2017 USTA League Playoffs are Heating Up - More teams qualify for Sectionals

This is the time of year when USTA League playoffs get into full swing.  This past weekend saw a bunch of local playoffs and/or Districts/States that qualified teams for Sectionals.  A sampling is:

• 18+ Districts in Colorado
• 18+ Local playoffs in Southwest Washington
• 18+ States in Alabama
• 18+ States in Mississippi
• 18+ States in Tennessee
• 40+ States in Tennessee
• 18+ Local playoffs in Austin Texas

This means that some players may be done for the season, especially in Southern where they only count advancing leagues.  But some players and teams are now headed to Sectionals!

In either case, now is a great time to get a report.  Whether you are done for the year, or just want to see where your rating stands, an individual report will give you all the details and I've just updated the report to provide additional detail.  But if you are headed to Sectionals or any round of playoffs, flight reports are a great way to scout opponents.  In fact, I worked with a few teams this past weekend with flight reports that won and are advancing.

If you are interested in a report, contact me for more details.

New Feature to Estimated Dynamic NTRP Rating Reports - Average Match Rating by Division

I'm always looking to make the reports I generate more useful, and today someone commented that they thought they had done quite a bit better in 40 & over than they did in 18 & over or 55 & over. Naturally, I thought showing this in a report would be a great addition!

I've updated the example Estimated Dynamic NTRP Rating Report to show this new addition, but below is another example.

Note how there is now the average match rating by division section in addition to see the same stat for the different levels and singles vs doubles.  So this is another great way to get an idea of what is/isn't working to improve your rating.

Current NTRP: 4.5C
Starting Dynamic Rating: 4.05
Estimated Dynamic Rating: 4.32
Match Record: 17-9
Singles Record: 0-1
Doubles Record: 17-8
Sets Won-Lost: 38-21
Games Won-Lost: 283-223
Best Match Result: 4.48 on 6/5/16
Worst Match Result: 4.03 on 5/21/16
Highest Estimated Dynamic Rating: 4.34 on 8/26/16
Lowest Estimated Dynamic Rating: 4.05 on 11/2/15
Singles Average Match Rating: 4.26
Doubles Average Match Rating: 4.29
Singles Average Match Rating by Level:
4.5 - 4.26
Doubles Average Match Rating by Level:
4.5 - 4.29
8.0 - 4.32
Average Match Rating by Division:
Adult 18&Over - 4.28
Adult 40&Over - 4.29
Adult 55&Over - 4.32

What about the player who inspired this addition?  They indeed did have their best match ratings in 40+ and lowest in 18+.  55+ was not that far behind 40+ though.

If you are interested in getting a report, let me know by contacting me at ratings@teravation.net.

2017 USTA League PNW Seattle Area 18 & Over Sectionals Teams

The 18 & over local playoffs for the Seattle area of the Pacific Northwest Section were held this weekend, and with winners decided, we have teams headed to Sectionals.  Here is a review including looking at how the top teams identified by my flight reports did.

Note, the past few years the finalists from local playoffs have both advanced to Sectionals as a wildcard was available and given to the second place team.  I have not confirmed that is the case this year yet, but am assuming so.  Because of this, sometimes teams will not play their best line-ups in the final as both know they are advancing.

In the tables below the teams with byes are in bold, the teams that lost prior to the final have been struck out, and the runner up is in italics.  And the average column is each team's top-8 average before this weekend.

For the 2.5 women, the top seed was RBW-Goel and they did win it all, but the #2 seed was upset in the semis and BTA-Rotival got the runner-up.

Seed	Team	Average
1	RBW-Goel	2.58
2	AYTC-Tennis Addicts- Truong-Hoang-Louie	2.47
3	PL-Sugar and Slice-Bhatia	2.44
3	BTA-Rotival	2.44
5	ETC-No Love-Otterholt	2.42
6	RBW-Morris	2.41

The 3.0 women saw the top-seed win as well in TCSP-Slice Girls, but ETC-Whitney pulled some upsets to make the final.

Seed	Team	Average
1	TCSP-Slice Girls-Cahill	3.09
2	RBW-Sakoda	3.05
3	AYTC-Serve Us a Double-Thomas	3.00
4	TCSP-Hit and Run-Burvill Holmes	2.98
5	TCSP-Sharks-Holland	2.97
6	RBW-Schultz	2.95
7	BC-OConnell	2.94
7	ETC-Whitney	2.94
9	RBW-Braza	2.92
10	PL-Bachar	2.91
11	BAIN-Lesnik	2.90
11	AYTC-Earles	2.90

The 3.0 men found the two lowest seeds making the final, and the bottom seed winning it all, RBW-Raffetto-Cook taking out ETC-Blasko.

