Gojo and Alexandar Lazarov. I don’t see any weak spots in the lineup (on paper) so the sky is the limit for this team.
- Returning Singles Starters (4): Skander Mansouri, Petros Chrysochos, Christian Seraphim, Dennis Uspensky
- Returning Depth: Alan Gadjiev, Maksim Kan
- Key Departures: Jonathan Ho (S3/D2), Romain Bogaerts (S4/D3);
- Additions: Borna Gojo (14.42), Alexandar Lazarov (14.34), Sean Hill (12.99), Charles Perry (10.29)
5. University of Georgia (7) – The Bulldogs were an eyelash away from playing for the National Title last year but they’ll have some holes to fill after losing Austin Smith, Nick Wood, and Ben Wagland. Manny Diaz brought in a talented group of freshmen and Emil Reinberg is expected to play in the upper half of the lineup after a tremendous fall. Georgia will host the NCAAs in May but whether they’ll be around into the later rounds will depend on how much production they get out of the young guns.
- Returning Starters (4): Wayne Montgomery, Paul Oosterbaan, Walker Duncan, Jan Zielinski
- Returning Depth: Emil Reinberg
- Key Departures: Austin Smith (S1/D1), Nick Wood (S6), Ben Wagland (D1)
- Additions: Nathan Ponwith (13.85), Robert Loeb (13.46), Alex Diaz (13.35), Alex Phillips (13.22), Sam Dromsky (11.91)
6. University of Texas (16) – Michael Center did one of the best coaching jobs in the country last year by getting 17 wins out of a team that had five new starters plus they were a third set tiebreak away from advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals. Center brought in the ITA No. 3 (Ito) and No. 4 (Telles) Preseason National Newcomers but it was another newcomer that made the biggest splash. Christian Sigsgaard advanced from the ITA All-American pre-qualifying draw all the way to the main draw semifinals by winning 11 matches in 9 days with 7 of those wins coming over ITA ranked opponents. I’m expecting Texas to compete for a conference title and I don’t see any reason why they can’t jump into the top 5 this year and make a run at the Natty in Athens.
- Returning Starters (5): George Goldhoff, Harrison Scott, Adrian Ortiz, Rodrigo Banzer, Julian Zlobinsky
- Returning Depth: John Mee, Colin Markes
- Key Departures: Michael Riechmann (S5/D1)
- Additions: Yuya Ito (14.32), Christian Sigsgaard (14.32), Leonardo Telles (13.71)
7. Ohio State University (4) – The defending Big Ten Champs have a fierce top two in Mikael Torpegaard and Hugo Di Feo but whether they win a 12th Big Ten Title will depend on the prooductivity out of the 4, 5 and 6 spots plus can Martin Joyce be as dominant at 4 or 5 as he was at 6. JJ Wolf (14.34), who was committed for the fall, will be enrolling early so if he is injury-free that will definitely strengthen the lineup.
- Returning Starters (4): Mikael Torpegaard, Hugo Di Feo, Herkko Pollanen, Martin Joyce
- Returning Depth: Matt Mendez, Kyle Seelig, Hunter Tubert, Riley Reist
- Key Departures: Chris Diaz (S2); Ralf Steinbach (S4/D2)
- Additions: JJ Wolf (14.34), Joseph Thomas (12.94), Jacob Wareti (12.00)
8. University of Southern California (12) – Peter Smith had to replace his top four last season but his young team still managed to win 17 matches and advance to the NCAA Final 16 in Tulsa. All those freshmen are now sophomores plus newcomer Brandon Holt, who I expect will play at No. 1, had a sensational fall which included winning the backdraw at the ITA All-Americans along with an 8-3 record versus ITA ranked opponents. After spending most of last season in the No. 8 to No. 11 range, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this team closer to the top 5 if everyone stays healthy.
