Men's Tennis Earn National and Regional Rankings
January 07, 2009 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 7, 2009
The University of Louisville men's tennis team has placed two players in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national singles rankings and one team in the doubles rankings. Additionally, the Cardinals have earned three spots in the Midwest Regional singles and doubles rankings. U of L opens the season at No. 45 in the ITA team rankings.
On the national front, sophomore Austen Childs steps in at No. 48 after going 9-8 in the fall semester. Sophomore Simon Childs makes his national ranking debut at No. 66 with a 5-4 record which includes some impressive wins. The doubles team of senior Robert Rotaru and sophomore Alejandro Calligari open the spring season at No. 44 after posting a 7-2 fall mark.
The Cards also fared well in the Midwest Region rankings with Austen Childs earning the No. 6 spot, Simon Childs stepping in at No. 17 and Robert Rotaru rounding out the rankings at No. 30. The doubles team of Childs and Childs stands in at No. 2 in the region, freshman Sumit Prakash Gupta and sophomore Viktor Maksimcuk are No. 10 and Rotaru and Calligari are No. 14.
"Austen protected his ranking at No. 6 in the region," said U of L head coach Rex Ecarma. "He started that way in the Midwest and people were gunning for him, but he held onto his spot. Simon came out of nowhere and the fact that he's 17th in the region says a lot for him. The ranking committee acknowledged the great tournament he had in Virginia. Simon is looking for a breakout season this year. Robert Rotaru gets his first regional ranking at No. 30 This is only the second time in U of L tennis history that we've had three players ranked in the top 30.
"I am very pleased with our doubles showing," said Ecarma. "Childs and Childs at No. 2, ties the highest Midwest doubles ranking we've had at U of L. What's exciting is that we've never had three teams ranked and this year we have three in the top 14 which is another U of L tennis `first-ever.' These guys are just great to coach, they are taking in everything we are saying and are working really hard. Our focus is not to rest on our laurels, but try to move up each player doubles team move up in the rankings."
Players Mentioned
