By Donnie Niehaus
Under the tutelage of head coach Rex Ecarma, the men’s tennis team is experiencing unrivaled success. The team is 19-8 overall, and has beaten four of the country’s top 25 teams. Their early success has warranted the school’s first-ever top 25 appearance: the 24 spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national team rankings.
“This is the third piece of the puzzle in our program,” Ecarma said. “The first part was getting to the NCAA tournament, which we’ve done three times; winning the Conference USA championship –– which we have done; and now we have now reached the top 25 for the first time. I would like to extend my appreciation and thanks to all of the players in our program, past and present, for playing a part in helping us achieve our goals.”
Ecarma is a great teacher and has gotten some of the best players in the country to come to U of L. One of best to come to Louisville is the Swedish-born Jakob Gustafsson. A 6-foot-4 junior, Gustafsson has been instrumental in the team’s recent success.
“Back home in Sweden, it took me several years before I could break into the top 30 in the juniors. I didn’t really start to move up in the rankings until my last two years on the junior circuit. That is when I began to play more doubles and eventually became the number one player in my region.”
Gustafsson had his breakthrough season in his last year in the juniors. “I reached a top 15 ranking and made it to the semifinals in the national doubles championships. The progress I did in my junior career I owe to my coach Dave Bandelin, who made me realize what kind of sacrifice I had to put into tennis in order to improve. Without him I wouldn’t be playing for the ‘Ville today.”
After establishing himself, it was the great recruitment of Ecarma that landed this gem. “I had a few options when deciding what university to go to. I saw Louisville as the greatest challenge concerning tennis, and since up to that point I had always gone with the “safe” option, I decided to for once go out of my comfort zone and see how I would handle a challenge like this.”
Gustafsson acknowledges Ecarma’s involvement in his decision and the benefits of the Louisville community. “Of course, good communication from the start with Coach Ecarma was what got me interested in this university, and I am very excited about my opportunity here and I am trying to make the most of it. The greatest thing about playing at Louisville is you are playing for your “family,” not only the teammates but everyone around the program is like family and I believe that helps a lot also on the court, when you are fighting for a win.”
Primarily playing doubles at the number one position with Jeremy Clark has been Gustafsson’s most successful endeavour; the duo is ranked 29 by the ITA, but Gustafsson’s 16-4 record playing singles is equally impressive.
Gustaffson still has big plans for his future play. “I am very satisfied with my game so far. I like to take it one day at a time and give my best for that day and hopefully find a way to win. Our team’s had some ups and downs, but I am very proud of the team’s accomplishments so far.” Gustafsson marks the victory against Harvard on the Crimsons’ home turf as the team’s biggest win.
Gustafsson is having an excellent season and hopes to continue through the NCAA championships. Everyone can catch Gustafsson and the Cards in action as they prepare to win the C-USA conference tournament at the Bass-Rudd tennis complex and continue to go deep in the NCAA tournament.
