Deacon Drive
Rookie
Wake avenges one of their 3 losses this year, beating UVA 6-1. The only loss was Petros - he has earned an off day though given what he has done for Wake the past 3.5 years.
ACC tennis
- Thread starter Clemson_tennis
- Start date
NortheastTennis
New User
After this past weekends results some shuffling of the order seems needed. ACC play about to start full force and after Georgia Techs wins + Notre Dame loses should be a very interested conference season. I think on a given day any team 3-10 could beat each other.
1. Wake Forest
2. Virginia
3. North Carolina
4. NC State
5. Florida State
6. Notre Dame
7. Georgia Tech
8. Miami
9. Duke
10. Virginia Tech
11. Louisville
12. Clemson
13. Boston College
might be giving Duke too much and UNC too little credit, putting them in a shared tier
- a Duke alumnus
Clemson_tennis
Legend
Last year Notre Dame did overconfidently sit their top players vs Boston College and barely avoided the upset with a 4-3 win. But this year they must be injured because they also sat vs Florida State. Actually kinda impressive from ND to be missing their top 2 players and still take Miami and FSU down to the last court on the road.
tennisfan17
Semi-Pro
I haven't seen many postings about this, but what are y'all's thoughts on how GT has been playing? I wasn't super impressed when I watched them play Georgia State this year but heck what do I know lol
jcgatennismom
Professional
They seem to be playing better outside, especially at home. Big wins this weekend. Divar has consistently played well-keeping it close or winning vs much higher ranked #1s. They changed their lineup some this past weekend. The freshmen Schelcher clinched both matches at #5 in 3 sets. At the start of the season, the team was inexperienced as even some of the older players had not played much in past years. Gresk who is a sr didnt play much in the lineup until last year; he had a big win vs Sigouin at 2. Gresk is tall 6'7 with a lot of power but had made a lot of UEs in past-will be competitive at 2 in ACC if he controls power and hits his serves. Some weeks the team has had 3 freshmen in lineup and/or a soph who didnt play much last year. Maybe this past weekend the team finally gelled. Upset wins will be harder on the road, but GT is now ranked 45 so has a chance of making the NCAAs this year. I attended the GT/UGA indoor match which was much closer than the score implied-GT won 3 of 4 1st sets played (5 and 6 didnt finish 1st sets) and had close dubs loss at 1 (6-7) and 2 (5-7) and 3 was tied 6-all. If Tech is playing its best tennis, it can be competitive with teams ranked 20-25 and up but not the higher teams. However, the Tech team is smaller than most ACC teams-only 9 on roster with one player only playing dubs so everyone has to stay healthy to make the trip to NCAAs a possibility. It will be tight for team to keep the .5 win ratio. They should be able to beat Boston College, Louisville, and hopefully VA Tech tho that is an away match. Will be very hard for GT to beat the other 4 remaining ACC teams-maybe NC State is a possibility since Tech plays them at home.
tennisfan17
Semi-Pro
Fully agree. I think for GT is that team this year that if you are off and they are one, then it will be a rough day at the office (as we saw with UNC). When Gresk gets into the mood, i saw him unload on some serves and groundies. They can push some teams in this later half of the season and be very competitive.
Matthew Lee
Professional
NC State pushes Wake forest but loses 4-2. Chrysochos with a tight 3-setter.
Clemson_tennis
Legend
NC State is a really tough team, Coach Spencer has them competing hard. Very tight losses to two of the best teams in the country in Virginia and Wake Forest, both matches included a 3rd set tiebreaker loss for Igor Saveljic (to Nakashima and Chrysochos). Even though NC State did very well to make those matches that close you have to wonder what it will do for their psyche. Sometimes close losses can snowball.
Deacon Drive
Rookie
The match was played indoors - I guess NC State only has 4 indoor courts? - so two of the matches were delayed. Melios from Wake was up 7-5, 2-0 when his match was stopped. I agree that NC State seems to have a lot of fight, as several of the matches were pretty close.
jcgatennismom
Professional
What has happened to Lebedev and Ciamarra-#1 and #2 of Notre Dame. Are they injured? I dont think either have played for several weekends. Hard to believe ND beat UVA and Texas A&M in early February. Team has lost 4 straight ACC matches.
