USC senior Yannick Hanfmann
The first CTO/MDTA Division 1 Men’s Coaches Poll of the year is out and the team at the top is a familiar one as the Peter Smith coached defending national champion USC Trojans (5-0) occupy the #1 spot in the rankings.
POLL RESULTS: CTO/MDTA | ITA RANKINGS
#1 University of Southern California (5-0) - The Trojans came into the season having to replace 2 starters with #2 Ray Sarmiento and #6 Michael Grant both graduating but so far SC hasn’t missed a beat as they swept Louisiana Lafayette and Santa Clara both by a 4-0 score during the ITA Kick Off Weekend then this past weekend in Athens at the Pac 12/SEC Challenge they made it 2-0 as they knocked off a Top 10 Georgia team 4-0 and a top 20 Florida team 5-2. USC is a senior laden team with 4 in the starting 6 led by Yannick Hanfmann who starts the spring off ranked #3. #68 Roberto Quiroz, #8 Jonny Wang, and Eric Johnson are the other 3 seniors who will fill the 2, 3, and 4/5 spots and they’ll be joined by junior #104 Max De Vroome (if healthy) and a trio of sophomores who each will get playing time this year in #58 Nick Crystal, Connor Farren, and Robbie Bellamy. Next up for SC is a Saturday doubleheader against UC-Irvine and San Diego State. After those 2 matches the Trojans will then start preparations for the National Team Indoors (NTIs), which will be held in Chicago the following weekend
#2 Oklahoma (4-0) – John Roddick’s Sooners come in at #2 as they look to one up last year’s NCAA runner-up finish. Oklahoma has to replace one starter as its #1 from last year Guillermo Alcorta graduated but the Sooners welcome in a trio of players with Spencer Papa, Jose Salazar, and Florin Bragusi now in the fold. OU has 3 top 35 players that will occupy the top 3 spots in the lineup with #20 Andrew Harris, #14 Axel Alvarez, and #33 Dane Webb each expected to see time at #1 during the year. Early on it looks like Papa and Salazar will be the other starters along with #50 Alex Ghilea. Oklahoma opened up the year with wins over Wichita State 6-1, New Mexico 4-0, Northwestern 4-1, then last weekend they went on the road to Wake Forest and looked good in a 5-2 win. Next up for OU is a weekend visit from South Florida (Friday) and Alabama (Sunday) and then after that they look toward the NTIs.
#3 Virginia (4-0) – Brian Boland’s Cavaliers come in at #3 after starting of the year with 4 shutouts of George Washington, Louisville, Liberty, and Morgan State. UVA returns 4 starters from last year’s NCAA semifinal squad with Alex Domijan and Justin Shane the 2 departing seniors. As usual the Cavaliers had no problem restocking the shelf as Brian Boland brought in another exceptional class which includes 2013 Kalamazoo champion Collin Altamirano, an ITF top 40 junior in Henrik Wiersholm, and a former top 70 ITF junior in Alexander Ritschard. Virginia is led by 2-time All American singles champion Mitchell Frank who returns to the college scene after taking the fall off to play on the ATP’s Futures Circuit. #6 Ryan Shane and #4 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski will fill the 2 and 3 spots in the lineup with Altamirano, Ritschard, Wiersholm, #47 Mac Styslinger, JC Aragone, and Luca Corinteli all expected to contribute in the 4 through 6 spots. Next up for UVA is a short trip to Richmond on Saturday to face VCU then they look toward the NTIs.
#4 Georgia (3-1) – Manny Diaz’s Bulldogs check in at #4 after picking up a top 10 win last weekend over UCLA in the SEC/Pac 12 Challenge before falling to #1 USC the next day. Georgia returns 4 starters from last year’s NCAA Round of 16 squad with Garrett Brasseaux and Hernus Pieters the 2 departing seniors. Filing those 2 spots will be a former top 10 ITF junior in South Africa’s Wayne Montgomery and a 6’8 freshman from Kalamazoo in Paul Oosterbaan. #32 Montgomery, #15 Nathan Pasha, and #11 Austin Smith will play in the top half of the lineup with #101 Nick Wood, Ben Wagland, and Oosterbaan rounding out the bottom half. Next up for UGA is a Friday trip to Atlanta to play state rival Georgia Tech.
#5 Duke (6-0) – Ramsey Smith’s Blue Devils are #5 after opening up the season with wins over Michigan State 7-0, Kentucky 5-2, Wake Forest 4-1, Memphis 4-0, Illinois 4-3, and Northwestern 5-2. Duke returns 5 starters from last year’s team which exited the NCAAs in the 2nd round but they welcome in a top 20 ITF junior in Nicholas Alvarez and welcome back Chris Mengel who missed last year with a torn labrum. #36 Jason Tahir and #18 Nicholas Alvarez will play at 1 and 2 with #112 Bruno Semenzato, #103 Raphael Hemmeler, and Chris Mengel in the 3 – 5 spots while Josh Levine and TJ Pura will split time at 6. Next up for Duke is a Friday visit from Tennessee followed by Michigan and North Carolina Central on Sunday.
