2015 USTA League Nationals 18 & over 3.0 Men Preview

USTA Nationals start in just two weeks, on October 2nd, for the 18 & over 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0+ levels.  In the second of what is hopefully a number of previews, I take a look at the Men's 3.0 flights.

As always, the ratings used in preparing these previews are my Estimated Dynamic NTRP Ratings.  And for the purposes of comparing teams, I'm calculating the average of the top-8 players on each National's roster.

The 3.0 level appears to only have 16 teams with Hawaii not sending one.

There is quite a range of average ratings from 3.26 down to 2.93, so a similar range to that for the 3.0 women.  For the men, 7 of the 16 teams are at 3.12 or higher.

Flight 6 has Eastern, Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Southern, and has the #2, #3, #5, and #14 teams so is the toughest flight and arguably has three teams that perhaps have the players to make the semis, but only one will make it.

Flight 5 with Intermountain, Mid-Atlantic, Missouri Valley, and Northern Cal, is perhaps the next strongest with the #6, #8, #9, and #15 teams so this one could be very close at the top.

But flight 7 comprising Caribbean, Florida, Southern, and Texas may have an argument for being as deep as flight 5 with the #4, #7, #11, and #16 teams.

Flight 8 with Middle States, New England, Northern, and Southwest is likely the weakest, but does have the #1, rated team but then drops off to #10, #12, and #13 teams.  You'd think the #1 team should breeze into the semis.

If you'd like more details on any of the flights, I can generate a flight report for any of the them that will show the average rating for the roster and the top-8 average.

Or if you want to see details about a team including each player's rating and a summary of their record and courts played on the team through each phase of the season, a team report is a great resource for your team or any opponent as a tool to scout them.

Contact me if you are interested in any reports.

Note: As always, average ratings for a team does not win a team match.  Who plays in the match, the line-ups and how they match-up, and how a given player plays on that day are what determine who wins.  So the highest rated teams using top-8 average may or may not win, but it is interesting to look at.