USTA Spring Team Championships Recap; Sock into BNP Paribas Fourth Round; Mayotte Joins Harvard; 13 US Juniors Reach Grade A Second Round; North Carolina Women, Oklahoma Men Stay No. 1

My recap of a damp USTA Spring Team Championships in Mobile is available today at the Tennis Recruiting Network. Although this new format is undeniably popular with the players and coaches, I find myself missing the 18 Spring Nationals, where the gradual whittling down of the field as the tournament progresses provides me time to actually watch late round matches closely. Guaranteed matches are an attraction if you are spending the money to travel (although weather must permit them), but as a spectator, I find compass draws less compelling than the standard USTA main/consolation draw format.

Third round ATP matches are still going on at the BNP Paribas Open, but Jack Sock has made his way into the last 16 with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 15 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain. The 22-year-old Sock, who is playing his first tournament this year after hip surgery, had won only one ATP match after dropping the first set prior to this week, but after comeback wins over Yen-Hsun Lu, Gilles Muller and Bautista Agut this week, he now has three.  Sock, who has dedicated this tournament to his brother Eric, now healthy after a week in intensive care this winter due to an infection, plays the winner of the Roger Federer and Andreas Seppi match later tonight. For more on Sock's win, see this article from the ATP.  Steve Johnson lost to No. 9 seed Tomas Berdych this afternoon, and Donald Young fell to No. 3 seed Rafael Nadal this evening, by identical 6-4, 6-2 scores.

The volunteer assistant position at Harvard now belongs to Tim Mayotte, who takes it over from Eric Butorac, currently the president of the ATP Players Council and still active in doubles.  This Harvard Magazine article examines Mayotte's playing career and coaching experience and reveals that he is a candidate for the USTA Player Development General Manager's position.

A baker's dozen of US juniors remain alive after the first round of the Grade A in Porto Alegre Brazil.  Seeds Emil Reinberg(13), Ulises Blanch(7), William Blumberg(6) and unseeded Anudeep Kodali, Catalin Mateas and Liam Caruana were the American boys advancing.  Kodali defeated No. 9 seed Sora Fukuda of Japan 7-6(4), 6-2 and Mateas ousted No. 14 seed Felipe Cunha Silva of Portugal 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

Mateas' younger sister Maria moved through to the second round, as did qualifier Abigail Desiatnikov, Meghan Kelley and seeds Usue Arconada(3), Francesca Di Lorenzo(10), Alexandra Sanford(11) and Kayla Day(14).

There was a big upset in the boys first round, with No. 2 seed Franco Capalbo of Argentina, who has won three South American clay court titles already this year, losing to Yosuke Watanuki of Japan 6-3, 6-3.

The latest Division I team rankings were released today by the ITA, with the North Carolina women and Oklahoma men continuing to hold the top spot.

The men's Top 10:
1. Oklahoma
2. Illinois
3. Baylor
4. Southern Cal
5. Georgia
6. Duke
7. Texas A&M
8. Texas
9. Virginia
10. North Carolina

The women's Top 10:
1. North Carolina
2. Florida
3. Cal
4. Georgia
5. UCLA
6. Baylor
7. Southern Cal
8. Virginia
9. Alabama
10. Stanford