Clemson_tennis
Legend
Hokies coming on a little bit. 6-1 win over Clemson then a very tight win over Georgia Tech today.
BlacknGold35
Rookie
Wake 5 UNC 2 in Winston Salem.
Heels won doubles (courts 1 & 3) and started well in singles. Deacs with a nice rally after dropping #6 singles in straight sets to go down 0-2. Score was then even at 2 with straight set wins for the Deacs at #2 (Petros 4&2) and Cungu at #5 (5&3).
Gojo, and Botzer won in 3 sets after each lost the first set to clinch the match before Melios added the 5th point with a 3 set win at 4.
Heels won doubles (courts 1 & 3) and started well in singles. Deacs with a nice rally after dropping #6 singles in straight sets to go down 0-2. Score was then even at 2 with straight set wins for the Deacs at #2 (Petros 4&2) and Cungu at #5 (5&3).
Gojo, and Botzer won in 3 sets after each lost the first set to clinch the match before Melios added the 5th point with a 3 set win at 4.
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Clemson_tennis
Legend
I beleive that's now 3 wins in a row for Gojo over Blumberg. All in 3 sets. Blumberg had won their first 2 meetings in college, so Gojo has turned around the rivalry. (with 1 unfinished match sandwiched between)
Clemson_tennis
Legend
Virginia Tech beat Notre Dame 5-2. Talk a bout a season falling apart thanks to injury. ND was once a fringe top 10 team and now will probably not even host in the NCAAs.
Louisville got a big upset win over Miami to keep their tournament hopes alive but couldn't follow it up and lost to Duke on Sunday.
Louisville got a big upset win over Miami to keep their tournament hopes alive but couldn't follow it up and lost to Duke on Sunday.
jcgatennismom
Professional
Anyone know how long Lebedev and Ciamarra are out? Really hard to lose both your 1 and 2. ND has a deep bench and probably could have survived some injuries if they had not been at the top spots. Are McCormick hurt and/or Howells hurt too? Are they 4 guys down?
NortheastTennis
New User
With two weekends left in the regular season this is the ACC standings. Whats crazy is that every team except Clemson and BC still has shots of making the NCAA tournament.
Wake Forest
Virginia
North Carolina
Miami
Virginia Tech
NC State
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Louisville
Notre Dame
Duke
Clemson
Boston College
Duke plays BC NC State and Florida State as its last three matches, if they win out they could get in without needing any extra at ACC championships.
ND is on a free fall and might lose out, They play UNC, Georgia Tech, Clemson. I would think they beat Clemson and although their early season wins may preserve their ranking they might not get above .500 (current record is 11-12). They need to beat GT to stay alive I think.
Louisville plays Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and UNC. If they can win the first two and then beat one of them again in the ACC they might get in although I would say they are the least likely I still dont know how they beat Miami.
Georgia Tech should be in after winning 4-0 against NC State yesterday and their next three against Louisville, ND, and BC are all very winnable (at ND though).
The rest of the ACC is safe, big match next weekend between UNC and Virginia last chance for UNC to maybe get back to top 8 in the country. I also think Miami at home is always tough it makes their match against UVA tomorrow very interesting.
Wake Forest
Virginia
North Carolina
Miami
Virginia Tech
NC State
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Louisville
Notre Dame
Duke
Clemson
Boston College
Duke plays BC NC State and Florida State as its last three matches, if they win out they could get in without needing any extra at ACC championships.
ND is on a free fall and might lose out, They play UNC, Georgia Tech, Clemson. I would think they beat Clemson and although their early season wins may preserve their ranking they might not get above .500 (current record is 11-12). They need to beat GT to stay alive I think.
Louisville plays Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and UNC. If they can win the first two and then beat one of them again in the ACC they might get in although I would say they are the least likely I still dont know how they beat Miami.
Georgia Tech should be in after winning 4-0 against NC State yesterday and their next three against Louisville, ND, and BC are all very winnable (at ND though).
The rest of the ACC is safe, big match next weekend between UNC and Virginia last chance for UNC to maybe get back to top 8 in the country. I also think Miami at home is always tough it makes their match against UVA tomorrow very interesting.
chris-swede
Hall of Fame
i was surprised about Miami this time. Good match! But what was their No.1 Player? or is Söderlund that good?
