2013 ITA National Indoors Tournament - Seattle, WA (Feb 15-18)

[ClarkC]

Originally Posted by TopDawg

Puget ducks an overhead and we've got the doubles point.

No-ad point, sitter at the net, straight down into the net. If Puget makes it, it is a service break and the match is back on server, UCLA serving at 6-7 to force a tiebreaker.

[Nostradamus]

Does Pasha have a chance against Novikov ? they say he has the best forehand in the world today, in college.

[mikej]

3rd set at 1 looking mighty big - we'll see whether novikov has a mature head on his shoulders - bigger game for sure but flustered second set when pasha started making him hit more shots

[mikej]

then again pasha plays a sloppy service game nearing the end of the second set, now back on serve 4-3 pasha

[tennisnut123]

Originally Posted by TopDawg

Alford keeps it from being a shutout by beating Hovhannisyan 2 & 3 before Tearney clinched.

That uf pepp match could have been close if it would have finished, maybe 4-3, Piro was leading, alford won, and federhofer may have pulled it out. Still could have lost those other two as well tho...still making it a beatdown

[mikej]

i'm starting to get the feeling that this is UVA's year - first time i think they're THE favorite - even if some years they may have been right there at the top and even a marginal favorite

USC looks good, sure, but this team struggling in singles vs UK with Sarmiento at the top rather than a guy like Farah or Johnson is not the USC we're used to, obviously

no other team seems to want to make a claim at being elite - UGA loses to Ohio St who loses to A&M, Duke loses to the Illini, UCLA looks deep but far from dominant against a half-strength UGA today

last few years i've said there were only two top tier teams - this year, even if i maybe should be waiting to see USC lose before saying so, i'm ready to say UVA is the only one

[ClarkC]

Video highlights from UVa of the Washington match. Final shot of the doubles point (by Mitchell Frank) is a particular highlight.

[cmgoods81]

Originally Posted by mikej

i'm starting to get the feeling that this is UVA's year - first time i think they're THE favorite - even if some years they may have been right there at the top and even a marginal favorite

USC looks good, sure, but this team struggling in singles vs UK with Sarmiento at the top rather than a guy like Farah or Johnson is not the USC we're used to, obviously

no other team seems to want to make a claim at being elite - UGA loses to Ohio St who loses to A&M, Duke loses to the Illini, UCLA looks deep but far from dominant against a half-strength UGA today

last few years i've said there were only two top tier teams - this year, even if i maybe should be waiting to see USC lose before saying so, i'm ready to say UVA is the only one

It seems like every year is supposed to be UVA's year.

[mikej]

Originally Posted by cmgoods81

It seems like every year is supposed to be UVA's year.

not according to this duke fan - maybe if you go on thesabre.com

only one team has shown the ability to get in their way the last few years, and anyone watching the indoors webcast sees a very different USC team this year (still solid depth, but no knock out blow players up top)

[TopDawg]

USC wins it 4-1. It was a race to see if Rossi could get the win before De Vroome clinched it.

[cmgoods81]

Originally Posted by mikej

not according to this duke fan - maybe if you go on thesabre.com

only one team has shown the ability to get in their way the last few years, and anyone watching the indoors webcast sees a very different USC team this year (still solid depth, but no knock out blow players up top)

You could be right but to me they're still the champs until proven otherwise.

[floridatennisdude]

Originally Posted by mikej

i'm starting to get the feeling that this is UVA's year - first time i think they're THE favorite - even if some years they may have been right there at the top and even a marginal favorite

USC looks good, sure, but this team struggling in singles vs UK with Sarmiento at the top rather than a guy like Farah or Johnson is not the USC we're used to, obviously

no other team seems to want to make a claim at being elite - UGA loses to Ohio St who loses to A&M, Duke loses to the Illini, UCLA looks deep but far from dominant against a half-strength UGA today

last few years i've said there were only two top tier teams - this year, even if i maybe should be waiting to see USC lose before saying so, i'm ready to say UVA is the only one

Agree. Looking at them this year, it is hard to figure out if any team out there has enough talent to take 4 off them. I don't see a matchup out there that could sneak up on them. 1-3, they are going to be a favorite every time out. It will take a doubles win and tremendous depth to do it.

