Men's Tennis Beats Nationally-Ranked Middle Tennessee

Thursday, February 3

Louisville, Ky.

5:00 PM

University of Louisville

MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE

Gustaffson had the match clinching win for the Cardinals.

February 03, 2005 | Men's Tennis

Feb. 3, 2005

The University of Louisville men's tennis team beat No. 57 ranked Middle Tennessee State 4-2 in a match that lasted over four hours Thursday at Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

"I have to admit that Middle Tennessee was more talented than we were. They have more firepower and more players who can serve at 120 or more miles per hour," said an elated Rex Ecarma. "We played with so much heart and determination that we weathered the storm. This match is what college tennis is all about."

The Cardinals clawed their way to the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. U of L's Jeremy Clark and Gustaffson battled to a 9-8 win over Kai Schledorn and Brandon Allan, a pair that is ranked No. 29 in the country. Damar Johnson and Tony Teufel edged out MTSU's No. 3 doubles pair of Anant Sitaram and Marco Born.

"Both teams left everything out on the court and showed lots of sportsmanship," said Ecarma.

In singles, Gustaffson had the match clincher at No. 2, beating Born. Gustaffson, Conference USA's Player of the Week for his play last weekend helped U of L even its record at 3-3.

"Gustaffson, who has been battling injury since last spring's NCAA Tournament turned in a huge performance for us winning both doubles and singles," said Ecarma. This match was a tribute to how hard he has worked to get his tennis game back. This was Jakob's finest hour."

Johnson won his match at No. 1 with a win over No. 78-ranked Andreas Siljestrom. At No. 5 and No. 6, Jhonny Berrido and Clark beat their opponents 7-6, 6-3 and 6-3, 7-6 respectively.

"Damar Johnson had a banner day with his against a nationally ranked opponent and his doubles win as well," said Ecarma. "I am confident that Middle Tennessee will be in the NCAA at the end of the season. This is a big win for us. I hope this will give us momentum going into the Mississippi State match."

SINGLESDamar Johnson (UL) def. Andreas Siljestrom 6-3, 6-2Jakob Gustaffson (UL) def. Marco Bean 6-7, 7-6, 6-2Kai Schledorn (MT)def Nicolas Howard  6-3, 6-2Jhonny Berrido (UL) def. Greg Pollack 7-6, 6-3Brandon Clark (MT) def. Jeremy Clark 6-3, 7-6(match between Octavian Nicodim and Anant Sitaram was suspended at 6-7, 7-6, 3-0)
DOUBLESClark/Gustaffson (UL) def. Schledorn/Allan 9-8Siljestrom/Born (MT) def. Mark Kennedy/Berrido 8-5Johnson/Teufel (UL) def. Sitaram/Pollack 8-6