The USTA started Nationals later than normal this year but is still wrapping up the 2nd weekend in November, so the schedule is more compressed with a full five events this first weekend.
The 18 & Over 2.5 women played in Scottsdale and had a 3-way tie for the last semi spot with Florida clearly having the best record. They swept a Missouri Valley team that hadn't lost a court in one semi while Southern beat Texas 2-1, with Southern then sweeping Florida in the final. For what it is worth, the pre-event simulation had all four semi-finalists correct.
The 18 & Over 3.0 men were in San Diego and they too had a 3-way tie for the last semi spot with Caribbean clearly having the best record. They couldn't get past Southern though in one semi losing 4-1 while Northern California took out Pacific Northwest in the other semi 3-2 before Southern took the final 3-2 pulling a tiny upset on 2S for the win. The simulation didn't do as well here having NorCal and Southern as near locks, but Caribbean and PNW were the 6th and 7th picks to make it to the semis.
The 18 & Over 3.0 women had a 6-way tie at 3-1 for two spots, Caribbean and Southern taking them on court record. NorCal took out Southern 4-1 while Pacific Northwest beat Caribbean by the same score before NorCal won the final 5-0. The simulation had Southern and NorCal making the semis, but had Caribbean and PNW 7th and 9th most likely to advance.
The 40 & Over 3.5 men were in Orlando and saw a 4-way tie for the last semi spot with Middle States getting it on court record. The lost to Southern 3-2 in one semi while Texas beat Intermountain by the same score in the other before Texas swept the doubles, two in match tie-breaks, for the 3-2 win. The simulation like Middle States and Southern, and had Texas and Intermountain as the 6th and 7th picks.
The 40 & Over 3.5 women saw a 5-way tie for three spots with Mid-Atlantic getting in on court record and Eastern and Midwest in on fewer sets lost. Mid-Atlantic beat Eastern 3-2 in their semi, while NorCal beat Midwest 3-2 in the other and then NorCal won the final 3-2. The simulation like Midwest and NorCal as the two most likely, but Eastern and Mid-Atlantic were 10th and 12th most likely to make it.
The 18 & Over 4.0 men were in Surprise and had four 4-0 teams, there was a chance of a 5th going in to the last match, with Intermountain beating Middle States 3-2 in one semi while Southern beat NorCal 3-2 in the other. Southern won the final 3-2 to take the title. The simulation liked Intermountain and NorCal, but Middle States and Southern were the 6th and 7th picks.
The 18 & Over 4.0 women had a 3-way tie at 3-1 for the last semi spot and NorCal got it on court record. They then lost to Eastern 5-0 in one semi while Mid-Atlantic took out Caribbean 4-1 in the other, before Mid-Atlantic won the final 3-2. The simulation liked Eastern, but the others were 5th, 11th, and 15th! Some teams were laying low it appears.
The 18 & Over 5.0 men were in Orlando and had four 3-1 teams tied for two semi spots and it went to the sets tie-breaker for NorCal to get in and games tie-breaker for Southern to allowing them to beat Florida 2-1 in one semi while Intermountain won the other by the same score, and then Intermountain won the final 2-1. The simulation had all four teams in the top-5 most likely to make the semis.
The 18 & Over 5.0 women had three 3-1 teams vying for two spots with Texas and NorCal getting in on court record. In the semis Texas got a 2-1 win over Middle States, while Intermountain took out NorCal 2-1 before Intermountain won the final 2-1. The simulation had all but Texas as favorites to make the semis, they were the 8th pick
The simulations had the winner in the favorites in 6 of the 9 events, and had the other semi-finalists as favorites or nearly so in many of the events with just a few surprises, notably at the 4.0 level.
Congratulations to all the champions.
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