Cards Fall Short at No. 5 Michigan

Sunday, April 2

Ann Arbor, MI

12:00PM

University of Louisville

Michigan

April 02, 2023 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

Louisville wins doubles point and in singles on courts two and three in 4-3 loss at No. 5 Michigan

By: Lori Harmon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Louisville men's tennis team lost a hard-fought battle 4-3 on the road at fifth-ranked Michigan Sunday afternoon.

The Cards earned the doubles point and fell behind 3-1, but picked up wins on courts two and three to tie the match before the Wolverines prevailed with a three-set win.

"Today was a great out of conference match in April and another great effort by the team without the reward, but I am extremely proud of how the guys competed," said UofL head coach Rodrigo da Silva. "Michigan played well in some key moments and eventually got the win."

The Cardinals gained early moment with doubles wins on courts two and three. After Michigan's eighth-ranked duo of Andrew Fenty and Gavin Young defeated Etienne Donnet and Alex Wesbrooks at No. 1 Louisville answered at the three-spot when Fabien Salle and Matthew Fung topped Nino Ehrenschneider and Patrick Maloney 6-4. The first point of the match was secured on court three where Natan Rodrigues and Sergio Hernandez teamed to beat Will Cooksey and Bjorn Swenson 6-3

The Wolverines (17-2) took the first singles point of the match with Ehrenschneider's 6-1, 7-6 win over Hernandez at No. 4. On court one, Michigan's 10^th-ranked Fenty picked up a 6-1, 7-6 win over No. 76 Rodrigues 6-1, 7-6 to make the score 2-1. The No. 5 spot featured a battle with Louisville's Matthew Fung winning the first set 6-3, but Jacob Bickersteth prevailed 6-1, 6-1 in the next two sets to give Michigan a 3-1 lead.

The Cards fought back with a win on court two where No. 31-ranked Donnet took down No. 23 Malone 3-6, 6-3 to make the score 3-2.

Louisville continued to push with another win, this time on court three when graduate senior, No. 55-ranked Fabien Salle used a pair of tiebreak sets en route to a 7-6, 7-6 win over No. 40 Gavin Young to even the match at 3-3.

The match came down to court six where freshman Andre' Steinbach rebounded from a 6-1 first-set loss to Cooksey to win the second set 6-1, but the No. 117-ranked Wolverine outlasted Steinbach 6-4 in the third to clinch the match.

Louisville (12-9) will go back on the road next weekend for a pair of ACC matches at Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Singles
No. 1 – No. 10 Andrew Fenty (U-M) d. No. 76 Natan Rodrigues (LOU) 6-1, 7-6 (5)
No. 2 –No. 31 Etienne Donnet (LOU)d. No. 23 Patrick Maloney (U-M) 6-3, 1-6, 3-6
No. 3 –No. 55 Fabian Salle (LOU) d. No. 40 Gavin Young (U-M) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7)
No. 4 – Nino Ehrenschneider (U-M) d. Sergio Hernandez (LOU) 6-1, 7-6 (4)
No. 5 – Jacob Bickersteth (U-M) d. Matthew Fung (LOU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 – No. 117 Will Cooksey (U-M) d. Andre Steinbach (LOU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 – No. 8 Fenty/Young (U-M) d. Donnet/Alex Wesbrooks (LOU) 6-3
No. 2 – Salle/Fung (LOU) d. Maloney/Ehrenschneider (U-M) 6-4
No. 3 – Rodrigues/Hernandez (LOU) Cooksey/Bjorn Swenson (U-M) 6-3

Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3; Singles 4-1-5-2-3-6