Duke Edges Men's Tennis 4-3

Friday, April 21

LOUISVILLE, Ky.

3:30 p.m.

University of Louisville

DUKE

April 21, 2017 | Men's Tennis

Rex Ecarma Post Match Interview Photo Gallery Sean Donohue Senior Day Ceremony

Senior Sean Donohue and freshman Parker Wynn upset Duke's 22nd-ranked duo in doubles

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 39 University of Louisville men's tennis team was edged 4-3 by No. 38 Duke in an ACC matchup Friday evening at the Bass-Rudd Tennis.

Louisville (19-7, 6-5 ACC) will wrap up the regular season Sunday when the Cardinals play host to No. 12 North Carolina in their conference finale at 12 p.m. followed by a 6 p.m. matchup with IUPUI.

Duke (15-8, 8-4 ACC) took the first point of the match with doubles wins at Nos. 2 and 3. The Blue Devils gained an early edge on court three where Catalin Mateas and TJ Pura downed sophomore Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and Clement Filho 6-0. The Cardinals answered at the No. 1 spot when the 47^th-ranked duo of senior Sean Donohue and freshman Parker Wynn upset No. 22 Spencer Furman and Nick Stachowiak 6-3 to even the doubles tally and push their overall record to 22-6 and 16-6 as the Cardinals No. 1 team.

The first point of the match came down to court two, where sophomore George Hedley and junior Nicolas Rouanet battled game-for-game with Jason Lapidus and Ryan Dickerson before the duo tandem prevailed with a 7-5 win.

"In doubles, we were tied 5-5 on court two and had two game points there to serve it out and we fumbled that opportunity away and got broke," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "I think a lot of times a tennis match can be decided early. If we had taken care of No. 2 doubles, it could have been a different outcome for us."

In singles action, the Cards quickly evened the score at No. 2 as Wynn took down No. 87 Furman 6-1, 6-2. With the victory, thefreshman increases his overall singles record to 37-10 and 21-4 in dual matches, placing him in sole possession of fourth place on Louisville's all-time list for season wins. Rouanet defeated Robert Levine 6-2, 6-2 at the three-spot to put Louisville on top 2-1.

The Blue Devils answered on court one where No. 100 Mateo defeated Morin-Kougoucheff 6-4, 6-2 to tie the match at 2-2. Duke continued the momentum with Dickerson's 6-3, 6-4 win against Lancaster. The match was decided on court five where Pura defeated Filho 6-3 in the first set and edged the Louisville freshman 7-6(3) to clinch the win for the Blue Devils.

On court four Hedley picked up a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 win over Stachowiak to close out the match for the 4-3 final.

"We're definitely strong in some spots," said Ecarma. "I think Parker is continuing to make a run at being the ACC Freshman of the Year in singles and doubles. Nicolas is now playing his best tennis - I knew he would be a force outdoors. George is built to clinch a match. If we had found three points outside of George's court… he's our closer."

NOTE: Senior Sean Donohue increases his overall doubles tally to 29-9, placing him tied for seventh on Louisville's list for single season wins.

#38 Duke 4, #39 Louisville 3
April 21, 2017 at Louisville, Ky.
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #100 Catalin Mateas (DUKE) def. #114 C. Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Parker Wynn (LOU) def. #87 Spencer Furman (DUKE) 6-1, 6-2
3. Nicolas Rouanet (LOU) def. Robert Levine (DUKE) 6-2, 6-2
4. George Hedley (LOU) def. Nick Stachowiak (DUKE) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
5. TJ Pura (DUKE) def. Clement Filho (LOU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Ryan Dickerson (DUKE) def. Brandon Lancaster (LOU) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
1. #47 Sean Donohue/Parker Wynn (LOU) def. #22 Spencer Furman/Nick Stachowiak (DUKE) 6-3
2. Jason Lapidus/Ryan Dickerson (DUKE) def. George Hedley/Nicolas Rouanet (LOU) 7-5
3. Catalin Mateas/TJ Pura (DUKE) def. C. Morin-Kougoucheff/Clement Filho (LOU) 6-0

Match Notes:
Duke 15-8, 8-4 ACC; National ranking #38
Louisville 19-7, 6-5 ACC; National ranking #39
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,3,1,6,5,4)
T-2:45 A-317