2013 NCAA Men's Division 1

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10isplayer

Semi-Pro
ClarkC said:
This is how we all felt at the beginning of the year about Duke. It turned out that Semenzato did not boot anyone out of the lineup. Had he been good enough to do so, he could have played at least whenever anyone else was not 100% (which occurs for every team several times a season, and Duke had players like Mengel missing from the lineup at times as late as the NCAA tournament).

A lot of college players make their biggest improvement from freshman season to sophomore season. It will be interesting to see how Semenzato does next year. As a UVa fan, I am just glad that any stellar college career he might have did not coincide with Cunha still being at Duke.

EDIT: Ditto for watching the improvement from first year to second year of Redlicki.
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I feel like duke was way too rigid with their lineup this spring. Looking at many other top 10 teams they mixed around their lineup much more. Have you seen their players play and can you comment on my statement?
 
1

10isplayer

Semi-Pro
10isplayer said:
Hard not to go with Styslinger as the best American freshman after the year he had. Difficult to compare hiltzik and redlicki because Hiltzik played higher, which definitely helped his ranking, but for a worse team. Redlicki looks to be the better doubles player. I"d say these three Americans plus Wagland and Lenz are the best 5 freshmen of the year with Llamas just missing the cut.
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Oops, I think I forgot about Bogaerts. Obviously, he belongs in the top 5 and I think he knocks Lenz out of my personal top 5. casino
 
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tennis7777777

Rookie
andfor said:
I made my assessment without consulting the previous years rankings knowing I was at risk. Thanks for the kind words. Making the vault from the Cusa vs the ACC I stand by my assertion. Memphis tennis vs Wake Forest tennis, are you kidding?
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Who cares about CUSA vs ACC, everyone knows ACC is way better conference....based on rankings:

WFU, 69 to 19 = 50 spots
Clemson, 64 to 21 = 43 spots
TCU, unranked to 38 = atleast 37 spots

Memphis, 35 to 20 = 15 spots

Stop being such a homer, Memphis had a nice year, they certainly improved, but they were not nearly the most improved team, not even close, sorry
 
Newby

Newby

Semi-Pro
Gage is an incredible player, but I just don't see how he can make the starting singles lineup if everyone returns plus the addition of Mackenzie McDonald.
 
A

andfor

Legend
ClarkC said:
The two teams seem about even. Not sure what your point is.
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My point is Memphis made the climb playing in a conference not near as strong as the ACC.

Not directed at you, but when teams from another strong conference got high rankings they were overrated, but that seems to only apply to that one conference.

If one wants to base the most improved based on rankings alone then give the award to someone else. The rankings were bashed by many here over the last year, but now they now apply. Memphis won their conference, who won the ACC?
 
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Automator

Automator

Semi-Pro
Speculating on who will be the champion next year is fun and all, but until you see the rosters in September, it's going to be impossible to say. A player can say they plan on returning to school today, go out and win a few futures next month and decide it's time to make the leap. Heck, even if they're on the roster in September it's no guarantee they'll be there when the dual match season begins. People were wondering if Rola would go pro after the fall he had playing pro events.

To the point, if you read the interview with Mitchell Frank on tennisrecruiting.com, he said that he would play pro events over the summer and "probably" be back in school in the fall.
 
C

ClarkC

Hall of Fame
andfor said:
My point is Memphis made the climb playing in a conference not near as strong as the ACC.

Not directed at you, but when teams from another strong conference got high rankings they were overrated, but that seems to only apply to that one conference.

If one wants to base the most improved based on rankings alone then give the award to someone else. The rankings were bashed by many here over the last year, but now they now apply. Memphis won their conference, who won the ACC?
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Based on that logic, Wake must have been ranked too high at #69 the year before as well as too high at #19 this year, right? In any case, using the same ranking system and playing in the same conference, they moved up 50 spots.

The complaints about the SEC were based on the high initial placement in the rankings due to poll voters, which influenced the rest of the season's computer rankings. Did poll voters rank the ACC teams all that highly? It seems that ACC teams lived up to their seedings in general in the NCAA tournament, while SEC teams did not.
 
