Tagged with: SEC

As we enter the final two weekends of the season we are finally going to get to see the conference leaders battle each other on both the men’s and women’s sides.  The marquee match this week for the men will be #9 Florida (7-2 SEC) at #5 Texas A&M (8-0 SEC) on Friday.  Florida is all but out of the running for the regular season title after last weekend’s loss at South Carolina, but stranger things have happened.  Meanwhile Texas A&M will be looking to stay perfect in the SEC and keep pace with Mississippi State who has two matches that on paper they ought to win this weekend.  However one of those matches for the Bulldogs is on the road at Ole Miss which is always a competitive rivalry match no matter what shape either of the teams is in, but I am hearing that Gustav Hansson might be back in the lineup for Ole Miss. 

For the women the marquee match will be #12 Florida (9-1 SEC) at #5 South Carolina (10-0 SEC) on Saturday.  The Gators have an opportunity to pull even with South Carolina if they can pull off the upset on the road.  If not, South Carolina doesn’t have things sewn up just yet as they still have a match with #2 Vanderbilt ahead of them.

Men 

Wednesday April 4

Ohio State def. Kentucky 4-2

Friday April 6

#21 Georgia at #52 Alabama

This will definitely be an interesting match given the depleted Georgia lineup.  Georgia officially pulled Walker Duncan from the lineup card this week, but in a surprise move, Emil Reinberg is missing as well.  They list Robert Loeb on the card, but I’m pretty sure he’s out as well which means Andy Martinez may see his first dual match play of his Georgia career, and he is a senior.  They also swapped Zielinski and Ponwith which means that with Reinberg out Zielinski is all the way up to #2.  It’s always tough to play an injured team as you have to avoid thinking things could be easier than they will be.  Georgia will still compete well at 1-3 regardless, the big question is going to be how will the matches on 4-6 play out.  At least the one thing Georgia has in their favor is this is their only match of the weekend.

#44 Arkansas at #7 Mississippi State

The Bulldogs host the Razorbacks in a match that would appear to be one-sided but they have to be careful not to take the Hogs too lightly while looking toward the in-state showdown with Ole Miss on Sunday.  This one could get interesting just from the perspective of getting the match in as the forecast is calling for a lot of rain Friday and Mississippi State does not have an indoor facility.  Should they manage to get the match in there are some intersting pairings to keep an eye on, most notably Borges vs. Salazar as Salazar has posted some impressive performances against top players this year.

#35 Ole Miss at #85 Auburn

Ole Miss appears to be getting healthy which doesn’t bode well for Auburn who is still trying to pick up their first conference win.  There are rumors running around that Gustav Hansson may be back this weekend and Fallert has been back for a few matches now.  I’m not sure what the status of Zvonimir Babic is but he is listed in the lineup and if everyone is back he is at least playing #6 and not #3 like he had been for some time.  Auburn has put up some decent performances in many of their losses and if Hansson is not in the lineup they could make this one interesting.

#9 Florida at #5 Texas A&M

This is the marquee SEC match this wekeend.  The Gators are coming off a huge win at Wake Forest followed by a devastating loss at South Carolina.  They’ve made a lineup change heading into this match as well.  Two weeks ago Alfredo Perez was their #1 but last week the Gators swapped Perez and Johannes Ingildsen at 1/2.  Well, this week Perez receives another demotion and Oliver Crawford will move up into the #2 spot for Florida and Perez will slide down to #3.  I’m not sure if that’s based on how those two guys are playing or if it was matchup based looking at the A&M lineup but either way Perez is a ridiculous #3 and will be a very tough match for Jordi Arconada. I love UTR so let’s break this one down by UTR with the higher UTR for each match highlighted.  Looks like A&M has the advantage but those matches at 3, 5 and 6 are all within .05.  Expect a barn burner!

