Yep. Our success is all about winning the doubles point and then Norrie and Rybakov setting the table.
IMO, only Wake Forest, Ohio State, Virginia and TCU have a chance at winning the championship this year. I actually think Ohio State is the worst match-up for TCU because it is the only team where Norrie and Rybakov will both be underdogs. I think we can beat Wake and think it's 50/50 against Virginia.
I would love to get up to the #4 seed and be matched with Wake while Ohio State and Virginia have to battle it out.
The three best 1-2 punches in college tennis are TCU's Norrie-Rybakov, Ohio State's Torpegaard-Di Feo and Wake Forest's Chrysochos-Mansouri. Virginia's team is built on tremendous depth at all 6 spots. I agree that these are the 4 best teams. The USTA poll was released this morning, though, and TCU remains 5th (behind those 3 and UNC), so according to the "experts," you should add one more team to the list of contenders. UNC has won 25 matches this season but I haven't followed them much this year. And there's always the chance of a Cal beating one of those teams (like last year) if weather or other factors intervene and indoor play is required.
But first we need to beat Texas on Senior Day. With Sigsgaard, Ito and Goldhoff, they are formidable and Coach Center (formerly of TCU) is a really good coach. Texas, unlike, uh, Baylor, is known for being a really clean-playing team, with fewer fan outbursts and bad calls. It's a different atmosphere and game against the Longhorns - we'll need to be ready. I really want to win the regular season championship outright and not have to share it like last year (with Tech). Our point record against the Big12 this season, so far, is 16-1 (Tchoutakian got the only point against us last night ) so I like our chances.