- Returning Starters (5): Nick Crystal, Logan Smith, Jake Devine, Thibault Forget, Rob Bellamy
- Returning Depth: Jack Jaede, Laurens Verboven, Henry Ji, Tanner Smith
- Key Departures: Max de Vroome (S1/D2)
- Additions: Brandon Holt (14.26), Riley Smith (13.26)
9. UCLA (2) – The Bruins will have to replace the NCAA Champ Mackenzie McDonald and four-year starter Karue Sell with those two combining to go 37-3 in dual-match play last season. Freshman Evan Zhu should be a welcome addition to the middle of the lineup with Austin Rapp likely to secure a starting spot down low. UCLA will be in the mix for another Pac-12 title but they’ll have to win several 50/50 matches to raise the hardware again in Ojai.
- Returning Starters (4): Martin Redlicki, Gage Brymer, Logan Staggs, Joseph Di Giulio
- Returning Depth: Austin Rapp, Max Cressey, Daniel Gealer
- Key Departures: Mackenzie McDonald (S1/D1), Karue Sell (S4/D2)
- Additions: Evan Zhu (14.00), Ben Goldberg (12.90), Connor Rapp (12.42)
10. University of Florida (10) – The Gators made a big step forward last year by winning the SEC Tournament and then advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 2005. Bryan Shelton has to replace two singles starters (Hidalgo/Watson), who were also his top doubles team, but he has a couple of newcomers (Ingildsen/Guillin) that are expected to contribute plus Jordan Belga had a strong fall as well. Alfredo Perez and McClain Kessler went a combined 34-11 in dual-match play as freshmen so it’ll be interesting to see how they do this year while most likely playing higher in the lineup.
- Returning Starters (4): Alfredo Perez, Elliott Orkin, Chase Perez-Blanco, McClain Kessler
- Returning Depth: Jordan Belga, Maxx Lipman, Josh Wardell
- Key Departures: Diego Hidalgo (S1/D1), Gordon Watson (S5/D1)
- Additions: Johannes Ingildsen (13.60), Joseph Guillin (13.52), Stephen Madonia (12.51), David Sarkisov (11.59)
11. University of North Carolina (5) – The defending National Team Indoor Champs ran into some injury trouble in the NCAAs and were beaten soundly by Georgia in the NCAA Quarters. Brayden Schnur turned pro over the summer and Brett Clark graduated so Sam Paul will have some big holes to fill in the upper half of the lineup. January admit William Blumberg will likely play at either No. 1 or No. 2 while several guys will be in the running for the No. 6 spot in the lineup. The performances of the 3 through 5 spots will likely make or break the team this year.
- Returning Starters (4): Ronnie Schneider, Jack Murray, Robert Kelly, Anu Kodali
- Returning Depth: Bo Boyden, Arturo Schmidt
- Key Departures: Brayden Schnur (S1/D2), Brett Clark (S3/D1)
- Additions: William Blumberg (14.68), Simon Soendergaard (13.41), Joshua Peck (13.41), Kavir Kumar (12.81) Ladd Harrison (11.87)
12. University of Oklahoma (6) – The three-time NCAA Runner-Up’s will have several new faces this season including the head coach as longtime Florida State assistant Nick Crowell takes over for John Roddick who departed for Central Florida. Crowell has a strong nucleus returning but little else after the departure of four contributors from a year ago. Crowell will need adequate production from his January admits (Restifo/Bertsch) plus Andrew Harris needs to be 100% for this team to be a serious contender.
- Returning Starters (4): Andrew Harris, Spencer Papa, Alex Ghilea, Florin Bragusi
- Returning Depth: None
- Key Departures: Axel Alvarez (S2/D1), Andre Biro (S6/D3), Austin Siegel (D3), Max Mora
- Additions: Arnaud Restifo (13.33), Jochen Bertsch (13.21)
13. Northwestern University (15) – Arvid Swan returns four starters, including his top three, from a team that set the school record for wins (26) last season. Freshman Dominik Stary should be in the mix after winning the Big Ten Singles Tournament in November while several guys will battle for the No. 6 spot. If Zieba, Shropshire, and Kirchheimer replicate last year’s performance (53-13 in dual-match play) and if the bottom of the lineup improves slightly this team should make its first trip to the Sweet 16 since 1997.
