by Bobby Knight | Feb 5, 2017 | Blog
For the second day in a row Virginia faced a serious challenge but once again the bottom part of the lineup was able to come through when it counted and Virginia edged Kentucky 4-3. Virginia looked like it had the doubles point under control after winning 6-1 at No. 1 and leading 5-3 at No. 2 but Kentucky’s Will Bushamuka and Nils Ellefsen won four straight games to win the decider 7-5. Virginia would try to rebound in singles but gaining early momentum would be a little tougher than usual since Virginia’s strong No. 5 and No. 6 guys wouldn’t get a chance to start immediately due to Kentucky indoor facility only having four courts.Virginia...
by Bobby Knight | Feb 4, 2017 | Blog
The two-time defending NCAA Champion Virginia Cavaliers took the court tonight for the first time this season and while they came out on top against Vanderbilt it didn’t exactly go as smooth as some may have expected. Vanderbilt picked up a quick 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles but Virginia countered with a 6-3 win at No. 2 so it all came down to No. 3. Vanderbilt’s Billy Rowe and Lachlan McPhee broke Virginia’s serve to go up 5-4 and then McPhee served it out to give Vanderbilt the doubles point and early 1-0 lead. During singles play Virginia jumped out to early break leads at 1, 4, and 5 while Vanderbilt took the early lead at 2 and 3 (only...
by Bobby Knight | Feb 2, 2017 | Blog
There is another exciting weekend of dual-match action coming up with 15 matches taking place between top 25 teams with eight of those on the women’s side and the other seven on the men’s side. Four of the seven men’s matches take place at one site with No. 11 Florida hosting the fourth edition of the Pac-12/SEC Showdown. Florida and No. 5 Georgia will each play No. 6 UCLA and No. 8 USC in what has been a one-sided showdown over the last three years with the Pac-12 schools going a combined 8-2. Top ranked Virginia opens up its season with a three-match road swing through the Ohio Valley. The Cavaliers go to Vanderbilt on Friday, No. 15...
by Bobby Knight | Feb 1, 2017 | Blog
The February 1st Oracle/ITA Top 25 is out and while there wasn’t much movement in either the men’s or women’s Top 10 there was a lot of movement elsewhere. I’ll start with the men’s rankings which kept Virginia, Wake Forest, Ohio State, Cal, and Georgia in the top 5 with the only movement in the top 10 coming when Northwestern (9) and Texas (10) swapped spots at No. 9 and No. 10. The biggest riser on the men’s side was Baylor with the Bears coming up seven spots from No. 21 to No. 14 after picking up a road win at Texas A&M and then blanking SMU to qualify for the National Team Indoors in Charlottesville. Mississippi...
by Bobby Knight | Jan 31, 2017 | Blog
This past weekend was the first chance for several teams to knock the dust off their racquets and it was also our first chance to see some of the freshmen and January roster additions in action. I’ll go back through the weekend that was and give my thoughts on several teams and where I see them headed this season plus I’ll highlight those with stellar KOW performances. I’ll also take a look at the freshmen and January roster additions that could be difference makers for their respective teams. So who impressed me the most – I’ll start with Oklahoma, led by first-year head coach Nick Crowell, played some dominating...
by Bobby Knight | Jan 31, 2017 | Blog
The 2017 ITA Kick-Off Weekend is officially in the books after the conclusion of the last two region finals in Miami and Berkeley. Miami (FL) was looking to advance to the National Team Indoors for a 13th consecutive while Texas A&M was looking to make a second straight trip. The match was originally scheduled for Sunday but rain pushed it back until today and then today’s start was pushed back an additional 90 minutes due to a morning shower.Texas A&M took the early 1-0 lead after winning at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles and then the teams split opening sets in singles. Miami’s Estela Perez-Somarriba picked up a quick win at No. 4 when her...
Latest Comments