The Book: 2002-03 Tennis (M/W)

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LAFAYETTE – Louisiana's Lady Cajuns tennis team open their schedule Saturday at 1 p.m. against McNeese State Cowgirls here at Cajun Courts.

Saturday’s matinee also marks the spring head coaching debut for Louisiana's Justin McGrath.

This year’s Cajuns squad will be led by seniors Vinca Rampen and Baton Rouge native Robin Singh. Rampen finished last spring with an 11-6 singles record, while Singh notched nine wins in 11 tries. Sophomores Fernanda Kompatsher and Susan Linden also return for the Cajuns.

There are two faces on this year’s squad in Lucia Lasso of Colombia and Brazil’s Thais Bortoletto.

Louisiana-Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns women’s tennis team will continue their home stand on Saturday, Feb. 15 against North Texas in an 8:30 a.m. contest at Cajun Courts.

Saturday will be the first home match of a six-match home stand
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UL’s Vinca Rampen still bothered by a shoulder injury

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns women’s tennis team was unable to overcome the cold weather conditions and the McNeese State Cowgirls in a 4-2 loss Saturday here at Cajun Courts.

UL drops to 0-1, while McNeese State (1-0) notches their first victory of the season.

Senior and Baton Rouge native Robin Singh defeated McNeese State’s Noelia Furno 7-5, 7-6. UL newcomer Lucia Lasso netted the only other Cajuns victory 6-0, 6-3 over McNeese State’s Carolanne Lumsden.

The Cajuns played without the services of senior Vinca Rampen, who had to retire her match due to injury. She is still bothered by a shoulder injury that kept her sidelined during the fall season.

“We were in it to win today,” said UL Lafayette head coach Justin McGrath. “We had our chances.”

Weather conditions caused the doubles matches to be cancelled between the schools.

Louisiana’s women’s tennis team continues their home stand against North Texas on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 8:30 a.m.

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McNEESE STATE def. LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (4-2)
McNeese State (1-0)/Louisiana-Lafayette (0-1)
Louisiana-La. (Cajun Courts)

SINGLES
#1 Robin Singh (UL) def. Noelia Furno (MSU) 7-5, 7-6

#2 Thais Bortoletto (UL) l. to Magali Risoleo (MSU) 6-2, 6-4

#3 Vinca Rampen (UL) l. to Allison Lui (MSU) ret. Injury

#4 Susan Linden (UL) l. to Marina Gando (MSU) 6-4, 6-3

#5 Fernanda Kompatsher (UL) l. to Debora Montero (MSU) 6-3, 6-1

#6 Lucia Lasso (UL) def. Carolanne Lumsden (MSU) 6-0, 6-3

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Louisiana has not played a match in nearly a month

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns men’s tennis team will open their home schedule Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. against Centenary College here at Cajun Courts.

The match, originally scheduled for Friday, January 24, at Cajun Courts, was postponed due to inclement weather.

Louisiana has not played a match since January 20, when Cajuns senior Jakub Ilowski defeated the No. 1 player in the country, Baylor’s Benedikt Dorsch, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. The Cajuns lost the match to No. 3 Baylor 6-1.

Louisiana’s men’s tennis team will return to action on February 15 when they travel to Dallas, Texas, to face Southern Methodist at 12:00 p.m.

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Louisiana hands Centenary College shutout

LAFAYETTE – Justin McGrath netted his first career win as the head coach of Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns with a 7-0 victory over Centenary College here Wednesday at Cajun Courts.

The Cajuns (1-1) posted their first 7-0 shutout since defeating Lamar on January 30, 2001, at Cajun Courts. Louisiana also defeated Centenary (0-6) 7-0 that same season.

“I felt we came out and did what we had to do,” said McGrath. “We are looking forward to Saturday’s match with Southern Methodist.”

Jakub Ilowski defeated Centenary’s Nathan Bridges 6-1, 6-0. The match was Ilowski’s first since a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over the nation’s No.1 player, Benedikt Dorsch of Baylor on Jan. 20.

