Men's Tennis Tops Dayton 4-2

Friday, January 15

LOUISVILLE, KY.

7 PM

University of Louisville

Dayton

January 15, 2016 | Men's Tennis

Cards complete doubleheader sweep to open the season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sophomore Courtney Lock defeated Dayton's Simon Jayaram 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to clinch a 4-2 win for the University of Louisville men's tennis team Friday evening at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. Louisville (2-0) defeated Troy University 4-1 in the first match of Friday's doubleheader.

"Dayton is one of the most improved teams in the Midwest Region and they showed it today," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "They had a chance to beat us, there's no doubt about it. We just dug deep and won that match. I think these guys really grew as a team. They really supported each other, they had each other's back and we gained some mental toughness. The Troy match (earlier today) was just a kind of a physically good match with great singles execution, but this Dayton match was all mental… I think we grew as a team and we grew mentally tougher today."

For the second time in Friday's doubleheader, the Cards fell behind after dropping the doubles point. Louisville gained an early advantage when Lock and freshman George Hedley beat Andy Druffel and Simon Jarayam 6-1 at No. 3. The Flyers answered as Jordan Benjamin and Lorenzo Rollhauser defeated junior Sean Donohue and freshman Carlos Longhi Neto 6-2 at the two-spot. The first point of the match was decided at the No. 1 position where Carsten Fisher and Zach Berry topped Louisville seniors Alex Gornet and Jeffrey Brown 6-4.

In singles action, the Cardinals quickly evened the score when freshman Christian Haushammer rolled to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Druffel at No. 6. Soon after, Gornet put Louisville up 2-1 with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Fisher at No. 1. The Flyers responded on court two where Benjamin defeated Brown 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 to tie the match at 2-2. The Cardinals countered to regain the lead as Lancaster gutted out a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-6) win over Rollhauser to make the score 3-2.

The teams continued to battle with courts three and five moving into third sets. At No. 5, Lock picked up a 6-3 first-set win. He fell behind 3-0 in the second set and rallied to even the score at 5-5, but eventually fell 7-5. In the decisive third set, Lock prevailed 6-4 to secure the Cardinals' second straight win.

"I think I played a very good first set. I thought I played clean and was very aggressive," said Lock. "The second set I had my chances, he broke me at 6-5 and he played a really good game, so I just tried to keep mentally strong. In the third set I just kind of focused on my serve for one break and that was it. I was a little nervous at 5-4 in the deuce point, but I kind of just thought to myself it's my favorite serve and played the play that I'm used to. I think it was a good win for me, I think I grew as a player today and I think the team really grew."

Meanwhile on court three, Donohue and Zach Berry had split sets with Donohue taking the first 6-3 and Berry grinding out a 7-6 win in the second. In their third set, Donohue was leading 4-3 when Lock clinched the match.

Louisville (2-0) returns to action Sunday when the Cards face No. 26 Northwestern at 10:30 a.m. and Morehead State at 5 p.m. in a doubleheader at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. Admission is free.

#36 Louisville Men's Tennis 4, Dayton 2
Jan 15, 2016 at Louisville, Ky.
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles
1. Alex Gornet (LOU) def. Carsten Fisher (DAYTON) 6-4, 6-1
2. Jordan Benjamin (DAYTON) def. Jeffrey Brown (LOU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
3. Sean Donohue (LOU) vs. Zach Berry (DAYTON) 6-3, 6-7, 4-3, unfinished
4. Brandon Lancaster (LOU) def. Lorenzo Rollhauser (DAYTON) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4)
5. Courtney Lock (LOU) def. Simon Jayaram (DAYTON) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
6. Christian Haushammer (LOU) def. Andy Druffel (DAYTON) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
1. Zach Berry/Carsten Fisher (DAYTON) def. #57 Alex Gornet/Jeffrey Brown (LOU) 6-4
2. Jordan Benjamin/Lorenzo Rollhauser (DAYTON) def. Carlos Longhi Neto/Sean Donohue (LOU) 6-2
3. Courtney Lock/George Hedley (LOU) def. Andy Druffel/Simon Jayaram (DAYTON) 6-1

Match Notes:
Dayton 0-1
Louisville Men's Tennis 2-0; National ranking #36
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,1,2,4,5)
T-2:48 A-138