Position	Florida		Texas A&M
1	Johannes Ingildsen	14.09	14.36	Patrick Kypson
2	Oliver Crawford	14.46	14.26	Arthur Rinderknech
3	Alfredo Perez	14.24	14.29	Jordi Arconada
4	Chase Perez-Blanco	13.73	14.01	Val Vacherot
5	Duarte Vale	14.01	13.96	Carlos Aguilar
6	Andy Andrade	13.69	13.71	Barney Smith

 

#27 South Carolina at #81 LSU

The suddenly hot Gamecocks should have no issues going into Baton Rouge and having their way with an LSU team that went 0-14 in their two matches last weekend.  South Carolina has a lock on the 7^th spot in the standings but they are only one loss behind a trio of teams at 6-3 so they will be looking to move up if any of them falter.

Sunday April 8

#24 Tennessee at #52 Alabama

While I don’t expect much of a surprise here as Tennessee is clearly the better team, it could get a little interesting if Alabama manages to beat a banged up Georgia team on Friday and get a little confidence.  Kaukovalta is back for the Tide and the more match time he gets under his legs the better.  Alabama also dropped him a spot in the lineup and moved Ortiz up to #3 so if Kaukovalta is ready for match play then he will be a very tough out at #4.  That being said he will have to contend with Scott Jones from Tennessee who has been moved up to #4 this week and has been very hot.  Jones may not be big or possess a big serve, but his ground game is rock solid and he will be hard to beat.

#44 Arkansas at #85 Auburn

Arkansas has been up and down this year and going on the road to Auburn is a match they need to be careful with.  After facing Mississippi State on Friday, the Hogs may not be in the best of moods if things go as the records would lead you to think they will in Starkville.  Arkansas has a clear advantage at 1 but after that most of the matchups look to be very competitive and could swing either way.

#240 Alabama A&M at #85 Auburn

Not much to say here except Auburn gets a non-conference cupcake victory and maybe a few guys get some playing time that normally don’t.

#9 Florida at #81 LSU

Florida making a long road trip this weekend over to College Station then back towards home as they visit Baton Rouge but regardless of how their match with A&M goes Friday they just have too much firepower for LSU.  Won’t be much to see here as LSU will have to consider it a moral victory if they can find a point somewhere.

#23 Vanderbilt at #22 Kentucky

Behind the Florida at A&M match this may be the next biggest match in the SEC this wekeend.  Vandy and Kentucky enter the weekend as two of the three teams tied for 4^th – 6^th at 6-3 along with Tennessee.  The 4^th position is huge in the SEC as you get the double bye in the conference tournament and the loser of this match is probably out of the running.  The weather has not been great in Lexington this week and with snow being called for Friday night I’m going to guess that this match gets moved indoors which helps Kentucky.  Kentucky moves Yates up to 3 this week which sets up an intriguing offense vs. defense matchup with Baker Newman and a total grind on court 4 between Wallart and Rowe.  I love to make predictions but this is just too close to call if it’s indoors at UK.

#7 Mississippi State at #35 Ole Miss

Never underestimate this rivalry, especially when it’s in Oxford.  There will surely be a raucous student crowd that may or may not have started their liquid diet for the day by match time.  You have to believe that if there is any way Hansson can go he’ll be in the lineup.  It would be hard to imagine that he could come back after a month off and beat Borges, but the bigger reason to get him back in the lineup would simply be to push everyone else back down a spot into their normal positions.  If Hansson, Fallert and Babic are all healthy enough to compete at the level they are capable of this will be a good match.  An interesting side not to this match is that Ole Miss is the only SEC team that nobody on the Mississippi State roster has beaten yet.

#27 South Carolina at #5 Texas A&M

Texas A&M may be at home this weekend but they certainly don’t have an easy schedule.  After hosting #9 Florida on Friday they get South Carolina on Sunday who is coming off their upset of Florida last Sunday.  South Carolina is certainly outgunned on paper, but that was the same situation they were in against Florida and look how that turned out.  The Gamecocks have a team full of fighters and it’s tough to ever count them out.  Paul Jubb is on fire right now and after beating Alfredo Perez 4&1 last weekend he will get another top 10 test with Arthur Rinderknech.  You have to think that for the Gamecocks to have a shot at another upset they probably have to win doubles, 1 and 2 and then find one more.  That won’t be easy but it’s exactly what they did last week.