Nostradamus

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
ClarkC said:
What sources do you have for these statements?
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Both Novikov and Giron showed no interest in turning pro this year. so what else are they going to do ? Unless Novikov wins a Challenger and goes deep into the US open draw, but that ain't happening with current Dunkin donut loving shape he is in.
 
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ClarkC

Hall of Fame
Nostradamus said:
Both Novikov and Giron showed no interest in turning pro this year. so what else are they going to do ? Unless Novikov wins a Challenger and goes deep into the US open draw, but that ain't happening with current Dunkin donut loving shape he is in.
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In other words, you have no source for your statement that they are both returning.
 
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bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
tennishmang said:
UCLA will return everyone plus bogaerts. thats gonna be a scary team.
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If everyone is back, or even just one person leaves, they'll be scary good. I mean, they were good enough to win this year. But, even so, I think they'll be a couple of other teams who could win as well. Virginia has the replacement talent, but it's simply a matter of how the new guy in the lineup can perform in his inaugural season.
 
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andfor

Legend
Fedace said:
Also, more importantly, does he have good enough grades to transfer ?
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Once an athlete has a year or two of schooling under their belt and have made the grades at their respective institution, grades are much less important than you would think when it comes to transferring. It's often easier to transfer and get into a school as a sophomore or junior than it is to be accepted as a Freshman. If he's eligible, which I'm sure he is, the last thing he concerned with is being accepted. There may be an exception but it does not appear he's looking at any schools that are among the academic super elites.

Trust me Feddie, Standford would take him in a second and he'd be accepted immediately.

More importantly, I'd like to know why he's leaving MSU and why coach Nilsson would release him? Was this a deal he had with the coach when he came to MSU?
 
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TopDawg

TopDawg

G.O.A.T.
Not too surprised to see UCLA play in Athens against Georgia since we're hosting the NCAA's next year. Ohio State should be coming in as well.
 
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tennishmang

New User
Wahoo said:
I thought Bogaerts to UCLA was likely. Do the others (UVa, Wake, FSU) have a shot?
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they only have a shot if ucla can't find the scholarship $.

ucla and uva would have the same problem not having enough scholarship money to give to him (probably even more so for uva), but it is certain that he prefers UCLA over any other school in the mix. If UCLA can figure things out, Bogaerts will be a Bruin. We should know whether ucla has snagged him or not by the end of this month.
 
C

ClarkC

Hall of Fame
tennishmang said:
they only have a shot if ucla can't find the scholarship $.

ucla and uva would have the same problem not having enough scholarship money to give to him (probably even more so for uva), but it is certain that he prefers UCLA over any other school in the mix. If UCLA can figure things out, Bogaerts will be a Bruin. We should know whether ucla has snagged him or not by the end of this month.
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One problem at UCLA is they are waiting to hear who is turning pro (e.g. Novikov), and a sensible decision to turn pro or not should only be made after a player has enough Futures success this summer to indicate that he will soon have an easy time getting into Challenger draws. Unless Novikov or any other UCLA player is an idiot, he won't have an answer by the end of June. A coach could give a deadline in order to cut his losses, but I don't know that Billy Martin is going to do that.
 
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tennis7777777

Rookie
Disagree about ucla, I hear he wants to go somewhere he can play#1.....also ucla has a great team but many have said the coaching/training isn't very good
 
TopDawg

TopDawg

G.O.A.T.
tennis7777777 said:
Disagree about ucla, I hear he wants to go somewhere he can play#1.....also ucla has a great team but many have said the coaching/training isn't very good
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He was already playing 1 at Mississippi State so it'd be really interesting to hear why he'd want to leave an SEC school where he's getting pushed at #1 just about every match against another top 25 player. Can't think it'd be a scholarship $$$ issue at State since they have a small roster to begin with and he'd have to be getting more funds at State than he'd get just about anywhere else. Must be a combo of coaching and location or maybe there's no one else on the team that can give him enough of a test in practice to where he feels like he's going to improve.
 
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ClarkC

Hall of Fame
That would be an interesting set of requirements: I need teammates who are better than the MSU teammates in practice, but I have to be #1 AND have lots of scholarship money available.

Visiting Wake Forest and Florida State is interesting in that light. Is he going to be pushed harder by teammates at those schools than at MSU?
 