Seed	Team	Average
1	MC-Dawgs 2-Mark	3.07
2	ETC-JustAce League-Kanade	3.05
3	TCSP-Double Shots-Dalal	3.04
4	CAC/SL-Hocker	3.02
5	ETC-Blasko	2.99
6	RBW-Raffetto-Cook	2.96

The 3.5 women had the #1 seed make the final in RBW-Lilley, but lose to the #4 seed BC-Swingers-Bernardez.

Seed	Team	Average
1	RBW-Lilley	3.44
2	CP-Cooley	3.43
3	IND-Wild Bunch-Tran	3.42
4	BC-Swingers-Bernardez	3.41
5	TCSP-Iyer	3.40
6	TCSP-Cervaces-Bonitas-Miller	3.37
6	TCSP-Remix-Wolson	3.37
8	AYTC-KissOurAces-Ochsner	3.35
9	TCSP-WildCardz-Moe	3.31
10	BETC-Alquiza	3.29

The 3.5 men saw the #2 seed win in MC-Blasters-Vashist over TCSP-Hombres-Rogers, but neither had to pull an upset, other teams beating higher seeds for them.

Rank	Team	Average
1	IND-Khuc	3.56
2	MC-Blasters-Vashist	3.48
3	GC-Hummer	3.46
4	TCSP-3.5 Hombres-Rogers	3.45
5	ETC-Alonichau	3.42
5	PL-Firebalz-Coffey	3.42
7	STC-Pirates-Ferry	3.39
8	BTA-Higashi	3.37

The 4.0 women resulted in the top-seed, TCSP-Fiebig winning over the #4 seed NTC-Vecchio.

Rank	Team	Average
1	TCSP-All About that ACE! Fiebig	3.92
2	CP-Tigers-Laun	3.90
3	TCSP-Smash Girls-Boone	3.87
4	NTC-Each Hit 4-Vecchio	3.81
5	FC-Rutter	3.77
6	PSC-Tzeng	3.75
7	TCSP-Pemberton	3.71
8	HBSQ-Vana	3.70

The 4.0 men had lower seeds with the byes, and the lowest seed in PSC-Tortop made the final, but lost to the #2 seed IND-Nguyen.

Rank	Team	Average
1	AYTC-Jedi Squirrels-Robey	3.92
2	IND-Play2-Nguyen	3.91
3	NTC-Smack Four O'-Chen	3.88
4	HBSQ-Capretto	3.86
4	MI-Sedlacek	3.86
6	PSC-Smashers-Tortop	3.85

The 4.5 women had the top-seed in NTC-Antczak make the final, but lose to the bottom seed STC-Holmes/Bassetti.

Rank	Team	Average
1	NTC-Antczak	4.31
2	NTC-Wilson	4.26
3	BELL-Anders	4.24
4	STC-Holmes/Bassetti	4.22

The 4.5 men had the top seed in NTC-Stanley beat the bottom seed MI-Reimers.

Rank	Team	Average
1	NTC-Stanley	4.42
2	AYTC-Friendship is Magic-Grayson	4.39
3	NTC-An	4.31
4	MI-Reimers	4.29

Last, the 5.0+ men had the #2 and #3 seeds play with RBW-Walsh beating MI-Larson.

Rank	Team	Average
1	TCSP-Dieveney	4.97
2	MI-Larson	4.93
3	RBW-Walsh	4.85
4	CAC/SL-Schouten	4.77

Congrats to all the winners.  Good luck at Sectionals!

2017 PNW Seattle 18 & over local playoffs are underway, a belated preview

The Seattle area local playoffs for the 18+ division started a couple days ago.  I wasn't able to do any previews, but here how things stand so far.

For all of the "seeding" I note below, I'm using the top-8 average from my sub-flight reports that I generate using my Estimated Dynamic NTRP Ratings.  Contact me if interested in the full sub-flight report for these or any playoffs or would like to get any other report.

I've bolded the teams that have byes and marked those that already lost with strikethrough.

The 2.5 women had the teams with byes be the teams with the highest top-8 averages.  The first round matches saw two equals play and a minor upset.

Seed	Team	Average
1	RBW-Goel	2.58
2	AYTC-Tennis Addicts- Truong-Hoang-Louie	2.47
3	PL-Sugar and Slice-Bhatia	2.44
3	BTA-Rotival	2.44
5	ETC-No Love-Otterholt	2.42
6	RBW-Morris	2.41

The 2.5 men did not have local playoffs as there are not enough teams/flights for that.  The sub-flight winners simply advance

The 3.0 women has a huge draw, 12 teams!  The byes went to the #1, #3, #5, and #12 (!) seeds.  The first round matches played as I write this had the higher seeds win each one.  The top-2 seeds could meet in the final.

