Men's Tennis Falls to No. 1 Virginia in ACC Opener

Sunday, February 5

LOUISVILLE, Ky.

3:30 p.m.

University of Louisville

VIRGINIA

February 05, 2017 | Men's Tennis

Rex Ecarma Post Match Interview Photo Gallery

Cards fall 7-0

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville men's tennis team fell 7-0 to top-ranked Virginia in both teams' ACC opener Sunday evening at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

"We're disappointed," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "I know this team has made strides and we've improved since last year, but we played better Friday night, we played better on the road at Northwestern. We played better on day three of the Florida Gulf Invitational. I think the team just inflated this match to more than a tennis match. Our message over the last four days was just 'all we want to see is the best you can do.' They just let today be too much of a Superbowl day… By the time they were settled in, they were too far down and Virginia got comfortable and proved why they are ranked No. 1."

Virginia (3-0, 1-0 ACC) took the first point of the match with wins on courts one and two. The Cavaliers gained an early edge when Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and Alex Ritschard defeated Louisville sophomores George Hedley and Brandon Lancaster 6-1 at the No. 2 spot. The point was decided at No. 1 where Luca Corinteli and Carl Soderlund picked up a 6-3 win over senior Sean Donohue and freshman Parker Wynn. The Louisville duo of sophomore Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and Ciro Lampasas defeated Collin Altamirano and J.C. Aragone 7-5 at the three-spot.

In singles action, UVA added another point at the No. 4 position where Aragone, No. 58 in the ITA singles rankings, beat Hedley 7-5, 6-1. On court two, Wynn battled with No. 39 Kwiatowski, but the Virginia player prevailed 6-4, 6-4 to make the score 3-0.

Ritschard beat Donohue 6-1, 6-4 to give the Cavaliers the deciding fourth point At the No. 5 spot. Sophomore Brandon Lancaster lost his first set to Henrik Wiersholm 6-1 and rallied to tie his second set 5-5, but eventually fell 7-5 at No. 6 as Virginia took a 5-0 lead.

On court one, Morin-Kougoucheff fell 7-5 to Altamirano and fell behind 5-1 in the second set before winning three straight games to pull within 5-4, but Altamirano went on to win 6-4 to make the score 6-0.

Junior Nicolas Rouanet picked up a 6-4 first-set win over Carl Soderlund, but the UVA freshman took the second set 6-2 to force a deciding third set which he won 6-1 to wrap up the singles matches.

UofL (4-2) will return to action this week when the Cardinals travel to Bloomington, Ind., for a Wednesday matchup.

#1 Virginia 7, Louisville Men's Tennis 0
Feb 5, 2017 at Louisville, KY
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles
1. Collin Altamirano (VA) def. C. Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU) 7-5, 6-4
2. #39 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. Parker Wynn (LOU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Carl Soderlund (VA) def. Nicolas Rouanet (LOU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
4. #58 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. George Hedley (LOU) 7-5, 6-1
5. Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Sean Donohue (LOU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Brandon Lancaster (LOU-MT) 6-1, 7-5
Doubles
1. Luca Corinteli/Carl Soderlund (VA) def. Sean Donohue/Parker Wynn (LOU) 6-3
2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. George Hedley/Brandon Lancaster (LOU) 6-1
3. C. Morin-Kougoucheff/Ciro Lampasas (LOU) def. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (VA) 7-5

Match Notes:
Virginia 3-0, 1-0 ACC; National ranking #1
Louisville Men's Tennis 4-2, 0-1 ACC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,2,5,6,1)
T-2:39 A-151