Men's Tennis Set for ITA Kick-Off Weekend
January 26, 2018 | Men's Tennis
Cards face No. 24 Saturday in first round
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The undefeated University of Louisville men's tennis team (3-0) will travel south to Fort Worth, Texas to square off against No. 24 Duke in the first round of the 2018 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Kick-Off Weekend on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. Host TCU will face San Diego in the other first round match at the Bayard Friedman Tennis Center.
The winners of each match will meet Sunday at 2 p.m. ET to play for an automatic berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The consolation match will also take place on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. There are 14 additional host sites with four teams apiece involved in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Each of the other 14 winning schools will be invited to play at the ITA National Indoor Team Championships, to be held Feb. 16-19 at the University of Washington.
"This event is the most important tournament nationally during the regular season," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "There are 15 regional sites with four teams each. The teams are chosen by their ITA national ranking so the quality of the field is higher than the end of the year NCAA Tournament. Our first round opponent is against Duke - a team we know well. We lost to them 4-3 last spring. The match is scheduled to be outdoors so we are here trying to get used to outdoors after being indoors for three months. This is our eighth appearance in nine seasons in this prestigious event."
About Louisville Men's Tennis
The undefeated Cardinals (3-0) are off to their best start since 2014, opening the season with three straight wins. UofL kicked off its 2018 dual match season with wins over Butler and Toledo in a double-header last Thursday at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Cardinals then traveled to Purdue where they took down the Boilermakers in a 4-2 decision.
Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and Parker Wynn entered the 2018 spring season at No. 6 in the ITA doubles rankings. They currently hold a record of 14-6 and are 2-1 from the No.1 in dual match play. The duo of Wynn and Ciro Lampasas rank No. 24 in the ITA doubles rankings and went 4-0 during the fall tournament season. Juniors George Hedley and Federico Gomez round out Louisville's ranked doubles teams at No. 46. Morin-Kougoucheff and Wynn also represent the Cards in the national singles rankings at Nos. 75 and 119 respectively. Through three matches, Wynn is undefeated from both the No.1 and No. 2 spot.
Cards against the field:
Duke
Series Record: Duke leads 3-0
Last Meeting: April 21, 2017 – Louisville lost 3-4 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center
Scouting the Blue Devils: After starting the dual match season at No. 25, the Duke Blue Devils received the No. 24 spot in the ITA rankings with their season-opening 5-2 win over Arizona State. Nicolas Alvarez leads the Blue Devils with the No. 48 ranking in singles. The red-shirt junior secured the match-winning point for Duke against Arizona State, while also teaming with Spencer Furman to capture the win at the No. 3 in doubles play. Furman and Robert Levine have also solidified spots in the singles rankings, sitting in the No. 81 and No. 90 positions respectively.
TCU
Series Record: TCU leads 4-2
Last Meeting: April 23, 2005 – Louisville won 4-2 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center
Scouting the Horned Frogs: TCU is the top-ranked squad among the four schools playing at the Bayard Friedman Tennis Center this weekend. After blanking Abilene Christian (6-0) and defeating Arizona State by a mark of 5-2, the 2-0 Horned Frogs were tabbed at No.10 in the latest ITA rankings. Alastair Gray, who is ranked No. 23 in singles, holds an overall mark of 10-2 and 2-0 in dual match action. Alex Rybakov follows just behind at No. 31 with an overall record of 6-2 and 1-0 in dual match play. The duo is also ranked No. 13 in doubles with a 4-1 record.
San Diego
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Toreros: San Diego opened its season with a 7-0 shutout win over UC Irvine last Friday. August Holmgren has the top singles record for the Toreros with a 12-3 overall mark, while the pair of Nico Borter and Gui Osorio are 4-0 in doubles action.
Up Next: The Cardinals return to the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center for a double-header against Dartmouth at 12 p.m. and Austin Peay at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 4.
The winners of each match will meet Sunday at 2 p.m. ET to play for an automatic berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The consolation match will also take place on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. There are 14 additional host sites with four teams apiece involved in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Each of the other 14 winning schools will be invited to play at the ITA National Indoor Team Championships, to be held Feb. 16-19 at the University of Washington.
"This event is the most important tournament nationally during the regular season," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "There are 15 regional sites with four teams each. The teams are chosen by their ITA national ranking so the quality of the field is higher than the end of the year NCAA Tournament. Our first round opponent is against Duke - a team we know well. We lost to them 4-3 last spring. The match is scheduled to be outdoors so we are here trying to get used to outdoors after being indoors for three months. This is our eighth appearance in nine seasons in this prestigious event."
About Louisville Men's Tennis
The undefeated Cardinals (3-0) are off to their best start since 2014, opening the season with three straight wins. UofL kicked off its 2018 dual match season with wins over Butler and Toledo in a double-header last Thursday at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Cardinals then traveled to Purdue where they took down the Boilermakers in a 4-2 decision.
Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and Parker Wynn entered the 2018 spring season at No. 6 in the ITA doubles rankings. They currently hold a record of 14-6 and are 2-1 from the No.1 in dual match play. The duo of Wynn and Ciro Lampasas rank No. 24 in the ITA doubles rankings and went 4-0 during the fall tournament season. Juniors George Hedley and Federico Gomez round out Louisville's ranked doubles teams at No. 46. Morin-Kougoucheff and Wynn also represent the Cards in the national singles rankings at Nos. 75 and 119 respectively. Through three matches, Wynn is undefeated from both the No.1 and No. 2 spot.
Cards against the field:
Duke
Series Record: Duke leads 3-0
Last Meeting: April 21, 2017 – Louisville lost 3-4 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center
Scouting the Blue Devils: After starting the dual match season at No. 25, the Duke Blue Devils received the No. 24 spot in the ITA rankings with their season-opening 5-2 win over Arizona State. Nicolas Alvarez leads the Blue Devils with the No. 48 ranking in singles. The red-shirt junior secured the match-winning point for Duke against Arizona State, while also teaming with Spencer Furman to capture the win at the No. 3 in doubles play. Furman and Robert Levine have also solidified spots in the singles rankings, sitting in the No. 81 and No. 90 positions respectively.
TCU
Series Record: TCU leads 4-2
Last Meeting: April 23, 2005 – Louisville won 4-2 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center
Scouting the Horned Frogs: TCU is the top-ranked squad among the four schools playing at the Bayard Friedman Tennis Center this weekend. After blanking Abilene Christian (6-0) and defeating Arizona State by a mark of 5-2, the 2-0 Horned Frogs were tabbed at No.10 in the latest ITA rankings. Alastair Gray, who is ranked No. 23 in singles, holds an overall mark of 10-2 and 2-0 in dual match action. Alex Rybakov follows just behind at No. 31 with an overall record of 6-2 and 1-0 in dual match play. The duo is also ranked No. 13 in doubles with a 4-1 record.
San Diego
Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Toreros: San Diego opened its season with a 7-0 shutout win over UC Irvine last Friday. August Holmgren has the top singles record for the Toreros with a 12-3 overall mark, while the pair of Nico Borter and Gui Osorio are 4-0 in doubles action.
Up Next: The Cardinals return to the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center for a double-header against Dartmouth at 12 p.m. and Austin Peay at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 4.
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