Seed	Team	Average
1	TCSP-Slice Girls-Cahill	3.09
2	RBW-Sakoda	3.05
3	AYTC-Serve Us a Double-Thomas	3.00
4	TCSP-Hit and Run-Burvill Holmes	2.98
5	TCSP-Sharks-Holland	2.97
6	RBW-Schultz	2.95
7	BC-OConnell	2.94
7	ETC-Whitney	2.94
9	RBW-Braza	2.92
10	PL-Bachar	2.91
11	BAIN-Lesnik	2.90
11	AYTC-Earles	2.90

The 3.0 men found the top-2 seeds by the number having the byes, and the two first round matches saw minor upsets.  So the top-2 seeds are still on track to meet.

Seed	Team	Average
1	MC-Dawgs 2-Mark	3.07
2	ETC-JustAce League-Kanade	3.05
3	TCSP-Double Shots-Dalal	3.04
4	CAC/SL-Hocker	3.02
5	ETC-Blasko	2.99
6	RBW-Raffetto-Cook	2.96

The 3.5 women has a large draw with 10 teams, resulting in byes for 6 teams that went to the #1, #2, #3, #6, #7, and #8 teams.  The first round matches saw one go as expected and another had an upset.  The top-2 seeds would meet in a semi, and not the final.

Seed	Team	Average
1	RBW-Lilley	3.44
2	CP-Cooley	3.43
3	IND-Wild Bunch-Tran	3.42
4	BC-Swingers-Bernardez	3.41
5	TCSP-Iyer	3.40
6	TCSP-Cervaces-Bonitas-Miller	3.37
6	TCSP-Remix-Wolson	3.37
8	AYTC-KissOurAces-Ochsner	3.35
9	TCSP-WildCardz-Moe	3.31
10	BETC-Alquiza	3.29

The 3.5 men had no byes and no matches played yet.  The top-2 seeds are on opposite sides of the draw though so could meet in the final.

Rank	Team	Average
1	IND-Khuc	3.56
2	MC-Blasters-Vashist	3.48
3	GC-Hummer	3.46
4	TCSP-3.5 Hombres-Rogers	3.45
5	ETC-Alonichau	3.42
5	PL-Firebalz-Coffey	3.42
7	STC-Pirates-Ferry	3.39
8	BTA-Higashi	3.37

The 4.0 women also had no byes and no matches completed yet.  The top-2 seeds are on opposite sides of the draw though so could meet in the final.

Rank	Team	Average
1	TCSP-All About that ACE! Fiebig	3.92
2	CP-Tigers-Laun	3.90
3	TCSP-Smash Girls-Boone	3.87
4	NTC-Each Hit 4-Vecchio	3.81
5	FC-Rutter	3.77
6	PSC-Tzeng	3.75
7	TCSP-Pemberton	3.71
8	HBSQ-Vana	3.70

The 4.0 men did have two byes, those going to the #4 and #6 seeds!  No matches have been played yet but the top-2 seeds can meet in the final

Rank	Team	Average
1	AYTC-Jedi Squirrels-Robey	3.92
2	IND-Play2-Nguyen	3.91
3	NTC-Smack Four O'-Chen	3.88
4	HBSQ-Capretto	3.86
4	MI-Sedlacek	3.86
6	PSC-Smashers-Tortop	3.85

The 4.5 women has no byes with just four teams, the top-2 seeds can meet in the final

Rank	Team	Average
1	NTC-Antczak	4.31
2	NTC-Wilson	4.26
3	BELL-Anders	4.24
4	STC-Holmes/Bassetti	4.22

The 4.5 men are also just four teams, but the top-2 seeds are facing each other in a semi.

Rank	Team	Average
1	NTC-Stanley	4.42
2	AYTC-Friendship is Magic-Grayson	4.39
3	NTC-An	4.31
4	MI-Reimers	4.29

The 5.0+ women do not have playoffs.

The 5.0+ men have four teams and the top-2 seeds (top-5 average since they just play 3 courts) play each other in the semis.

Rank	Team	Average
1	TCSP-Dieveney	4.97
2	MI-Larson	4.93
3	RBW-Walsh	4.85
4	CAC/SL-Schouten	4.77

There you have it!  I'll report back later.

An updated preview of 2017 USTA League Nationals contenders - 18 & Over 4.0

I wrote a series of Nationals previews a few months ago, now that it is June, more areas have started (or even completed) local league play, so it is time for another round of previews.

