Stiefelmeyer No. 1 in ITA Men's Tennis Singles Rankings
January 06, 2015 | Men's Tennis
Click here for the ITA Men's National Singles Rankings 
The University of Louisville's Sebastian Stiefelmeyer is the nation's top-ranked NCAA Division I singles player in the first Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings of the 2015 season released on January 6.
"It is definitely a great honor to represent the sport of college tennis as its No. 1 player," said Stiefelmeyer. "This would not have been possible without the relentless support of my coaches. It was their collective work that guided me as well as my teammates who have pushed me every day to be the best that I can be. I am excited about the ranking, but my complete focus right now is helping my teammates, especially my senior class brothers, to have a great team season."
Stiefelmeyer, a senior from Vienna, Austria becomes the first player in program history to be ranked No. 1 in the national rankings. In the 2014-15 fall season, he led the Cardinals with a 17-2 singles record and became the first Louisville player to win the ITA All-American Singles Championship. He entered that tournament at No. 110 in the preseason rankings and won nine straight matches, six of those wins came against players ranked ahead of him. Stiefelmeyer also won his division at the Duke Invitational, was a finalist at the Virginia Ranked +1 Invitational and reached the second round of the National Indoor Championship.
The three-time all-conference selection has appeared in the national rankings in each of his seasons at Louisville, previously reaching as high as No. 47 in the 2013-14 season. In 2014, Stiefelmeyer posted a 23-17 singles record, marking his third straight season with more than 20 singles victories.
"I could not be any more proud even if Sebastian were my own son," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "I knew he had a good chance for a high ranking after an outstanding fall season which included winning the ITA National Championship in Tulsa. He has developed each semester and has been a super person to coach. He is such a humble person and cares a lot for his teammates and this program. He is a perfect role model on and off the court."
In addition to Stiefelmeyer's singles ranking the Cardinals were also represented by senior Albert Wagner (Amburg, Germany) who is No. 59 in singles. Louisville enters the season at No. 39 in the team rankings.
The Cardinals will compete in the Hawaii Rainbow Warrior Classic Jan. 8-9 before opening the 2015 dual match season on Jan. 18 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.
For the latest information on Louisville men's tennis, log on to GoCards.com, or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account at www.twitter.com/UofLMTennis or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gocardstennis.
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