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Men's Tennis Set to Host NCAAs, Ecarma to Treat First 50 U of L Students to Free Ticket
May 13, 2010
The 15th ranked University of Louisville men's tennis team will host the first and second rounds of the 2010 NCAA Championship May 15-16 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Cardinals (22-5) earned the No. 15 seed and will face Eastern Kentucky Saturday, May 15 at 2 p.m., while Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt will meet in Saturday's 11 a.m. match. The winners of those matches will play Sunday at 2 p.m. U of L head coach Rex Ecarma announced that he will foot the bill for the first 50 U of L students to help increase the home court advantage. Interested students should report to the ticket tent at the entrance to the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. About Louisville The 15th ranked Cardinals earned their seventh NCAA appearance by winning the 2010 BIG EAST championship by defeating Notre Dame 4-0 in finals on April 25 and enter the NCAA post season on an eight match winning streak. At 22-5, the Cardinals have tied a program high for wins and set a record for fewest losses. Additionally, U of L the reached program's highest ranking (No. 10) twice this year and have spent entire season ranked in top 20. The Cardinals are led by junior Austen Childs, the 2010 BIG EAST Player of the Year. Childs, who also earned the honor in 2009, is currently No. 19 in the ITA Singles rankings and has posted a 26-10 overall record while going 20-4 as Louisville's No. 1 player. Fellow juniors Simon Childs and Alejandro Calligari combine to lead U of L in doubles as the No. 26 ranked duo in the nation. Calligari and Simon Childs have tallied an 11-3 mark at No. 1 doubles. Scouting Eastern Kentucky EKU (18-8) won the Ohio Valley Conference to notch their first NCAA
tournament appearance. Junior Alex Das, the OVC Player of the Year leads
the Colonels with a 24-6 overall record and a 10-2 mark in dual matches
as their No. 1 player. Dax is no stranger to the Bass-Rudd Tennis
Center, having won the Louisville Winter Invitational `A' Flight in
October. Hugo Klientovsky and Niklas Schroeder and Carles Pons are also
All-OVC selections.
Series Record: Louisville leads the series with a 20-2 record
Last Meeting: Feb. 17, 2009 - U of L won 7-0 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis
Center
Scouting Virginia Tech The 23rd-ranked Hokies (15-7) are making their fourth consecutive and tenth overall NCAA tournament appearance. Virginia Tech is led by two-time All-ACC selection and 55th ranked Yoann Re who carries an 18-18 record and an 8-12 mark at No. 1. Series Record: Louisville holds an 8-7 edge in the series. Last Meeting: March 10, 2010 -No. 14 Louisville defeated No. 21 Virginia Tech 5-2 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. Scouting Vanderbilt No. 38 Vanderbilt (13-10) is making its ninth NCAA appearance and its third in four years. The Commodores are led by SEC Co-Freshman of the Year 34th ranked Ryan Lipman who carries a 22-13 overall record and a 12-10 mark in dual matches. Vijay Paul the No. 122.ranked singles player in the nation is 17-17 and 11-11 in dual matches playing mostly at No. 2. Series Record: Vanderbilt leads the series by a 12-5 margin Last Meeting: Feb. 19, 2010 - No. 11 Louisville defeated No. 42 Vanderbilt 5-2 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center Ticket Information Ticket prices for the first and second round matches at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center will be $10 for a single session and $15 for an all-session pass. For senior citizens and students with ID, tickets prices are $7 for a single session and $12 for all-sessions. Please call 502-852-5151 for more ticket information. Cards in the NCAA Tournament Louisville is making its seventh appearance in the NCAA tournament and has advanced to the second roun in its last three trips, falling to Illinois each time. The following is a breakdown of their previous trips: 1998 May 15, Northwestern 4 - Louisville 3 (at South Bend, Ind.) 2000 May 13, #24 Mississippi State 4 - #39 Louisville 3 (at Waco, Texas) 2004 May 15, #34 Arizona State 4 - #36 Louisville 3 (at Champaign, Ill.) 2005 May 14, #33 Louisville 4 - #32 Notre Dame 1 (at Champaign, Ill.) Second round: - May 15, #6 Illinois 4 - #33 Louisville 1 2006 May 12, #27 Louisville 4, #37 SMU 0 (at Louisville, Ky.) Second Round: - May 13, #8 Illinois 4 - #27 Louisville 0 2009 May 8, #21 Louisville 4 - #32 Wisconsin 3 (Champaign, Ill.) Second Round: May 9, #13 Illinois 4 - #21 Louisville 1Childs, Childs and Calligari Selected for NCAA Individual Championships Austen Childs has been selected to compete in the NCAA singles championship while Simon Childs and Alejandro Calligari will team to represent the Cardinals in doubles. All three players received the BIG EAST Conference's automatic bid as the highest ranked individuals in the league. Austen Childs, the 2010 BIG EAST Player of the Year, is making his third appearance in the NCAA singles championship. The junior from Mt. Maunganui, New Zealand is currently No. 19 in the ITA Singles rankings and has posted a 26-10 overall record while going 20-4 as Louisville's No. 1 player. He is a three-time all-conference selection and two-time Player of the Year. Fellow juniors Simon Childs (Hillington, England)and Alejandro Calligari (Bradenton, Fla.) combine to lead U of L in doubles as the No. 26 ranked duo in the nation. Calligari and Simon Childs have tallied an 11-3 mark this spring. This will be the first NCAA doubles appearance for Childs and Calligari. Simon Childs and Austen Childs have been named as an alternate doubles team. Childs and Childs have posted an 8-5 overall record and are No. 36 in the ITA doubles rankings. The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 26-31 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., following the conclusion of the team championship (May 21-25). The University of Georgia will serve as host. |
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