[desariofan]

I hate it that I can't see how others are doing their brackets for May Madness, so I thought it'd be nice to have a thread for us all to show our brackets and predictions.

Here are roughly mine - just from RD 16 and up

1 UCLA
16 OLE MISS
UCLA for sure on this one

9 CAL
8 ALA
A toss up, I am looking for an upset, but Cal comes thru

5 S CAL
12 BAYLOR
S Cal no brainer

13 Northwestern
4 Stanford
STAN easily

3 DUKE
14 Virginia
Duke, but barely

11 Texas
6 Georgia
GA

7 N Caroline
10 Miami
N carolina

15 Michigan
2 FL
Florida

Quarters

1 UCLA
9 CAL
This is tricky, but UCLA comes thru

5 S CAL
4 Stanford
I have Stanford being upset here, just a hunch. S Cal seems to be on fire.

3 DUKE
6 Georgia
I am thinking GA, but heart says Duke

7 N Caroline
2 FL
FL

SEMIS

1 UCLA
5 S Cal
S CAL in a nail biter

3 DUKE
2 FL
UF

FINALS

5 S Cal
2 UF
UF stops S Cal's hot streak and takes its (KNOCK ON WOOD!) 6th NCAA title!(WOOD!!)

:P

[fantic]

I think the absence of Critser for MICH and Leatu for VANDY might impact the outcome of their matches against TAM and USD, respectively

[johnnytennis]

Originally Posted by fantic

I think the absence of Critser for MICH and Leatu for VANDY might impact the outcome of their matches against TAM and USD, respectively

Sam has struggled most of the season and not having her shouldn't hurt Michigan!

[fantic]

well, wasn't she hurt? anyway her playing could change the matchups, no?

[johnnytennis]

Originally Posted by fantic

well, wasn't she hurt? anyway her playing could change the matchups, no?

She is struggling this year at No. 5 so not really sure! Maybe the 2 week break before ncaa's will help her. Hopefully next year she is a 100% healthy and can turn it around!

[tucker1989]

I just booked my trip to Athens! Going for the whole team tournament and the first two days of the individual, so excited!

[Amalgamate]

Originally Posted by tucker1989

I just booked my trip to Athens! Going for the whole team tournament and the first two days of the individual, so excited!

Have a great time! Maybe you'll see me...or even watch me (knock on wood)

[slickshoes510]

These are my picks from the quarterfinals on. I'm a UCLA alumni so obviously my picks are bias...

UCLA
Cal
(I hate this matchup for UCLA but I am going with my team: UCLA)

USC
Stanford
(Whoever wins the doubles point here will likely win. I'm picking Stanford.)

Duke
Georgia
(I'm rooting for an upset to happen in the tournament so I am going with Georgia here.)

UNC
Florida
(Florida)

Semifinals

UCLA
Stanford
(UCLA will defeat Stanford again this season.)

Georgia
Florida
(Florida)

Finals

UCLA
Florida
(UCLA wins 4-3 with Robin clinching the match with a win over Allie Will along with the doubles point and singles points at 5 and 6. This has been the story of UCLA's season.)

[mboyle]

Lots of Georgia over Duke picks...

R16:
UCLA def. Ole Miss 4-1 (Ole Miss might win doubles point)
Cal def. Alabama 4-0 (Doubles, 1, 2 and one other)
USC def. Baylor 4-0 (Doubles, 4, 5 and 6)
Stanford def. Northwestern 4-0 (Doubles, 1, 2 and 3)
Duke def. Virginia 4-1 (UVA doubles, Duke 1, 3, 4 and 5)
Georgia def. Texas 4-0 (Doubles, 1, 2 and 6)
UNC def. Miami 4-3 (Miami 1, 2, 3, UNC 4, 5, 6, doubles)
Florida def. Texas A&M 4-0 (Doubles, 1, 2, 3)

Quarter-Finals
California def. UCLA 4-3 (Cal: Doubles, 1, 2, 4)
Stanford def. USC 4-1 (Stanford: Doubles, 1, 2, 4, USC: 3)
Duke def. Georgia 4-1 (Duke: Doubles, 1, 3, 5, Georgia: 6)
Florida def. UNC 4-0 (Doubles, 1, 2, 3)

Semi-Finals
Cal def. Stanford 4-3 (Cal: 3, 4, 5, and 6, Stanford: Doubles, 1 and 2)
Florida def. Duke 4-1 (Florida: Doubles, 2, 3 and 6, Duke 1)

Finals
Florida def. Cal 4-0 (Doubles, 1, 2, and 3)

[fantic]

Cal over STAN

I'm tempted to pick UGA over DUKE too

[Amalgamate]

Round of 16

(1) UCLA def. (16) Ole Miss - UCLA easily.
(9) California def. Georgia Tech - (I really wanted to pick a few upsets, and despite liking the Alabama team, I think GT has more potential than what they've shown this year.)
(5) USC def. (12) Baylor - USC too strong at the middle/bottom.
(4) Stanford def. (13) Northwestern

(3) Duke vs. Virginia (14) - If UVA is fully healthy I expect them to test Duke, but Duke should come through. Was tempted to pick the UVA upset to spite mboyle but don't think it will happen.
(6) Georgia def. (11) Texas - I'm really hoping Herring is healthy. Would be a shame for UGA if she wasn't. (NB: All my picks assume Herring will play).
(10) Miami def. (7) UNC - Their match in the regular season came down to a doubles Tiebreak so this sould be a close one so I'm just going with Miami for the upset.
(2) Florida def. (15) Michigan - Cake walk draw for Florida.

Quarterfinals

(9) California def. (1) UCLA - They've done it once, I think they can do it again. Cal is way underranked at #9 and I don't think UCLA should be the #1 seed. Hopefully this match proves both of those things. (Although I'd like to see UCLA, all americans, defeat Cal, mostly all foreigners.)

