(TEN) NCAA Tennis regionals

1st round today for men and women

Men up first vs 48 ranked Okla St

Odd move at #2 doubles, Nirundorn has been a bright spot...he sits for Zagala who has barely touched the court all year

 

Promptly lose doubles on 1 and 2.....maddening team

 

Win first set on courts 1-3, trail late set on courts 4-6
Orli at 6 instead of Nirundorn or Tokac
Nate now at 5 and still struggling

 

Women take doubles vs unf...solid not spectacular

 

Grant and Nefve lose 2nd sets, orli and grief win theirs...all head to 3rd sets
Braswell with a nice win....Nate loses 4 straight and his match. What an abysmal year for Nate

 

Men show no focus, no heart, no preparation....nothing good to say.
Bad match. Bad year

 

Women win a cakewalk...everyone plays well

 

Nah, there are great players all over the world....that's how you build the team. Easiest thing would be loading up with Florida kids. The previous 2 years we had the most talented roster in the country and virtually no Florida kids.....Shelton a "Florida kid" cause his dad moved here to coach. Goodger, Bicknell, Siimar, Vale, Andrade, Shelbayh, Ingildsen all international. We were fine with those rosters. Riffice moved here to train but he wasn't really a state kid.
FSU soccer exploded on the national scene by bringing in internationl kids. Everyone screamed that UF was falling behind because Burleigh was just signing Florida kids. They weren't wrong.

 

So I have Nate, Braswell, Nirundorn, Orli, Zagala, and Tokac returning...you have one of those not coming back apparently. I would guess Tokac given the way the season played out. Grant also could return with a covid year, but it appears he is moving on.
2 strong signees, but that's not enough as it stands right now. Would seem crucial to pick up and experienced portal kid that can play near the top ala Nefve this year. Biggest key may be for Nate to somehow find his game again cause he is lost in the weeds right now. Painful to watch at times.

 

2 very highly rated signees....higher projections than Braswell who was a solid 3 all season. I would think both would immediately impact the upper middle of the lineup. But you never know till they get here and transition. Women signed the #1 recruit and she played at #4 all year on a team in the middle of the SEC.

 

Women vs GA Tech
Doubles, UF up 4-1 on 1, 5-0 on 2, down 1-4 on 3

 

6-0 on court 1
Emma Shelton last match in gville goes poorly...1-6 on court 3
UF held 3 game points to go up 5-1 on court 1, lose them all for 4-2

 

Spee is staggering in that remaining match, but miraculously held serve from down 15-40....uf up 5-3

 

Gt with an easy hold...5-4, Dudney has to hold here. Crucial game