We'll start with the 4.0 level of the 18 & over division.  See the earlier preview to see what things looked like in April.

As usual, I'll be using my Estimated Dynamic NTRP Ratings to calculate the average dynamic rating for the top-8 players on the teams' rosters.  And I'll show the section/district/flight to let you know where the teams are from, but omit the team name to keep it a little mysterious.  Contact me if you are wanting more details on your team or what the actual teams are, or if you are interested in your own report, or a team or sub-flight report.

Note that in these lists, I have not filtered out teams that are no longer in the running to advance to Nationals.  So some of these teams may have not made it out of their local league, area playoffs, or State/District playoffs, as in some areas those playoffs have already taken place.  In the next round of updates I do, I'll limit who shows up, but this way you still get an idea of what areas are particularly strong.




First the top-30 and ties men's teams.

Rank	Location	Average
1	FLORIDA / REGION_8 / BROWARD	4.18
2	SOUTHERN / GEORGIA / GA - ATLANTA - 2017	4.10
2	SOUTHERN / GEORGIA / GA - ATLANTA - 2017	4.10
2	SOUTHERN / NORTH CAROLINA / NC - ENO RIVER (Dur)	4.10
5	SOUTHERN / SOUTH CAROLINA / SC - LOW COUNTRY-LCTA	4.09
6	MIDWEST / CHICAGO	4.08
6	MIDWEST / CHICAGO	4.08
6	SOUTHERN / SOUTH CAROLINA / SC - LOW COUNTRY-LCTA	4.08
6	FLORIDA / REGION_8 / SOUTH MIAMI/DADE	4.08
10	FLORIDA / REGION_8 / SOUTH MIAMI/DADE	4.07
10	FLORIDA / REGION_3 / HILLSBOROUGH	4.07
10	TEXAS / DALLAS	4.07
13	EASTERN / METROPOLITAN REGION / Manhattan	4.06
13	FLORIDA / REGION_8 / SOUTH MIAMI/DADE	4.06
13	SOUTHERN / LOUISIANA / LA - NEW ORLEANS	4.06
13	TEXAS / SAN ANTONIO	4.06
17	SOUTHERN / NORTH CAROLINA / NC - CAPITAL AREA (Ral)	4.05
17	NO. CALIFORNIA / Men's 4.0 - UP	4.05
17	SOUTHERN / GEORGIA / GA - ATLANTA - 2017	4.05
20	SOUTHERN / GEORGIA / GA - COLUMBUS - CORTA - 2017	4.04
20	SOUTHERN / GEORGIA / GA - ATLANTA - 2017	4.04
20	NO. CALIFORNIA / Men's 4.0 - SA -1	4.04
20	NO. CALIFORNIA / Men's 4.0 - MA 2	4.04
20	MID ATLANTIC / VIRGINIA / RICHMOND	4.04
20	FLORIDA / REGION_3 / HILLSBOROUGH	4.04
20	MIDDLE STATES / PHILADELPHIA	4.04
27	NEW ENGLAND / NORTHERN CONNECTICUT	4.03
27	TEXAS / HOUSTON	4.03
27	MIDWEST / NORTHERN ILLINOIS	4.03
27	MIDWEST / CHICAGO	4.03
27	MIDWEST / NORTHERN ILLINOIS	4.03
27	TEXAS / SAN ANTONIO	4.03

Then the top-30 and ties women's teams.

Rank	Location	Average
1	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - NS	4.07
2	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - MP	4.06
3	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - RT	4.03
4	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - EB	4.02
5	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - SB - 1	4.00
5	SOUTHWEST / SOUTHERN ARIZONA	4.00
7	SOUTHERN / TENNESSEE / TN - NASHVILLE	3.99
7	EASTERN / SOUTHERN REGION / Westchester/Rockland	3.99
9	NEW ENGLAND / SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT / Southern CT	3.98
9	TEXAS / DALLAS	3.98
9	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - MP	3.98
9	SOUTHERN / SOUTH CAROLINA / SC - COLUMBIA-CTL	3.98
13	MISSOURI VALLEY / HEART OF AMERICA	3.97
13	SOUTHERN / TENNESSEE / TN - KNOXVILLE	3.97
15	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - SF	3.96
15	SOUTHERN / SOUTH CAROLINA / SC - GREENVILLE-FTA	3.96
15	EASTERN / NEW JERSEY REGION / North Jersey Day	3.96
15	FLORIDA / REGION_7 / COLLIER	3.96
15	SO. CALIFORNIA / SO.CALIFORNIA / BEACH CITIES	3.96
15	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - DN - 1	3.96
15	MID ATLANTIC / WASHINGTON D.C.	3.96
15	TEXAS / AUSTIN	3.96
15	SO. CALIFORNIA / SO.CALIFORNIA / BEACH CITIES	3.96
24	FLORIDA / REGION_4 / ORANGE/SEMINOLE	3.95
24	SO. CALIFORNIA / SAN DIEGO	3.95
24	SO. CALIFORNIA / SO.CALIFORNIA / LOS ANGELES	3.95
24	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - LP	3.95
24	SOUTHERN / GEORGIA / GA - ATLANTA - 2017	3.95
24	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - SF	3.95
24	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - MA	3.95
24	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - MB	3.95
24	FLORIDA / REGION_3 / HILLSBOROUGH	3.95
24	NO. CALIFORNIA / Women's 4.0 - EB	3.95