- Returning Starters (4): Konrad Zieba, Sam Shropshire, Strong Kirchheimer, Ben Vandixhorn
- Returning Depth: Jason Seidman, Michael Lorenzini
- Key Departures: Fedor Baev (S4/D1), Alp Horoz (S6/D3), Mihir Kumar (D3)
- Additions: Dominik Stary (13.16), Brenden Volk (12.74), Chris Ephron (12.58)
14. University of Kentucky (23) – Cedric Kauffmann returns everyone from a team that won 19 matches a year ago plus Beck Pennington, who played No. 1 two years ago, returns after missing last year with an injury. Pennington will probably play in the middle of the lineup so Ellefsen, Yates, and company will be able to slide down a spot. Kentucky has a pretty daunting schedule to start the season with Duke, Notre Dame, and Virginia visiting Lexington while the Cats go to Oklahoma State for the Kick-Off Weekend to face Tulsa and either Columbia or Oklahoma State. I think Kentucky has top 10-15 potential and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them return to the Sweet 16 for the first time in three years.
- Returning Starters (6): William Bushamuka, Ryotaro Matsumura, Nils Ellefsen, Trey Yates, Enzo Wallart, Jake Stefanik, Beck Pennington (missed year with injury)
- Returning Depth: Austin Hussey, Gus Benson
- Key Departures: Kevin Lai (D3)
- Additions: Alex Dominguez (12.99),
15. Stanford University (21) – The Paul Goldstein coached team wasn’t able to repeat as Pac-12 regular season champs last season but they did manage to make it to the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 2012 after a tough road win over Northwestern. Stanford returns four of its top five but it’ll need to find an answer at No. 5 and No. 6 if it’s going to make the trip to Athens. I’d be surprised if Brandon Sutter doesn’t fill one of those two lower spots despite only starting seven dual-matches in the last three years. Sutter earned his first ATP point over the summer with a win over 2015 NCAA Champion Ryan Shane and the El Dorado Hills native also beat Washington’s No. 2 Enzo Sommer in the fall. Most of the guys only played a handful of matches during the fall so the Sherwood Cup, which starts on January 13th, should give us some better insight into how the lineup will shape up.
- Returning Starters (4): Tom Fawcett, David Wilczynski, Michael Genender, Sameer Kumar
- Returning Depth: Yale Goldberg, Brandon Sutter, Roy Lederman, Jack Barber
- Key Departures: Nolan Paige (S4/D2), Maciek Romanowicz (S6/D1)
- Additions: William Genesen (12.94), Nikita Demir (10.44)
16. Baylor University (32) – Last year was a tough year in Waco with the Bears having severe depth issues after the departure of three starters. Due to eligibility issues and injuries Matt Knoll was forced to use walk-ons in his starting lineup which attributed to the No. 5 and No. 6 positions going 1-26 against opponents not named Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Prairie View A&M. Knoll has to replace two more starters with the biggest loss being Julian Lenz who was a stout four-year starter at No. 1 after going 76-17 in dual-match play. Juan Benitez, who will likely play No. 1 or No. 2, and Johannes Schretter return to the squad after a one-year absence and both Bjoern Petersen and Constantin Frantzen will help fill in the remaining holes. After winning only 8 matches last year against top 200 teams, I expect this to be a top 15-20 team that is in the mix to host a NCAA Regional.
