Salukis blanked by Cardinals

SIU men's tennis shutout by powerful Louisville squad

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At 1 p.m., the SIU men's tennis team jumped aboard the team van heading to Louisville and arrived at 6 p.m.

The Salukis took the courts one hour later and were dismantled by a talented Louisville squad.

The Cardinals, ranked No. 34 in the nation, won all six singles matches and all three doubles matches in Friday night's competition.

"They are pretty solid," Gian Carlo Remigio said. "We didn't have expectations to win and we just basically tried our best. But I think the travel time [affected] us. But I don't want to make excuses though."

Lucasz Soswa, who was downed by Octavian Nicodim in No. 3 singles 6-2, 6-1, wasn't serving up any excuses for his performance.

"I played horrible," said Soswa, who broke his finger late in the fall season. "As a team, I think a few guys had good matches. For me, it was just one of those days where I didn't play well. On a different day, I would have had a better showing."

Soswa said his finger is not yet at 100 percent and does not have full movement, but he does not think it was the reason for his loss.

The potent Cardinal squad was so dominating that SIU did not push any match to a third set.

Remigio, a senior, said even though the stats may show a staggering defeat, in actuality, it was not that horrible.

"All of the singles matches, even though we lost in straight sets, we didn't get killed," Remigio said. "In most matches, there wasn't much separation [in points]."

Peter Bong came the closest to going three sets when he lost to Cody Conley 6-1, 7-6 in No. 2 singles.

In No.1 doubles, the tandem of Alon Savidor and Julian Angel Botero competed admirably against Conley and Nicodim before losing 8-5.

Remigio, who lost 6-1, 6-3 to Jake Kirtz in No. 6 singles, said playing at Louisville's home court was a huge advantage for the Cardinals - and it may have psyched out some of the Salukis.

"I realized after my game, I should have beat that guy," Remigio said. "He was not that good. I missed a couple points. I should have done a little better."

It is back to square one this week in practice as the Salukis have a two-week hiatus from competition.

They play Chicago State on Feb. 15 at Chicago.

And there is no reason to pout after losing to the renowned Louisville squad.

"We are looking forward to our next match," Remigio said. "We are going to work hard this week. We won't be down after the loss. Right now, we are on the right track. We have nothing to lose, either."

Reporter Zack Creglow can be reached at zcreglow@dailyegyptian.com