_ctofeatured.jpg "2017 ACC Champions Virginia Cavaliers")
2017 ACC Champions Virginia Cavaliers
The 2017 NCAA D1 Tennis Championships are later this month (May 18th - May 29th 2017). The 64-team brackets for the men and women will be selected later in the month, but we wanted to share our top contenders.
The top of the women rankings are tightening up heading into the big tournament. #1 Florida remain at the top of the USTA College Top 25, but the gap is closing after losing the SEC tournament final against #4 Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt have now won the SEC tournament in two of the last three season's. Vandy will be confident heading into the tournament and have enough talent to win the 2017 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships.
#2 Ohio State dominated the Big Ten tournament this past week. They played the second-seeded Wolverines in the finals and won 4-0. The Buckeyes have been great all season and will be top contenders to win the title.
Georgia Tech almost pulled off a big upset in the ACC tournament, but #3 North Carolina were able to comeback and win 4-3. This was the Tar Heels second consecutive conference title and the eighth in the school's history.
You also can't count out last year's champion #5 Stanford. The Stanford women have won six matches in a row and are 21-2 on the season, which includes a perfect 10-0 conference record.
On the men's side, the two top teams are #1 Wake Forest and #2 Virginia. Wake Forest has been the best team this season, but they were just defeated 4-3 in the ACC tournament finals against Virginia.
Virginia has also won the NCAA Tennis Championships the last two years and will be looking to three-peat in 2017. I expect the Cavaliers experience to help them once the tournament begins later this month.
#3 OSU is in the mix to win the tournament this year too. The Buckeyes won the Big Ten tournament 4-1 against rival Michigan. OSU have now won the conference tournament in 10 of the last 12 years.
#4 North Carolina and #5 TCU round up the top 5 on the USTA College Top 25 rankings. Both of these schools should make a deep run in the 2017 NCAA Tennis Championships, but I don't expect either to win the title.
If you're looking for a deep sleeper on the men's bracket, look no further than #14 Oklahoma. The Sooners have been the runner-up in the NCAA Tennis Championships the last three years and will pose a threat again this season.
While most bookmakers don't offer odds on college tennis it's still possible to bet on NCAA tennis, especially the NCAA Tennis Championships. Make sure you grab a
sign-up bonus 2017 if you plan on placing any wagers.
With 64 teams on the women's and men's brackets, the first couple rounds are likely to be rather uneventful. However, once the tournament picks up and the top teams start playing each other, expect some fireworks.
There are more than a handful of schools that could emerge victorious later this month, but if I'm picking now, I like Vanderbilt (Women's) and Virginia (Men's) to win the 2017 NCAA Tennis Championships.