Louisiana's Evghenii Corduneanu won his first career dual match as a collegiate with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Josh Pinto.

With the loss, the Gents drop to 0-36 in singles dual matches this season, while falling to 0-15 overall in doubles.

Louisiana men’s tennis team will travel to Dallas, Texas, on Saturday to face Southern Methodist in a 12:00 p.m. match.

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LOUISIANA (1-1) def. CENTENARY COLLEGE (0-6)
Lafayette, La. (Cajun Courts)

SINGLES
#1 Jakub Ilowski (UL) def. Nathan Bridges (CC) 6-1, 6-0
#2 Amanjot Singh (UL) def. Caleb Ashley (CC) 6-2, 6-0
#3 Michael Tarkowski (UL) def. Brian Roberts (CC) 6-0, 6-0
#4 Marc Castellana (UL) def. Charlie Matter (CC) 6-0, 6-0
#5 Evghenii Corduneanu (UL) def. Josh Pinto (CC) 6-1, 6-0
#6 Ivan Kovalev (UL) def. Arthur Okura (CC) 6-1, 6-1

DOUBLES
#1 Ilowski/Kovalev (UL) def. Bridges/Roberts (CC) 8-1
#2 Tarkowski/Castellana (UL) def. Pinto/Matter (CC) 8-2
#3 Singh/Corduneanu (UL) def. Ashley/Khoury (CC) 8-0

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Congrats to Coach Mcgrath and the team

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UL women’s tennis team continues homestand

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns women’s team will continue their homestand in a weekend affair against North Texas at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and Northwestern State at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday here at Cajun Courts.

On Saturday, Louisiana's men’s tennis team will travel to Dallas to face No. 38 Southern Methodist in a 12:00 p.m. match.

The women’s tennis team lost their season opener on Saturday, Feb. 8 against McNeese State 4-2. UL Lafayette senior Robin Singh defeated McNeese State’s Noelia Furno 7-5, 7-6. Freshman Lucia Lasso netted her first career win as a collegiate with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Carolanne Lumsden.

Weather conditions forced the doubles matches to be cancelled between the two schools.

Louisiana’s men’s tennis team is coming off a huge 7-0 victory over Centenary College on Wednesday at Cajun Courts. The win was the first career victory for first-year head coach Justin McGrath.

Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns women’s tennis team will continue their homestand next Saturday, Feb. 22 against Arkansas State in an 11:00 a.m. contest at Cajun Courts. UL Lafayette’s men’s tennis team will host Southern University at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at Cajun Courts.

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DALLAS – Louisiana's Ragin’ Cajuns men’s tennis team’s attempt at defeating a nationally-ranked opponent fell short in a 4-3 loss to No. 38 Southern Methodist Saturday.

UL's Jakub Ilowski improved to 3-1 on the season with his second win over a nationally-ranked opponent. Ilowski defeated No. 61 Johan Brunstrom 7-6, 7-6. Cajuns junior Michael Tarkowski also improved to 3-1 on the season with a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Henrik Soderberg.

“We played hard today, but it was a heartbreaker,” said coach Justin McGrath. “I am proud of Jakub and Michael for winning their matches. “We are still a young team, but we are improving everyday.”

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Wednesday's meeting will be the first since 1978

LOUISIANA Là - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's tennis team returns home to Cajun Courts Wednesday to face Southern University for the first time since 1978. The match is set to start at 1:30 p.m.

Univeristy of Louisiana leads the all-time series 5-0.

The Cajuns are coming off a heartbreaking loss to No. 38 Southern Methodist on Saturday in Dallas, Texas. SMU defeated the Cajuns 4-3. Louisiana won the doubles point before entering singles play, where SMU won 4-2.

Louisiana's Jakub Ilowski continued his dominant play against ranked opponents with a 7-6, 7-6 victory over No. 61 Johan Brunstrom. Ilowski improved to 3-1 on the season.

The Cajuns will not be home for long. On Saturday, Louisiana travels to Hattiesburg, Miss., to face Southern Miss at 1:30 p.m.

