Men's Tennis Ranked Third in Midwest Region
June 07, 2005 | Men's Tennis
June 7, 2005
The University of Louisville men's tennis team is ranked third in the final Midwest Regional rankings. Three Cardinals: Damar Johnson, Slavko Radman and Jakob Gustafsson, appeared in the top 30 singles regional rankings while the doubles team of Gustafsson and Jeremy Clark was No. 5 in the Midwest region.
"I consider it a great compliment to the rise of our program to be selected among the top teams in the Midwest Region," said U of L head coach Rex Ecarma. "We had to achieve some big results to be ranked highly in a region with so many quality Big Ten programs. This is definitely our highest regional ranking and we hope to improve upon that in the future."
Johnson, a sophomore from Steer Town, Jamaica, was ranked as high as No. 54 in singles. The Cards' top-seeded player compiled a 19-13 overall record and went 17-11 in dual matches. The All-Conference USA first team selection finished the season at No. 76 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association single rankings.
Radman, a sophomore from Split, Croatia, posted a team-best 20-5 overall record and was 15-4 in dual matches, playing mostly in the No. 2 slot. He went undefeated in the C-USA tournament and clinched both of the Cardinals' wins to reach the finals en route to being named Singles Player of the Tournament. The second-team All-league selection was named C-USA Player of the Month in October after winning the Louisville Fall Invitational.
Gustafsson, a junior from Hollviken, Sweden, posted a 20-6 overall singles record playing mostly at No. 3 after sitting out the fall season due to injury. He went on to earn third team All-C-USA honors.
Gustafsson teamed with Clark, a junior from Stanville, Ky., for an 18-9 doubles record. The combination of Gustafsson and Clark was ranked as high as No. 29 in ITA doubles rankings and finished the season at No. 52. "I am pleased to see that Damar Johnson, Jakob Gustafsson and Slavko Radman's efforts were rewarded," said Ecarma. "These three guys were also honored as all Conference USA players. Jeremy Clark has also proven himself to be one of the elite doubles players in the region, having been ranked with three different partners in the past two years."
The Cardinals finished the season with a 22-10 overall record, finished runner-up in the Conference USA Championship. U of L received its second consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and defeated Notre Dame in the first round before losing to fifth-ranked Illinois in the second.
The Cardinals reached the program's highest team ranking at No. 24 and finished the season at No. 33 in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.
Midwest Team Rankings1. Illinois2. Ohio State3. Louisville4. Notre Dame5. Northwestern6. Minnesota7. Michigan8. Indiana9. Ball State10. Michigan State11. Western Michigan12. Iowa13. Wisconsin14. Purdue15. Indiana State
Players Mentioned