Clemson_tennis
Legend
Like Notre Dame, Florida State has been hurt pretty badly by injury. They have been missing Dougaz basically the entire season and lately Thongoana and Bhullar have also been out. They are having to go 8-9 deep late in the season. Very important clutch win for FSU yesterday over Virginia Tech to stem the free fall.
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Clemson_tennis
Legend
NC State beat Duke today 4-1. According to Pack twitter this was NC State's first win over Duke since 1980! And their 7th win in the ACC this year is the most in program history.
chris-swede
Hall of Fame
Dougaz is playing a future in Tunesia this week...is he out of college?
No. He's a senior this year on the roster.
chris-swede
Hall of Fame
That i knew, but how he can Play futures in northern africa and is listet at FSU as injured?
The injury part I can't answer. But he's able to play futures the same way Lucas Poullain was able to play two futures in Tucson, AZ and one in Claremont, CA and he's still enrolled. Dougaz is from Tunisia so maybe that's part of it.
jcgatennismom
Professional
Louisville squeaked by GT in the ACC tourney. GT was one of the last teams projected in for NCAAs. Does this loss mean they are out or do they still have a chance to play?
Doubtful. Depends on how their best wins perform this week. On the bubble and losing early in the conf. tourney at the end of the season is usually the end. If they get it they will back in for sure due to their best wins outperforming this week.
Clemson_tennis
Legend
They are pulling for UNC to win the ACC tourney. Would boost their best win a good bit.
Matthew Lee
Professional
Wake Forest defeats UVA 4-2 to win the ACC Championships. Good run for the Cavaliers as they took out UNC in the semis, but alas, WF is too good in the end.
A new strategy from RS? Limit the number of chances you have to compete with the best teams in the country and try to mostly play teams like Elon and NC Central in coming years?
optimaltennis
Rookie
It might not make sense at first why Duke/VT/others are skipping Kick-off weekend, but it makes sense once you look at the big picture:
1) Playing in the ACC/SEC will automatically give you a lot more opportunities to pick up solid wins. Conversely, it also gives you many more chances at losses. Still need to have a .500 record to make NCAAs. A young team, playing on the road is often a recipe for disaster. Better to let that disaster in much more difficult to win conference road matches than early January
2) Kickoff weekend counts as two dates on the number of allowable. Of course, the coaches will need to schedule a couple of winnable matches to make up for these
3) Travel costs/school missed. Duke/VT can absorb costs, but is it worth it flying out to somewhere warm to play outdoor tennis when you haven't practiced outdoors?
For most schools, it makes sense to play in the kick-off weekend. If ranked top 35-40, you'll be able to get into a winnable host site, thus no excuse not to go. I'm not sure why Alabama has skipped two times in a row. If outside the top 40, then have to look at overall picture as you are probably going to a host site that you have little/no chance of winning.
1) Playing in the ACC/SEC will automatically give you a lot more opportunities to pick up solid wins. Conversely, it also gives you many more chances at losses. Still need to have a .500 record to make NCAAs. A young team, playing on the road is often a recipe for disaster. Better to let that disaster in much more difficult to win conference road matches than early January
2) Kickoff weekend counts as two dates on the number of allowable. Of course, the coaches will need to schedule a couple of winnable matches to make up for these
3) Travel costs/school missed. Duke/VT can absorb costs, but is it worth it flying out to somewhere warm to play outdoor tennis when you haven't practiced outdoors?
For most schools, it makes sense to play in the kick-off weekend. If ranked top 35-40, you'll be able to get into a winnable host site, thus no excuse not to go. I'm not sure why Alabama has skipped two times in a row. If outside the top 40, then have to look at overall picture as you are probably going to a host site that you have little/no chance of winning.
