Cards Play Host to Virginia Tech, No. 9 North Carolina to Close the Regular Season

Friday, April 12

LOUISVILLE, KY

2:30 p.m.

University of Louisville

VIRGINIA TECH

Clement Filho, Federico Gomez, George Hedley, Brandon Lancaster and Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff

Cards Play Host to Virginia Tech, No. 9 North Carolina to Close the Regular Season

April 11, 2019 | Men's Tennis

Cards face Hokies Friday, celebrate Senior Day Sunday against No. 9 Tar Heels

By: Lori Korte

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville men's tennis team wraps up the regular season this weekend with a pair of ACC matches at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Cardinals will take on Virginia Tech on Friday at 2:30 p.m., followed by their regular season finale against ninth-ranked North Carolina on Sunday at 1 p.m.

"This is an important match for us to try to get into the national rankings," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "Historically, we have probably had more 4-3 matches against the Hokies than any other team that we play. Friday's have been good for us since most of our wins this season have taken place on this day of the week."

The Cardinals' Senior Day celebration will take place during Sunday's matchup against the Tar Heels. Louisville will honor five graduating seniors prior to the match, including Clement Filho, Federico Gomez, George Hedley, Brandon Lancaster and Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff.

"Sunday will be a special day for us. Not only are we playing a top 10 team and 2017 NCAA runner-up North Carolina, but it will be the final home match of the 5 seniors-Chris Kougoucheff, Brandon Lancaster, George Hedley, Federico Gomez and Clement Filho," said Ecarma. "These young men will be honored at 12:30. We will be giving out 50 Cardinal Tennis shirts between noon and 12:30 p.m."

About Louisville Men's Tennis
Last time out, the Cardinals (15-10, 3-7 ACC) split matches with Clemson and then-No. 49 Georgia Tech. Louisville captured a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Clemson before falling to Georgia Tech 4-1.

Against Clemson, freshman Sergio Hernandez secured a three-set victory at No. 3 to clinch the 4-3 win for the Cards. Also registering singles victories for Louisville were Gomez, Fabien Salle, and Filho. Salle also tallied the Cards' lone victory of the day against Georgia Tech.

Hernandez holds the Cards' top dual match singles record at 16-3, playing primarily at No. 4 and No. 5, while Gomez has just one loss in dual match action with a record of 12-1.

In doubles, the No. 87 duo of Salle and Morin-Kougoucheff boast Louisville's top record at 11-6, including nine wins on court one. Seniors George Hedley and Lancaster have tallied five wins from courts one and two.

Virginia Tech
Series Record: Louisville leads 12-11
Last Meeting: April 20, 2018 – Louisville lost 4-2 at Virginia Tech
Scouting the Hokies: Last time out, Virginia Tech (15-7, 5-5 ACC) dropped a pair of tightly-contested conference matches against then-No. 24 Miami and then-No. 31 Florida State. Prior to the weekend's losses, the Hokies were riding a seven-match win streak. Jason Kros, who was tabbed at No. 71 in the latest ITA rankings, holds the top singles mark at 12-8 from the one-spot. Mitch Harper is Virginia Tech's top-ranked singles player at No. 40. In doubles, the Hokies boast a pair of nationally ranked teams, including No. 66 Carlo Donato and Mitch Harper and No. 69 Henrik Korsgaard and Alexandre Ribeiro.

North Carolina
Series Record: North Carolina leads 5-2
Last Meeting: April 6, 2018 – Louisville lost 6-1 at North Carolina
Scouting the Tar Heels: North Carolina (16-4, 8-2 ACC) is currently riding a four-match win streak and was tabbed at No. 9 in the latest ITA National Rankings. In their latest outing, the Tar Heels downed Notre Dame 5-0 on April 7. William Blumberg received the nod at No. 20 in the latest ITA singles rankings with a mark of 7-4 at No. 1, followed by No. 35 Benjamin Siguoin with a 11-4 mark in dual match action. In doubles, No. 28 William Blumberg and Blaine Boyden are 14-2 with an 11-1 mark at the one-spot. Prior to Sunday's match, the Tar Heels will take on No. 5 Virginia on Friday.

Up Next
The Cards will be back in action for the ACC Championships, which begin on April 17 in Cary, N.C.