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TCU Regional
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center – Fort Worth, TX

[4] TCU Horned Frogs (24-3) vs. [49-64] Jackson State Tigers (6-18) – Friday 1pm CT – The only similarity between these two is that they both earned their leagues automatic berth with TCU defeating Texas Tech to win the Big 12 while Jackson State beat Alabama State to win the SWAC. TCU was one of the best teams in the country this year while Jackson State lost three times as many matches as they won. Jackson State won three matches in the SWAC, beat a D2 school, and beat a NAIA school twice while going 0-7 against ranked opponents. To make matters even worse Jackson State’s post season roster does not include their usual No. 3 and No. 4 singles players, Miguel Martin Gomez and Stylianos Gkontsaris.  

Doubles Records: TCU 19-8, Jackson State 5-16

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: TCU 85, Jackson State 65

FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of May 9th. For more details about UTR check out their website. 

The UTR Power 6 is the combined UTRs of the starting 6 (rounded to a whole #).  An individual win/loss to anyone with a UTR difference of 1.0 or greater would be considered an upset.   


Projected Singles Lineups
1. #5 Cameron Norrie (TCU 14.79) vs. Camilo Patino (JSU 11.87)
2. #24 Alex Rybakov (TCU 14.45) vs. Federico Boscarino (JSU 12.18)
3. #86 Guillermo Nunez (TCU 13.93) vs. Federico Mendieta (JSU 10.41)
4. Jerry Lopez (TCU 13.79) vs. Richie Agarwal (JSU 10.91)
5. Eduardo Nava (TCU 13.77) vs. Vishu Prasad (JSU 10.71)
6. Trevor Johnson (TCU 13.82) vs. Hernan Geria (JSU 9.46)
O: Reese Stalder (TCU 12.95) 

No analysis needed – blowout city with the over/under on match time listed at 75 minutes and the over/under on games Jackson State wins at 7 (yes that’s in doubles and singles combined). Prediction: TCU 4-0. 



[17-32] Rice Owls (23-7) vs. [33-48] LSU Tigers (14-11) – Friday 10am CT – Rice punched its ticket by defeating Old Dominion in the finals of the Conference USA Tournament while LSU got in as an at-large after falling to Vanderbilt in the second round of the SEC Tournament. Both teams were exceptional in doubles with Rice going 22-1 when it won the doubles point while all 14 of LSU’s wins came after it won the doubles point. Rice finished the regular season on a six-match winning streak which included wins over SMU, Tulane, and Old Dominion while LSU dropped its final two to Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. Rice was almost unbeatable at home going 22-1 (Texas) but it was just 1-6 (Cornell) in road/neutral matches. LSU went 4-7 away from home with its most impressive road win coming at Kentucky. 

Rice defeated LSU 4-3 all the way back on January 31 however none of the individual matches will be rematches. 

Regular Season Meeting 

#56 Rice 4, #30 LSU 3 
1/31/2016 at Houston, TX (George R. Brown Tennis Center) 
Singles competition 
1. #22 Jordan Daigle (LSU) def. Jamie Malik (RICE) 6-4, 6-2 
2. Tommy Bennett (RICE) def. #78 Justin Butsch (LSU) 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-1 
3. Adam Gustafsson (RICE) def. Simon Freund (LSU) 6-3, 7-5 
4. Jake Hansen (RICE) def. Boris Arias (LSU) 7-5, 7-5 
5. David Warren (RICE) def. Andrew Korinek (LSU) 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) 
6. Gabor Csonka (LSU) def. Emanuel Llamas (RICE) 6-2, 6-1 
Doubles competition 
1. Adam Gustafsson/David Warren (RICE) vs. #13 Jordan Daigle/Boris Arias (LSU) 6-5, unf 
2. #47 Tam Trinh/Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Tommy Bennett/Jamie Malik (RICE) 6-4 
3. Andrew Korinek/Gabor Csonka (LSU) def. Emanuel Llamas/Jake Hansen (RICE) 6-1 
Match Notes 
LSU 1-2; National ranking #30 
Rice 5-0; National ranking #56 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,1,3,4,5,2) 
T-3:30 A-491

Doubles Records: Rice 23-7, LSU 20-5
UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Rice 80, LSU 80

Projected Singles Lineups
1. Tommy Bennett (RICE 13.38) vs. #44 Jordan Daigle (LSU 13.82)
2. Jamie Malik (RICE 13.04) vs. #74 Justin Butsch (LSU 13.52)
3. Adam Gustafsson (RICE 13.63) vs. Gabor Csonka (LSU 13.53)
4. Jacob Hansen (RICE 13.68) vs. Andrew Korinek (LSU 12.95)
5. David Warren (RICE 13.46) vs. Boris Arias (LSU 12.89)
6. Emanuel Llamas (RICE 12.70) vs. Simon Freund (LSU 13.05)
O: Nikola Samardzic (LSU 12.36)
As I referenced above the doubles point will be a big predictor of who wins this match. I like Jordan Daigle, Justin Butsch, and Gabor Csonka for LSU while I like Jake Hansen, David Warren, and Emanuel Llamas for Rice. I’m going to take LSU in doubles with Daigle clinching the win in three sets at No. 1  Prediction: LSU 4-3
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Regional Final – [33-48] LSU at [4] TCU – Saturday 1pm CT 
Doubles Records: TCU 19-8, LSU 20-5
UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: TCU 85, LSU 80


