Men's Tennis No. 20 in ITA Team Rankings
January 07, 2010 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 7, 2010
The University of Louisville men's tennis team is ranked 20th and has placed three singles players and two doubles teams among the in the first Intercollegiate Tennis Rankings of the 2010 spring season.
The Cardinals finished the 2009 season with a 21-8 record and at No. 22 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Louisville returns nine letterwinners from last year's team which advanced to the 2009 NCAA regional finals. Junior Austen Childs opens the spring season No. 46, sophomore Andrew Carter steps in at No. 81 and junior Simon Childs follows closely at No. 84.
In doubles, Childs and Childs are ranked 14th, while junior Alejandro Calligari and sophomore Robert Hall have teamed for a No. 33 ranking.
"We have reached another `first-ever' in our program by achieving our first top 20 pre-season team ranking," said head coach Rex Ecarma. "We consider ourselves a top 25 college tennis program and this type of ranking acknowledges that. With close to 300 Division 1 teams in tennis this is a compliment. We also see this as a starting point, a beginning of hopefully a steep climb in the national rankings. I think the rankings committee was impressed that we have all our starters back from a successful season last year where we got up to #14. We also have some key reserves and a new player so we are going into this season confident but humble. As computerized tennis rankings go, it is a necessity to play a big schedule because you cannot move up unless you beat other ranked teams. So going undefeated against unranked teams does not help you, it can really hurt you at the end of the year rankings."
"I am also happy that Austen and Simon got ranked yet again," said Ecarma. "I have to give a shoutout to Andrew Carter for his first national ranking. He has worked extremely hard and is deserving. In doubles, Childs and Childs continue to stay close to the top of our game at #14 but our new team of Calligari and Robert Hall debuts at #33. I am happy for them especially for Hall who also achieves his first national ranking."
Players Mentioned