Depth Charts

Full depth charts are shown below.  A summary of changes this week:

• Alabama – Edson Ortiz moves up to #3 singles, Patrick Kaukovalta drops to #4.  Alexey Nesterov moves up to #5 singles, Zhe Zhou drops to #6.
• Arkansas – #2 and #3 doubles changed up
• Florida – Oliver Crawford moves up to #2 singles, Alfredo Perez drops to #3.  Andy Andrade moves up to #6 singles.
• Georgia – Reinberg is out.  Zielinski swaps with Ponwith sliding Zielinski up to #2.  Duncan is out so Loeb listed as #4, Diaz #5, Phillips #6.  I don’t think Loeb will be playing which means Martinez may see action at #6.
• Kentucky – Yates moves up to #4, Wallart drops to #4
• Ole Miss – Kraljevic moves up to #4, Hamilton drops to #5
• South Carolina – Mayronne moves up to #4, O’Keefe drops to #5
• Tennessee – Scott Jones moves up to #4, Touliatos drops to #5
• Vanderbilt – George Harwell takes Danny Valent’s spot at #3 doubles with Baker Newman

 

 

 

Women

Thursday April 5

#7 Georgia at #9 Ole Miss

This should be one of the better matches of the weekend as the 4^th and 5^th place teams in the SEC do battle.  Georgia holds a two loss advantage over Ole Miss in the standings so even if Ole Miss can pull off the win they will still trail Georgia by one and need a little help to secure the 4^th spot for the SEC tournament.  Ole Miss is only 4-3 at home this year, but Georgia is only 3-2 on the road so no clear advantage there although all things being equal Ole Miss would certainly rather play at home.

#37 LSU at #28 Kentucky

A pair of 4-5 teams do battle here in a match that seems to be just jockeying for position.  Both teams would appear to be in the NCAA tournament and both teams appear to be headed for a Day 2 first match at the SEC tournament.  LSU is winless on the road this year so you have to like Kentucky’s chances.

#31 Tennessee at #32 Mississippi State

A week after picking up their first two conference wins Tennessee will look to extend that streak to three as they travel to Starkville to take on the suddenly cooled off Bulldogs.  Mississippi State had won five in a row until last wekeend when they dropped a pair of matches to mid pack SEC teams and now they get a test at home.  With Georgia coming in Saturday and the Bulldogs short on quality wins for the rankings they desperately need to turn things around and pick up a victory here.  Mississippi State is 9-2 at home this year so we will see what kind of home court advantage they have.

#33 Texas A&M at #2 Vanderbilt

Vandy has been on a roll since they dropped their shocking lone SEC match at Mississippi State and that won’t stop here.  A&M heads into Nashville with a losing road record to face a Vandy team that has not lost a match at home this year.  The Lady Dores should take care of business here and send the Aggies up the road to Lexington in fairly routine manner.

Friday April 6

#61 Alabama at #51 Arkansas

Could this be the Alabama’s first conference win?  For a team that is 0-9 in the conference Alabama still holds a decent ranking at #61 and has a very good chance to pick up not one but two conference wins this weekend.  But before they start looking ahead to Missouri the Tide have to deal with Arkansas.  Arkansas has lost 8 in a row and are reeling.  Both teams are destined for the bottom four in the SEC and a first day match at the SEC tournament but this one may have bigger implications for making the NCAA tournament where at-large bids tend to generally run down to somewhere in the vicinity of #50.

#17 Auburn at #101 Missouri

Missouri’s SEC woes probably don’t get any better here as they host #17 Auburn.  Auburn has struggled in the SEC at only 4-5 and did manage to drop a match at previously winless Tennessee last week so the Tigers can draw a little motivation from that.  However, in the end I expect Auburn will be too much to handle and the Lady Tigers will already be thinking about their Sunday showdown with Alabama as their best chance to get an SEC win.

