Men's Tennis Signs Laalej
November 10, 2017 | Men's Tennis
Lynn University standout will join the Cardinals in the fall of 2018
University of Louisville men's tennis coach Rex Ecarma has announced that Medhi Laalej has signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play for Cardinals in the fall of 2018. Â
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Laalej joins the Cardinals as a transfer from Lynn University, an NCAA Division II school located in Boca Raton, Fla. He brings with him an impressive resume in his three seasons with the Fighting Knights. In the 2017 campaign, he earned ITA All-America honors in singles and doubles and finished the season ranked fifth in doubles and sixth in singles. That same year, he posted a 17-5 record at No. 1 singles and going 12-6 as part of Lynn's top doubles team. Laalej is a two-time Sunshine State Conference (SSC) selection in singles (2016 and 2017) and doubles (2015 and 2016).
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In addition to his collegiate accomplishments, the Meknes, Morocco native competed in the Arabic Games, the African Championships and the Junior Davis Cup for Morocco. He held a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) of 13.85.
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Laalej is equally successful in the classroom, earning ITA Scholar-Athlete honors twice (2016 and 2017) and named to the SSC Commissioner's Honor Roll three times.
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Medhi Laalej on Louisville
"I am very excited to join UofL and can't wait to make great results with the team. I chose to play for Louisville because I always wanted to play for a major Division 1 program. After visiting, I knew it would be a perfect fit for me. I liked the facilities and the program history. I can't wait for the opportunity to play in the best tennis conference. I got along with Coach Rex Ecarma and I am confident that I will improve as a tennis player and as a person thanks to Coach Ecarma's experience. I am excited to perform well on and off the court. Go Cards!"
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Rex Ecarma on Medhi Laalej
"The first thing that struck me about Mehdi is his maturity. You can tell he is intelligent and is a quiet competitor. He is a deliberate tennis player that works to construct each of his points. He had a great visit and my current UofL players were impressed. He was highly recruited by programs that had a better national ranking than we have currently, but we also felt he was a great fit. He will bring experience, maturity and a high level of skill to our already veteran team next year. You cannot have a UTR rating as high as 13.85 and not have won big matches. The Cardinal tennis fans will love him."
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Laalej joins the Cardinals as a transfer from Lynn University, an NCAA Division II school located in Boca Raton, Fla. He brings with him an impressive resume in his three seasons with the Fighting Knights. In the 2017 campaign, he earned ITA All-America honors in singles and doubles and finished the season ranked fifth in doubles and sixth in singles. That same year, he posted a 17-5 record at No. 1 singles and going 12-6 as part of Lynn's top doubles team. Laalej is a two-time Sunshine State Conference (SSC) selection in singles (2016 and 2017) and doubles (2015 and 2016).
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In addition to his collegiate accomplishments, the Meknes, Morocco native competed in the Arabic Games, the African Championships and the Junior Davis Cup for Morocco. He held a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) of 13.85.
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Laalej is equally successful in the classroom, earning ITA Scholar-Athlete honors twice (2016 and 2017) and named to the SSC Commissioner's Honor Roll three times.
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Medhi Laalej on Louisville
"I am very excited to join UofL and can't wait to make great results with the team. I chose to play for Louisville because I always wanted to play for a major Division 1 program. After visiting, I knew it would be a perfect fit for me. I liked the facilities and the program history. I can't wait for the opportunity to play in the best tennis conference. I got along with Coach Rex Ecarma and I am confident that I will improve as a tennis player and as a person thanks to Coach Ecarma's experience. I am excited to perform well on and off the court. Go Cards!"
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Rex Ecarma on Medhi Laalej
"The first thing that struck me about Mehdi is his maturity. You can tell he is intelligent and is a quiet competitor. He is a deliberate tennis player that works to construct each of his points. He had a great visit and my current UofL players were impressed. He was highly recruited by programs that had a better national ranking than we have currently, but we also felt he was a great fit. He will bring experience, maturity and a high level of skill to our already veteran team next year. You cannot have a UTR rating as high as 13.85 and not have won big matches. The Cardinal tennis fans will love him."
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