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Louisiana's Jakub Ilowski notches his fourth consecutive victory

LAFAYETTE - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's tennis team shut out their second consecutive opponent at home Wednesday here at Cajun Courts with a 7-0 victory over Southern University.

Wednesday's match was the first meeting between the two schools since 1978. The Cajuns (2-2) now lead the all-time series 6-0.

Louisiana's Jakub Ilowski improved to 4-1 on the season with his fourth consecutive victory. Ilowski defeated Southern's Alex Hidalgo 6-1, 6-0. Ivan Kovalev and Amanjot Singh both went to third-set tiebreakers with their opponents before pulling out victories. Kovalev defeated Michael Date 3-6, 7-6, 10-8 and Amanjot Singh downed Tommie Pernell 6-3, 4-6, 10-4.

"Today, we didn't play our best even though the score says 7-0," said Louisiana head coach Justin McGrath. "We didn't play well in some places, but we found a way to win."

"In order to beat a ranked opponent, you have to find a way to win. We learned a lot today."

Freshman and Shreveport, La., native Russ Patrick made his first appearance of the spring season. Patrick downed Christopher Williams 6-1, 6-2.

In doubles, UL's duo of Kovalev/Ilowski def. Pernell/Hidalgo 8-0. Michael Tarkowski and Michael Castellana teamed up to beat Michael Date and Christopher Williams 8-3.

Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's tennis team returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., to face Southern Miss at 1:30 p.m.

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SINGLES
#1 Jakub Ilowski (UL) def. Alex Hidalgo (SU) 6-1, 6-0
#2 Amanjot Singh (UL) def. Tommie Pernell (SU) 6-3, 4-6, 10-4
#3 Michael Tarkowski (UL) def. David Ensignia (SU) 6-2, 7-5
#4 Ivan Kovalev (UL) def. Michael Date (SU) 3-6, 7-6, 10-8
#5 Evghenii Corduneanu (UL) def. Gregory Pipkins (SU) 6-2, 6-2
#6 Russ Patrick (UL) def. Christopher Williams (SU) 6-1, 6-2

DOUBLES
#1 Ilowski/Kovalev (UL) def. Pernell/Hidalgo (SU) 8-0
#2 Tarkowski/Castellana (UL) def. Date/Williams (SU) 8-3
#3 Singh/Corduneanu (UL) def. Ensignia/Galindo (SU) 8-3

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Louisiana's Ragin’ Cajun tennis team swept Conference USA member Southern Mississippi 7-0 Sunday here at the Hattiesburg Country Club.

The Cajuns have now won two consecutive matches, including sweeping three of their last four opponents. UL improves to 3-2, while the Golden Eagles drop to 2-4.

In doubles, Marc Lux and Nicolas Carteret of Southern Miss downed UL's Ivan Kovalev and Jakub Ilowski 8-6. The Cajuns won the remaining two doubles matches to earn the doubles point.

In singles, Ilowski extended his winning streak to five matches with a 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 victory over David Canudas. Ilowski is now 5-1 on the season.

Junior and Berlin, Germany, native Michael Tarkowski also improved to 5-1 on the season with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 victory over Uwe Gneiting.

“Today, as a team, we learned how to finish,” said Louisiana coach Justin McGrath. “I have never been more proud of a group of guys than I have today.”

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Louisiana's Ilowski defeated the Nation's No. 1 player in January

LAFAYETTE - Louisiana senior tennis player Jakub Ilowski is ranked No. 71 in the nation in the latest rankings released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Ilowski, a native of Bielsko-Biala, Poland, is 5-1 on the season with wins over No. 1 Benedikt Dorsch of Baylor and No. 61 Johan Brunstrom of Southern Methodist.

"I am very proud of Jakub," said Louisiana head coach Justin McGrath. "He still has a lot to achieve."

"His two wins over ranked opponents this season have propelled him to the next level. He is a different player this season than he has been for the last three seasons."

Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns tennis team returns to action on Friday when they host Texas-Arlington in a 1:30 p.m. match at Cajun Courts.

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