By Andrew Krumme
The University of Louisville men’s and women’s tennis teams have wrapped up their regular seasons and can now look forward to this weekend’s Big East Conference Tournament in Tampa, Fla.
With play beginning on Thursday, both Louisville squads look to turn solid regular-season efforts into a strong showing in their conference tournament.
Head Coach Rex Ecarma and the men’s team played a grueling regular season schedule to prepare them for their postseason run.
Despite a recent skid at the finish of the season, the team had one of the greatest years in school history.
“I believe to achieve anything great, you have to take great risks,” Ecarma said. Despite the risk of playing a schedule that included the likes of Notre Dame, Ole Miss and current No. 1-ranked team Georgia, they reached a program-best No. 12 ranking in mid-March. With two nationally ranked doubles teams, along with the 6-foot-7 Croatian Slavko Radman, who attained a national ranking in the singles division, the men figure to be among the top three seeds entering the Big East Tournament.
Wins against the likes of Indiana, Northwestern and North Carolina State, not to mention taking home the HEB Collegiate Team Championship title at the beginning of March, have shown this team may have what it takes to put a run together and win the Big East outright.
While the season has no doubt been a success for Ecarma and company, they still have to prove they can beat the best to be the best. The Cards were unable to pull out victories against the nation’s top teams like Georgia and Mississippi. They will undoubtedly have to beat tough competition on a neutral court if they hope to advance far in the Big East Tournament.
On the ladies’ side, Head Coach Greg Davis has strung together another solid season with his team, which has seen both highs and lows as it enters into postseason play.
The Cards began the year by winning nine of their first 10 matches, and by earning Davis his 200th career win.
Along with a hot start to the season, the Louisville ladies also debuted at No. 50 in the ITA rankings in March, good for the highest ranking in the program’s history. After jumping into the top 50, the ladies dropped three of their next seven matches and have been hovering around the nation’s top 70 teams ever since.
With solid wins against some stiff competition throughout the year, they enter postseason play looking to make a statement that would all but guarantee a spot in the NCAA Tournament in May.
Despite the season’s triumphs, they will have to deal with the likes of a Notre Dame team that has been ranked in the top 10 all year, along with several other Big East teams, most notably DePaul and South Florida, that have garnered national attention throughout the year.
Putting aside the mid-season hiccup, Davis and company have ended the season strong and will need solid play out of Natalie Laszkowski and Robyn White to make some serious noise in Tampa.
While both sides have had record-breaking seasons, tournament time is most pivotal. This weekend in Tampa will dictate how much U of L has grown as a tennis program. No matter the outcome, both Davis and Ecarma hope to continue their growth for many years to come.
