Gustafsson Receives ITA/Arthur Ashe Award
May 17, 2006 | Men's Tennis
May 17, 2006
The University of Louisville's Jakob Gustafsson is a recipient of the ITA/Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship. The award is given to a player who has exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
"If I had a team full of Jakob Gustafssons, I'd be the happiest coach in the world," said U of L head coach Rex Ecarma. "He personifies what we're trying to accomplish as a team. He is hard working, respectful and a role model for those watching the match."
Gustafsson, a senior from Hollviken, Sweden, was a unanimous 2006 All-BIG EAST Tournament selection in both singles and doubles. He has compiled a 13-6 dual match record as the Cardinals' No. 3 player and was 14-12 overall in singles this season. He was a two-time recipient of the Conference USA Sportsmanship Award (2004-05).
He and teammate Jeremy Clark have been selected to the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Doubles Championship which will be conducted May 24-29 at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, California.
The duo of Gustafsson and earned the BIG EAST's automatic bid to the championship, becoming the first Cardinal doubles team to compete in the NCAA doubles championship. Gustafsson and Clark are currently ranked No. 26 in the nation and have an 18-8 record as Louisville's top seeded doubles team. The BIG EAST all-tournament doubles team selection went 2-0 in the conference tournament and 1-1 in the NCAA tournament.
