Louisville Hits the Road for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend

Louisville, Ky. – After upsetting No. 10 Virginia and defeating Austin Peay, the University of Louisville men's tennis team will look to stay undefeated as the Cardinals travel for the first time this season to face New Mexico in the 2020 ITA Kick-Off Weekend.

The Cardinals (4-0, 1-0 ACC) will face off against the Lobos at 12 p.m. (ET) in the first round. Baylor and Gonzaga will play in the other first round match-up. The winner of the two matches will advance to the National Team Indoor Championship.

About Louisville Men's Tennis

Louisville is led in singles Tin Chen, who carries an 18-3 record and is 3-0 at No. 1 in dual matches.Sophomore Sergio Hernandez follows with a 12-3 record overall record and is also 3-0 at the No. 2 spot.
Hernandez and fellow sophomore Fabien Salle lead the Cardinals in doubles with an overall record of 12-2.
The Cardinals are receiving votes in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) team top 25 poll released on January 22.
Chen was named ACC Men's Tennis Co-Player of the Week on January 21 after leading Louisville to a 4-3 upset of No. 10 Virginia. The junior clinched the match with a 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 win against No. 68 Gianni Ross at No. 1.
Chen stands at No. 42 in the ITA singles rankings.In the fall, he became the first player in program history to capture the ITA/Ohio Valley Regional singles title.

About the ITA Kick-Off Weekend
The 12th annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kick-Off Weekend will take place January 24-27, 2020 at 26 different facilities across the country. During that weekend, 60 teams per gender will travel to 15 host sites to participate, with four host schools having earned the right to host both genders (North Carolina, Stanford, Texas, and UCLA). Host sites were selected based on the final 2018-2019 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.

Each of the 15 regional host institutions will welcome three other teams for a single-elimination event, with the winners advancing to the National Team Indoors. The University of Wisconsin will serve as host for the Men's National Team Indoors in 2020, guaranteeing them an automatic bid into the championships.

The ITA Kick-Off Weekend is unique in college athletics in that each regional is determined via the Kick-Off Weekend Draft, where each team selects which regional they wish to participate in. Selections are made in order of the final 2018-2019 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.

Cards Against the Field
New Mexico
Series Record: New Mexico leads 1-0
Last Meeting: March 14, 1997 – New Mexico won 6-1 at New Mexico
Scouting the Cavaliers: New Mexico (0-2) will look for its first win of the 2020 season after posting a 14-8 record last season. The Lobos return four athletes from 2019. New Mexico is led by head coach Ben Dunbar, who enters his fourth season.

No. 5 Baylor
Series Record: The series is tied 1-1
Last Meeting: March 17, 2011 – Louisville won 6-1 in Waco, Texas
Scouting the Bears: Fifth-ranked Baylor (3-0) started the season off strong by defeating Nebraska 7-0 on Monday. For singles, the Bears are led by No. 19 Sven Lah, No. 59 Matias Soto, No. 70 Adrian Boitan, No. 96 Constatin Frantzen, and No. 111 Ryan Dickerson. For doubles, No. 20 Lah and Constatin Frantzen, No. 25 Ryand Dickerson and Soto, No. 37 Lah and Dickerson, and No. 45 Soto and Frantzen. The head coach of Baylor is Brian Boland.

Gonzaga
Series Record: First meeting
Scouring the Bulldogs: Gonzaga (2-1) will look to carry momentum into the ITA Kick-Off Weekend after defeating North Illinois 6-1 on Monday. The Bulldog's Sam Feit and Mathew Hollingworth stand at No. 57 in the latest ITA doubles rankings. Gonzaga is led by second-year head coach Jonas Piibor.

Up Next:
Following this weekend, Louisville will return to the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center to face Northwestern on January 31 at 12 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Tin Chen

Sergio Hernandez

Fabien Salle

University of Louisville Athletics