- Returning Starters (3): Max Tchoutakian, Jimmy Bendeck, Will Little
- Returning Depth: Tyler Stayer
- Key Departures: Julian Lenz (S1/D3), Felipe Rios (S3/D2), Tommy Podvinski (S6/D1)
- Additions: Juan Benitez (14.33), Bjoern Petersen (13.43), Johannes Schretter (13.31), Constantin Frantzen (13.11)
17. Texas A&M University (14) – The Aggies 2016 season came to a premature finish when Texas upset them in the NCAA second round which marked A&M’s second early exit in the last three years. Steve Denton has to replace a lot of experience after the depatures of Shane Vinsant, Harrison Adams, and Jackson Withrow but the January arrival of Valentin Vacherot (Rinderknech’s cousin) should help along with his other newcomer Hady Habib. A&M will need to hit the ground running because they play at Rice, host a Kick-Off Weekend regional (Baylor/Ole Miss/SMU), play Baylor again in a neutral site match in Houston, and host Texas Tech in the first three weeks of the season. A slow start could be tough to recover from since there are few easy outs in the SEC.
- Returning Starters (4): Arthur Rinderknech, Jordi Arconada, AJ Catanzariti, Max Lunkin
- Returning Depth: Aleksandre Bakshi, Francisco Colunga, James Martell
- Key Departures: Shane Vinsant (S2/D2), Harrison Adams (S4/D2), Jackson Withrow (S5/D1)
- Additions: Valentin Vacherot (14.00), Hady Habib (13.81)
18. Oklahoma State University (13) – The Cowboys return everyone from a team that reached the top 5 before a late season slump nearly cost them a shot at hosting a NCAA regional. I think the first couple of weeks of the season will be very telling with Arkansas coming to town on January 16th plus the Pokes will face a strong indoor team in Columbia during the ITA Kick-Off Weekend and then either Kentucky or Tulsa. There isn’t a ton of depth on the roster so any injuries will hurt more than usual. I could see this team ending up anywhere from No. 10 to No. 25 so we’ll see how the season goes.
- Returning Starters (6): Julian Cash, Arjun Kadhe, Lucas Gerch, Tristan Meraut, Lukas Finzelberg, Jurence Mendoza
- Returning Depth: Nathan Roper
- Key Departures: None
- Additions: Mathieu Scaglia (12.85)
19. University of Arkansas (20) – Last season the Razorbacks won 20 matches for the first time since 1986 and won a match at the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 but Andy Jackson has to replace four guys off that team that picked up a total of 39 wins in dual-match play. Jackson’s returning depth players picked up just 13 wins in dual-match play last season but he does have his top two returning. Mike Redlicki had a tremendous fall which was capped by a singles title at the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships and Jose Salazar beat four ranked players and won the USTA/ITA Central Regional. Oscar Mesquida should be ready to go after sitting out last year and based on his results in a few regional USTA tournaments I think he’ll fit in nicely in the middle of the lineup. The bottom half of the lineup will likely determine whether this is a top 15-20 team or a 25-30 team.
- Returning Starters (3): Mike Redlicki, Jose Salazar, Adam Sanjurjo
- Returning Depth: Johan den Toom, Juan Marino, Branch Terrell, Jacob Herndon, Austin Robles
- Key Departures: Santiago Munoz (S3/D2), Giammarco Micolani (S4/D1), David Herrerias (S5), William Albanese
- Additions: Oscar Mesquida (13.64)
20. Texas Tech University (11) – The Red Raiders lost their top two in the singles lineup (Soares/Dojas) so everyone else will have to step it up a few notches this year. Brett Masi brought in Ronit Bisht, who was the ITA’s Preseason #2 Newcomer, however Bisht was just 5-5 during the fall although he did have one ranked win. For this team to be as good as last season everyone will to have to elevate their games plus Mylnikov or Di Laura will need to contribute.
- Returning Starters (4): Jolan Cailleau, Alex Sendegeya, Bjorn Thomson, Connor Curry
- Returning Depth: Tommy Mylnikov, Carlos Di Laura
- Key Departures: Felipe Soares (S1/D2), Hugo Dojas (S2/D3)
- Additions: Ronit Bisht (12.69), Jackson Cobb (12.07), Nikolas Moceanu (11.88)
21. Mississippi State University (19) – Last season Matt Roberts helped guide a roster, that was almost entirely made up of newcomers, all the way to the NCAA Round of 16 but I don’t think they’ll be able to surprise anyone this season. The returning players are all talented but if Rishab Agarwal doesn’t come back for his senior year (wasn’t on roster in fall) everyone will have to shift up a spot unless January admit Giovanni Oradini is able to play as high as No. 2. MSU’s weak spot last year was the No. 1 spot in the lineup with Cutura going 5-11 while it’s strongest spots were No. 2 and No. 3 with Agarwal and Borges going a combined 32-11.
