Men's Tennis Falls 4-0 to Florida State

Friday, March 24

LOUISVILLE, Ky.

4:30 p.m.

University of Louisville

FLORIDA STATE

March 24, 2017 | Men's Tennis

Rex Ecarma Post Match Interview Photo Gallery

Loss snaps Louisville's seven-match win streak

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville men's tennis team fell 4-0 to Florida State in an ACC matchup Friday evening at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The loss halts the Cardinals' seven-match win streak as the Cardinals drop to 11-4 (2-2 ACC).

"We need to play better outdoor tennis," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "They kind of exploited the fact that we've been indoors for a long time – they played well. The bottom line is they played more offense than us. You saw them hitting big. You saw them taking a short ball, ripping it, coming to the net… I thought Sean (Donohue) did a good job of doing that and he won the first set doing that. I thought No. 1 doubles did a good job of playing 'offensive' tennis, they were about to win their match. I told the guys that whoever plays better offense increases their chances to win and Florida State did a better job of that today."

The 29th-ranked Seminoles (13-4, 3-1 ACC) grabbed a 1-0 lead with doubles wins on courts two and three. FSU's Lucas Poullain and Jose Gracia defeated sophomore Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and junior Ciro Lampasas 6-3 on court two give the Seminoles an early edge. Terrell and Terrance Whitehurst sealed the point with a 6-3 win against sophomores George Hedley and Brandon Lancaster at the three-spot. Court one featured a matchup of two nationally-ranked teams which saw Louisville's 22^nd ranked duo of senior Sean Donohue and freshman Parker Wynn leading No. 71 Aziz Dougaz and Guy Iradukunda 5-3 when their match was suspended.

In singles action, Florida State took at 2-0 lead at the two-spot where No. 125 Iradukunda topped junior Nicolas Rouanet 6-1, 6-1. Gracia beat Lampasas 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4 to push the Seminoles ahead 3-0. The match was decided on court three where Poullain outlasted Wynn 7-6 (7-5) in the first set and went on to take the second 6-2.

At the No. 1 spot, Florida State's 52^nd-ranked Dougaz picked up a 7-6 (7-4) win in the first set and Morin-Kougoucheff was up 5-4 in the second when the match was halted. On court five, the Seminoles' Rana Roop Bhullar defeated Hedley 6-3 and held a 6-5 edge in the second. At the six spot, Donohue registered a 7-6 first-set win against Terrell Whitehurst and the players were tied at 2-2 in the second when the match was decided.

The No. 34-ranked Cardinals return to action Sunday when they play host to ACC opponent Miami at 12 p.m. and then face Belmont at 6 p.m. at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

#29 Florida State 4, #34 Louisville Men's Tennis 0
March 24, 2017 at Louisville, Ky.
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles
1. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU) vs. #52 Aziz Dougaz (FS) 6-7 (4-7), 4-5, unfinished
2. #125 Guy Iradukunda (FS) def. Nicolas Rouanet (LOU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Lucas Poullain (FS) def. Parker Wynn (LOU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
4. Jose Gracia (FS) def. Ciro Lampasas (LOU) 6-3, 6-2
5. George Hedley (LOU) vs. Rana Roop Bhullar (FS) 3-6, 5-6, unfinished
6. Sean Donohue (LOU) vs. Terrell Whitehurst (FS) 7-6, 1-2, unfinished
Order of finish: Singles (2,4,3)
Doubles
1. #22 Sean Donohue/Parker Wynn (LOU) vs. #71 Aziz Dougaz/Guy Iradukunda (FS) 5-3, unfinished
2. Lucas Poullain/Jose Gracia (FS) def. C. Morin-Kougoucheff/Ciro Lampasas (LOU) 6-3
3. Terrell Whitehurst/Terrance Whitehurst (FS) def. George Hedley/Brandon Lancaster (LOU) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3)

Match Notes:
Florida State 13-4, 3-1 ACC; National ranking #29
Louisville Men's Tennis 11-4, 2-2 ACC; National ranking #34