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bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
andfor said:
Once an athlete has a year or two of schooling under their belt and have made the grades at their respective institution, grades are much less important than you would think when it comes to transferring. It's often easier to transfer and get into a school as a sophomore or junior than it is to be accepted as a Freshman. If he's eligible, which I'm sure he is, the last thing he concerned with is being accepted. There may be an exception but it does not appear he's looking at any schools that are among the academic super elites.

Trust me Feddie, Standford would take him in a second and he'd be accepted immediately.

More importantly, I'd like to know why he's leaving MSU and why coach Nilsson would release him? Was this a deal he had with the coach when he came to MSU?
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A lot of coaches will release players simply in good faith. They may not want to, but if that player doesn't want to play at your school, what good is it going to do you to (a) keep him around, and (b) ruin his tennis prospects for a year. A common, though not universal, caveat is that the player will be released with the agreement that he won't play for a conference rival.
 
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koshka87

New User
While perusing thru the recent posts it seemed that any negative critique focused solely on UCLA's top-ranked Novikov - I believe one member called him "complete trash," in addition to the hamburger and dunkin donuts comment. I'm simply curious as to why he attracts so much negative attention, especially considering the conspicuous absence of such disparaging remarks about other Similarly ranked players such as Jenkins or Rola
 
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cali_tennis_machine

New User
TopDawg said:
He was already playing 1 at Mississippi State so it'd be really interesting to hear why he'd want to leave an SEC school where he's getting pushed at #1 just about every match against another top 25 player. Can't think it'd be a scholarship $$$ issue at State since they have a small roster to begin with and he'd have to be getting more funds at State than he'd get just about anywhere else. Must be a combo of coaching and location or maybe there's no one else on the team that can give him enough of a test in practice to where he feels like he's going to improve.
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3 Players leaving Miss State out of 6. Sounds like chemistry was just bad and a lot of team issues. He probably wants to go to a closer team
 
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bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
TopDawg said:
He was already playing 1 at Mississippi State so it'd be really interesting to hear why he'd want to leave an SEC school where he's getting pushed at #1 just about every match against another top 25 player. Can't think it'd be a scholarship $$$ issue at State since they have a small roster to begin with and he'd have to be getting more funds at State than he'd get just about anywhere else. Must be a combo of coaching and location or maybe there's no one else on the team that can give him enough of a test in practice to where he feels like he's going to improve.
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Rather than tennis competition, team chemistry issues, etc., I think sometimes players transfer for simple everyday reasons, reasons why normal students would transfer. I could believe it if a player really didn't love living in small-town Mississippi. I'm not saying that's the case here, just that it's a legit reason why lots of people leave where they are. Or maybe the person wants a step up in terms of academic quality, which applies (at least on paper) for a transfer from MSU to UCLA. Or, even if there is no qualititative difference in academic quality, sometimes students transfer because one school offers a program that they may want and the first school does not.
 
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andfor

Legend
Clemson_tennis said:
Not to mention there could be things like the campus itself like student amenities. Or even personal relationships with individuals.
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It's all a guessing game why the MSU players are transferring until we hear from a reliable source, if one ever really presents itself. From what limited interaction I've had from someone close to the program the MSU coach has a good reputation. But who knows. I think Starkville and the MSU campus is awesome. That said I realize it's rurally based, not really near a metro, and would not appeal to many. Never been to UCLA but it doesn't take a dummy to figure out the appeal to the campus, L.A. and the tennis program.
 
TopDawg

TopDawg

G.O.A.T.
So let me get this straight, Blaz Rola beats Jarmere Jenkins in the NCAA Championship but Jenkins finishes the year ranked #1 and Rola #2. Jenkins/Styslinger win the NCAAs in doubles and they finished ranked #2 while Cunha/Hemmeler finished ranked #1. Yep, that makes sense to me.

Final singles rankings
Final doubles rankings
 
K

Kirijax

Hall of Fame
TopDawg said:
So let me get this straight, Blaz Rola beats Jarmere Jenkins in the NCAA Championship but Jenkins finishes the year ranked #1 and Rola #2. Jenkins/Styslinger win the NCAAs in doubles and they finished ranked #2 while Cunha/Hemmeler finished ranked #1. Yep, that makes sense to me.

Final singles rankings
Final doubles rankings
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LOL Gotta love college tennis logic.
 
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