University of Louisville
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Men's Tennis Defeats Southern Illinois 6-1
March 24, 2015 | Men's Tennis
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's tennis team defeated Southern Illinois 6-1 Tuesday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Cardinals (16-4)will face Tennessee Tech at 3:30 p.m. in the second half of Tuesday's doubleheader.
"I'm really impressed with that Southern Illinois team. They had a lot of fight, a lot of chemistry - they didn't back down from us and I really respect how Dann (Nelson) prepared them, " said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "But I also liked how we responded with no Sebastian Stiefelmeyer today. It really showed the depth of this team."
The Cardinals took the first point of the match lead after the teams played through a highly-competitive doubles point. Southern Illinois (5-10) gained an early advantage on court two where Ransom Braaten and Daniel Martinez defeated Van Damrongsri 6-4. The Cardinals responded at the three-spot where Chris Simich and Courtney Lock teamed to beat Jonny Rigby and Szymon Opieczonek 6-3. The first point of the came down to court one where Alex Gornet and Jeffrey Brown battled Michael Kianicka and Alex Pozo to a 7-5 victory.
In singles action, Van Damrongsri quickly gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead with his 6-1, 6-2 victory over Peter Molloy at No. 5. Gornet `s 6-2, 6-0 win over Rigby at the top seed made the score 3-0. Michael Lippens clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-3 decision over Daniel Matinez at No. 4. Chris Simich dropped his first set 7-5 to Alex Pozo, but came back to win the next two sets 6-0 and 6-2 to give the Cards a 5-0 lead.
The Salukis got on the scoreboard on court six where Santiago Salazar picked up a 6-3 first-set win over Opieczonek, but fell 7-5 in the second set. A third set tiebreaker ended with Opieczonek winning 10-8 to make the match score 5-1.
On court two, Albert Wagner rallied from down 4-1 in the first set to beat Michael Kianicka 7-6. Kianicka registered a 7-5 win in the second set to force a third set tiebreaker. With the tiebreaker score 3-3, rain started to fall which moved the match indoors where Wagner prevailed 10-4 to make the final score 6-1.
"I liked how Courtney (Lock) helped out at No. 3 doubles," said Ecarma. "Van (Damrongsri) was really strong in our singles lineup and gave us a quick second point. Alex (Gornet) handled what may have been his first time at No. 1 singles extremely well. We won a few close matches at the end. Overall, I'm really happy with a solid effort today."
Tennis Match Results
#23 Louisville 6, Southern Illinois 1
Mar 24, 2015 at Louisville, Ky.
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #123 Alex Gornet (LOU) def. Jonny Rigby (SIU) 6-2, 6-0
2. #94 Albert Wagner (LOU) def. Michael Kianicka (SIU) 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 1-0 (10-4)
3. Chris Simich (LOU) def. Alex Pozo (SIU) 5-7, 6-0, 6-2
4. Michael Lippens (LOU) def. Daniel Martinez (SIU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Van Damrongsri (LOU) def. Peter Molloy (SIU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Szymon Opieczonek (SIU) def. Santiago Salazar (LOU) 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (11-9)
Doubles
1. #68 Alex Gornet/ Jeffrey Brown (LOU) def. Michael Kianicka/Alex Pozo (SIU) 7-5
2. Ransom Braaten/Daniel Martinez (SIU) def. Van Damrongsri/ Pally Ray (LOU) 6-4
3. Chris Simich/ Courtney Lock (LOU) def. Jonny Rigby/Szymon Opieczonek (SIU) 6-3
Match Notes: Southern Illinois 5-10 Louisville 16-4; National ranking #23 Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,1,4,3,6,2) T-2:56 A-56
Players Mentioned
