Men's Tennis Defeats William & Mary 4-2

Thursday, March 11

Montgomery, Ala.

TBA

University of Louisville

William & Mary

March 12, 2004 | Men's Tennis

March 12, 2004

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - - The University of Louisville men's tennis team defeated No. 47 William & Mary 4-2 in the Blue-Gray Classic at Lagoon Park Tennis Center. Louisville improves to 9-7, while William & Mary falls to 5-8.

The Cardinals started the match by claiming the doubles point. Louisville's Matt Mayer and Jeremy Clark, No. 29 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, defeated #38 Steven Kane and Geoff Russell 8-4 at No. 1. The Tribe's Sean Kelleher and Stephen Ward edged Jakob Gustafsson and Octavian Nicodim at No. 2 to tie the doubles matches. Louisville's Mark Kennedy and Damar Johnson clinched the doubles point, outlasting Alex Fish and Jeff Kader 9-8 at No. 3.

In singles action, Louisville got wins from Johnson, who beat Kane 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 at No. 3; Gustafsson who topped Fish 7-6, 6-3 at No. 5 and Clark who posted a 7-6, 6-3 decision over Colin O'Brien at No. 6. William & Mary's Sean Kelleher defeated Nicodim 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 and Geoff Russell beat Jhonny Berrido 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3.

"William & Mary is one of the top teams on the East Coast," said U of L head coach Rex Ecarma. "They are eight spots ahead of us nationally and that certainly helps us in the computer rankings. It will also mean a lot at the end of the season. This was our fourth match outdoors and we are improving with each match. Freshman Damar Johnson and sophomore Jeremy Clark were our top performers today with wins at singles and doubles. Our underclassmen are performing well in a heated and competitive environment, which say a lot for our future."

U of L No. 55 in the ITA national rankings, will face No. 67 Old Dominion Saturday.

March 12, 2004#55 Louisville 4 - #47 William and Mary 2Singles1.  Matt Mayer (UL) vs. #31 Jeff Kader(W&M) DNF2. Sean Kelleher (W&M) d. Octavian Nicodim (UL) 6-2, 6-23. #90 Damar Johnson (UL) d. Steven Kane (W&M) 6-4, 4-6, 6-14. Geoff Russell (W&M) d. Jhonny Berrido (UL) 6-3, 6-35. Jakob Gustafsson (UL) d. Alex Fish (W&M) 7-6, 6-36. Jeremy Clark (UL) d. Colin O'Brien (W&M) 7-6, 6-3
Doubles1. #29 Matt Mayer/Jeremy Clark (UL) d. #38 Kane/Russell (W&M) 8-42. Kelleher/Stephen Ward(W&M) d. Gustafsson/Nicodim (UL) 9-73. Mark Kennedy/Johnson (UL) d. Fish/Kader (W&M)  9-8