Select Page

Friday NCAA Tournament Recap; All National Seeds Win; Miami & Ga Tech Win Thrillers & Princeton Takes Out Northwestern; Florida State & South Florida Men Advance; UCSB Edges Texas Tech; South Alabama Likes Starkville; Vandy Edges Notre Dame

The opening day of the 2019 NCAA Tournament was plagued by rain at many sites but despite the delays most of the matches went according to plan with all the national seeds in action advancing though in the 2 vs. 3 matches (I know they don’t refer to them that way anymore but I will) there were several close ones. All 16 men’s sites were supposed to complete their first round matches on Friday but rain wiped out play in College Station at the indoor-less Texas A&M Regional so they’ll play on Saturday and Sunday. 7 of the 16 women’s sites played on Friday with the matches in Stillwater being played indoors while Kansas and Denver...

Women’s Sweet 16: Pepperdine Upsets Georgia, Vanderbilt Vanquishes Cal, Oklahoma State Takes Out Georgia Tech, Gators Growl at the Aggs

The late-afternoon and night sessions brought us the only 4-3 matches of the day as Pepperdine upset the hosts Georgia while last year’s NCAA runner-up Oklahoma State took out the other local favorite Georgia Tech. The top seed Florida won a tough doubles point over Texas A&M but then pulled away in singles while the SEC Champs Vanderbilt came from behind to win the doubles point and then got it done in singles against California. Photo by Bill Kallenberg (CapturedInAction.com)Pepperdine was able to claim the all-important doubles point for the 22nd time in 28 matches after picking up wins on 1 and 3 while Georgia won at 2. The match at No. 1...

Sweet 16 Is Set – Illinois Rally Stuns Oklahoma State, Texas Triumphs Over Tulane, Pac-12/Big 12 Send 4

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...

Sebastien Jacques Is Doing Some Walking, D2 NCAAs Reach Semifinal Round, D1 Men’s Regional Previews (Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Baylor, Texas, Florida, Virginia)

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...

USC King of the Pac-12, Mississippi State Stuns Texas A&M, Georgia Edges Florida, Virginia Holds Off North Carolina, TCU Triumphs In Big 12,

USC won its third Pac-12 Tournament Championship with a thrilling 4-3 win over crosstown rival UCLA. The Trojans jumped out to the early 1-0 lead after winning the deciding doubles match in a tiebreak and then they tacked on four first sets in singles. UCLA junior Martin Redlicki tied the match at 1-1 with a straight set win at No. 2 but USC retook the lead after Logan Smith won 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3. Thibault Forget made it 3-1 after a 6-2, 7-5 win at No. 3 but UCLA wasn’t ready to go away. Maxime Cressy pulled out a 7-6, 6-4 win at No. 6 and Logan Staggs came back from a set down to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 at No. 4. The match came down to a deciding third set at...