by Bobby Knight | Apr 11, 2018 | Blog
TCU, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State started off Big XII play undefeated.Oklahoma State really had themselves a weekend. They moved up 3 spots in the rankings to #11 after beating #29 Texas Tech 4-0 and #19 Baylor 4-3. The Cowboys started off on Friday by sweeping the Red Raiders, winning the doubles point and all three singles in straight sets. The win was their first in a Big 12 opener since 2007, and was also the first sweep of a Big 12 team since 2007. OSU then had a dramatic win on Sunday against Baylor. OSU won the doubles point, but then found themselves down after 2 straight set wins by Baylor at #2 and #3 singles. The match was back and forth, with it...
by Bobby Knight | Apr 11, 2018 | Blog
This will be a BIG weekend for the 38th ranked NC State Wolfpack as they play four matches, two of them against very good conference opponents. They host Wake Forest and NC Central on Friday and Virginia and Winthrop on Sunday.Syracuse is hoping to bounce back from a rough weekend, losing to Florida State and Miami, but its a tall order against the Duke Blue Devils. Gabriela Knutson continues to have a fantastic spring for the Orange as she became the first Syracuse player to crack the top 5 in ITA singles rankings.I know Pitt would love to play spoiler and get that first conference win, unfortunately it is not looking good for them this weekend as they...
by Bobby Knight | Apr 10, 2018 | Blog
The little bit of separation that was starting to show between the top two teams in the conference, and everyone else, was slammed shut with Georgia Tech stunning the Duke Blue Devils. Florida State notched two impressive wins against two teams that were coming in on a roll (Syracuse and Boston College).With three to four matches remaining in conference play it’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff and get down to it. We will see who belongs in that top tier with UNC and Duke. Clearly, Georgia Tech is right there with them this year and it will be fun to see what they can do in the postseason. Florida State is an intriguing squad that can play with...
by Bobby Knight | Apr 9, 2018 | Blog
The Mississippi State and Texas A&M Men made it through the second to last weekend of SEC regular season play unbeaten to bring us to what will undoubtedly be a winner take all showdown Friday in College Station. The two teams finish the regular season Sunday against the two teams in the cellar that you have to expect them to win. While the Bulldogs and Aggies were taking care of their end of the business one team that was not was Georgia. The reeling Bulldogs went into Tuscaloosa without Emil Reinberg or Walker Duncan, but did manage to have Robert Loeb back in the lineup. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough and while it’s...
by Bobby Knight | Apr 9, 2018 | Blog
Now that April is here each and every weekend will shape what the postseason will look like and this past weekend was no exception. There were some men’s teams that were ranked in the 50s or lower that really stepped it up while there were some teams in the 30s and 40s that really fell flat. With the at-large cutoff into the NCAAs expected to be in the lower 40s that means some teams found hope while others found despair. Two of the biggest winners on the men’s side were Virginia Tech and Indiana.Virginia Tech entered the weekend with a 12-6 record and a ranking of No. 53 but after upsetting No. 12 Florida State 4-3 and then blowing out No. 43...
by Bobby Knight | Apr 5, 2018 | Blog
There will be 31 automatic bids handed for the upcoming NCAA Championships with the winners of the below conferences each getting 1 of those 31. The list of winners will be at the very bottom of this page.How is seeding done at most conferences?There are some conferences that play a round robin format during the regular season and some that do not. The ones that do not play a full round robin format usually seed the conference tournament based off the most recent ITA rankings. The next thing you’re probably wondering is what if there aren’t any teams ranked in the ITA top 50 – then what? The conferences and schools are able to see the...
by Bobby Knight | Apr 5, 2018 | Blog
It’s hard to believe but the first conference tournament gets started in two weeks with the bulk then coming the following two weeks after that. There will be 29 men’s conference tournaments this year (down from 30 after the Missouri Valley went away) with each winner earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The only conference that does not have a tournament is the Ivy League which awards its automatic berth to the regular season champion. The only school that won’t be able to defend its conference title will be Valparaiso which won the Horizon League last year but is now in the Summit League. There will be 34 at-large bids...
by Bobby Knight | Apr 4, 2018 | Blog
The Big XII conference matches finally get underway this weekend. With only six mens teams in the conference, it will be a fast and furious finish to the season. All the teams are ranked in the top 30, and we will see several impressive matches this weekend.The hottest team in the conference remains TCU after their 7-0 win Tuesday against UT Arlington. They were dominant, playing their full lineup, except for resting Alex Rybakov at #1 doubles and at #1 singles. They travel to Austin to take on the Longhorns in the only Big XII match on Saturday (2:00). Last years TCU-Texas match was a top-ten match-up to close out the regular season. TCU won 4-1. This year is...
by Bobby Knight | Apr 4, 2018 | Blog
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...
by Bobby Knight | Apr 4, 2018 | Blog
Duke is sitting pretty atop the conference standings and has a new #2 ranking nationally this week. They have their work cut out for them this weekend though, traveling to Atlanta for a huge match against Ga Tech before returning home to face the feisty Clemson Tigers. Their main competition, the North Carolina Tar Heels have a bit of an easier weekend, squaring off against the Irish of Notre Dame and the Louisville Cardinals. However, nothing is ever easy in the conference, gotta lace em up every time you hit the courts.Syracuse is arguably the hottest team not named Duke and have a huge trip through the Sunshine State this weekend, facing Miami and Florida...
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