Frankly, the only way I see them losing is if one of their big 3 is sick or injured. Straight up Mano a Mano (best 6 v best 6) I don't see them getting outright beat.

[B1G Tennis]

Originally Posted by floridatennisdude

Agree. Looking at them this year, it is hard to figure out if any team out there has enough talent to take 4 off them. I don't see a matchup out there that could sneak up on them. 1-3, they are going to be a favorite every time out. It will take a doubles win and tremendous depth to do it.

Frankly, the only way I see them losing is if one of their big 3 is sick or injured. Straight up Mano a Mano (best 6 v best 6) I don't see them getting outright beat.

I could see OSU taking them down with 1,2,6, and dubs. In fact, I think they'd be at least a coin flip in any of those.

USC could easily take dubs and the middle slots.

If Novikov ever gets hot, UCLA would have a chance at any of the six slots.

Virginia is the top team, but there are several teams out there that can beat them. Maybe we'll even see it this weekend.

[SoCal10s]

^^^ it all about the way players match up and when they start to peak... I wouldn't bet for or against any of the top teams .. I cannot really see a real dominating favorite to win the NCAA at this point... at the indoors, a lot of east coast teams need to have more court time before they peak or if some teams are doing too much they will be stale or injured ,so it's a real fine line where the experience of the coach ,knowing his players and how and when they will perform to get the max when it counts..

[SoCal10s]

Originally Posted by B1G Tennis

I could see OSU taking them down with 1,2,6, and dubs. In fact, I think they'd be at least a coin flip in any of those.

Virginia is the top team, but there are several teams out there that can beat them. Maybe we'll even see it this weekend.

if Pepperdine wins today .. I like their match up against Virginia ...

[mikej]

Originally Posted by floridatennisdude

Agree. Looking at them this year, it is hard to figure out if any team out there has enough talent to take 4 off them. I don't see a matchup out there that could sneak up on them. 1-3, they are going to be a favorite every time out. It will take a doubles win and tremendous depth to do it.

Frankly, the only way I see them losing is if one of their big 3 is sick or injured. Straight up Mano a Mano (best 6 v best 6) I don't see them getting outright beat.

yeah, i think Duke is one of the teams best set up to take them down (despite the ugliness recently vs Illinois), and i'm not very hopeful going into tonight

Duke has the big gun up top at #1 that can take down anyone on a given day, loads of depth with Mengel, Hemmeler, Tahir at the bottom, and two doubles teams that won futures titles over the summer (even if Hemmeler is taking Semenzato's place on one of those teams in the current lineup)...Saba isn't the best #2 in the world obviously to face Domi, but the rest of the pieces are there

like i said, even with all those pieces in place against them and Frank still getting into his groove, i wouldn't dare put any money on Duke tonight

we'll see if I'm giving UVA too much credit in a few hours

[mikej]

we'll see the Ohio St or Pepperdine matchup for sure tomorrow - those teams simply won't come close to beating UVA

maybe Ohio St should try again vs A&M first, the team that is currently in trouble vs Miss St

[mikej]

A&M shutout by Miss St

Ohio State is a crazy powerhouse this year - Boland must be terrified of them

[bluetrain4]

Originally Posted by mikej

i'm starting to get the feeling that this is UVA's year - first time i think they're THE favorite - even if some years they may have been right there at the top and even a marginal favorite

USC looks good, sure, but this team struggling in singles vs UK with Sarmiento at the top rather than a guy like Farah or Johnson is not the USC we're used to, obviously

no other team seems to want to make a claim at being elite - UGA loses to Ohio St who loses to A&M, Duke loses to the Illini, UCLA looks deep but far from dominant against a half-strength UGA today

last few years i've said there were only two top tier teams - this year, even if i maybe should be waiting to see USC lose before saying so, i'm ready to say UVA is the only one

I agree. UVA should win this year. But, it easily could have been their year for the past three years, regardless of USC's strength. So, while I really feel (strongly feel) like it will finally happen for the Cavs, I'm not guaranteeing it.

As far as "no other team seems to want to make a claim at being elite", again, right now I'd agree. But, it's incredibly early in the dual season. So, the fact that no one else appears elite doesn't really impress me. A few teams should round into true contender form as the season wears on.

[TopDawg]

Buckeyes up early breaks on 3 courts - this could end up being 4-0 OSU if Pepperdine doesn't get it together