Men's Tennis Falls 4-0 to No. 26 Northwestern

Sunday, January 17

LOUISVILLE, KY.

10:30 AM

University of Louisville

Northwestern

January 17, 2016 | Men's Tennis

Cards suffer first loss of the season, return to action Sunday evening against Morehead

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville men's tennis team fell 4-0 to No. 26 Northwestern Sunday morning at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

"We have been playing Northwestern for almost two decades and that is the best Northwestern team I have seen," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "They have three potential All-Americans, depth and experience. That team will be competing for the Big Ten Championship. We were so close to winning the doubles point but they weathered our storm. We hope to turn this stumbling block into a stepping stone for tonight's match."

Northwestern won a hotly-contested doubles point to start the match. The Wildcats gained an early edge on court one where Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer defeated seniors Alex Gornet and Jeffrey Brown 6-3. Louisville answered at the three-spot as sophomore Courtney Lock and freshman George Hedley teamed to beat Alp Horoz and Mihir Kumar 6-4. The first point of the match came down to court two where freshmen Christian Haushammer and Brandon Lancaster and the Wildcats' Sam Shropshire and Konrad Zieba traded games until the Northwestern duo prevailed 7-6 (7-3).

In singles action, the Wildcats picked up wins on courts two, three and six to secure their season-opening victory. At No. 2, Northwestern's Shropshire, No. 50 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, defeated Brown 6-0, 6-3 to make the match score 2-0. The Wildcats added another point at the three-spot where No. 55 Kirchheimer topped junior Sean Donohue 6-1, 6-2. On court six, Northwestern's Ben Vandixhorn edged Haushammer 7-6 (3) in the first set and took the second set 6-2 to clinch the win for the Wildcats.

The Cardinals (2-1) will face Morehead State in the second match of a doubleheader at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

#26 Northwestern 4, #36 Louisville 0
Jan 17, 2016 at Louisville, Ky.
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #108 Alex Gornet (LOU) vs. #16 Konrad Zieba (NW) 1-6, 3-5, unfinished
2. #50 Sam Shropshire (NW) def. Jeffrey Brown (LOU) 6-0, 6-3
3. #55 Strong Kirchheimer (NW) def. Sean Donohue (LOU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Brandon Lancaster (LOU) vs. Fedor Baev (NW) 6-2, 1-6, 1-4, unfinished
5. Courtney Lock (LOU) vs. Alp Horoz (NW) 3-6, 3-4, unfinished
6. Ben Vandixhorn (NW) def. Christian Haushammer (LOU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
Order of finish: 2,3,6
Doubles
1. #52 Fedor Baev/Strong Kirchheimer (NW) def. #57 Alex Gornet/Jeffrey Brown (LOU) 6-3
2. Sam Shropshire/Konrad Zieba (NW) def. Christian Haushammer/Brandon Lancaster (LOU) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Courtney Lock/George Hedley (LOU) def. Alp Horoz/Mihir Kumar (NW) 6-4
Order of finish: 1,3,2

Match Notes:
Northwestern 1-0; National ranking #26
Louisville Men's Tennis 2-1; National ranking #36
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,6)
T-2:12 A-102