University of Louisville
Mississippi
No. 16 Men's Tennis Falls to No. 11 Mississippi
February 14, 2010 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 14, 2010
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The 16th ranked University of Louisville men's tennis team fell to Mississippi in the consolation semifinals of the Intercollegiate National Team Indoor Championship on Sunday.
"We desperately wanted to follow up a big win against the Big 12 champions with a win against the SEC champions. Those are two great conferences in college tennis," said U of L head coach Rex Ecarma. "We lost a nail biter 4-3. It was painful, because we felt like we were the better team, but Mississippi qualifies for the national championships every year. We told the players that to beat top 10 teams like Ohio State and Mississippi, you have to bury them because they will never ever give it to you - and now we know firsthand why."
Ole Miss got off to a quick start as Tucker Vorster and Jonas Lutjen defeated the Cards' tandem of Simon Childs and Viktor Maksimcuk 8-4 at the top doubles seed. The Rebels secured the doubles point as twin brothers Marcel and Chris Thiemann edged Louisville's No. 33 ranked duo of Alejandro Calligari and Robert Hall at the number two seed. The match between the U of L's Austen Childs and Chidi Gabriel and Mississippi's Adrian Skogeng and Harry Fowler was suspended.
Viktor Maksimcuk tied the match for the Cardinals with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Adrian Skogeng at the number four seed. The teams then traded several points with the Rebels' Jonas Lutjen defeating No. 81 Andrew Carter 7-6, 6-2 at the three seed, U of L's Alejandro Calligari defeating Harry Fowler 7-6, 6-4 at the five seed, the Cards' No. 46 Austen Childs defeating No. 61 Marcel Thiemann 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 at the top seed and Mississippi's No. 49 Tucker Vorster defeating No. 84 Simon Childs 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 at the two seed. With the score tied 3-3, Ole Miss' Chris Thiemann clinched the match with a narrow 7-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Robert Hall.
"We started the day with a weak performance in doubles and lost," said Ecarma. "Viktor and Alejandro won in straight sets to put us halfway to the win. After a long time, Austen gave us our third point and put us ever so close to the win. y. Robert Hall wall up 7-5, 4-1 in the deciding match, but could not hold on."
"The tournament referee remarked as we left that the `rookie' team, Louisville, was the talk of the tournament. We appreciate those remarks. We hope that people see Louisville tennis in a whole new light."
The Cards head back home to face No. 42 Vanderbilt on Feb. 19 at 3:30 p.m. ET at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.
ITA National Team Indoor Championship Results
Feb. 14, 2010 - Consolation Semifinals
No. 11 Mississippi - No. 16 Louisville 3 4
Singles
1 - #46 Austen Childs (UL) d. #61 Marcel Thiemann (MISS) 6-7, 6-3, 6-2
2 - # 49 Tucker Vorster (MISS) d. #84 Simon Childs (UL) 4-6, 7-6, 7-6
3 - Jonas Lutjen (MISS) d. #81 Andrew Carter (UL) 7-6, 6-2
4- Viktor Maksimcuk (UL) d. Adrian Skogeng (MISS) 6-2, 6-2
5 - Alejandro Calligari (UL) d. Harry fowler (MISS) 7-6, 6-4
6 - Chris Thiemann (MISS) d. Robert Hall (UL)7-6, 6-4, 7-5
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 5, 1, 2, 6
Doubles
1 - Vorster/Lutjen (MISS) d. Simon Childs/Maksimcuk (UL) 8-4
2 - M. Thiemann/C. Thiemann (MISS) d. #33 Calligari/Hall (UL) 8-3
3 - Austen Childs/Chidi Gabriel (UL) vs. Skogeng/Fowler (MISS) DNF
Order of finish: 1, 2
Players Mentioned
