University of Louisville
ITA All-American Championships
Stiefelmeyer in Finals of ITA All-American Championships
October 05, 2014 | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. - University of Louisville senior Sebastian Stiefelmeyer defeated Virginia's Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 in the semifinals of the 2014 Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships Sunday afternoon.
"What a player we have in Sebastian," said UofL assistant coach Jakob Gustafsson. "Today he played his fifth three-setter of the tournament and once more comes out on top. Sebastian played very brave today and made the adjustments when needed. It had been a joy to watch him play so far and I am looking forward to tomorrow's final."
Stiefelmeyer broke Kwiatkowski's serve in the second game of the first set to earn an early 3-0 lead. Stiefelmeyer went on to win that set 6-1.
"My mindset was to get a good start," Stiefelmeyer said. "At Virginia, he started serving and once he's up, as we saw in the second set, he takes over and then you basically have no chance. I wanted to get a good start in the first set and maybe see how he deals with pressure when he has to serve and stay in the set."
In the second set, Kwiatkowski found the form that carried him through the tournament and helped him beat Stiefelmeyer 6-1, 6-3 just weeks prior at the UVa Ranked+1 Invitational. However, Stiefelmeyer was the steadier player in the third set, running away with a 6-1 win to earn his place in the final and deliver Kwiatkowski just his second collegiate loss. In doing so, the Cardinals senior became the first qualifier to make the final since USC's Robert Farah in 2007. Stiefelmeyer is also the first Louisville player to make the final in Tulsa
He will face the tournament's overall No. 2 seed and second-ranked Yannick Hanfmann of the University of Southern California Monday at 11 a.m. (ET).
"Sebastian's tidal wave of momentum started on day one at the Duke Invitational, continued at the Virginia Invitational and now in the finals of the All-American National Championship," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "He has had the best month of any player ever in the program."
Louisville men's tennis results
ITA All-American Championships Main Draw
Oct. 5, 2014
No. 110 Sebastian Stiefelmeyer (UL) d. #80 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
Released in conjunction with ITA media relations
Players Mentioned
