Cardinals Take Down Middle Tennessee

Thursday, April 1

LOUISVILLE, KY

2:00 P.M.

University of Louisville

MIDDLE TENNESSEE

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

April 01, 2021 | Men's Tennis

Box Score Fabien Salle Interview

By: Lori Harmon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville men's tennis team took down No. 38 Middle Tennessee 4-0 in a non-conference matchup at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center Thursday afternoon. Louisville improves to 8-7 while the Blue Raiders drop to 13-6 on the season.

"When we played earlier this season, these guys beat us badly," said UofL head coach Rodrigo da Silva. "I'm extremely proud of our guys, they showed character to come back and take care of business at home. Hopefully we can take some momentum into the weekend."

The Cardinals took the doubles point to start the match with wins on courts 1 and 2. Tin Chen and Sergio Hernandez cruised to a 6-1 win over Tom Moonen and Chris Edge to give Louisville an early edge while the 60^th-ranked duo of Fabien Salle topped No. 77 Pavel Motl and Stijn Slump 6-2 to give the Cards a 1-0 lead.

Josh Howard-Tripp gave Louisville another point with his 6-4, 6-4 win over Edge on court four. At the two-spot, Sergio Hernandez, No. 60 in the ITA singles rankings, bested Moonen 6-4, 6-4 to extend the lead to 3-0. Fabien Salle clinched the win with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Slump at No. 3.

The Cards will return to action this Saturday when they travel to Notre Dame for an ACC contest.

Louisville 4 - #38 Middle Tennessee State 0
Singles
1. Tin Chen (LOU) vs. #37 Francisco Rocha (MTSU) 6-4, 3-5, unfinished
2. #56 Sergio Hernandez (LOU) def. Tom Moonen (MTSU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Fabien Salle (LOU) def. Stijn Slump (MTSU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
4. Josh Howard-Tripp (LOU) def. Chris Edge (MTSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Matthew Fung (LOU) vs. Pavel Motl (MTSU) 7-6 (4-0), 3-3, unfinished
6. David Mizrahi (LOU) vs. Max Rauch (MTSU) 7-5, 5-5, unfinished
Doubles
1. #60 Fabien Salle/Matthew Fung (LOU) def. #77 Pavel Motl/Stijn Slump (MTSU) 6-2
2. Tin Chen/Sergio Hernandez (LOU) def. Tom Moonen/Chris Edge (MTSU) 6-1
3. Alex Wesbrooks/Kyle Tang (LOU) vs. Francisco Rocha/Max Rauch (MTSU) 4-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
Middle Tennessee State 13-6; National ranking #38
Louisville Men's Tennis 8-7
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,2,3)
T-2:20