Men's Tennis Opens 2018 Spring Season Thursday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Riding the momentum from a successful fall, the University of Louisville men's tennis team opens the 2018 dual match season on Thursday at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center with a doubleheader starting with Butler at 12 p.m. followed by a 6 p.m. matchup against Toledo. Admission is free.

"The last time we saw Butler was in May when we were at the same NCAA tournament site," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "I was really impressed with the team and how the coaches developed them. They won their conference championship and are very confident. This will be a big test for us. Toledo in the nightcap is no pushover. Obviously tomorrow's match is indoors and Toledo plays most of their season indoors. It will show us where are level of play is at. We hope the fans will come out and cheer these guys on."

About Louisville Men's Tennis
The Cardinals enter the 2018 season with a core of experienced veterans who are coming off a successful 2017 campaign. Louisville returns nine letterwinners, including all-ACC selections Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and Parker Wynn who enter the 2018 spring season at No. 6 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) doubles rankings. Wynn also partners with senior Ciro Lampasas to stand at No. 24 in the ITA doubles rankings. Morin-Kougoucheff and Wynn also represent the Cards in the national singles rankings at Nos. 75 and 119 respectively. Juniors George Hedley and Federico Gomez round out Louisville's ranked doubles teams at No. 46.

UofL also welcomes the addition of junior college standout Federico Gomez to the 2018 squad.

The 2017 campaign saw a tremendous turnaround with the turnaround with a 22-10 record following a 15-17 rebuilding year in 2016. The Cardinals opened the season ranked outside the top 100 teams and reached as high as No. 34 while advancing to the NCAA team championship regional finals. Wynn teamed with 2017 senior Sean Donohue to earn a spot in the 2017 doubles championships after reaching as high as No. 22 in the ITA doubles rankings. Last season, the Cardinals posted a 6-6 record in ACC play and reached the second round of the conference tournament, followed by the program's 12th overall NCAA team championship appearance.

Cards against the field:
Butler
Series Record: Louisville leads 8-0
Last Meeting: February 12, 2016 – Louisville won 6-1 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center
Scouting the Bulldogs: Butler is coming off one of their most successful seasons in program history, where they finished the 2017 campaign with an overall record of 18-6 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. The Bulldogs, who also captured the Big East conference title in a 4-3 comeback win over the Marquette Eagles, return six members from last year's squad.

Toledo
Series Record: Louisville leads 5-0
Last Meeting: February 25, 2017 – Louisville won 7-0 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center
Scouting the Rockets: Toledo will also open their season against the Cardinals on Thursday evening. The Rockets finished 2017 with an overall record of 11-13 and posted a 2-5 mark in Mid-American Conference play. Seven players from last year's roster will compete in the 2018 campaign for the Rockets.

Up Next: Following Thursday's doubleheader, the Cardinals will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., where they will take on Purdue Saturday at 2 p.m.

Purdue
Series Record: Purdue leads 6-1
Last Meeting: February 3, 2017 – Louisville won 4-3 at the Buss Rudd-Tennis Center
Scouting the Boilermakers: Purdue kicked off its dual match season on Monday, splitting against Eastern Kentucky and DePaul. Against Eastern Kentucky, the Boilermakers earned a 7-0 victory, but fell 4-2 to DePaul. Last season, Purdue registered an overall record of 20-13 and recorded a 7-4 mark in Big Ten play, earning an NCAA Tournament berth.

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Players Mentioned

Federico Gomez

George Hedley

Ciro Lampasas

Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff

Parker Wynn

University of Louisville Athletics