Men's Tennis Players Ranked Regionally
January 03, 2006 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 3, 2006
Two University of Louisville men's tennis players and two doubles teams were ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest rankings. Slavko Radman appeared at No. 16 and Damar Johnson was No. 20 in singles, while the doubles team of Jakob Gustafsson and Jeremy Clark was No. 4 and the duo of Radman and Johnson was No. 7.
"The ranking committee is comprised of other Midwest head coaches and for them to rank four Louisville players is testament to the growth of Cardinal tennis," said head coach Rex Ecarma.
Radman, a junior from Split, Croatia, posted a 4-3 singles record in the fall and was ranked No. 117 in the ITA national rankings. In 2005, he registered a team-best 20-5 overall record and was 15-4 in dual matches, playing mostly in the No. 2 slot. He second-team All-C-USA selection 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.
Johnson, a junior from Steer Town, Jamaica was No. 38 in the 2005-06 preseason singles rankings. He received a In 2005, 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 last season at No. 76 in the ITA singles rankings.
The doubles team of Radman and Johnson posted a 3-2 record in the fall and were No. 60 in the ITA preseason national doubles rankings.
Gustafsson, a senior from Hollviken, Sweden, and Clark, a senior from Stanville, Ky., compiled a 7-3 doubles record in the fall and advanced to the semifinals of the Midwest Regional Championship. They were No. 19 in the 2005-06 preseason national doubles rankings. In 2005, Gustafsson and Clark combined for an 18-9 record as the Cards top-seed.
"Each school usually feels good about having one guy ranked, but when you have four individuals, most people think you have one of the better teams in the country," said Ecarma. "This ranking is important in recruiting, because recruit Midwest players like Tony Teufel and Chris Herlinger very heavily."
No. 33 Louisville will open the 2006 spring season at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center against Northwestern on Jan. 13 at 5:00 p.m. The Cardinals finished the 2005 season with a 22-10 overall record and received the program's second consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Notre Dame in the first round before losing to fifth-ranked Illinois in the second.
Players Mentioned
