Hedley Lifts Men's Tennis to a 4-3 Win Over Tennessee Tech

Thursday, March 24

LOUISVILLE, KY.

6 PM

University of Louisville

Tennessee Tech

Hedley Lifts Men's Tennis to a 4-3 Win Over Tennessee Tech

March 24, 2016 | Men's Tennis

George Hedley clinches the match with a 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 win at No. 2 singles

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Freshman George Hedley's 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 win over Alex Arovin lifted the University of Louisville men's tennis team to a 4-3 win against Tennessee Tech in a thriller at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center on Thursday evening.

"Tennessee Tech just went to Knoxville and were in position to beat Tennessee," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "They were confident coming in here. They are a veteran team, we've been battling those guys for a long time, I know their game like the back of my hand and they're very, very good. There were a lot of gutsy points out there for us."

The Cards opened the match by taking a very competitive doubles point. Louisville's No. 1 duo of senior Jeffrey Brown and freshman Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff teamed to beat Alex Arovin and Alberto Esteban 6-4. The Golden Eagles evened things up with a win on court two where Eduardo Mena and Marcos Bernardes defeated junior Sean Donohue and sophomore Courtney Lock by a score of 6-4. At the three-spot, Louisville's freshman duo of Hedley and Brandon Lancaster secured the first point of the match with a 7-5 victory against Jorge Alfonso and Guille Nicolas.

Tennessee Tech (6-6) grabbed the first singles point when Eduardo Mena defeated Morin-Kougoucheff 7-6, 6-2 at No. 1 to even the score at 1-1. Louisville quickly answered on court three where Brown posted a 6-4, 6-4 win over Esteban to give the Cards a 2-1 lead in the match. Donohue added to the lead with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Alfonzo at the six-spot to make the score 3-1.

The Golden Eagles stormed back with a win on court five where Bernardes edged freshman Carlos Longhi Neto 7-6 in the first set and went on to claim a 6-3 victory in the second to pull Tennessee Tech within a point. That point came on court four. Louisville's Lancaster gained an early edge when he defeated Nicolas 6-0 in the first set. Nicolas won the second set 6-1 to force a third set which resulted in a 6-4 win for Nicolas to tie the score at 3-3.

The match came down to court two where Arovin and Hedley were locked in a battle that lasted nearly three hours. Arovin struck first with a 6-4 win over Hedley in the first set. The Louisville freshman found himself down 5-4 in the second, but bounced back for a 7-6 win with the match on the line. In the decisive third set, the players traded games until they were tied at 6-6. Hedley prevailed in a 9-7 tiebreaker to clinch the victory for the Cards.

"It was a grueling match," said Hedley. "I was down a set and I just managed to find a way to come back and just kept going. I was cramping throughout the whole third set pretty much, but I managed to find a way and it felt great to get the win."

Louisville (11-11) will travel to Durham, N.C. to face Duke in an ACC matchup on Sunday.

Louisville Men's Tennis 4, Tennessee Tech 3
March 24, 2016 at Louisville, Ky.
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles
1. Eduardo Mena (TTU) def. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU) 7-6, 6-2
2. George Hedley (LOU) def. Alex Arovin (TTU) 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 (9-7)
3. Jeffrey Brown (LOU) def. Alberto Esteban (TTU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Guille Nicolas (TTU) def. Brandon Lancaster (LOU) 0-6, 6-1, 6-4
5. Marcos Bernardes (TTU) def. Carlos Longhi Neto (LOU) 7-6, 6-3
6. Sean Donohue (LOU) def. Jorge Alfonso (TTU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. Jeffrey Brown/Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU) def. Alex Arovin/Alberto Esteban, Alberto (TTU) 6-4
2. Eduardo Mena/Marcos Bernardes(TTU) def. Sean Donohue/Courtney Lock (LOU) 6-4
3. George Hedley/Brandon Lancaster (LOU) def. Jorge Alfonso/ Guille Nicolas (TTU) 7-5
Match Notes:
Tennessee Tech 6-6
Louisville Men's Tennis 11-11
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,3,6,5,4,2)
T-3:28 A-89