(4) Stanford def. (5) USC

(6) Georgia def. (3) Duke - A healthy UGA team to scalp the upsets on their home courts. I really like Chelsey's chances against Capra on her home, very fast, court. Plus, I'm always rooting against Duke now

(2) Florida def. (10) Miami -

Semifinals

(4) Stanford def. (9) California - Interesting mboyle thinks Cal will win at 3 given Stacey Tan d. Anett Schutting 6-3, 6-2 last time they played and #4 was decided in a 10 point breaker after the match was already decided.

(6) Georgia def. (2) Florida - They've had some great matches this year and I think with a healthy Herring, home court advantage, crazy dawg pound, UGA could get the upset which would be Bye bitch.

Finals

(4) Stanford def. (6) Georgia - Obviously this tournament is up for grab and without Ahn, Stanford is vulnerable so I'm not totally confident in my pick. But oh well, let the tournament begin

[Amalgamate]

PS. I'm hoping we will be able to see everyone's picks on TRN once entries close and you are no longer able to edit

[mboyle]

I thought Lauren Herring was injured, no? If Lauren is healthy, then Duke vs. Georgia will be much closer than I predicted. I really don't think Florida is going to lose unless Kristie Ahn comes back and plays to her full potential.

As for Cal vs. Stanford, Schuling just beat Tan at the Pac10 tournament, no? I know she played really well. I think things are starting to click for Cal.

[Amalgamate]

Originally Posted by mboyle

I thought Lauren Herring was injured, no? If Lauren is healthy, then Duke vs. Georgia will be much closer than I predicted. I really don't think Florida is going to lose unless Kristie Ahn comes back and plays to her full potential.

As for Cal vs. Stanford, Schuling just beat Tan at the Pac10 tournament, no? I know she played really well. I think things are starting to click for Cal.

Lol...no. Schutting beat Mallory, but not Stacey. Stacey beat Juricova and Scandalis before losing to Gibbs.

And Lauren was injured but I never heard that she would be out for the rest of the season.

[CTSEMT]

Well, since I picked all 16 seeds through to Athens, I decided to live just a little dangerously once I got there.

I'll start off by noting that my picks assume no Herring or Ahn and might change if word trickles out that either of those 2 are expected to play.


Round of 16

(1) UCLA d. (16) Ole Miss 4-1. I don't know that Ole Miss can beat UCLA, but I think this will be a "closer than you might have expected" 4-1, with the clinching match possibly going 3.

(9) California d. (8) Alabama 4-0. I suppose Alabama has a fighting chance in doubles, but they're outmatched up and down the line in singles. The seeding here is comical - the real toss-up is the Tide's 2nd Round match against Georgia Tech. If that match were played in Athens, I would've gone with GT, but at home, I think Bama does at least get through to NCAAs.

(5) USC d. (12) Baylor 4-1. USC and Baylor have similar strengths and weaknesses IMHO, USC has just been a little stronger and healthier all season. I'd give Baylor a fighting shot if they were stronger in doubles, but alas, they're not.

(4) Stanford d. (13) Northwestern 4-1. Guess which point Stanford loses? Otherwise, a match that would be an easy 4-0 Stanford win in any other year.

(3) Duke d. (14) Virginia 4-0. Virginia has a chance to take doubles and make this interesting, but I see Duke taking that point and riding the momentum to a quicker-than-expected win.

(11) Texas d. (6) Georgia 4-2. I suppose this must sound shocking to those that are picking Georgia to upset Duke, but the Bulldogs have yet to really show up against anyone other than Florida and have looked far from invincible in Athens. Can they find some consistency in the NCAAT? Possibly, but I'm not going to bet on it.

(10) Miami-FL d. (7) North Carolina 4-3. This is really a toss-up and I feel like the matchups slightly favor Miami in spite of the regular season result in Chapel Hill.

(2) Florida d. (15) Michigan 4-1. This could be a tricky matchup for Florida, but if it's close, I expect Florida to wear down Michigan in the Athens heat.


Quarterfinals

(9) California d. (1) UCLA 4-2. I think UCLA is an underdog here despite the seedings. Cal seems to be peaking late with the return of Juricova and strong results at Ojai. I think Anderson will have to repeat her win over Juricova for UCLA to have a chance.

(4) Stanford d. (5) Southern Cal 4-2. USC's top 3 are very strong, but on this stage I just don't see them breaking through against Stanford. I think Stanford takes the doubles and 3 of the top 4 to close this one out.

(3) Duke d. (11) Texas 4-0. This should be a favorable matchup for Duke and I'd expect a relatively routine win.

(2) Florida d. (10) Miami-FL 4-0. There are definitely a few positions where Miami can test Florida, but I'd expect Florida to easily take the doubles and run 3 matches off in straight sets.


Semifinals

(9) California d. (4) Stanford 4-3. It's pretty hard to be confident in this pick given the series history, but you have to think it's now or never for Cal. Ultimately I think this match plays out very similar to the previous meeting at Stanford, with doubles and 1 and 4 singles deciding it.

(2) Florida d. (3) Duke 4-1. On paper Duke should have a great shot at this. Florida, to me, is not as strong right now as they were this time a year ago, but the earlier meeting would certainly seem to indicate that they have Duke's number.


Championship

(9) California d. (2) Florida 4-3. It seems like it has been a while since these teams met. [ETA: I just decided to look it up and the last time these schools played was 1995! Andy Brandi was the UF Head Coach ] This final could be very interesting, as there isn't really a single match I'd feel comfortable calling in advance. I think Goransson over an out-of-form Cercone at #5 may be the best bet, so I'll assume a split of the other 6 points and go 4-3 Cal.