Projected Singles Lineups

1. #5 Cameron Norrie (TCU 14.79) vs. #44 Jordan Daigle (LSU 13.82)
2. #24 Alex Rybakov (TCU 14.45) vs. #74 Justin Butsch (LSU 13.52)
3. #86 Guillermo Nunez (TCU 13.93) vs. Gabor Csonka (LSU 13.53)
4. Jerry Lopez (TCU 13.79) vs. Andrew Korinek (LSU 12.95)
5. Eduardo Nava (TCU 13.77) vs. Boris Arias (LSU 12.89)
6. Trevor Johnson (TCU 13.82) vs. Simon Freund (LSU 13.05)
O: Reese Stalder (TCU 12.95); Nikola Samardzic (LSU 12.36)

LSU’s best chance at getting on the scoreboard is in doubles but I think TCU takes the point and then gets wins from Rybakov, Lopez, and Johnson. Prediction: TCU 4-0
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Cal Regional
Hellman Tennis Complex – Berkeley, CA

[13] Cal Bears (17-6) vs. [49-64] Army Black Knights (18-8) – Saturday Noon PT – Cal earned an at-large bid after falling to UCLA in the finals of the Pac-12 Tournament while Army won a 4-3 thriller over Navy in the Patriot League Finals. The Black Knights only played two teams that were ranked at some point during the season with Miami and St. John’s defeating them by a combined score of 8-1. Conversely everyone of Cal’s opponents except for Hawaii was ranked at some point during the season. 
Doubles Records: Cal 15-6, Army 19-7
UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Cal 84, Army 71

FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of May 9th. For more details about UTR check out their website. 

The UTR Power 6 is the combined UTRs of the starting 6 (rounded to a whole #).  An individual win/loss to anyone with a UTR difference of 1.0 or greater would be considered an upset.   

Projected Singles Lineups
1. #30 Florian Lakat (CAL 14.25) vs. Sam Lampman (ARMY 11.97)
2. #31 Andre Goransson (CAL 14.27) vs. Grant Riechmann (ARMY 11.81)
3. #85 Billy Griffith (CAL 14.34) vs. David Mitchell (ARMY 12.23)
4. #119 Filip Bergevi (CAL 14.26) vs. Michael Nguyen (ARMY 12.29) 
5. #124 Oskar Wikberg (CAL 13.63 vs. Kyle Barnes (ARMY 11.49)
6. J.T. Nishimura (CAL 13.56) vs. Harrison McCormick (ARMY 11.54)

Cal will win the doubles point and every completed set in singles with Lakat, Griffith, and Bergevi each picking up wins. Prediction: Cal 4-0. 



[17-32] Ole Miss Rebels (15-10) vs. [33-48] Denver Pioneers (18-7) – Saturday 9am PT – Ole Miss was awarded an at-large bid after falling to Georgia in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament while Denver earned an automatic berth after blanking Oral Roberts in the finals of the Summit League Tournament. Denver went 10-7 against teams that were ranked at some point during the season while Ole Miss went 10-10. Denver and Ole Miss had two common opponents with both defeating South Carolina and both losing to Memphis. Denver finished the season by winning its last seven (though only one was against a ranked opponent) while Ole Miss won three of its last five with all coming against ranked opposition. 

Doubles Records: Ole Miss 15-7, Denver 19-6
UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Ole Miss 80, Denver 79

Projected Singles Lineups
1. #39 Gustav Hansson (MISS 13.93) vs. Henry Craig (DEN 13.68) 
2. #59 Stefan Lindmark (MISS 13.91) vs. Diogo Rocha (DEN 13.52)
3. Filip Kraljevic (MISS 13.48) vs. Yannik James (DEN 13.27) 
4. Fabian Fallert (MISS 13.02) vs. David Fox (DEN 13.16)
5. Grey Hamilton (MISS 12.92) vs. Alex Gasson (DEN 13.16) 
6. Zvonimir Babic (MISS 12.86) vs. Wyatt Lovera (DEN 12.03)
O: Ricardo Jorge (MISS 13.14); Jesse Ruder Hook (DEN 12.15)

Ricardo Jorge is listed at No. 4 in the Ole Miss lineup but he didn’t play in the final three weeks of the regular season so I’m expecting Fallert, Hamilton, and Babic to move up a spot. I like Denver in doubles and Yannik James and Alex Gasson in singles but I see wins from Gustav Hansson, Stefan Lindmark, Fabian Fallert, and Zvonimir Babic for Ole Miss. Prediction: Ole Miss 4-3
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Regional Final – [17-32] Ole Miss at [13] Cal – Sunday 1pm PT 
Doubles Records: Cal 15-6, Ole Miss 15-7
UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Cal 84, Ole Miss 80


Projected Singles Lineups

1. #30 Florian Lakat (CAL 14.25) vs. #39 Gustav Hansson (MISS 13.93)
2. #31 Andre Goransson (CAL 14.27) vs. #59 Stefan Lindmark (MISS 13.91) 
3. #85 Billy Griffith (CAL 14.34) vs. Filip Kraljevic (MISS 13.48)
4. #119 Filip Bergevi (CAL 14.26) vs. Fabian Fallert (MISS 13.02)
5. #124 Oskar Wikberg (CAL 13.63 vs. Grey Hamilton (MISS 12.92)
6. J.T. Nishimura (CAL 13.56) vs. Zvonimir Babic (MISS 12.86)
O: Ricardo Jorge (MISS 13.14)

Cal will be well rested after its first round match while Ole Miss will be coming off a tight win. I like Cal in doubles and Griffith, Bergevi, and Wikberg in singles. Prediction: Cal 4-0