Men's Tennis Takes Down Notre Dame 4-3

Saturday, March 11

LOUISVILLE, Ky.

2 p.m.

University of Louisville

NOTRE DAME

March 11, 2017 | Men's Tennis

Photo Gallery vs. Notre Dame George Hedley Post Match Interview Rex Ecarma Post Match Interview

Sophomore George Hedley's 7-5 third-set win clinches the victory for the Cards

Sophomore George Hedley's dramatic third-set win over Grayson Broadus lifted the University of Louisville men's tennis team to a 4-3 win over Notre Dame in an ACC matchup Saturday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Cardinals extend their win streak to seven matches and improve to 11-3 on the season and 2-1 in ACC play.

With the score tied at 3-3, the match came down to the four-spot where Broadus and Hedley were embroiled in a three-set battle that saw Broadus take the first set 6-0 and Hedley win the second 7-6 (7-2). With the other courts completed, the crowd turned its attention to court four where Broadus was leading 5-3. Hedley fought back to win four straight games and clinch the point with a 7-5 victory.

"It was a long and grueling match," said Hedley. "I lost the first set 6-0 and had a pretty bad start, but then I got fired up and basically got momentum. In the third set, I was down 5-3 and he was serving and I managed to break him. And I just kept on taking over and kept putting balls on the court and just found a way to win which was great for our team."

The match started with Louisville taking a hard-fought doubles point. The Cards gained an early edge on court two where sophomore Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and junior Ciro Lampasas teamed to beat Matt Gamble and Alex Lebedev 6-2. The Irish quickly even things up at the No. 3 spot when Grayson Broadus and Brendon Kempin defeated sophomores George Hedley and Brandon Lancaster 6-3. The first point of the match came down to court one which featured a battle between Louisville's 65^th-ranked pair of senior Sean Donohue and freshman Parker Wynn and Notre Dame's 12^th-ranked Eddy Covalschi and Josh Hagar which saw the Cardinals prevail with a 6-4 decision.

In singles action, Notre Dame (8-5, 1-2 ACC) tied the match at 1-1 with Gamble's 6-2, 6-4 win over Lancaster at the No. 5 spot. Wynn put the Cards back on top on court three where he beat Lebedev 6-2, 6-4. The Irish evened the score again, this time at No. 6 where Guillermo Cabrera defeated freshman Clement Filho 6-2, 7-5.

Notre Dame pulled ahead 3-2 at the three-spot with Covalschi's 6-4, 7-5 decision against junior Nicolas Rouanet, but moments later Morin-Kougoucheff took down No. 33 Hagar 7-6, 6-2 to tie the score at 3-3.

"Two weeks ago, I started sending the message to the team to train as though you will be the last man on the court at 3-3," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "And here we go, George Hedley, it's 3-3 – and he was prepared... this team has got a lot of potential, we understand that this is a good stepping stone to help our NCAA resume."

The Cardinals return to action on March 24 when they play host to Florida State in a conference matchup which will be shown on ACC Network Extra.

#44 Louisville Men's Tennis 4, #28 Notre Dame 3
Mar 11, 2017 at Louisville, Ky.
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles
1. C. Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU-MT) def. #33 Josh Hagar (ND) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
2. Eddy Covalschi (ND) def. Nicolas Rouanet (LOU-MT) 6-4, 7-5
3. Parker Wynn (LOU-MT) def. Alex Lebedev (ND) 6-3, 6-4
4. George Hedley (LOU-MT) def. Grayson Broadus (ND) 0-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5
5. Matt Gamble (ND) def. Brandon Lancaster (LOU-MT) 6-2, 6-4
6. Guillermo Cabrera (ND) def. Clement Filho (LOU-MT) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles
1. #65 Sean Donohue/Parker Wynn (LOU-MT) def. #12 Eddy Covalschi/Josh Hagar (ND) 6-4
2. C. Morin-Kougoucheff/Ciro Lampasas (LOU-MT) def. Matt Gamble/Alex Lebedev (ND) 6-2
3. Brendon Kempin/Grayson Broadus (ND) def. George Hedley/Brandon Lancaster (LOU-MT) 6-3

Match Notes:
Notre Dame 8-5, 1-1 ACC; National ranking #28
Louisville Men's Tennis 11-3, 2-1 ACC; National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,3,6,2,1,4)
T-2:43 A-264