Men's Tennis Opens 2011 Season in National Rankings
January 05, 2011 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 5, 2011
The University of Louisville men's tennis team opens the 2011 season at No. 13 in Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Senior Austen Childs steps in at a program-best eighth in the nation while fellow seniors Viktor Maksimcuk and Simon Childs are ranked 75th and 98th respectively.
"We pick up this year where we left off in 2010," said U of L head coach Rex Ecarma. "With all of our starters returning, we're going to have to beat teams ahead of us in order to move up and we will use that as motivation. I'm pleased that Austen is ranked eighth and that we have three guys in the top 100, which is a first for us in the spring season. We're looking forward to an exciting season and the Hawaii Invitational this weekend."
Austen Childs (Mt. Maunganui, New Zealand) entered the 2010-11 season at No. 10 in the ITA preseason rankings and posted an 8-3 mark in the fall. The 2010 NCAA singles runner-up and All-American, is a three-time All-BIG EAST team member and two-time league Player of the Year and closed his junior season with a 33-12 overall record.
Viktor Maksimcuk (Subotica, Serbia) was unranked in the 2010-11 preseason, but steps in at No. 75 after compiling a 7-3 record in the fall. Last season, the three-time All BIG EAST team member registered a 26-11 overall singles record and was second on the team with a 19-5 dual match mark, playing mostly at No. 3. Maksimcuk was also ranked as high as No. 62 in the 2009 ITA preseason singles rankings.
Simon Childs (Hillington, England) was No. 63 in the 2010-11 ITA preseason singles rankings and tallied a 7-3 fall record. As a junior, the three-time All-BIG EAST selection tallied a 24-16 overall record and won 17 matches playing mostly at No. 2 singles and was ranked as high as No. 49 in singles.
The Cardinals are coming off of a record-setting 2010 season in which they posted program-best 24-6 record and closed out the campaign at No. 13 in the ITA team rankings. Among its team accomplishments, Louisville notched its second BIG EAST Conference title, advanced to the NCAA Championship Round of 16 after being selected as a host site for the first and second rounds, and achieved the highest ranking in school history at No. 10 (twice).
U of L will compete in the Hawaii Invitational Jan. 6-10 and will open the 2011 dual match season at Old Dominion on January 16.
Players Mentioned
