2011 Men's Tennis Schedule Released
October 04, 2010 | Men's Tennis
Oct. 4, 2010
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - -
Complete Schedule in PDF Format 
University of Louisville men's tennis coach Rex Ecarma has released the 2011 spring schedule. The challenging slate includes 2010 national champion Southern California, runner-up Tennessee and semifinalists Virginia and Georgia. The Cardinals will play five teams that finished last season ranked in the top 10.
"There is no need to sensationalize or overhype our spring schedule this season," said Ecarma. "It is the most ambitious schedule in U of L tennis history and arguably the toughest non conference schedule in the country. Playing four of the top five on the road will test every ounce of your mental toughness. Playing ten top 25 teams will also test every fiber of our physical toughness as well. We play every team that competed in the semifinals in the 2010 NCAA Championships and that reached the round of 16."
The Cardinals are coming off of a record-setting 2010 season in which they posted a program-best 24-6 record and closed out the campaign at No. 13 in the ITA singles rankings. Among its team accomplishments, Louisville notched its second BIG EAST Conference title, reached the NCAA Championship Round of 16 after being selected as a host site for the first and second rounds, and reached the highest ranking in school history at No. 10 (twice).
Louisville returns all six starters from last year's team including NCAA runner-up Austen Childs. The two-time BIG EAST Player of the Year enters the season at No. 10 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Fellow seniors Simon Childs, Alejandro Calligari and Viktor Maksimcuk also return for the Cardinals along with 2010 BIG EAST Championship MVP junior Robert Hall.
"I have a lot of confidence in our veterans especially the `Fab 4' group of seniors," said Ecarma. "I see significant improvement in juniors Robert Hall and Andrew Carter as well. If our freshmen can get the experience they need and develop we can be up for the challenge. I believe it is so important to raise the bar each and every year and this group of returners has always reached higher and higher. I want them to be excited and motivated by this schedule as well. You cannot give a group like this a mediocre schedule because it would be a let down."
The Cardinals open the season in January with two straight weekends on the road at the Hawaii Invitational and then Old Dominion. Louisville will open play at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center against North Carolina State before hitting the road for a match at East Tennessee. The Cards will close out January by hosting Mississippi, Tulsa and Columbia in the ITA National Kick-Off Weekend Jan. 28-31.
February feature a challenging stretch with road matches at No. 3 Virginia, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 22 Wake Forest and No. 5 Ohio State. The Cards will play one home match on Feb. 11 against No. 17 Oklahoma.
The slate doesn't get much easier in March when the Cards pay visits to No. 24 Virginia Tech, top-ranked, national champion Southern California, No. 21 Pepperdine, No. 7 Baylor and No. 11 Georgia. Louisville will play two home matches against Harvard and Maryland.
Louisville will wrap up regular season play in April with a trip to Tampa, Fla., to face VCU and South Florida before returning to the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center to play Indiana and Notre Dame. The Cardinals will look to defend their 2010 BIG EAST title April 28-May 1 when they travel to South Bend, Ind., for the conference tournament.
"Every time we step on the court in the dual season, we can improve our team and individual ranking," said Ecarma. "It takes years to develop a schedule like this and everything came together for 2011. So the table is set."
Players Mentioned