#6 Texas (5-0) – Michael Center’s Longhorns are #6 after starting off the year with wins over Tulsa 4-3, Arkansas 5-2, Minnesota 4-1, Florida State 4-1, and SMU 4-2. Texas returns all 6 starters from last year’s NCAA Quarterfinal squad though Clement Homs tore his ACL so he’s not expected to see much if any action this year. Center welcomes in 3 freshmen and 1 transfer with John Mee, Adrian Ortiz, and former Brown #1 Michael Riechmann already seeing action. #13 Soren Hess-Olesen will anchor the lineup at #1 for the 4th year in a row with Lloyd Glasspool and #48 Adrien Berkowicz playing at 2 and 3. George Goldhoff would occupy the 4th spot but he’s been battling some injuries so for the moment Nick Naumann, Michael Riechmann, John Mee, and Adrien Ortiz will fill the 4-6 spots. Next up for Texas is a pair of home matches against Washington and Rice on Friday and Sunday.
#7 Baylor (3-1) – Matt Knoll’s Bears come in at #7 after rebounding from a season opening 4-3 loss to Illinois but posting 3 consecutive shutouts of Tulane, Drake, and Louisiana Lafayette. Baylor returns 4 starters from last year’s NCAA quarterfinal squad with Patrick Pradella and Michel Dornbusch departing. Knoll has 4 newcomers on the squad in Will Little, Max Tchoutakian, Juan Benitez, and Johannes Schretter with the last 3 arriving in January. #5 Julian Lenz will play #1 for Baylor with #26 Tony Lupieri, Diego Galeano, and Max Tchoutakian expected in fill the 2-4 spots. Mate Zsiga, #121 Felipe Rios, Vince Schneider, and Juan Benitez will all get opportunities to play in the 5 and 6 spots. Next up for BU is a Saturday trip to Tulsa.
#8 Ohio State (8-1) – Ty Tucker’s Buckeyes are #8 after opening up with notable wins over Auburn 4-0, Tulsa 4-1, and Kentucky 4-0 before falling over the weekend at Texas A&M 4-3. Ohio State returns 5 starters from last year’s NCAA quarterfinal squad but the 1 that departed was a big one in #1 Peter Kobelt. Tucker has brought in a pair of top 25 ITF juniors in Hugo Di Feo and Mikael Torpegaard though only Mikael has seen action this year. #21 Chris Diaz and #89 Torpegaard have been playing at 1 and 2 with #66 Ralf Steinbach and Herkko Pollanen playing at 3 and 4. Hunter Callahan and Kevin Metka will fill the 5 and 6 spots. Matt Mendez and Riley Reist will be the first two off the bench to help provide depth when called upon. Next up for Ohio State is a Sunday visit from South Florida.
#9 Illinois (4-1) – Brad Dancer’s Illini are #9 after coming off a nail-biting weekend that saw the Illini come up short against Duke 4-3 but defeat North Carolina 4-3. The Illini opened up the season by going on the road and winning in Waco over Baylor 4-3. Dancer returns everyone from last year’s NCAA Round of 16 squad and also welcomes in 4 new freshmen in Aron Hiltzik, Aleks Vukic, Toshiki Matsuya, and Pablo Landa. Farris Gosea and #31 Jared Hiltzik will play at 1 and 2 while #62 Aron Hiltzik, #40 Tim Kopinski, and #44 Vukic will likely play somewhere in the 3 to 5 spots. Blake Bazarnik, Ross Guignon, Matsuya and others expect to rotate in the starting 6 as well. Next up for Illinois is a Friday visit from Kentucky before the Illinois open up Big 10 play on Saturday by playing at Purdue. The following weekend Illinois will serve as hosts for the National Team Indoors in Chicago.
#10 Texas A&M (2-1) - Steve Denton’s Aggies check in at #10 after pulling off a mild upset over the weekend when they defeated Ohio State 4-3. The weekend prior Texas A&M was defeated by TCU 4-2 before rebounding for a 4-1 win over San Diego. Denton returns 5 of 6 starters from a team that made it to the 2nd round of the NCAAs a year ago with only Junior Ore graduating. A pair of freshmen have already contributed with Arthur Rinderknech clinching the win over Ohio State at #5 singles while #53 AJ Catanzariti has been starting at 4 and 5. #45 Shane Vinsant, #29 Harrison Adams, and #96 Jeremy Efferding have been playing at 1, 2, and 3 with the 6 spot expected to be filled by Jordan Szabo or Max Lunkin. Top 60 ITF junior Jordi Arconada joined the team in January so he may see action as well this year. Texas A&M will be idle for the next 2 weeks before they welcome in Oklahoma on 2/20.
North Carolina (6-1), UCLA (3-2), California (5-0), Columbia (2-0), and TCU (3-0) are 11-15. Ole Miss (3-0), Notre Dame (3-1), Wake Forest (3-2), Penn State (3-1), and Florida (4-2) fill the 16-20 spots. Rounding out the final 5 spots are Vanderbilt (6-2), Tennessee (4-2), Mississippi State (5-2), Oklahoma State (5-2), and Memphis (3-1).
Also receiving votes but not garnering enough to make this week’s Top 25 are South Carolina, South Florida, Harvard, Florida State, and Drake.
The MDTA (Men’s Division 1 Tennis Association) was formed 2013 to provide a forum for Men’s D1 Coaches to discuss issues that are unique and special to Division 1 Men’s Tennis; for more information about the MDTA you can visit their website at
www.mensdivisiononetennis.org . All Division I Men’s Head Coaches and Assistant Coaches are eligible to vote in the poll.