Kalamazoo Seeds
Boys 18s:
1 Frances Tiafoe
2 Taylor Fritz
3 Stefan Kozlov
4 Tommy Paul
5 Michael Mmoh
6 Reilly Opelka
7 Alex Rybakov
8 William Blumberg
9 Sam Riffice
10 Nathan Ponwith
11 Oliver Crawford
12 Eduardo Nava
13 Dennis Uspensky
14 William Genesen
15 Eric Rutledge
16 Zeke Clark
17 Nick Stachowiak
18 Spencer Furman
19 Gianni Ross
20 John McNally
21 Connor Hance
22 Brandon Holt
23 Emil Reinberg
24 Martin Joyce
25 Liam Caruana
26 Kalman Boyd
27 Andrew Heller
28 Vasil Kirkov
29 Sameer Kumar
30 Nathan Perrone
31 Jacob Brumm
32 Matthew Gamble
2 Taylor Fritz
3 Stefan Kozlov
4 Tommy Paul
5 Michael Mmoh
6 Reilly Opelka
7 Alex Rybakov
8 William Blumberg
9 Sam Riffice
10 Nathan Ponwith
11 Oliver Crawford
12 Eduardo Nava
13 Dennis Uspensky
14 William Genesen
15 Eric Rutledge
16 Zeke Clark
17 Nick Stachowiak
18 Spencer Furman
19 Gianni Ross
20 John McNally
21 Connor Hance
22 Brandon Holt
23 Emil Reinberg
24 Martin Joyce
25 Liam Caruana
26 Kalman Boyd
27 Andrew Heller
28 Vasil Kirkov
29 Sameer Kumar
30 Nathan Perrone
31 Jacob Brumm
32 Matthew Gamble
 |
| Top seeds awaiting introductions at 2014 Nats opening night ceremonies |
Boys 16s:
1 Jeffery Wolf
2 Jake Van Emburgh
3 Patrick Kypson
4 Alexandre Rotsaert
5 Sean Sculley
6 Austen Huang
7 Danny Thomas
8 Kyrylo Tsugura
9 Carson Haskins
10 Mac Kiger
11 Brian Cernoch
12 Alexander Brown
13 Andrew Fenty
14 Christian Alshon
15 William Howells
16 Jason Lui
17 Kevin Ma
18 Robert Maciag
19 Abhijeet Joshi
20 William Peters
21 Jaycer Lyeons
22 Kevin Zhu
23 Jeff Zucker
24 Ryan Goetz
25 Trent Bryde
26 Trey Hildebrand
27 Eric Yoo
28 Chambers Easterling
29 John Speicher
30 Ajai Shekhera
31 A. Trice Pickens
32 Cotter Wilson
1 Jeffery Wolf
2 Jake Van Emburgh
3 Patrick Kypson
4 Alexandre Rotsaert
5 Sean Sculley
6 Austen Huang
7 Danny Thomas
8 Kyrylo Tsugura
9 Carson Haskins
10 Mac Kiger
11 Brian Cernoch
12 Alexander Brown
13 Andrew Fenty
14 Christian Alshon
15 William Howells
16 Jason Lui
17 Kevin Ma
18 Robert Maciag
19 Abhijeet Joshi
20 William Peters
21 Jaycer Lyeons
22 Kevin Zhu
23 Jeff Zucker
24 Ryan Goetz
25 Trent Bryde
26 Trey Hildebrand
27 Eric Yoo
28 Chambers Easterling
29 John Speicher
30 Ajai Shekhera
31 A. Trice Pickens
32 Cotter Wilson
19 comments:
Henrik Wiersholm did not get seeded? Did he withdrawal? If he is playing, I would love to hear the reasoning for his unseeded status.
I think moving to a UTR influence, as Colette previously referenced, does seem to have improved the logic of the seeding order. I do agree that Wiersholm is the strong exception to that statement though. He is obviously one of the 32 best kids playing. It is a little nutty to think that one of those top 8 guys is going to have to play Ponwith or Riffice in the round of 16. And those quarterfinal matchups! Wow. Very strong group at the top. Looking forward to it.
Henrik Wiersholm not being seeded has to be a mistake.
I believe he was the #1 player in the US. Definitely Top 10 a year ago.
Won Kalamazoo Boys 16s Singles
Top 40 ITF
3rd Round of US Open Jrs.
No. 3 player in the class of 2014 by tennisrecruiting.net
But not good enough to be seeded at this year's Kalamazoo? None of the Top 16 seeds want to play him early in the Tournament.
I'm not sure what I'm missing that the seeding committee thought he wasn't in the Top 32 players in the singles field.
I know that most of the USTA Player Development coaching staff do not believe college tennis is a pathway to pro tennis. I hope Henrik isn't being punished for not being seeded.
