Men's Tennis Tops Illinois State 6-1
February 18, 2015 | Men's Tennis
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's tennis team defeated Illinois State 6-1 Wednesday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Cardinals (7-2) will take on Chicago State at 6 p.m. in the second match of the doubleheader.
"Illinois State played really well," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "(Coach) Mark Klysner's got that team really believing in themselves and they just fought us toe-to-toe the whole time and that was good for them and also good for us to really be challenged. Overall I really think the guys played well, they're building momentum and really having fun out there. This team can sometimes get nervous, but I don't see that as much right now and it's reflected in their play."
Louisville took the first point of the match with doubles wins at Nos. 2 and 3. Senior Chris Simich and junior Alex Gornet gave UofL and early advantage with a 6-1 victory over Muddappa Appanervanda and Rodrigo Oliveira at No. 2. Illinois State (4-4) answered on court No. 1 where Jakub Eisner and Rolando Torrellas defeated Sebastian Stiefelmeyer and Van Damrongsri 6-4. The doubles point came down to court three where senior Luis Elizondo and freshman Pally Ray battled Andreas Boers and Dylan Steffens to a 6-6 tie before prevailing in a 7-4 tiebreaker to give Louisville a 1-0 lead.
"I'm really happy about No. 3 doubles clinching that match, especially freshman Pally Ray - that's going to go a long way with his confidence," said Ecarma.
In singles action, Stiefelmeyer, No. 3 in the ITA singles rankings, quickly gave the Cards a 2-0 lead when he defeated Jakub Eisner 6-2, 6-1 at the top seed. The Redbirds answered at the No. 6 spot where Christoffer Greve posted a 6-4, 6-3 win over freshman Stjepan Cagalj to make the score 2-1. Simich defeated Torrellas 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3 to give the Cards a 3-1 lead. On court five, Elizondo's 7-5, 6-4 win over Dylan Steffens clinched the win for Louisville. Gornet beat Oliveira 6-3, 6-3 at No. 2 and Damrongsri closed the match with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Boers at the four-spot.
"Sebastian(Stiefelmeyer) was just being Sebastian getting our second point," said Ecarma. "Chris (Simich) I thought was really key because Rolando Torrellas is a really good player whom I've known for a long time. Getting that third point really good because it put pressure on the Illinois State players to have to go 3 for 3 in order to win the match. Luis did a good job clinching again, just like he did against Michigan State."
With the win, head coach Rex Ecarma is now eight wins away from his 400th career victory.
#42 Louisville 6, Illinois State 1
Feb 18, 2015 at Louisville, Ky.
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #3 Sebastian Stiefelmeyer (LOU) def. Jakub Eisner (ILS) 6-2, 6-1
2. Alex Gornet (LOU) def. Rodrigo Oliveira (ILS) 6-3, 6-3
3. Chris Simich (LOU) def. Rolando Torrellas (ILS) 6-2, 6-1
4. Van Damrongsri (LOU) def. Andreas Boers (ILS) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
5. Luis Elizondo (LOU) def. Dylan Steffens (ILS) 7-5, 6-4
6. Christoffer Greve (ILS) def. Stjepan Cagalj (LOU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. Jakub Eisner/Rolando Torrellas (ILS) def. Seb Stiefelmeyer/Van Damrongsri (LOU) 6-4
2. Alex Gornet/Chris Simich (LOU) def. Muddappa Appanervand/Rodrigo Oliveira (ILS) 6-1
3. Luis Elizondo/Pally Ray (LOU) def. Andreas Boers/Dylan Steffens (ILS) 7-6
Match Notes:
Illinois State 4-4
Louisville7-2; National ranking #42
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,6,3,5,2,4)
T-2:45 A-138
Players Mentioned
