University of Louisville
USF
USF Edges Cards in BIG EAST Men's Tennis Semifinals
April 19, 2008 | Men's Tennis
April 19, 2008
TAMPA, Fla. - - Third-seeded host South Florida edged the second-seeded University of Louisville men's tennis team 4-3 in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Conference Tournament Saturday.
USF won the doubles point. Louisville's Simon Childs and Kenneth Nordheim teamed to beat Michael Nusslein and Jamal Adderley 8-3 at No. 3, but USF took Nos. 1 and 2 to secure the first point of the match. Daniel Daudt and Thomas Estrada defeated David Simon and Viktor Maksimcuk 8-6 at the top seed and Lucas Jovita and Diego Toledo beat Austen Childs and James McArthur 8-4 at the two-spot to give the Bulls a 1-0 lead going into singles.
In singles action, Simon Childs quickly tied the match at 1-1 with his 6-1, 6-1 win over Estrada at the four-spot. Nusslein ended Alejandro Calligari's 10-match win streak by beating him 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5 to put the Bulls up 2-1. Maksimcuk dropped the first set 0-6, but came back to beat Adderley 6-4, 6-0 tying the match at 2-2. Jovita defeated Austen Childs 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, pulling the Bulls ahead 3-2. Robert Rotaru's 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over Toledo tied the match at 3-3. The match point was decided at the No. 2 court, where USF's Mahmoud Hamed and David Simon split the first two sets with Hamed winning the first 6-3 and Simon taking the second 7-5. Hamed edged Simon 7-5 in the third set to win the match."
"I'm really proud of our players, despite the heartbreaking loss," said U of L head coach Rex Ecarma. "They played so hard with so much effort in this four hour and twenty minute marathon in the hot sun. Unfortunately it's hard to prepare for that, because of the bad weather in Louisville this spring. Our team played their absolute best and fought hard.
"Simon Childs was on fire today, winning easily at No. 4; and he and Kenneth Nordheim played their best match of year at No. 3 doubles," said Ecarma. "We are extremely disappointed with the result, but I'm proud of the effort and heart that these guys showed today. The pressure turns up tomorrow when we play DePaul for the third place match. It's really important to win that as we continue to build our NCAA resume."
U of L (17-7) will play DePaul in the third place match Sunday at noon.
No. 3 seed (#40 )USF, 4 - No. 2 seed (# 38) Louisville 3
Doubles
1. Daudt/Estrada (USF) def. Simon/Maksimcuk (UL), 8-6
2. Jovita/Toledo (USF) def. A.Childs/McArthur (UL), 8-4
3. S. Childs/Nordheim (UL) def. Nusslein/Adderley (USF), 8-3
Singles
1. #87 Lucas Jovita (USF) def. # 43 Austen Childs (UL), 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
2. Mahmoud Hamed (USF) def. David Simon (UL), 6-3, 5-7, 7-5
3. Viktor Maksimcuk (UL) def. Jamal Adderley (USF), 0-6, 6-4, 6-0
4. Simon Childs (UL) def. Thomas Estrada (USF), 6-1, 6-1
5. Michael Nusslein (USF) def. Alejandro Calligari (UL), 6-2, 6-2
6. Robert Rotaru (UL) def. Diego Toledo (USF), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Players Mentioned
