Men's Tennis 2007-08 Schedule Set
September 13, 2007 | Men's Tennis
Sept. 13, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - - University of Louisville head men's tennis coach Rex Ecarma has announced the schedule for the 2007-08 season. The Cardinals will face seven NCAA tournament teams and three teams which finished ranked in the top 25.
Louisville will open the fall season at the Vanderbilt Invitational and the Middle Tennessee Invitational Sept. 14-16. The following weekend, the team will split up again, competing at the Southern Intercollegiates and the Baylor Invitational Sept. 21-24. Selected members of the team will travel to Tulsa, Okla., for the All-American Championships Sept. 29-Oct. 3.
The Cards continue into October at the Georgia Tech Invitational Oct. 5-7 before they host the Louisville Invitational Oct. 12-14 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. That same weekend, some members of the team will also travel to Columbia, S.C. for the South Carolina Invitational. The Omni Midwest Regional will take place Oct. 18-23 in Minneapolis, Minn. The Cardinals will close the fall season Oct. 26-28 at the Western Michigan Invitational in Kalamazoo, Mich.
"We start off this season with some huge fall semester invitationals which should allow players the opportunity to achieve a individual national ranking. They will also gain valuable experience in playing these top-notch events."
The Cards will open the 2008 spring season with a 12-match homestand at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center beginning on January 18 when Northwestern visits. On January 25, U of L will play a doubleheader featuring in-state rivals Morehead State and Murray State. BIG EAST opponent Marquette will travel to Louisville for a January 27 matchup. The Cardinals will spend all of February in the friendly confines of the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center, starting with a February 1 doubleheader against Western Kentucky and Dayton. Tennessee, which finished the 2007 season ranked 25th in the nation, will visit on February 8. Middle Tennessee will also visit on January 14. Two days later, the Cards host Wisconsin. Louisville and thirteenth-ranked Wake Forest will square off on February 23. Southern Illinois and UT-Martin are scheduled for a doubleheader as the Cards close out the month and their homestand.
Louisville goes on the road for the first time March 1-2 at the University of Maryland where the Cards will face Pennsylvania and the host Terrapins. The Cardinals will then travel to Mobile, Ala., to play South Alabama on March 9 before returning to the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center to play host to Virginia Tech on March 13. U of L will go back on the road to fact Indiana on March 18 and Texas A&M on March 20. Another doubleheader will close out the month of March as Xavier and Eastern Kentucky will visit the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center on March 26.
The Cardinals travel to Tampa, Fla., to play VCU and BIG EAST Conference rival USF April 5 and 6. Louisville ends the home season on April 10 against Tennessee Tech. The Cards will face No. 6 Notre Dame in South Bend for final match of the regular season - a conference tune-up for the BIG EAST Conference tournament which will take place April 17-20 in Tampa.
"For the first time in program history, we will begin our first 12 matches at home. We usually do a good job of defending our home court. I have designed this to help us get off to a good start which is critical to a good season. We play teams from the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Ivy League. My players know that they can count on a big-time schedule every season at Louisville which helps a lot in recruiting. I am very excited to start this new era with these new and young players."
U of L returns eight letterwinners from last year's BIG EAST Conference runner-up team, along with four talented newcomers.
"I am excited to unleash these young guys to the world of college tennis," said Ecarma. "We put them through an extremely difficult preseason and taught them a lot. Now they have to apply the teaching and get the season off to a good start."
Complete Schedule in PDF Format
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