- Returning Starters (4): Nuno Borges, Mate Cutura, Niclas Braun, Strahinja Rakic
- Returning Depth: Vaughn Hunter, Trevor Foshey
- Key Departures: Rishab Agarwal (S2/D3), Luka Sucevic (S6/D2) – transferred to St. John’s
- Additions: Giovanni Oradini (13.97)
22. University of llinois (18) – Brad Dancer brought in a huge six-man freshmen class and he has to be hoping that at least one or two of them can make big contributions after the Illini’s troubles last year at the bottom two spots (13-27 in dual-match play). The top half of the lineup will still include a Hiltzik but it won’t be Jared after the three-time All-American graduated last May. Vukic and Aron Hiltzik will be tough at No. 1 and No. 2 but the rest of the lineup will probably change a good bit throughout the season. If I had to guess I’d say Zeke Clark, Aleksandar Kovacevic, Julian Childers and Gui Gomes will start the year in the three through six spots.
- Returning Starters (4): Aleks Vukic, Aron Hiltzik, Julian Childers, Asher Hirsch
- Returning Depth: Alex Jesse, Aiden Jiang, Pablo Landa
- Key Departures: Jared Hiltzik (S2/D3), Brian Page (D3)
- Additions: Zeke Clark (13.81), Aleksandar Kovacevic (13.60), Noe Khlif (13.34), Gui Gomes (13.21), Vuk Budic (12.59), Kris Ortega (12.27)
23. University of Michigan (25) – The Wolverines have everybody coming back including head coach Adam Steinberg after he reversed course after initially accepting the Arizona State job. Michigan opens up against Alabama at the USTA’s new Lake Nona facility on January 21st and then they head to Oklahoma for a pretty evenly matched Kick-Off Weekend Regional that includes Illinois and Arkansas. This team could make a push into the top 20 or they could slide closer to 30.
- Returning Starters (6): Alex Knight, Jathan Malik, Carter Lin, Runhao Hua, Kevin Wong, Davis Crocker
- Returning Depth: Myles Schalet, Gabe Tishman, Maks Tekavec
- Key Departures: None
- Additions: Connor Johnston (12.90), Nick Beaty (12.40)
24. Columbia University (28) – The Lions managed to win a third straight Ivy League title last year despite replacing their top four from the prior season. Bid Goswami returns four starters this year plus he brought in a star-studded freshmen class that won 30 matches this fall. Columbia will be favored to win its fourth consecutive Ivy League title plus a tough non-conference schedule (TCU/Texas/Michigan/SMU) will provide opportunities to make a move upward in the rankings. Columbia is playing in Oklahoma State’s Kick-Off Weekend Regional which will be pretty wide open so it isn’t out of the question that they could upset Oklahoma State and Kentucky or Tulsa.
- Returning Starters (4): Shawn Hadavi, Victor Pham, Richard Pham, Timothy Wang
- Returning Depth: Michal Rolski, William Matheson, Miguel Alda
- Key Departures: Eric Rubin (S3), Mike Vermeer (S4/D1)
- Additions: Alex Keyser (13.69), Adam Ambrozy (13.34), Jackie Tang (13.24)
25. University of South Florida (17) – New head coach Ashley Fisher will have to replace a lot of wins after the departures of Cid, Cotrone, and Gonzalez-Muniz. All the returners are quality players and newcomer Alberto Barroso-Campos was a D2 All-American last season at St. Leo. Grayson Goldin didn’t play in the fall after he transferred in from Alabama after transferring to Alabama from Florida State a few years prior. The current roster is only showing six players so I assume they’ll be at least one or two more additions but I’ve yet to hear any names.
