On a happy note the men beat the NCState 6-1. Got the doubles and all singles but line 6. Play Florida today. Should be a tough match, but who knows?

Any idea why the Russian and Frenchman aren't playing?

Not yet cleared by NCAA. They are in school, however, and working out with the team. I don't believe they made the trip to Florida.

Thanks. Those guys will be the difference between a very average season and a potentially special season.

Agreed.

I think the athletic department must've had some big glitch, because this has been an issue with the swim team too.

The question for today is, are the guys at the top of our rotation good enough to knock off Florida? I haven't actually seen what Florida's lineup is, but I have to assume that given their #7 ranking, they have solid depth. Our top 3 can play with any top 3, but until those other guys qualify, were will we find that last point? I see a 4-3 defeat coming our way.

Anyone more familiar with UF have anything on this?

Florida is very deep and at #7, way under ranked. I believe they are one of the 3 best teams in the country. They absolutely demolished Baylor last week and took it to the Aggies today. Their 7 and 8 guys were mainstays in the lineup last year for a team that was top 10 and they can't crack the lineup this year. They are young, but very talented. A good mix of blue chip recruits and foreign stars. Their starting 6 consists of 2 true freshmen, 3 sophomores and a redshirt junior, playing his 1st year collegiately. Their #1, Carlos Cueto, is way under ranked. He's a true freshman from Spain and his game will remind you of Nadal. Won the FSU invitational and took runner up honors at SEC Indoors. He's a top 10 guy.

Their 2 and 3 guys didn't play in the fall, so they don't have a ranking, but they are each top 40-50 material. Their 4-8 guys could all play in the top half of the lineup. All are blue chip recruits, either freshmen or sophomore.

No shame in losing to Florida. They will be making some noise in May.

We needed the doubles and top 3. Florida is strong at the top and deep at the bottom. Their 3 dubs is a stack but they probably would have won at 2 also.

We will struggle against the top teams until Grigorov and Klegou get cleared.

3 doubles is not a stack. Benneteau/Burkhardt at #1 have already beaten the #1 doubles team in the country, and #18 team yesterday. They don't have a ranking because Benneteau didn't play in the fall. They'll be ranked in the next rankings. The #2 team of Dadamo/Hamui played #2 together for a good part of last season. Lacroix played 3 doubles last year with Briceno, but he graduated. They are just that deep.

benneteau/burkhardt is a legit #1, and i'm not saying that dadamo/hamui aren't solid, because they had a good fall. but didn't they have a pretty bad record playing together last year? dadamo has always been really good at doubles, but i've never been blown away by hamui's doubles.

regardless, it's not so much that dadamo/hamui aren't good enough to play line 2, just that everything i've heard about cueto and lacroix is that they are VERY good. i haven't seen them in person yet, but i'm guessing you have? are they (cueto and lacroix) considerably stronger at singles than doubles? and where did cueto come from? he has no ITF junior or men's circuit results.

the bottom line is that florida is scary good, and like you said, probably top 3-5 if they all stay healthy.

Here's the results for each doubles team this season.

CUETO/LACROIX(4-1)
DATE W‑L OPPONENT SCHOOL EVENT (RD) POS SCORE
1/16 L Britton/Sauer Ole Miss Round of 32 9-7
1/23 W Rhyne/Chvestov Furman Dual Match 1 3 8-6
1/25 W Galic/Horny Baylor Dual Match 2 3 8-6
1/30 W Arango/Zafiros Arizona Dual Match 3 8-3
1/31 W Klores/Hoover Texas A&M Dual Match 4 8-3

DADAMO/HAMUI (6-1)
DATE W‑L OPPONENT SCHOOL EVENT (RD) POS SCORE
1/16 W Lastre/Sanchez Mississippi State E: Round of 32 9-8 (1)
1/16 W Collins/Cox Kentucky E: Round of 16 8-5
1/17 L Hunt/Schnugg (40) Georgia E: Round of 8 8-2
1/23 W Ladyman/Walters Furman Dual Match 1 2 9-7
1/25 W Bucko/Bley Baylor Dual Match 2 2 8-4
1/30 W Goldman/Hazi Arizona Dual Match 3 8-4
1/31 W Lunt/Spencer Texas A&M Dual Match 4 8-1


Cueto's full name is Carlos Gonzalez de Cueto, which is probably why you couldn't find anything on him. He has played mostly in Spain, where he's from. He and Lacroix may end up being moved to 2 in doubles, but right now I think they are properly placed at 3. They've barely played any matches together. Both are much better in singles, woefully underranked at this point, but they will move up.