I do not know of any other reason. Does anyone have any insight or logical reason?
my guess is that there is a set seeding criteria and he may not exactly fit into it. probably NCAA year end rankings are part of the criteria and maybe he wasn't ranked at year end? and other rankings probably have lapsed so no seeding data for him? for sure he is one of the best 32 players in the event and SHOULD be seeded however he may not meet the objective seeding criteria and any seed he were to be given would be subjective- the notion that player development would influence the seeding because he went to school is laughable.
To the degree that UTR has either become an influence or is completely driving the seedings, that probably explains it. I can't see decimals on the free site but Wiersholm has a 13 rating and most/all of those seeded appear to be rated 14 and up. A couple of the lower seeds are also 13s. While he is clearly one of the best 32 there, his results over the last 12 months probably aren't up to his usual standard (not that UTR is flawless). Hopefully, the draw works out where he gets paired up with one of the lower seeded guys early and then it becomes fairly irrelevant who was seeded and who wasn't.
Wouldn't you know it, Wiersholm draws a high seed in the 2nd round. Unfortunate for both HW and Blumberg. Wiersholm was the #12 seed last year, tough to see how he could get that much worse playing against pros every day in practice on UVA. Gotta think Wiersholm is one of the top 15 players in the field, too bad.
Surprised Logan Smith didn't get seeded also.
Zoo 18s predictions (1 of 3)...
ROUND OF 128
1 Tiafoe over Karl
Beaty over Cuba
18 Furman over Shkrob
Gealer over Keyser
10 Ponwith over Colton
Brown over Biswas
24 Joyce over Richey
Griffin over Palmer
6 Opelka over Barretto
Chamdani over Ciamarra
Lin over 27 Heller
Ayeni over Seelig
14 Genesen over Sheehy
Sec over Ellen
30 Perrone over Wareti
Chen over Rotheram
4 Paul over Leschly
Litsky over Yun
19 Ross over Huryn
Wang over Brodney
11 Crawford over Wasserman
Horneffer over Volk
21 Hance over Broadus
Kros over Alenik
7 Rybakov over Z.Lieb
Phillips over Xue
26 Boyd over J.Turchetta
Thomas over Raclin
L.Smith over 16 Clark
Dollahite over Adams
32 Gamble over Anderson
Galush over Gentry
Ahmadi over Vandixhorn
Mbithi over 17 Stachowiak
Lam over Conlin
12 Nava over Lorenzini
Holden over Sharton
Mateas over 22 Holt
Schick over Hoffman
8 Blumberg over Wiersholm
Lin over Sharma
28 Kirkov over Shen
Perez over Pirikh
Genender over 15 Rutledge
Rettke over Auteri
31 Brumm over Grabill
Tan over Tuff
3 Kozlov over Hamilton
Lee over Serituk
20 McNally over Wood
Deautriell over Cauneac
9 Riffice over Stalder
Benjamin over Lee
23 Reinberg over Bessette
Small over Borchenko
5 Mmoh over S.Turchetta
DeVine over Langston
25 Caruana over Arcila
Ephron over Fung
13 Uspensky over R.Smith
Funk over Nittilo
29 Kumar over Wagner
Hirsch over Parker
2 Fritz over Boyden
MATCH OF THE ROUND – Many good matchups including Logan Smith vs. 16 Zeke Clark and Mateas vs. 22 Holt, but winner has to be 8 Blumberg over Wiersholm. Really too bad that Wiersholm got this crappy of a draw. Wiersholm also has one of the tougher Round of 256 matchups against Alexander Knight. Assuming Wiersholm gets through that, will be a war versus Blumberg.
KZoo 18s predictions (3 of 3)...
ROUND OF 16
1 Tiafoe over 10 Ponwith
6 Opelka over 14 Genesen
4 Paul over 21 Hance
7 Rybakov over L.Smith
8 Blumberg over 12 Nava
3 Kozlov over Perez
5 Mmoh over 9 Riffice
2 Fritz over DeVine
MATCH OF THE ROUND – 1 Tiafoe vs. 10 Ponwith is the clear winner here amongst a spate of great matchups across the board. Ponwith absolutely has enough to take out the top seed.
QUARTERS
6 Opelka over 1 Tiafoe
4 Paul over 7 Rybakov
3 Kozlov over 8 Blumberg
2 Fritz over 5 Mmoh
MATCH OF THE ROUND – 2 Fritz vs. 5 Mmoh if I was forced to pick but such a good lineup. I know it seems like a copout to pick chalk with the top 8 seeds making it but I would be really surprised to see less than 7 of these 8 left standing going into the quarters.
SEMIS
6 Opelka over 4 Paul
2 Fritz over 3 Kozlov
FINALS
2 Fritz over 6 Opelka
Should be a great tournament. Interested in other opinions for how things will play out.
Zoo predictions (2 of 3)...
