05-07-2024, 01:22 PM
Anyway, back to the NCAA tournament! (Though I'm happy to perseverate over recruiting and lineup implications of Yu's decision all day, obviously.)
Most second-round matches were relatively uncompetitive, though a couple of seeds did lose and a couple more came close:
* (12) Ohio State (perhaps Yu's next home?) lost 4-3 to #31 Vanderbilt;
* (14) Florida lost 4-3 to #22 Miami, which is interesting because Ohio State and Florida were two of our better wins;
* (9) Texas advanced, but narrowly, as they beat #24 Georgia Tech 4-3 and needed a three-setter on Court 6 to do it, as Georgia Tech won on Courts 1, 2, and 5.
* (3) Michigan beat #30 Notre Dame 4-2, as the Irish took doubles to go up 1-0, Michigan's Julia Fliegner won quickly on Court 3 to make it 1-1, ND's Freeman beat UM's Gala Mesochoritou to make it 2-1 Irish, but Michigan won three more to end it. But they needed a very narrow wins on Court 5 (7-6, 6-4) and Court 6 (2-6, 6-2, 6-3) to do it, and the remaining match was on serve in the third set. So, some surprising weakness from Michigan there.
As for our fellows in the moribund Pac-12, the seeds won and the unseeded teams lost:
* (11) USC had no trouble with #23 San Diego without the Toreros' #1, de las Heras, in the lineup, 4-0;
* (10) Cal beat #17 Auburn 4-0 behind a narrow win at doubles (ate a bagel on Court 1, won 7-6 on 2 and 7-5 on 3) and then three very routine singles wins--Cal won all six first sets;
* (8) UCLA rolled over Texas Tech 4-0;
* #26 ASU lost to (6) Pepperdine, 4-1, Washington got upset by Princeton 4-3, and Arizona lost as expected to Oklahoma, 4-0.
That sets up the following Super Regional matches this weekend:
Friday, May 10:
12:00pm: (8) UCLA vs. (9) Texas
1:00pm: (6) Pepperdine vs. (11) USC
1:00pm: (7) Georgia vs. (10) Cal
2:00pm: (2) Stanford vs. (15) NC State
3:00pm: (4) UNC vs. (13) Texas A&M
Saturday, May 11:
10:00am: (5) UVA vs. #31 Vanderbilt
10:00am: (3) Michigan vs. #22 Miami
1:00pm: (1) Oklahoma State vs. (16) Tennessee
Notes:
* This will be the third matchup between Pepperdine and USC this season. Pepperdine won the first one, 4-2, at National Indoors in February, and the second, 4-0, in Malibu in late March. Had the seed lines been just one different, we could have seen a fourth matchup between Pepperdine and Cal.
* UNC-A&M has the potential to be a fantastic match, with Texas A&M benefitting from having Carson Branstine back from what looked like the start of a pro career. A&M will have to be perfect, but an upset isn't out of the question here.
* As good as Georgia is, I think Cal has a decent shot at an upset here. Can you imagine another Stanford-Cal rematch in the NCAA quarters in Stillwater?
* I'll keep my eye on UNC-A&M and UGA-Cal, but for the rest of the matches, I think chalk wins out.
Most second-round matches were relatively uncompetitive, though a couple of seeds did lose and a couple more came close:
* (12) Ohio State (perhaps Yu's next home?) lost 4-3 to #31 Vanderbilt;
* (14) Florida lost 4-3 to #22 Miami, which is interesting because Ohio State and Florida were two of our better wins;
* (9) Texas advanced, but narrowly, as they beat #24 Georgia Tech 4-3 and needed a three-setter on Court 6 to do it, as Georgia Tech won on Courts 1, 2, and 5.
* (3) Michigan beat #30 Notre Dame 4-2, as the Irish took doubles to go up 1-0, Michigan's Julia Fliegner won quickly on Court 3 to make it 1-1, ND's Freeman beat UM's Gala Mesochoritou to make it 2-1 Irish, but Michigan won three more to end it. But they needed a very narrow wins on Court 5 (7-6, 6-4) and Court 6 (2-6, 6-2, 6-3) to do it, and the remaining match was on serve in the third set. So, some surprising weakness from Michigan there.
As for our fellows in the moribund Pac-12, the seeds won and the unseeded teams lost:
* (11) USC had no trouble with #23 San Diego without the Toreros' #1, de las Heras, in the lineup, 4-0;
* (10) Cal beat #17 Auburn 4-0 behind a narrow win at doubles (ate a bagel on Court 1, won 7-6 on 2 and 7-5 on 3) and then three very routine singles wins--Cal won all six first sets;
* (8) UCLA rolled over Texas Tech 4-0;
* #26 ASU lost to (6) Pepperdine, 4-1, Washington got upset by Princeton 4-3, and Arizona lost as expected to Oklahoma, 4-0.
That sets up the following Super Regional matches this weekend:
Friday, May 10:
12:00pm: (8) UCLA vs. (9) Texas
1:00pm: (6) Pepperdine vs. (11) USC
1:00pm: (7) Georgia vs. (10) Cal
2:00pm: (2) Stanford vs. (15) NC State
3:00pm: (4) UNC vs. (13) Texas A&M
Saturday, May 11:
10:00am: (5) UVA vs. #31 Vanderbilt
10:00am: (3) Michigan vs. #22 Miami
1:00pm: (1) Oklahoma State vs. (16) Tennessee
Notes:
* This will be the third matchup between Pepperdine and USC this season. Pepperdine won the first one, 4-2, at National Indoors in February, and the second, 4-0, in Malibu in late March. Had the seed lines been just one different, we could have seen a fourth matchup between Pepperdine and Cal.
* UNC-A&M has the potential to be a fantastic match, with Texas A&M benefitting from having Carson Branstine back from what looked like the start of a pro career. A&M will have to be perfect, but an upset isn't out of the question here.
* As good as Georgia is, I think Cal has a decent shot at an upset here. Can you imagine another Stanford-Cal rematch in the NCAA quarters in Stillwater?
* I'll keep my eye on UNC-A&M and UGA-Cal, but for the rest of the matches, I think chalk wins out.