Cardinals Start Fall Season in Malibu

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's tennis team will kick off their fall season in Malibu, Cali. as they compete in the Malibu Showdown Sept. 22-24. The Malibu Showdown will feature four NCAA tournament teams, including Louisville, from 2022-23 in Michigan, Kentucky and Pepperdine.

The tournament has a hidden dual format, allowing all of the Cardinals to match up in singles and doubles against the same team each day. The Cardinals will begin the tournament against Kentucky on Friday at 5 p.m. Louisville returns to the court on Saturday evening against Michigan and concludes the tournament on Sunday against Pepperdine with each day starting at 5 p.m.

Heading into the fall season, the Cardinals boast two players ranked in the ITA preseason singles rankings, Etienne Donnet (24) and Natan Rodrigues (42). The Cards are also led by the dynamic duo of Rodrigues and Matthew Fung, ranked 27th in the preseason doubles rankings.

About Louisville Men's Tennis

Louisville Men's Tennis is coming off a 17-12 season in 2023, including an NCAA tournament bid and appearance in the Regional Final. As a team, the Cardinals appeared in the ITA rankings 14 times, with a season-high ranking of 20. Will Mayew and Andre' Steinbach are part of the five returners on the 2023-24 squad while head coach Rodrigo da Silva added five newcomers to the mix.

Scouting the Opponents
Kentucky
The Wildcats are coming off a 27-5 season, going 9-3 in SEC play. They advanced into the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament last season before falling to the eventual champions, Virginia. Kentucky is led by Taha Baadi, ranked 94th in the ITA preseason rankings.

Michigan
The Wolverines finished last season 27-5, going 8-1 in Big Ten action. They are coming off a quarterfinal appearance in last season's NCAA tournament. Michigan enters the season with the 25th-ranked doubles pairing of Nino Ehrenschneider and Gavin Young.

Pepperdine
The Waves are coming off a 19-9 campaign, going 8-1 in WCC play. They made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament before losing to Texas. Pepperdine returns 4 players from last year's squad.

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Players Mentioned

Etienne Donnet

Matthew Fung

Natan Rodrigues

University of Louisville Athletics