- Returning Starters (4): Sasha Gozun, Peter Bertran, Justin Roberts, Vadym Kalyuzhnyy
- Returning Depth: None
- Key Departures: Roberto Cid (S1/D3), Dominic Cotrone (S3/D2), Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (S4/D3)
- Additions: Alberto Barroso-Campos (13.98), Grayson Goldin (12.85)
The ITA will have its first team rankings out on Wednesday so check back tomorrow for a full recap of those. Below are some early season (pre-kickoff weekend) matches to keep an eye on;
1/15 – Northwestern at Vanderbilt, Texas at SMU
1/16 – Arkansas at Oklahoma State
1/20 – TCU at Northwestern, Georgia at Georgia Tech, Duke at Kentucky, Mississippi State at Pepperdine
1/21 – Michigan vs. Alabama (Lake Nona), Oklahoma at Wake Forest
1/16 – Arkansas at Oklahoma State
1/20 – TCU at Northwestern, Georgia at Georgia Tech, Duke at Kentucky, Mississippi State at Pepperdine
1/21 – Michigan vs. Alabama (Lake Nona), Oklahoma at Wake Forest
1/22 – Texas at Arkansas
I'm not so sure about the TCU roster. In an interview in November (prior to the Gray signing), Coach Roditi said that two players had left the team, but he didn't mention any names. I'm pretty sure the first was Hudson Blake, who routinely played doubles with Reese Stalder. And I think the other was Eduardo Nava because Roditi talked about the guys who were coming back, and Nava wasn't mentioned whereas Escobar was. And Norrie's return is still undetermined – last night, Cam beat Duckhee Lee (ATP #149) in the opening round at the Noumea New Caledonia Challenger, which is a career high rankings win for him. And he and Jose Statham also won their doubles match over Alejandro Falla and Jose Hernandez-Fernandez, who had ATP rankings which dwarfed Cam's and Jose's. And, Norrie is also entered into next week's Auckland ASB ATP World Event as a qualifier and he could still conceivably qualify for the Aussie Open (it's doubtful but not completely out of reach). If he doesn't qualify there, he's likely to play the Maui Challenger in mid-January, which, if he goes deep, will conflict with at least the opener at Northwestern (1/20) and possibly 1-3 other TCU matches. He's said that he's returning (eventually), but he's inched up to ATP #276 (a career high) and I think it's still relatively undetermined. Cam is already the 6th highest rated U.K. pro and the 2nd highest Scottish pro (behind only #1 Andy Murray), so the lure of being a full-time pro is probably pretty strong. We'll see in about 3-4 weeks.
Philip, thanks for mentioning the interview – I hadn't heard it until now. He did mention that Nava was coming back though he didn't specifically say his name – said the kid that tore his hamstring in the NCAAs may not be ready after his surgery so it sounds like it could be a redshirt year for Nava. The two that quit were Hudson Blake and the other was Trey Daniel though I noticed that Daniel's name is back on the roster so he may have reconsidered.
Too optimistic on TCU.
No love for UCF?
how come always predictions for men's ranking and never for women side?!
Rex, if I was ranking tennis facilities then UCF would definitely be in the top 25 but as far as the current team not so much. If Roddick can keep bringing talent in, which I'm sure he will, then they'll be a top 25 team in the next year or two.
Bobby, I'm sure you realize this, but you do an outstanding job covering college tennis. Right, wrong, or otherwise, this was a great read. Thanks for the great work.
Jokeroo, I've been following the men's game pretty closely for almost 20 years so my knowledge base and gut instincts are much stronger. I've been more of a casual follower of the women's game so I don't know the players and teams as well. I started doing recaps of the women's rankings last year and plan to continue that this year so as I become more familiar with the teams/players I'll be able to provide more insight in the future.
I believe that UCF will be top 25 this year. Look at their transfers and plus if the rumors of that Portuguese ringer are true that will be a plug and play #1