Picking matches at the 2015 USTA League Men's 18 & over 3.0 Nationals

I previewed the 18 & over 3.0 Men leading up to the Nationals starting Friday, but here are how my Estimated Dynamic NTRP Ratings say the first round of matches may go.  Specifically, this is looking at the average rating for the top-8 rostered players on each team.

It goes without saying that the team with the higher top-8 average does not always win.  The top-8 players may not play in a match, and even if they do, the specific match-ups on the court with the line-ups used and how players do on that given day will determine who wins and loses.  But comparing the teams using the top-8 average is fun, so here goes.

Flight 5

Mid-Atlantic narrowly over Intermountain
Northern California over Missouri Valley

Flight 6

Eastern over Pacific Northwest
Midwest over Southern California

Flight 7

Texas narrowly over Southern
Caribbean over Florida

Flight 8

Middle States over New England
Southwest narrowly over Northern

But don't be surprised if there isn't an upset or two.  I'll check back in to report as the weekend goes along.

Picking matches at the 2015 USTA League Women's 18 & over 3.0 Nationals

I previewed the 18 & over 3.0 Women leading up to the Nationals starting Friday, but here are how my Estimated Dynamic NTRP Ratings say the first round of matches may go.  Specifically, this is looking at the average rating for the top-8 rostered players on each team.

It goes without saying that the team with the higher top-8 average does not always win.  The top-8 players may not play in a match, and even if they do, the specific match-ups on the court with the line-ups used and how players do on that given day will determine who wins and loses.  But comparing the teams using the top-8 average is fun, so here goes.

Flight 1

Midwest over Hawaii
Southern over Middle States
Florida over Hawaii

Flight 2

Missouri Valley over Caribbean
Mid-Atlantic over New England

Flight 3

Intermountain over Northern
Eastern over Southwest

Flight 4

Texas narrowly over Pacific Northwest
Northern California over Southern California.

But don't be surprised if there isn't an upset or two.  I'll check back in to report as the weekend goes along.

Can you go to USTA League Nationals on two different teams?

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a player were to qualify for a given Nationals on two different teams?  Could they play on both?

The answer is no of course, the USTA specifically has language in the regulations that says a player that must declare which team they will play on and cannot play for two.  Sections and districts have similar language that preclude a player from playing at those championships on multiple teams.

But does this conundrum ever happen?  It actually has this year, at least once.  The teams that won the 18 & over 3.0 Sectionals in Eastern and Middle States have nine shared players.  What is a little odd is that it appears the National's rosters for each team include the shared players on each team.  Each team has a roster of 16 which means all 9 can't decide to play with the same team without causing the other team to not be able to field 8 players.  So the nine will have to be split, some on one team, some on another.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out and who plays on which team.

The teams are in different flights, so each would have to win their respective flights to happen to have to play each other.  But this is potentially good news for the other teams in each flight as it is likely that neither team will be as strong as they would be otherwise with players having to play on just one or the other.

2015 USTA League Nationals start this week!

USTA League Nationals for 2015 start this week with three levels of the 18 & over division taking place.

The 3.0 level will be in Tucson, AZ, the Women having the normal 17 teams and the Men 16 with Hawaii missing.  See the preview of the 3.0 Women here and 3.0 Men here.

The 4.0 level will be in Rancho Mirage, CA.  See the preview of the 4.0 Women here and 4.0 Men here.

Last, the 5.0+ level will be in Indian Wells, CA.  The preview of the 5.0+ Women is here, and 5.0+ Men here.

Play well everyone!

2015 USTA League Nationals 18 & over 4.5 Men Preview

The second weekend of Nationals is October 9-11 and has the 18 & over 3.5 and 4.5 levels competing.  I've already previewed the 18 & over 3.0 Men and Women, 4.0 Men and Women, and 5.0+ Men and Women taking place October 2-4.  Here is a preview for the 4.5 Men.

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.

There is another big range from the top to bottom with the top team having a top-8 average of a whopping 4.71, the lowest being just 4.35.

I'm sure the USTA flight assignments are somewhat random, but they have not been kind of the teams in flight 7.  Intermountain, Middle States, Midwest, and Northern Cal are in this flight and with the #3, #4, #5, and #11 rated teams, a very good team won't be making the semis.

Interestingly, flight 5 won't be a whole lot easier.  The sections here include Eastern, Florida, Mid-Atlantic, Missouri Valley, and Texas, and this flight has the #2, #6, #7, #8, and #16 rated teams.

I'll list flight 8 next simply because the highest rated team is here and it is one of Hawaii, Pacific Northwest, Southern, and Southwest, the other three teams rating #10, #12, and #15.

Flight 6 with Caribbean, New England, Northern, and Southern Cal has the #9, #13, #14, and #17 teams.

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.

2015 USTA League Nationals 18 & over 3.5 Men Preview

The second weekend of Nationals is October 9-11 and has the 18 & over 3.5 and 4.5 levels competing.  I've already previewed the 18 & over 3.0 Men and Women, 4.0 Men and Women, and 5.0+ Men and Women taking place October 2-4.  Here is a preview for the 3.5 Men.

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 3.5 men have quite the range from 3.74 for the top-seed (yes, a top-8 average of a mid-level 4.0) down to 3.38 for the lowest rated team.

Flight 8 with Middle States, Northern Cal, Pacific Northwest, and Southern looks the toughest with the #1, #5, #9, and #11 teams.

Flight 6 has Hawaii, Missouri Valley, Southern Cal, and Southwest with the #2, #6, #10, and #15 teams.

Flight 7 looks very close to flight 6 with Florida, Intermountain, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest having the #4, #8, #12, and #14 teams.

Flight 5 appears to be the weakest flight on paper with five teams from Caribbean, Eastern, New England, Northern, and Texas with the #3, #7, #13, #16, and #17 teams.

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.

2015 USTA League Nationals 18 & over 4.0 Men Preview

USTA Nationals start in just two weeks, on October 2nd, for the 18 & over 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0+ levels.  Here is a preview of the 4.0 Men 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 4.0 men have a moderate range from a high of 4.23 for two teams down to 3.99.  All but that one are at 4.01 or higher which should make for a competitive Nationals.  But oddly there are just 16 teams listed presently, there is none from Hawaii.  If they get added, I'll update this preview.

Flight 5 with Florida, Middle States, Midwest, and Texas appears the toughest with the #1, #3, #6, and #10 rated teams.  Advancing from this flight will be a challenge.

Flight 8 has Mid-Atlantic, Northern, Northern Cal, and Southern and isn't much easier with the #4, #5, #8, and #9 rated teams.

I list flight 7 next with Eastern, Intermountain, Missouri Valley, and Southern Cal because the #2 team is in it, but it falls off quick with the others at #11, #12, and #13.  Looks like a breeze for the #2 seed.

Last is flight 6 comprised of Caribbean, New England, Pacific Northwest, and Southwest with teams rated just #7, #14, #15, and #16.

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.