ROUND OF 64
1 Tiafoe over Beaty
Gealer over 18 Furman
10 Ponwith over Brown
24 Joyce over Griffin
6 Opelka over Chamdani
Ayeni over Lin
14 Genesen over Sec
30 Perrone over Chen
4 Paul over Litsky
19 Ross over Wang
11 Crawford over Horneffer
21 Hance over Kros
7 Rybakov over Phillips
26 Boyd over Thomas
L.Smith over Dollahite
32 Gamble over Galush
Mbithi over Ahmadi
12 Nava over Lam
Mateas over Holden
8 Blumberg over Schick
Lin over 28 Kirkov
Perez over Genender
31 Brumm over Rettke
3 Kozlov over Tan
20 McNally over Lee
9 Riffice over Deautriell
Benjamin over 23 Reinberg
5 Mmoh over Small
DeVine over 23 Caruana
13 Uspensky over Ephron
29 Kumar over Funk
2 Fritz over Hirsch
MATCH OF THE ROUND – DeVine vs. 23 Caruana probably takes the cake for this round with 6 Opelka vs. Chamdini, Ayeni vs. Lin, 7 Rybakov vs. Phillips, Lin vs. 28 Kirkov, and Benjamin vs. 23 Reinberg as other great matchups.
ROUND OF 32
1 Tiafoe over Gealer
10 Ponwith over 24 Joyce
6 Opelka over Ayeni
14 Genesen over 30 Perrone
4 Paul over 19 Ross
21 Hance over 11 Crawford
7 Rybakov over 26 Boyd
L.Smith over 32 Gamble
12 Nava over Mbithi
8 Blumberg over Mateas
Perez over Lin
3 Kozlov over 31 Brumm
9 Riffice over 20 McNally
5 Mmoh over Benjamin
DeVine over 13 Uspensky
2 Fritz over 29 Kumar
MATCH OF THE ROUND – With this round of seeds matching up for the first time and given the depth in the draw, you could make an argument for almost any of these matchups. But, if I was forced to take one, would love to see a rematch of the 9 Riffice vs. 20 McNally matchup from last year’s 16s quarters where McNally came back to win after losing the first set at love.
Tiafoe over Opelka
Paul over Rybakov
Kozlov over Blumberg
Fritz over Mmoh
Tiafoe over Paul
Kozlov over Fritz
Tiafoe over Kozlov
Seeding shmeeding. Best players win no matter where they come in a draw. Why is it so important that HW is seeded here or there? Not being a starter in college line up and no ITA ranking certainly contributed to lack of seeding. Only one winner that counts in the end anyway, no matter where they start.
"Only one winner that counts in the end" That is quite the elitist comment. This is a junior tournament - did Agassi, Sampras, Roddick win the 18s here? What about the players who exceeded their own expectations prior to the end of the tournament? You are also in favor of all the players pulling out of the back draw because only the winner matters?
This tournament is great because most of the Top American juniors are here competing against each other, this does not happen in any other tournament. This is important for "development" of these young players.
Absolutely seeding is important - want to ask William Blumberg that question? Or the seeded players that has to play Jake DeVine who will be favored against the seeds in his immediate section of the draw.
I understand that the Top 8 seeds are only playing Kalamazoo for the US Open Wildcard but there are also over 100 players there to compete and their results counts in the end as well.
Ouch for WIlliam Blumberg. This is definitely NOT what the seeding committee hoped for.
I hope William will be ready from the start. Henrik will already have a tough match in the first round against Alex Knight so Henrik will be ready for the 2nd round match.
There are a lot of unseeded players that makes the tournament so special. Look out for Catalin Mateas, Jake DeVine, Logan Smith, Alfredo Perez, and Kyle Seelig - ALL could beat the seeds they play first.
There will be a lot of players up for the "Player of the Day". Its sad the seeding committee didn't make a few logical adjustments for the benefit of the tournament and players.
Predictions -
0 - Seeds 17-32 in the Round of 16.
1 - Unseeded Player in quarterfinals
2 - # of Top 8 seeds NOT in quarterfinals
14 - pull outs in backdraw.
@OUCH
The tournament seeding committee has only an advisory role. The USTA makes the final decisions on seeding.
Thank you for the clarification Colette. So Jay Berger and Diego Moyano have a big say in the seedings. The same two that suggested to remove the US Open MD wildcard from Kalamazoo.
Makes Sense.
I don't think that was an elitist comment above. This is a great tournament indeed, but the top American juniors are playing each other all the time in many events, not just here. There is just is a whole lot of players that get to be in this tournament with the top juniors that never would be otherwise, because they aren't at their level. Simple fact. The top seeded players are in a class of their own, like any year. Beyond that, the rest just want to make a good showing for a coach and experience Kalamazoo. Among the best/seeded players, seeding doesn't matter, they are only there to win. And to do that, you have to beat everybody. That is the mindset of a top player.
Agree that Blumberg and other top players are there to win....but they don't have to beat "everybody," they only have to beat 7 opponents to win the tournament. And having Wiersholm as your first opponent clearly reduces your chances of winning the tournament, relative to if you were playing someone ranked outside the top 50.
So yes, it is tough luck for both Blumberg and Wiersholm, and yes, the committee should have used more common sense with some of these seedings.
Colette, thanks for posting about the role of the USTA in the seedings.
18 comments about this above shows it is not a transparent process.
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