By Riley Vance —

Men’s tennis (9-3, 1-1) completed its second doubleheader of the season this weekend, defeating Purdue 4-1 and Austin Peay 7-0. Louisville’s victory against Austin Peay marks their third consecutive win over the Governors.

“We’ve been on the road six straight weekends, five of them flights where it’s really far away, so it’s great to be home,” head coach Rex Ecarma said.

In their match against Purdue, the No. 3 doubles team of Alex Wesbrooks and Federico Gomez finished first with a 6-3 win.

No. 2 Brandon Lancaster and George Hedley followed with a 6-3 victory to clinch the doubles point for the Cardinals.

In singles, No. 3 Fabien Salle lost the first match (6-3, 6-2) to the Boilermakers.

Louisville picked up momentum with a 6-4, 6-3 win by No. 5 Gomez and a 6-2, 6-3 win by No. 2 Lancaster.

No. 4 Sergio Hernandez Ramirez battled for a 6-4, 7-6 win to finish off the match for the Cards.

“Being on the road six straight weekends, sometimes it can break a team down,” Ecarma said. “But I think it actually made this team tougher. We’re really fortunate to beat Purdue. A couple of things go their way and they win.”

In their match against Austin Peay, freshmen Marcus Sulen and Hernandez Ramirez brought in the first win at 6-0. Following them, seniors Hedley and Lancaster won 6-1 to quickly finish the doubles portion of the match.

The Cardinals continued their winning streak in singles as No. 2 Salle finished 6-1, 6-0.

Wesbrooks wrapped up his match with a 6-1, 6-1 win at the No. 6 spot.

Finishing third, No. 3 Gomez won 6-2, 6-0, followed by No. 4 Hernandez Ramirez at 6-3, 6-2.

Freshman David Mizrahi brought the Cards up to 6-0 overall with a 6-2, 6-4 victory.

In the end, Louisville swept Austin Peay 7-0 as No. 1 Lancaster topped his opponent 6-3, 7-5.

“I was really proud of this team,” Ecarma said. “We had a really hard-fought win against a very good Purdue team. To come back and play very efficiently, very focused, with very few errors shows the growth and maturity of this team.”

Men’s tennis hosts Northern Kentucky and Xavier for another doubleheader on Thursday, Feb. 21 at noon and 6 p.m. at Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

You can follow the Louisville Cardinal on Twitter @thecardsports.

File Photo / The Louisville Cardinal