The University of Louisville men’s tennis team opened the 2018 season with a 4-0 win over Butler Thursday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Cardinals (1-0) will take on Toledo in the second half of the doubleheader Thursday at 6 p.m.
“I think our team looked good,” said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. “We’ve been training for the last week and a half in a really precise way. Butler won its conference last year and was in the same NCAA regional as we were. They came in here confident. They looked good. My hat’s off to coach Parker Ross and his staff and Butler, because they really pushed us to the limit.”
The Cardinals opened the match by taking a highly-competitive doubles point. The sixth-ranked duo of junior Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and sophomore Parker Wynn gave Louisville an early edge with a 6-0 decision against Aviv Ben Shabat and Ari Gerstein on court one. The Bulldogs countered at the three-spot when Michael Dickson and Spencer Lang teamed to beat seniors Ciro Lampasas and Nicolas Rouanet 6-3. The first point of the match came down to court three where juniors George Hedley and Federico Gomez, No. 46 in the ITA doubles rankings were trailed 5-4 before winning three straight games to win 7-5 and give the Cards a 1-0 lead.
In singles action, Wynn added to the lead with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ben Shabat on court two. Rouanet defeated Spencer Lang 6-4, 6-0 at the three-spot to increase the margin to 3-0. In his first dual match as a Cardinal, Gomez, a transfer from ASA Miami Junior College, clinched the win by beating Mag 6-3, 6-3 at No. 4.
With the match decided, play on the other courts was suspended. At the No. 1 spot, Morin-Kougoucheff and Dragos split sets, with Morin-Kougoucheff leading 3-1 in the third. Junior Brandon Lancaster lost his first set 7-6 and was down 2-1 in the second on court five. At the six-spot, Lampasas picked up a 6-2 first set win and was up 4-3 in the second.
Tennis Match Results
Butler vs Louisville Men’s Tennis
Jan 18, 2018 at Louisville, KY
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Louisville Men’s Tennis 4, Butler 0
Singles
1. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU) vs. Mason Dragos (BUTLER) 6-1, 6-7 (8-10), 3-1, unfinished
2. Parker Wynn (LOU) def. Aviv Ben Shabat (BUTLER) 6-3, 6-1
3. Nicolas Rouanet (LOU) def. Spencer Lang (BUTLER) 6-4, 6-0
4. Federico Gomez (LOU) def. Adrian Mag (BUTLER) 6-4, 6-3
5. Brandon Lancaster (LOU) vs. Michael Dickson (BUTLER) 6-7, 1-2, unfinished
6. Ciro Lampasas (LOU) vs. Ari Gerstein (BUTLER) 6-2, 4-3, unfinished
Doubles
1. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff/Parker Wynn (LOU) def. Aviv Ben Shabat/Ari Gerstein (BUTLER) 6-0
2. George Hedley/Federico Gomez (LOU) def. Sam Sullivan/Mason Dragos (BUTLER) 7-5
3. Michael Dickson/Spencer Lang (BUTLER) def. Nicolas Rouanet/Ciro Lampasas (LOU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Butler 0-1
Louisville Men’s Tennis 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,4)
T-2:05 A-55
Lori Korte
Assistant Sports Information Director
University of Louisville Athletics
