Men's Tennis Drops 5-2 Decision to Clemson

Sunday, March 13

LOUISVILLE, KY.

12 PM

University of Louisville

Clemson

March 13, 2016 | Men's Tennis

Cards win the doubles point, Morin-Kougoucheff wins in singles

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville men's tennis team took the doubles point and got a singles win from freshman Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff, but the Cardinals fell 5-2 to Clemson in an ACC matchup on Sunday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Cardinals (8-9) return to action against Northern Kentucky at 6 p.m. Sunday evening.

"This was a tough loss in the sense that we had four chances to get two points – we were right there for the win and Clemson just raised their game and we couldn't hold them off," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "We've just got to figure out a way to win these close matches."

The Cardinals opened the match by taking a highly-competitive doubles point. The Tigers gained an early advantage at the three-spot where Daffra Sanon and Robert Dudley defeated junior Sean Donohue and sophomore Courtney Lock 6-3. Freshmen Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and George Hedley answered with a 6-4 win over Austin Ansari and Arturo Pinazo. The doubles point came down to court one where Louisville seniors Alex Gornet and Jeffrey Brown and Clemson's No. 77 Alex Favrot and Luke Johnson were locked in a batter. The Cardinal duo found themselves down 6-5, but rallied to a 7-6 (7-3) win.

In singles action, Clemson evened the score with a win on court six where Christian Harris defeated Lock 6-2, 6-1. The Cards responded with Morin-Kougoucheff's 6-3, 6-4 decision over Johnson at No. 2 to put Louisville back on top 2-1. The Tigers countered at the three-spot when Brown took the first set 6-1, but Clemson's Ansari came back to win the next two sets 6-2, 6-4. Clemson took a 3-2 lead when Dudley defeated Louisville freshman Michael Quang 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 at No. 5.

The match was decided on court three where Clemson's Sanon picked up a 6-4 first-set win, but Hedley took the second set 7-5. The Louisville freshman was up 5-2 in the third before Sanon stormed back to win the next five games and prevail 7-5 to make the overall match score 4-2. At No. 1, Gornet defeated Alex Favrot 6-4 in the first set, but the Clemson freshman prevailed 7-6(7-3), 7-5 for the 5-2 final.

Clemson 5, Louisville Men's Tennis 2
March 13, 2016 at Louisville, Ky.
Singles
1. Alex Favrot (CU) def. Alex Gornet (LOU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
2. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU) def. Luke Johnson (CU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Daffra Sanon (CU) def. George Hedley (LOU) 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
4. Austin Ansari (CU) def. Jeffrey Brown (LOU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Robert Dudley (CU) def. Michael Quang (LOU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-3
6. Christian Harris (CU) def. Courtney Lock (LOU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
1. Alex Gornet/Jeffrey Brown (LOU) def. #77 Alex Favrot/Luke Johnson (CU) 7-6
2. C. Morin-Kougoucheff/George Hedley (LOU) def. Austin Ansari/Arturo Pinazo (CU) 6-4
3. Daffra Sanon/Robert Dudley (CU) def. Sean Donohue/Courtney Lock (LOU) 6-3

Match Notes:
Clemson 11-7, 2-1 ACC
Louisville Men's Tennis 8-9, 0-4 ACC
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,2,4,5,3,1)
T-3:30 A-167