Wednesday had a pretty solid schedule on the men’s side with five matches between top 50 teams including a pair between top 15 teams. Fourth-ranked Florida improved to 13-2 with a dominating 6-1 win at home over #13/#16 Illinois. The Gators grabbed the early lead with 6-3 wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles and then in singles they won five opening sets. Sam Riffice, Andy Andrade, Johannes Ingildsen, and McClain Kessler won in straight sets at 2, 3, 4, and 5 while Duarte Vale came back from a set down to win in three sets at 6. Illinois picked up its lone point from Aleks Kovacevic who came back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 singles over Oliver Crawford.
The other top 15 matchup between #10/#7 TCU and #12/#10 Columbia saw TCU win a close doubles point and then take all six opening sets in singles before Columbia fought back to force third sets on five courts. The Horned Frogs claimed the doubles point by winning the decider at No. 1 in a tiebreak (7-5) and senior Alex Rybakov rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 1 over #16 Jack Lin. Columbia cut the deficit to 2-1 after a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win by Austen Huang at No. 6 but TCU would close it out with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win by Reese Stalder at No. 3 and a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win by Alastair Gray at No. 2. The other two matches went unfinished with TCU a game away from a win at No. 4 while Columbia was a game away at No. 5.
Florida Junior Johannes Ingildsen
On pressure of clinching the match”It’s always great to clinch. I can kind of feel that when I see the scoreboard and we just need one more point, it puts a little bit more pressure, but at the same time I feel loose because I know the team has my back. But obviously getting that last point is huge.”
On how the team is feeling right now in midst of seven match winning streak”It means a lot. We are building momentum right now and we just have to try and keep it going. We have so many matches and we can’t really look back, we just have to look forward and try and keep it day by day. Tomorrow we play Vanderbilt, who is a great team and we had a huge fight with them last year. We have to come out and respect them. They are going to play free because they have nothing to lose and we just have to try and protect the house and protect our courts and just get after it again. There’s not really any rest. On paper it looks good, but it doesn’t mean anything if you can’t back it up and we have another big test tomorrow.”
Sophomore Duarte Vale
On what was working in doubles to rebound from some tough losses”You know, doubles is really quick. It happens really fast. It can happen where you lose a few matches in a row or you can also go the other way and if we just stick to what we do best, eventually you are going to get the win. It’s not always going to happen in doubles because it’s so quick, but if you stay positive and just keep doing the right thing, it’s going to happen.”
“Florida outplayed us,” said Illinois head coach Brad Dancer. “They have great players and are well coached. We talk about constant pressure and I felt like that was what Florida did to us. We got up early in the doubles, but they (Florida) kept constant pressure in doubles and we folded. Again, in singles they have great players, so it is going to be a challenge dropping the doubles point and trying to find four points. Florida was too good for us, another big challenge Friday at UCF.”
#4 Florida 6, #13 Illinois 1
March 20, 2019 at Gainesville, FL (Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex)
Doubles-Order of Finish: 2, 1
1. McClain Kessler/Duarte Vale (UF) def. #45 Alex Brown/Caleb Chakravarthi (UI)- 6-3
2. Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (UF) def. Keenan Mayo/Aleks Kovacevic (UI)- 6-3
3. Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) vs. Gui Gomes/Siphosothando Montsi (UI)- 5-4, unfinished
Singles-Order of Finish: 2,3,4*,5,1,6
1. #14 Aleks Kovacevic (UI) def. #15 Oliver Crawford (UF)- 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. #51 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #31 Alex Brown (UI)- 6-3, 6-2
3. #29 Andres Andrade (UF) def. Zeke Clark (UI)- 6-2, 6-4
4. #97 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Siphosothando Montsi (UI)- 6-4, 6-2*
5. McClain Kessler (UF) def. Caleb Chakravarthi (UI)- 6-4, 6-2
6. Duarte Vale (UF) def. Keenan Mayo (UI)- 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
“It is not how you play. It is how you compete. That is what dictates if you win or lose.”
–@RoditiTCUTennis #GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/BrUjX8l9Db
TCU Men’s Tennis (@TCUMensTennis) March 21, 2019
TCU head coach David Roditi
“That was a battle just as we all expected. Any time you beat a team like Columbia in a battle then it means we did a lot of good things and we competed well. The beauty is that we can play better in several spots. We are giving too many points away still especially in critical moments. We need to clean that up. I am proud of our men for finding ways to win and for their fight. They love playing in front of the fans and they take a lot of pride playing here and that helped a lot today. We really appreciate our fans coming out and the next five matches at home will have the tailgate trailer and it’s going to be an amazing atmosphere. I hope all of Fort Worth takes advantage of it.
