University of Louisville
VANDERBILT
No. 11 Louisville Men's Tennis Team Downs No. 42 Vanderbilt
February 19, 2010 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 19, 2010
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - One day after earning their highest ever Intercollegiate Tennis Association team ranking in program history at No. 11, the Louisville men's tennis team defeated Vanderbilt University 5-2 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Commodores drop to 6-3 on the season.
"Vanderbilt is a very good team and I could see them doing major damage in the SEC," said head coach Rex Ecarma. "It was guts and determination that won it for us today with so many three set matches."
Junior Austen Childs and freshman Chidi Gabriel got the Cards off to a fast start beating their doubles opponents Vijay Paul and Bryant Salcedo 8-1 at the No. 3 spot. Vanderbilt's Adam Baker and Alex Zotov then edged the Cards' Simon Childs and Viktor Maksimcuk at the top seed. With each team having one doubles victory apiece, Louisville's Robert Hall and Alejandro Calligari withstood a late Vanderbilt rally to beat Ryan Lipman and Charlie Jones 9-7 and secure the doubles point for the Cards.
Vanderbilt's Adam Baker tied the match by downing Louisville's Robert Hall 6-1, 6-4 at the five seed but the Cards answered with four straight victories. Austen Childs defeated Ryan Lipman 7-5, 6-1 at No. 1. Calligari defeated Alex Zotov 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the six spot. Simon Childs clinched the match by beating Vijay Paul 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the two seed while Maksimcuk defeated Bryant Salcedo 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the three slot.
Louisville advanced to 9-2 on the season with a victory that saw three Cardinal come-from-behind wins. "Good teams come up with good wins," said Louisville assistant coach Rodrigo da Silva. "You have to show a lot of perseverance to win. Vanderbilt is a good team and it is a very good win for us."
The Cardinals are coming off of their first ever appearance at the National Indoor Qualifying Championships where they finished 1-2. "It was important for us not to let down after such a great experience at the National Indoor Championships," said Ecarma. “This team showed us that they want to be consistent."
The team is back in action Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center where they will take on No. 70 Brown University.
Feb. 19, 2010 - Bass-Rudd Tennis Center
No. 11 Louisville 5 - No. 42 Vanderbilt 2
Singles
1- #60 Austen Childs (UL) d. Ryan Lipman (VU) 7-5, 6-1
2- #49 Simon Childs (UL) d. Vijay Paul (VU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
3- Viktor Maksimcuk (UL) d. Bryant Salcedo (VU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
4- Charlie Jones (VU) d. Andrew Carter (UL) 6-3, 5-7, 6-7
5- Adam Baker (VU) d. Robert Hall (UL) 6-1, 6-4
6- Alejandro Calligari (UL) d. #94 Alex Zotov (VU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 6, 2, 3, 4
Doubles
1- Baker/Zotov (VU) d. S. Childs/Maksimcuk (UL) 9-8
2- #53 Calligari/Hall (UL) d. Lipman/Jones (VU) 9-7
3- A. Childs/Gabriel (UL) d. Paul/Salcedo (VU) 8-1
Players Mentioned
