No. 13 Men's Tennis Set for Home Opener
January 20, 2011 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 20, 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky.- - The 13th ranked University of Louisville men's tennis team will open play at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center this weekend when the Cards take on North Carolina State Friday at 4 p.m. and East Tennessee State Sunday at 1 p.m.
"Our guys know the task they have ahead of them is a tough one, but welcome the challenge," said U of L head coach Rex Ecarma. "We played ETSU last season and NC State in 2009 and came away with 4-3 wins against each team. We know this will be a competitive weekend."
The Cardinals (1-0) are coming off of a season-opening sweep of Old Dominion where they were led by senior Austen Childs. The 2010 national runner-up and two-time defending BIG EAST player of the year is currently ranked No. 8 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. Also ranked for the Cardinals are seniors Viktor Maksimcuk (No. 75) and Simon Childs (No. 98).
The No. 57 NC State Wolfpack (2-0) also have several players in the ITA polls with junior Jaime Pulgar at No. 61, junior Dominic Hodgson at No. 82 and sophomore Dave Thomson at No. 106. The Cardinals are set to face the Pack at 4:00 p.m. on Friday January 21 at the Bass Rudd Tennis Center.
On Sunday, Louisville will match up against the No. 51 East Tennessee State at 1 p.m. ETSU will open its season at third-ranked Tennessee on Friday before travelling to the Bass Rudd Tennis Center. The Bucs are led by sophomore Jesus Bandres who is currently No. 73 in the ITA singles rankings.
After this weekend's tennis action, the Cardinals will get set to host the ITA National Kickoff Weekend event January 29-30 at the Bass Rudd Tennis Center. Louisville will play Columbia on Jan. 29 at 10 a.m. Mississippi and Tulsa will square off in the other opening round of the national qualifier event.
