Men's Tennis Falls 4-0 Memphis in ITA Kick-Off Weekend

Saturday, January 23

Athens, Ga.

9 AM

University of Louisville

Memphis

Men's Tennis Falls 4-0 Memphis in ITA Kick-Off Weekend

January 23, 2016 | Men's Tennis

Cards will play in consolation match Sunday at 9 a.m.

ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Louisville men's tennis team fell 4-0 to Memphis Saturday morning in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Georgia's Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility.

"Memphis outplayed us today," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "They played the big points well. We are not adjusted to these fast UGA courts yet so we hit a lot of balls late. Because eight teams are here and they only have four indoor courts, we were only allowed to practice once and it showed. Memphis' indoor courts are very fast and they were very comfortable on them. They seemed like they were playing in their own backyard."

Memphis (1-1) opened the match by taking the doubles point. Andrew Watson and Shakeel Manji gave the Tigers an early advantage on court three where they defeated sophomore Courtney Lock and freshman George Hedley. The Cardinals responded when Alex Gornet and Jeffrey 6-4 registered a 6-4 win over Louis Asser and Kai Lemke at No. 1. The first point of the match was decided at the two-spot where Ryan Peniston and Felix Rauch defeated freshmen Christian Haushammer and Brandon Lancaster 6-2.

In singles, the Tigers picked up wins at Nos. 1, 2 and 4 to get the victory. Memphis took a 2-0 lead in the match when Peniston defeated freshman Carlos Longhi Neto 6-2, 6-1 on court two. Watson added another point with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Gornet at the No. 1 spot. The Tigers clinched the match on court four when Chris Patzanovsky topped junior Sean Donohue 6-2, 6-3.

"Alex and Jeff got back to their normal doubles play and Brandon played pretty well in singles, but overall we made too many unforced errors," said Ecarma. "With other matches going on the rest of the day, we will not be on the courts until our match tomorrow, so we have to use the pre-match practice time efficiently."

Louisville (3-2) will face the loser of the other first round match between No. 6 Georgia and No. 48 UC Santa Barbara Sunday at 9 a.m. in the consolation match.

#44 Memphis 4, #37 Louisville 0
Jan 23, 2016 at Athens, Ga.
(Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility)
Singles
1. #87 Andrew Watson (MEMPHIS) def. #108 Alex Gornet (UL) 6-3, 6-2
2. Ryan Peniston (MEMPHIS) def. Carlos Longhi Neto (UL) 6-2, 6-1
3. Brandon Lancaster (UL) vs. Kai Lemke (MEMPHIS) 3-6, 6-4, 5-7, unfinished
4. Chris Patzanovsky (MEMPHIS) def. Sean Donohue (UL) 6-2, 6-3
5. Courtney Lock (UL) vs. Felix Rauch (MEMPHIS) 1-6, 1-4, unfinished
6. Christian Haushammer (UL) vs. Shakeel Manji (MEMPHIS) 3-6, 2-1, unfinished
Order of finish: 2,1,4
Doubles
1. #57 Alex Gornet/Jeffrey Brown (UL) def. Louis Asser/Kai Lemke (MEMPHIS) 6-4
2. Ryan Peniston/Felix Rauch (MEMPHIS) def. Christian Haushammer/Brandon Lancaster (UL) 6-2
3. Andrew Watson/Shakeel Manji (MEMPHIS) def. George Hedley/Courtney Lock (UL) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Match Notes:
Memphis 1-1; National ranking #44
Louisville 3-2; National ranking #37
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,1,4)
ITA Kickoff
Official: Paul Jones T-2:55 A-67