Nacho
Hall of Fame
Clearly a lot of schools are weighing the benefit vs the cost of playing in all these tournaments and team tournaments, and deciding the benefit just isn't there. Its an expense to go after this so early in the season, and since it is an ITA tournament maybe doesn't hold the same weight for some as the NCAA's at the end of the season.
jcgatennismom
Professional
Something had to be going on there for the good players in the lineup like Wynn, Lock, etc to transfer out. Also Lville would bring in 4-5 freshmen a year and 2-3 were gone the next. Rather Darwinian survival of the fittest. 2018-19 roster of 12 included 6 freshmen and no sophs. It was one of those schools where academy coaches told players not to go there-they'd sent guys who ended up leaving. Yet local Xavier HS USTA tournament 4 and 5 star players still signed for Louisville so it could not be all bad-the locals should know better or they still attended for cheap in state $. Lville made recruits just feel like a number-heard stories of Emails sent that were supposed to be blind copies listing 150 recruits, mass official visits of 7-8 recruits with guys getting schedules that included the other recruits' UTRs, GPAs, and SAT scores. Definitely not the personal touch...
Louisville could be so much better-location is attractive to Mid west and Southern players. Kentucky is getting a bunch of Canadians next year including one with a MD Challenger win and top 20 jr world ranking while Louisville cant keep its recruits.. Alabama gets a lot of grief on this forum, but I dont see much difference between Louisville and Alabama except that AL actually finished in top 30. With Clemson having new courts and new coaches, Louisville will be at the bottom of ACC one up from Boston College. If the AD cares about any sports besides basketball, Ecarma has to be on the hot seat. The one asset for Louisville is the coach has been able to recruit and keep some good players from France.
Clemson_tennis
Legend
Ecarma certainly has a different style of coaching and I could see how it would rub some players the wrong way. he is an extreme micro-manager, telling players exactly where to serve almost every point etc. He also yells tactics to players across courts without caring if the other team hears, perhaps some mind games there. He has not had nearly the same success ever since the Childs brothers left almost a decade ago now. His recruiting does seem to be not very personal as he gets players from anywhere he can get them, no pipelines aside from the French one he taps. Players move up and down the lineup a lot. While that can indicate depth for some teams, for Louisville it seems to indicate a lack of consistency and no stability.
Clemson_tennis
Legend
How are you guys seeing the ACC this year?
tennisfan17
Semi-Pro
Honestly as far as the men's side I see it going with UNC at the top far at the top with Wake and Virginia close at 2 and 3. I think overall the ACC isn't as strong as it was in years past with the Big 12 being the strongest conference currently. UNC though will be dangerous.
Clemson_tennis
Legend
Louisville takes down Virginia 4-3
jcgatennismom
Professional
The Taiwanese JUCO transfer Tin Chen who played 1 for Louisville has one of the best D1 records for 19-20: 19-3. After losing to an unranked West Mich player at his first D1 tourney in Sept, he didnt lose again until Oracle fall championships where he lost to ranked Keegan Smith and Cody Pearson. Per his bio at Louisville-he is also a trained ballet dancer-guess he should have some of the best footwork in D1... For some reason Tin Chen is not listed on Louisville's roster on UTR. Louisville won at 1-3 and 6. Will be interesting when Louisville and Miami play since Miami's former coach Mario Rincon is the new asst coach at Louisville.
fireForehand
New User
Unc will finally get the top spot. Down year for UVA and wake. NC state for 2 or 3, Florida state 4/5
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jcgatennismom
Professional
Duke beat Illinois 6-1 so Duke possibly could be a contender for 4th or 5th place. Duke and GT had great recruiting classes but some of GT's returning players did not play in the fall due to injury and are just getting back in singles and/or dubs lineup. Agree that UNC has a killer level of talent. UNC could win indoors.
Deacon Drive
Rookie
Duke usually falls apart as the year goes on. UNC has a ton of talent, but Wake is looking good too. Baadi and Squire were great additions, and Nava has played really well so far this year.
Tar Heel Tennis
Professional
Tar Heels blank TCU 6-0 with Simon Soendergaard only unfinished match at #6. I can only assume weather forced the match indoors and they only have 5 courts.
Tar Heel Tennis
Professional
btw, Lady Tar Heels beat NC State 4-1 yesterday at the ITA National Indoor Tourney in Chicago; beat Duke 4-0 today, and will face UCLA tomorrow for the championship.
Clemson_tennis
Legend
This Duke team is looking better than years past though. They could be a solid top 20 team this uear
Clemson_tennis
Legend
what an amazing win by NC State over Texas