Louisville Sweeps Dayton in Season Opener

Wednesday, January 27

LOUISVILLE, KY

11:00 AM

University of Louisville

DAYTON

January 27, 2021 | Men's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Kyle Echsner and Lori Harmon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After nearly a year since their last match, the University of Louisville men's tennis team swept Dayton 7-0 and 4-0 in its season-opening doubleheader Wednesday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

"After 10-11 months and coming back like this, it was fantastic just to be on there and competing once again and seeing all the guys. It was extremely fun," said UofL head coach Rodrigo da Silva. "I think the guys performance was really good for a first match. I'm extremely proud of how the guys practiced over the weeks. Was it the best? Probably not, but they played with energy, they played with passion and I'm sure the performance is going to get sharper and sharper over the course of the season."

Louisville 7 – Dayton 0
In the opening match of the doubleheader, Louisville started by taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2. The junior duo of Alex Wesbrooks and Sergio Hernandez defeated Georgi Mavrodiev and Erik Eliasson 6-2 on court 2.
At the No. 1 spot, sophomore Matthew Fung and junior Fabien Salle were in a stalemate with Dayton's Joe Demarco and Ronit Hiryur after falling behind 3-1 early to Joe DeMarco and Ronit Hiryur. Louisville then rallied after an incredible save by Salle and went on to clinch doubles point with a 6-3 win.
On court three, Tin Chen and Kyle Tang fell 7-5 to Connor Bruce and Matt DeMarco to close out doubles.
Louisville went on to sweep singles points in straight sets. Junior Sergio Hernandez gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead after beating Will Harper 6-0, 6-0. Salle defeated Erik Eliasson 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2. Fung topped Steven Karl 6-2, 6-3 to clinch the win on court four. Wesbrooks picked up a 6-4. 6-1 win over Ronit Hiryur at No. 5 and Clement Filho followed quickly with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Georgi Mavrodiev.
On court one, Chen and Bruce battled with Chen prevailing 7-6 (7-0) in the first set and taking the second set 6-4.

Louisville 4 – Dayton 0
In the second match of the day, the Cardinals again took the doubles point, this time with a sweep of all three courts. Hernandez and Wesbrooks teamed to beat Hiryur and Joe MeMarco 6-0 on court one to give Louisville an early edge. Salle and Fung secured the first point when they edged Bruce and Eliasson 7-5 at the two-spot. Senior Tin Chen and freshman Kyle Tang quickly followed with a 6-4 decision against Mavrodiev and DeCurtins.

In singles action, junior David Mizrahi added another point after beating Joe DeMarco 6-3, 6-2 at the five-spot. Hernandez quickly added to the Cardinals' advantage with a 6-2, 6-1 win against Steven Karl. Junior Fabien Salle clinched the win with a 6-2, 6-2 decision against Bruce.

"It was great to be out there, competing with my brothers. The energy was great. I'm really grateful for the people who are making it possible for us to compete," said Salle, who picked up singles and doubles wins in both matches. "I think it was a good performance. It's definitely not easy, we haven't played in like almost a year and we've been practicing, but practice is always different. I think we came out really strong the first match and in doubles we showed a lot of energy, even if there were no fans. We're all just bringing energy and I think we're pretty good."

The Cardinals will continue their home stand on Sunday when they play host to Tennessee Tech in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.

Dayton vs Louisville Men's Tennis (Match 1)
Jan 27, 2021 at Louisville, Ky. | (Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Louisville 7, Dayton 0
Singles
1. #71 Tin Chen (LOU) def. Connor Bruce (DAYTON) 7-6 (7-0), 6-4
2. Fabien Salle (LOU) def. Erik Eliasson (DAYTON) 6-1, 6-2
3. Sergio Hernandez (LOU) def. Will Harper (DAYTON) 6-0, 6-0
4. Matthew Fung (LOU) def. Steven Karl (DAYTON) 6-2, 6-3
5. Alex Wesbrooks (LOU) def. Ronit Hiryur (DAYTON) 6-4, 6-1
6. Clement Filho (LOU) def. Georgi Mavrodiev (DAYTON) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. Matthew Fung/Fabien Salle (LOU) def. Joe DeMarco/Ronit Hiryur (DAYTON) 6-3
2. Alex Wesbrooks/Sergio Hernandez (LOU) def. Georgi Mavrodiev/Erik Eliasson (DAYTON) 6-2
3. Connor Bruce/Matt DeMarco (DAYTON) def. Tin Chen/Kyle Tang (LOU) 7-5
Match Notes:
Dayton 0-1
Louisville Men's Tennis 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,2,4,5,6,1)
T-2:25

Dayton vs Louisville Men's Tennis (Match 2)
Jan 27, 2021 at Louisville, Ky
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Louisville Men's Tennis 4, Dayton 0
Singles
1. #71 Tin Chen (LOU) vs. Erik Eliasson (DAYTON) 6-2, 4-3, unfinished
2. Fabien Salle (LOU) def. Connor Bruce (DAYTON) 6-3, 6-2
3. Sergio Hernandez (LOU) def. Steven Karl (DAYTON) 6-2, 6-1
4. Matthew Fung (LOU) vs. Georgi Mavrodiev (DAYTON) 7-5, 1-1, unfinished
5. David Mizrahi (LOU) def. Joe DeMarco (DAYTON) 6-3, 6-2
6. Kyle Tang (LOU) vs. Oliver Dunne (DAYTON) 7-6, 1-2, unfinished
Doubles
1. Sergio Hernandez/Alex Wesbrooks (LOU) def. Ronit Hiryur/Joe DeMarco (DAYTON) 6-0
2. Fabien Salle/Matthew Fung (LOU) def. Connor Bruce/Erik Eliasson (DAYTON) 7-5
3. Kyle Tang/Tin Chen (LOU) vs. Georgi Mavrodiev/Max DeCurtins (DAYTON) 5-4, unfinished

Match Notes:
Dayton 0-2
Louisville Men's Tennis 2-0
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,3,2)