“We play Columbia every year and their coach Bid (Goswami) is a legend. This is his last time here as he is retiring and we want to wish him the best and thank him for always being willing to battle it out.”
#10 TCU 4, #12 Columbia 1
Mar 20, 2019 at Fort Worth, Texas (Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #7 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #16 Jack Lin (CU) 6-1, 6-2
2. #25 Alastair Gray (TCU) def. #41 Victor Pham (CU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
3. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. #91 Adam Ambrozy (CU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
4. #115 Bertus Kruger (TCU) vs. Rian Pandole (CU) 6-2, 5-7, 5-0, unfinished
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) vs. Timothy Wang (CU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-5, unfinished
6. Austen Huang (CU) def. Sander Jong (TCU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Alastair Gray/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #12 Jack Lin/William Matheson (CU) 7-6 (7-5)
2. #6 Reese Stalder/Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. Adam Ambrozy/Austen Huang (CU) 6-3
3. Victor Pham/Rian Pandole (CU) def. Luc Fomba/Sander Jong (TCU) 7-5
Match Notes:
Columbia 9-2; National ranking #12
TCU 13-3; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,6,3,2)
T-3:03 A-537
Second-ranked Wake Forest got all it wanted on the road at NC State but the Deacs came through with a 4-2 win. NCST jumped out to a 1-0 lead after winning the doubles decider in a tiebreak (7-3) but Wake would come back and take first sets in three of the four matches at the four-court indoor facility. Wake’s Borna Gojo evened it up with a 7-5, 6-1 win at No. 1 but NCST reclaimed the lead with a 6-4, 7-5 win by Yannai Barkai at No. 4.
The matches at No. 2 and No. 3 went deep into a third set with Wake ultimately winning them both – Petros Chrysochos 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-6(3) at No. 2 and Bar Botzer 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4 at No. 3. Wake took the first set at both No. 5 and No. 6 and Siddhant Banthia would cruise to a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 6 to clinch while Melios Efstathiou led 7-5, 2-0 at No. 5.
“It was another great battle by the guys today,” said NC State head coach Kyle Spencer. “They played a really good doubles point, and I’m excited about what we’re doing in doubles. Then, it was just a battle. Wake Forest is a great team, and they battle every position. Today, they were just a little bit too good. I’m very impressed with a few of the spots for us today, especially with Igor (Saveljic) at number two taking the defending NCAA champion to a third-set tiebreaker. It just shows how much he’s improved and how well he’s playing. We have to jump on the road and go to Boston College, which is a really tough place to play, and then finish up the weekend with another road match at Notre Dame. If we keep this level up, I’m super excited about the path for this team.”
#2 Wake Forest 4, #30 NC State 2
Mar 20, 2019 at Raleigh, N.C. (J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. #50 Borna Gojo (WF) def. #18 Alexis Galarneau (ST) 7-5, 6-1
2. #3 Petros Chrysochos (WF) def. Igor Saveljic (ST) 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3)
3. #22 Bar Botzer (WF) def. Tadas Babelis (ST) 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4
4. Yannai Barkai (ST) def. Rrezart Cungu (WF) 6-4, 7-5
5. Robert Turzak (ST) vs. #79 Melios Efstathiou (WF) 5-7, 0-2, unfinished
6. Siddhant Banthia (WF) def. Georgiy Malyshev (ST) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. #57 Alexis Galarneau/Michael Ogden (ST) def. #61 Borna Gojo/Alan Gadjiev (WF) 6-3
2. #26 Petros Chrysochos/Bar Botzer (WF) def. Tadas Babelis/Georgiy Malyshev (ST) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (ST) def. Siddhant Banthia/Julian Zlobinsky (WF) 7-6 (7-3)
Match Notes:
Wake Forest 19-3 (5-0 ACC); National ranking #2
NC State 11-7 (2-2 ACC); National ranking #30
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,4,2,3,6)
T-3:32 A-175
On Tuesday night in College Station, #9/#14 Texas A&M edged #20/#15 Oklahoma 4-3. The Aggies won the doubles point and then the teams split opening sets in singles. Oklahoma won the first two matches to finish with dominating wins by Jake Van Emburgh (6-2, 6-2) and Mason Beiler (6-1, 6-1) at No. 3 and No. 6 but Texas A&M would counter with straight set wins by Barnaby Smith (6-3, 6-1) and Juan Carlos Aguilar (7-5, 6-3) at No. 4 and No. 1.
