by Bobby Knight | May 19, 2017 | Blog
I tell you there is nothing quite like the first two days at the NCAA Championship site because it’s action-packed from sunrise to sunset with one good match after another. The day started off with gray skies and temperatures in the 70s but as the day progressed the sun made its way out and the temperatures shot up into the mid-80s (high humidity all day though). The morning slot saw Virginia roll over Florida on the Henry Feild Stadium courts while Texas overcame the loss of the doubles point to defeat Baylor on the McWhorter courts. Then in the noon slot it was Ohio State overcoming the loss of the doubles point to defeat Oklahoma 4-3 while TCU held...
by Bobby Knight | May 17, 2017 | Blog
The opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament were completed last weekend so now it’s time to look at the Sweet 16 matchups that will take place on Thursday in Athens, Georgia. There will two matches taking place at the same time with one on the main Henry Feild Stadium Courts and the other on the McWhorter Courts. The first matches start at 9 a.m. ET with the final two set to start at 7 p.m. ET though it wouldn’t surprise me to see both of the 4 p.m. matches run late. Six of the eight matches will be rematches from the regular season so it’ll be interesting to see how those teams do the second time around. I have the schedule of play listed...
by Bobby Knight | May 17, 2017 | Blog
PlaySight, the company behind the video and analytics SmartCourt, is partnering with the University of Georgia to provide live streaming throughout the upcoming 2017 NCAA Championships.PlaySight SmartCourt technology is powering over 40 NCAA tennis programs. Among the 16 teams entering the third round of the tennis championships later this week in Athens, 10 on the women’s side and eight on the men’s side use PlaySight technology for video and analytics training, performance and live streaming.To tune in to the live streaming throughout the 2017 NCAA Championships, bookmark this page for the live video and live scoring.PlaySight technology is...
by Bobby Knight | May 17, 2017 | Blog
Oracle Corporation and the ITA announced on Tuesday that there will be big changes to the final major event of the fall. The National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, which began in 1978 and have been held in New York for the last several years, will be moving to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and will be renamed the Oracle ITA National Fall Championship. In addition to a new name and new location the event will also be expanding the field. In the past it was a 32-player singles draw and a 20-team doubles draw but starting this November it will be a 64-player singles draw and a 32-team doubles draw.The ITA is still working on the details on what it will...
by Bobby Knight | May 16, 2017 | Blog
While the NCAA Division I Tournament got started last weekend the Division II Tournament wrapped up with the West Florida men and Barry women bringing home the trophy. UWF won its fourth national championship, first since 2014, with a 5-2 win over Barry. UWF took two of three doubles matches to go in front 2-1 and then it added straight set wins from Gabriel Dias and Serdar Bojadjiev and Alfonso Castellano provided the clincher with a three set win at No. 6. UWF’s recap has more details plus you can rewatch the broadcast of the final at this link. #1 West Florida 5, #2 Barry 2May 12, 2017 at Altamonte Springs, Fla. (Sanlando, Fla.)Singles...
by Bobby Knight | May 15, 2017 | Blog
The men’s second round wrapped up on Saturday so Sunday belonged to the women with nine regionals closing out the weekend after seven finished on Saturday. 15 of the 16 regional hosts advanced to Friday’s Sweet 16 in Athens with the one upset taking place in Waco. Baylor had already defeated Texas A&M once this season (4-0) but on Sunday they’d find themselves playing from behind virtually the entire match. In that first meeting on March 22nd, Texas A&M was without its top player Rachel Pierson so having her in the lineup today obviously changed the whole complexion of the match.Texas A&M struck first in doubles with a quick 6-0...
by Bobby Knight | May 14, 2017 | Blog
For the most part Friday was a pretty dull day but Saturday delivered us some gems including two big comeback wins. I’ll start with the upset of the day which came in Stillwater when Illinois rallied from 3-0 down to stun No. 11 seed Oklahoma State 4-3. The Cowboys took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 and then each team took three opening sets in singles. Oklahoma State seniors Lucas Gerch and Lukas Finzelberg made quick work of their opponents at No. 3 and No. 6 to make it 3-0 but Illinois started winning all the close sets and got back in the match. Aron Hiltzik put the Illini on the board with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 2 which...
by Bobby Knight | May 13, 2017 | Blog
The opening day of the NCAA Tournament brought us a few good matches but for the most part it was blowout city as 23 of the 32 matches ended in 4-0 shutouts. All regional hosts won their matches 4-0, which was expected, but I was surprised that only one No. 3 seed was able to get past a No. 2 seed. #42 Louisville was the No. 3 seed that pulled off the upset as the Cards knocked off #28 UCF in the lone 4-3 match of the day. UCF jumped out to the early 1-0 lead by claiming the doubles point with a 7-5 win at No. 2 and a 7-6(5) win in the decider at No. 3. Louisville came back strong in singles and picked five opening sets and both Parker Wynn and Clement...
by Bobby Knight | May 12, 2017 | Blog
The 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tournament gets underway on Friday morning at 10 a.m. eastern and I’ve got all the numbers and interesting facts that you’ll need to get you through the weekend. Past history tells us that it’s an all but certain guarantee that at least one men’s and one women’s seed will get knocked out this weekend. Since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1999 (18 years) there have been 47 men’s seeds that have been knocked out early which is an average of 2.6 per year. The women’s side hasn’t been quite as bad with 34 knocked out early which equates to 1.8 per year. There...
by Bobby Knight | May 10, 2017 | Blog
Former Virginia Tech Hokie Sebastien Jacques is making his way across the country, by foot, after not being able to walk across a room just a few years ago. Jacques played at Virginia Tech from 2007 to 2010 but during his senior year he had to quit playing due to a lack of energy. After graduating with a degree in marketing he returned home to Magog, Canada, and after seeing several doctor he was eventually diagnosed with a pineal cystic tumor in his brain which was the cause of the energy drain. The doctors in Canada determined the procedure was too risky and the health care system wouldn’t cover the cost so Jacques ended up raising $80000 and had the...
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