Men's Tennis Defeats VCU 4-0

Friday, January 23

Charlottesville, Va.

TBA

University of Louisville

VCU

January 23, 2015 | Men's Tennis

Jan. 23, 2015

Box Score

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The University of Louisville men's tennis team defeated VCU 4-0 in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Cardinals (2-1) will face the winner of the other first round match between No. 3 Virginia and No. 54 George Washington Saturday at 6 p.m. to determine who will advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.

"The first round of the National Team Indoor is usually nerve-wracking," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "Our goal was to play `loud and proud.' We jumped on them early in doubles on all three courts. I warned them about letting down and they took it to heart. We won the first set in five of the six singles and our top three courts played intensely and finished mentally tough. Overall we played with a lot of passion and showed toughness. VCU is well-coached and has a great tradition of 20 NCAA appearances and many conference championships. So we knew nothing less than our `A' game would be sufficient."

Louisville jumped to an early lead by winning at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles to take the first point of the match. Juniors Jeffrey Brown and Alex Gornet teamed to beat Toni Batlle and Jacob Svensson 6-0 at No. 3 while seniors Chris Simich and Albert Wagner clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 victory over Michal Voscek and Wilder Pimentel 6-3 at the No. 1 seed.

In singles action, top-ranked Sebastian Stiefelmeyer gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead by beating Michal Voscek 6-2, 6-0 on court No. 1. Senior Michael Lippens topped Catalin Fifea 6-3, 6-1 at the three-spot to make the score 3-0. Wagner, No. 59 in the ITA singles rankings, secured the match by beating Joseph Cohen 6-2, 6-2.

"Our team has talked about bringing a high level of energy today and we accomplished our goal," said senior Van Damrongsri.

#43 Louisville 4, #51 VCU 0
Jan 23, 2015 at Charlottesville, Va.
(Boar's Head Sports Club)
Singles
1. #1 Sebastian Stiefelmeyer (LOU) def. Michal Voscek (VCU) 6-2, 6-0
2. #59 Albert Wagner (LOU) def. Joseph Cohen (VCU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Michael Lippens (LOU) def. Catalin Fifea (VCU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Alex Gornet (LOU) vs. Wilder Pimentel (VCU) 6-4, 2-1, DNF
5. Chris Simich (LOU) vs. Toni Batlle (VCU) 2-6, 4-3, DNF
6. Luis Elizondo (LOU) vs. Jacob Svensson (VCU) 6-2, 4-3, DNF
Order of finish: (1,3,2)
Doubles
1. Chris Simich/Albert Wagner (LOU) def. Michal Voscek/Wilder Pimentel (VCU) 6-3
2. Sebastian Stiefelmeyer/Van Damrongsri (LOU) vs. Joseph Cohen/Matthew Kritzinger (VCU) 4-4, DNF
3. Jeffrey Brown/Alex Gornet (LOU) def. Toni Batlle/Jacob Svensson (VCU) 6-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1)