Texas A&M sophomore Hady Habib would make it 4-2 by clinching with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win at No. 2 and OU’s Jochen Bertsch closed out the night with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win at No. 5
“Tonight’s win really started with the doubles point as we played really well to open the match,” Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. “Carlos [Aguilar] and Barney [Smith] put away a great win quickly at one and we played at a good level in the other two matches. We got a break late at three and Val [Vacherot] and Jack [Pulliam] were able to get that important point for us. That ended up being the difference tonight in a 4-3 match. They jumped on us in singles, they are an experienced team and I knew they wouldn’t go away after dropping the doubles point. We were able to get a couple wins in straight sets and get a good team win.”
#9 Texas A&M 4, #20 OU 3
3/19/2019 at College Station, TX (George P Mitchell Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #77 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) def. #54 Spencer Papa (OU) 7-5, 6-3
2. #62 Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #49 Alex Bakshi (OU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
3. #88 Jake Van Emburgh (OU) def. #32 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 6-2, 6-2
4. #76 Barnaby Smith (TAMU) def. Ferran Calvo (OU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Jochen Bertsch (OU) def. Noah Schachter (TAMU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
6. Mason Beiler (OU) def. Alex Vedri (TAMU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #23 Juan Carlos Aguilar/Barnaby Smith (TAMU) def. Spencer Papa/Jake Van Emburgh (OU) 6-1
2. Alex Bakshi/Ferran Calvo (OU) def. Hady Habib/Kevin Lam (TAMU) 6-4
3. Valentin Vacherot/Jack Pulliam (TAMU) def. Stefano Tsorotiotis/Jochen Bertsch (OU) 6-4
Match Notes:
OU 12-4; National ranking #20
Texas A&M 15-3; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,6,4,2,1,5)
Other Notable Results
- (M) #42 UCF def. Oklahoma State 4-0 – Knights won in straight sets at 2 and 6 with Bogdan Pavel clinching at No. 3 with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 win – other matches were on serve in the third set
- (M) #42 UCF def. South Alabama 4-1 – Knights freshman Trey Hilderbrand clinched at No. 4 with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win
- (M) #46 South Florida def. #37 Tulsa 5-2 – Bulls freshman Chase Ferguson made it 4-1 with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 2
- (M) #46 South Florida def. Georgia State 4-3 – Bulls freshman Sergio Gomez Montesa won the decider at No. 6 singles 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
- (M) #34 Arizona def. Drake 4-0 – Wildcats won in straight sets at 1, 2, and 4.
- (M) #34 Arizona def Iowa 6-1 – All but one match finished in straight sets
- (M) Nebraska won at Loyola Marymount 4-3 – Huskers came back from 3-0 down with Toby Boyer winning the decider at No. 1 singles 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
- (M) Pepperdine def. Wisconsin 4-3 – Waves junior Adrian Oetzbach won the decider at No. 1 singles 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 6-1
- (W) #8 Texas def. #35 Illinois 6-1 – Horns dropped the doubles point but came back to win 12 of 13 sets in singles
- (W) #28 Old Dominion def. VCU 4-1 – Monarchs dropped the doubles point but answered with four lopsided straight set wins in singles
- (W) #45 South Florida def. Tulsa 4-3 – Bulls came back from 3-1 down winning all three matches that went three sets including the decider at No. 1 which Ana Roman won 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(6)
- (W) Florida Atlantic def. #49 Princeton 4-2 – Owls senior Kristen Thoms clinched at No. 5 with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) win – doubles point was not played
- (W) TCU def. Dartmouth 6-1 – Horned Frogs only dropped 3 games in doubles & Ellie Douglas won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles
There is a new No. 1 in the latest USTA Men’s Top 25 with Texas taking over the top spot while Ohio State fell to No. 2. Ohio State kept the top spot in the ITA Men’s Rankings, despite loses to Texas A&M and Texas, with Wake Forest staying at 2, Texas at 3, and Florida at 4. These latest ITA rankings used each teams six best wins and all losses.
Texas A&M rose 10 spots from 19 to 9 in the ITA Men’s Rankings while Miami FL came up 13 spots from 36 to 23 and Arkansas rose 12 spots from 37 to 25.
The top 3 remained the same in the ITA & USTA Women’s Rankings with Pepperdine making a move from 20 to 7 in the ITA and 12 to 5 in the USTA.
Miami FL and Vanderbilt entered the USTA Men’s Top 25 while Texas A&M entered the USTA Women’s Top 25.
I have the side-by-side charts of the ITA and USTA rankings below plus you can view the ITA team rankings from 26 to 50 at this link while the USTA’s release is available here.
**If there are two rankings listed the first ranking is the ITA ranking and the second is the USTA rankings
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