Pictured: Ohio State's Blaz Rola
Courtesy of Bobby Knight - Several of the heavy hitters hit the road this week as spring break continues for many of them. Top ranked Virginia got all it wanted and more last night in Waco against a hungry Baylor team and needed to rally from a set down in 3 matches and ended up winning 5 singles matches in a 3rd set. The Cavs will stay in Texas for a few more days to take on both Texas A&M and Texas before heading to Champaign to meet Illinois. Below is my preview of each match and feel free to follow along at the live scoring links provided.
Tuesday:
#22 Wake Forest at #28 VCU – 2:30pm est – A year ago VCU knocked off Wake Forest 4-2 but Wake has improved a good bit especially at the bottom of the lineup. This is one of those matches that could go either way but I’ll lean towards Wake in a tight one. Prediction: Wake Forest 4-3
#8 Ohio State vs.
#12 Pepperdine – 4pm est/1pm pst –
Live Scoring - These 2 met a month ago in Seattle in what was expected to be a close match but it turned into a Buckeye rout. I think Pepperdine will make up for the poor performance and play much better outdoors at home but it still won’t be enough to get past Ohio State.
Prediction: Ohio State 5-2
#26 Florida State at
#5 Oklahoma – 6:30pm est/5:30pm cst –
Live Scoring & Video - Oklahoma brings a 10-3 record into this one while Florida State comes in at 11-3 though OU has played a much more difficult schedule thus far. All 13 of OU’s opponents have been ranked in the top 75 while FSU has faced 6 ranked opponents. Florida State is an improved squad but they don’t have the strength in the top 4 spots to pull this one off.
Prediction: Oklahoma 5-2
#44 North Carolina at
#21 Texas – 7pm est/6pm cst –
Live Scoring - North Carolina comes into this one having lost 3 straight while Texas has won 3 straight. The match at #1 singles will be a good one as twin brothers Soren and Esben Hess-Olesen meet. I’ll take Soren and the Horns to win their 4 straight.
Prediction: Texas 5-2
Wednesday:
#1 Virginia at
#14 Texas A&M – 7pm est/6pm cst -
Live Scoring & Video – Texas A&M has been very tough at home this year with a pair of wins over top 10 teams (Ohio St/Kentucky) but Virginia isn’t just any top 10 team. I think Virginia’s match in Waco yesterday will serve as a wakeup call and will have the Hoos focused more than ever for this one. Texas A&M’s specialty has been doubles and I give them a good shot at claiming the point but I don’t see any spots in the singles lineup where I’d consider them a favorite.
Prediction: Virginia 5-2
Thursday:
#38 Baylor at
#9 Ole Miss – 2pm est/1pm cst –
Live Scoring - Ole Miss is coming off a great weekend where they knocked off Georgia and Tennessee while Baylor will be finishing up a 4 match week where they beat Kentucky but lost to UCLA and Virginia. Neither team is overly strong at 5 and 6 but they both have solid 1-4s. If Baylor gets the doubles point I could see a 4-0 final if they decide to stop once the match has been clinched. I’ll say they play it out to 7 but Baylor gets the win.
Prediction: Baylor 5-2
#30 Michigan at #43 Michigan State – 6pm est –
Live Scoring & Video - Michigan has lost 5 straight and the last 2 were heartbreakers against Pepperdine and Texas in matches where they had leads but just couldn’t finish. Michigan State is coming off a 4-3 loss to Western Michigan and has lost 5 of its last 7. In the battle for the Great Lakes State it will be Big Blue that gets it done on the road.
Prediction: Michigan 5-2
#15 Tulsa at
#2 UCLA – 7pm est/4pm pst –
Live Scoring - UCLA went into Waco on Saturday and ran over a Baylor team that gave Virginia all it wanted yesterday. Tulsa has some talent throughout its lineup but UCLA is a National Title Contender this year for good reason.
Prediction: UCLA 6-1
