Tigers Battle, Drop Consolation Match to Louisville

COLUMBIA, S.C. – After a hard-fought battle on the court, Clemson was unable to come away with a win as Louisville (4-1) secured a 4-0 victory over the Tigers (2-2) as the team wraps up ITA Kickoff Weekend in Columbia. 

“Great opportunities this weekend for the guys to play against some great competition, especially for our freshman,” Head Coach Brandon Wagner said. “There are some positives to take away from the weekend and also some areas to improve on. We will get right back to work and keep building towards the goals and standards we have set.”

The Tigers started off strong in doubles as the freshman duo of Marko Mesarovic and Stewart Aronson were first to finish as they took down Louisville’s Will Mayew and Piet Steveker, 6-3 on court two. After the Tigers victory, the Cardinals secured a win on court one, as the deciding court for the doubles point was with Ryuhei Azuma and Wissam Abderrahman. 

The Tiger duo forced a tiebreaker on court three but were unable to secure the point as the pairing of Miguel Avendano and Andre’ Steinbach won the match, 7(6)-6(3) to give the Cardinals the doubles point. 

In singles, the Tigers battled hard but the Cardinals were able to secure the three wins they needed to seal the victory on the day. On court two, Abderrhman forced a tie break as the freshman put up an impressive fight against Natan Rodrigues to try and achieve a comeback for Clemson. Ridrigues won the tie break, 7(6)-6(4) and secured the victory for Louisville. 

The remaining three courts of Azuma, Mesarovic and Aronson did not play out their matches after the Cardinals secured the 4-0 victory as those matches were left unfinished. 

Up next, the Tigers will head to East Lansing, Mich. as they are set to take on Michigan State on Friday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. For complete coverage of the Clemson men’s tennis team, follow @ClemsonMTennis on Twitter and Instagram.

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FINAL: Louisville 4, Clemson 0

Records: Clemson, 2-2; Louisville, 4-1

SINGLES (6,4,2)

1. Etienne Donnet (UL) led Ryuhei Azuma (CU), 6-4, 6-5 unfinished
2. Natan Rodrigues (UL) def. Wissam Abderrahman (CU), 6-2, 7(6)-6(4) 
3. Andre’ Steinbach (UL) led Marko Mesarovic (CU), 7-5, 4-3 unfinished
4. Will Mayew (UL) def. Matt Pitts (CU), 6-3, 6-1
5. Stewart Aronson (CU) tied Kosuke Nakanishi (UL), 2-6, 6-3, 1-1 unfinished
6. Piet Steveker (UL) def. Max Smith (CU), 6-4, 6-1

DOUBLES (2,1,3)

1. Donnet/Rodrigues (UL) def. Vukadin/Smith (CU), 6-4
2. Aronson/Mesarovic (CU) def. Mayew/Steveker (UL), 6-3
3. Avendano/Steinbach (UL) def. Azuma/Abderrahman (CU), 7(6)-6(3)