Saturday April 7

#12 Florida at #5 South Carolina

This is the marquee match on the women’s side with the winner holding the SEC lead.  South Carolina enters unbeaten in the SEC and riding a 13 match winning streak while the Gators are 9-1 in the SEC but coming off a drubbing at the hands of Texas last Sunday on National TV.  It seems improbable that the Gators have gotten this far with only a 6 woman roster but they have so I wouldn’t count them out just yet.  The Gators move McCartney Kessler up to #3 this week where she will get a match with Hadley Berg who had been playing #2 earlier this year for the Gamecocks but has dropped to #3 recently.  That will be a tough match for the Gators but maybe they like that matchup, or maybe they like the prospect of Emma vs. Cline better and they are just looking to split 3/4 singles. 

#7 Georgia at #32 Mississippi State

A week after the Mississippi State men went into Georgia and won, it’s a rematch on the women’s side in Starkville.  Mississippi State is in desperate need of quality wins to keep their ranking up for entry into the NCAA tournament and this would all but seal it if they copuld pull off the upset.  The good thing for them is a loss to #7 Georgia won’t hurt so they may as well go for broke and try to repeat the magic they had when they knocked off Vandy at home.  Georgia sits at 7-2 and still has an outside shot a share of the regular season conference title if everything goes their way.

#33 Texas A&M at #28 Kentucky

Kentucky is 8-3 at home and this match is sure to be indoors with bad weather coming Friday night in Lexington so it would seem to be advantage Kentucky.  Texas A&M enters the wekeend at 5-4 in the SEC while Kentucky is 4-5 so the winner probably leaves this match with the advantage in the standings.  Kentucky has swapped Fanning and Milkuskyte in the top two spots of the lineup for this weekend.

#37 LSU at #2 Vanderbilt

This is a tough ask of an LSU team that hasn’t won a road match yet this year.  Vandy is undefeated at home this year and should remain that way through this weekend.  Summer Dvorak has been moved up to the #6 spot for the Commodores and will likely get the nod over Emily Smith.

#31 Tennessee at #9 Ole Miss

Tennessee hits the road for both of the Mississippi schools this weekend as they try to extend their two match winning streak from last weekend.  The Lady Vols pulled off a big upset over Auburn last weekend but that was at home.  Playing in Oxford will definitely be a tougher task.

Sunday April 8

#61 Alabama at #101 Missouri

Finally, one of these two has to win right?  Ok, ok, ok, Alabama actually has a decent shot to win their first match of the weekend before we get to this match, but bear with me.  The Tide sit at #61 and this is an absolute must win match for them to improve their chance of making the NCAA tournament.  Missouri is simply playing for pride and has had a few competitive home matches and I expect this will be another one.  The What-If caclulator over at collegetennisranks.com says Bama would be in the range of #55 if it won both matches this weekend and that still wouldn’t be enough to get into NCAA’s so they certainly can’t afford to lose.

#17 Auburn at #51 Arkansas

Auburn has struggled in the SEC and Arkansas is right on the bubble of making the NCAA tournament so a home match against the #17 Tigers is a perfect opportunity for Arkansas to enhance their position.  The Hogs have lost 8 in a row coming into the weekend and a Friday match against Alabama is a perfect opportunity to put an end to that streak and start a win streak coming into this match.

Depth Charts

Full depth charts are shown below.  A summary of changes this week:

• Auburn – Daniel/Meredith move up to #2 doubles, Axon gets a new partner in Griffin and drops to #3.
• Florida – McCartney Kessler moves up to #3 singles, Victoria Emma drop to #4.
• Kentucky – Emily Fanning moves up to #1 singles, Justina Milkuskyte drops to #2.  #2 and #3 doubles trade partners.
• LSU – Jessica Golovin moves up to #2 singles, Eden Richardson drops to #3.
• Vanderbilt – Summer Dvorak moves up to #6 singles, Emily Smith drops to #7.