What do you think?

An update on 2017 USTA League Nationals - A few date changes, Mobile gets two more events, 18+ 4.5 now in Orlando

I wrote about some changes for 2017 USTA League Nationals several months ago, the big change being the location change for many divisions and levels to Florida and specifically the new USTA Nationals Campus.  I did list the draft schedule at that time and it appears it is changed slightly, so here is a summary of what is listed on the USTA site.  I've bolded what has changed from the earlier summary.

Adult 18 & over

Date	Level	Location	Surface
Oct. 6-8	3.5	Surprise, AZ	Hard
Oct. 6-8	5.0+	Orlando, FL	Hard
Oct. 13-15	4.0	Surprise, AZ	Hard
Oct. 20-22	2.5W	Mobile, AL	Hard
Oct. 20-22	3.0	Surprise, AZ	Hard
Nov. 10-12	4.5	Orlando, FL	Hard

Adult 40 & over

Date	Level	Location	Surface
Oct. 13-15	3.0	Ft. Lauderdale, FL	Clay
Oct. 20-22	4.0	Orlando, FL	Hard
Oct. 20-22	4.5+	Mobile, AL	Hard
Oct. 27-29	3.5	Ft. Lauderdale, FL	Clay

Adult 55 & over

Date	Level	Location	Surface
Oct. 27-29	6.0 & 8.0	Orlando, FL	Clay
Nov. 17-19	7.0 & 9.0	Orlando, FL	Clay

Mixed

Date	Level	Location	Surface
Nov. 3-5	18 & over 6.0-10.0	Mobile, AL	Hard
Nov. 10-12	40 & over 6.0-9.0	Mobile, AL	Hard

The changes appear to be a few events moving from Orlando to Mobile, and the 18+ 4.5s moving from Mobile to Orlando, and a few date changes for those events that have moved.

Note, the current schedule doesn't list the surface, so I've left those as before, and since none of the clay events had changes, I assume that is still accurate.

Summer is almost here, time for the Summer USTA Leagues

Summer officially starts later this month, but with the passing of Memorial Day, it is effectively upon us and that means it is time for some Summer tennis.

In Seattle where I am, our main leagues are primarily played between October and May and are indoor leagues.  But this time of year we do have a few leagues that are played outdoors (or can be optionally) including our One Doubles league and our 40 & over Mixed league.  I had a chance to play a couple One Doubles matches outdoors this weekend, and while the results weren't what we had hoped, we had a lot of fun.  And my 40+ Mixed team starts play next weekend, although we will be mostly indoors for that league.

In many other areas, the main 18+ and 40+ advancing leagues have been mostly played by now as they were Winter or Spring leagues, and they are wrapping up or getting ready for Districts or States shortly.  These areas may have Singles, Tri-Level, or Combo leagues to be played during the Summer.  But some areas are just getting going with their 18+ and 40+ leagues and will be busy getting those matches in as they work towards their playoffs, Districts, and Sectionals.

Now in some sections, these auxiliary leagues count towards year-end ratings, while in others, player's are now done with matches that will be included in calculating their rating.  In either case, now can be a great time to considering getting an Estimated Dynamic NTRP Rating Report to see how you've done so far and/or get a great idea on where you are likely to end up at year-end.

If you are still playing, or are fortunate enough to be headed to playoffs, Districts, or States, you may also want to consider team or flight reports as they can be a great way to prepare for playoffs and scout opponents so you can plan your line-ups to give your team the best chance of advancing.

Regardless of where your season is though, get out and play some tennis!

Note: I was reminded that Atlanta has a Summer league, ... that is an early start league for 2018!  Yes, in May of 2017, they are already playing matches to make playoff that can advance to Nationals 18 months in the future.