Men's Tennis Captures 2006 BIG EAST Title

Sunday, April 23

Tampa, Fla.

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

Notre Dame<br>(Finals)

Slavko Radman clinched the BIG EAST tournament title with his win at the top seed

April 23, 2006 | Men's Tennis

April 23, 2006

TAMPA, Fla. - - The No. 2-seeded University of Louisville men's tennis team upset top-seeded and 16th-ranked Notre Dame 4-1 to claim its first BIG EAST title Sunday at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. The No. 31-ranked Cardinals (18-7) earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Notre Dame drops to 17-8 on the season.

"This was an unbelievable match," said U of L head coach Rex Ecarma. "Both teams played like champions today. It was one of the most intense matches I've been around. Our goal going into the tournament was to play better each round and peaked at the right time. Today's win is a tribute to our team's character throughout the season."

The Cardinals began the match by taking the doubles point. The No. 43 ranked team of seniors Jeremy Clark and Jakob Gustafsson knocked off No. 25 Ryan Keckley and Eric Langenkamp 8-4 at the top seed. Senior Jhonny Berrido and junior Damar Johnson secured the point with an 8-4 win over Barry King and Sheeva Parbhu at the two spot. Junior Slavko Radman and sophomore Tony Teufel were leading Notre Dame's Brett Helgeson and Andrew Roth 7-3 at the No. 3 seed when their match was suspended because the doubles point was decided.

In singles action, Gustafsson edged No. 35 Parbhu 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2) at the No. 2 seed to give the Cards a 2-0 lead.

At the three-spot, Johnson defeated Notre Dame's Helgeson 7-6 in the first set, but lost the next two 6-4, 6-2 as the Fighting Irish pulled within a point.

Senior Nicolas Houard increased U of L's lead to 3-1 with a 7-6, 6-3 win over Langenkamp at the six-spot.

At the top seed, Notre Dame's 18th ranked Stephen Bass defeated No. 53-ranked Radman 6-2 in the first set. Radman responded with a 6-4 second set win. After being down 4-2 in the third set, Radman rallied to a 6-4 win to clinch the match and the championship.

On court four, Clark and Keckley were even at 6-6 in the third set when their match was suspended. Clark won the first 6-4 and Keckley took the second set 6-0. At the No. 5 position, Notre Dame's King was up 3-0 against Berrido in the third set when their match was called. Berrido won the first 7-5 and King won the second set 6-3.

"We played our best doubles point in the outdoor season this year," said Ecarma. "We used the momentum from that to win the first five singles sets. Notre Dame regrouped and the momentum started to shift their way towards the end of the match, but Nicolas Houard, Slavko Radman and Jakob Gustafsson would not let this team lose. Slavko and Jakob both came back from deficits in the third set and we were able to bring home our first Big East tournament championship."

After earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the Cardinals will be making their third consecutive and fifth overall NCAA post season appearance. The 2006 NCAA tournament selections will be announced on Wednesday, May 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be aired live on ESPNews.

2006 BIG EAST Championship Finals

#31 Louisville 4 - #16 Notre Dame 1Singles1 - #53 Slavko Radman (UL) def. #18 Stephen Bass (ND) 2-6, 6-4, 6-42 - Jakob Gustafsson (UL) def. #35 Sheeva Parbhu (ND) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2)3 - Brett Helgeson (ND) def. Damar Johnson (UL) 6-7, 6-4, 6-24 - Jeremy Clark (UL) vs. Ryan Keckley (ND) 6-4, 0-6, 6-6 susp.5 - Barry King (ND) vs. Jhonny Berrido (UL) 7-5, 3-6, 3-0 susp.6 - Nicolas Houard (UL) def. Eric Langenkamp (ND) 7-6, 6-3Order of finish - 2, 6, 3, 1Doubles1 - #43 Clark/Gustafsson def. #25 Keckley/Langenkamp (ND) 8-42 - Berrido/Johnson (UL) def. King/Parbhu (ND) 8-43 - Radman/Tony Teufel (UL) vs. Helgeson/Andrew Roth (ND) 7-3 susp.Order of finish - 1, 2