University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Lamar
Men Handle Lamar 5-2 for 2nd Straight Win
3/12/2010 4:13:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Ragin' Cajuns men's tennis team picked up its first set of consecutive wins of the season on Thursday night when they knocked off Lamar 5-2 at Cajun Courts.
The Cajuns (4-9) were coming off a road win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi where they won their first 4-3 match of the season.
"I've always personally believed that it's not so much the way you start, but the way you finish," UL No. 1 Carlin Murray said. "Hopefully we can build some momentum and work towards getting ready for the (Sun Belt) Conference tournament."
Murray knocked off Richard Filkuka 6-4, 6-1. His doubles partner Yanick Mandl won his match 6-1, 6-3 against Robert Lee.
"We've been doing two-a-days lately and we're starting to see the benefits of it now," Murray said. "No one likes waking up early in the morning to do all that extra work, but we're doing it and it's starting to pay off. We're hitting the ball better and we're a lot stronger now."
The Cajuns won the doubles point to start off the match. Murray and Mandl won their set 9-8, while Javier Pulgar and Tomasz Krzyszkowski won 8-1, giving the Cajuns a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
"The doubles point is a sprint," Murray said. "You can't afford to fall behind like in singles. You've got to jump out on your opponent or you won't be able to recover."
The Cajuns seem to be turning things around at this point after losing their No. 1 player right before the beginning of the season.
"It would be like the basketball team losing its point guard AND center," UL coach Mark Jeffrey said. "Not only did we lose our No. 1 player, but also a great doubles player."
Murray has steadily climbed in the Cajuns order from the No. 3 position to now the No. 1 position.
"It's an honor to play at the No.1 position, but the main thing for me is the team winning," Murray said. "Wherever they want me to play, I'll play, as long as it's going to help the team."
The Cajuns not only have confidence now, but they also have leadership from multiple sources. While Murray's climb to the top has been impressive, he isn't taking the credit for himself.
"I think right now we have a couple of leaders on this team," Murray said. "I think Yanick is the leader right now. He's very good at motivating everyone and just bringing that energy when we need it."
The Cajuns will look to continue their success next week as they head to Memphis, Tenn., to take on the Tigers at 2 p.m. on March 19.
Louisiana 5, Lamar 2
Singles competition
1. Murray, Carlin (UL) def. Richard Filkuka (LU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Krzyszkowski, Tomasz (UL) def. Robert Lee (LU) 7-5, 6-3
3. Pulgar, Javier (UL) def. Denis Ermilov (LU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Mandl, Yanick (UL) def. Marton Horvath (LU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Dusan Savkovic (LU) def. Schneider, Neil (UL) 7-6, 6-4
6. Diego Snyder (LU) def. Voss, Robert (UL) 6-1, 4-6, 10-8
Doubles competition
1. Murray, Carlin/Mandl, Yanick (UL) def. Robert Lee/Denis Ermilov (LU) 9-8
2. Pulgar, Javier/Krzyszkowski, Tomasz (UL) def. Marton Horvath/Dusan Savkovic (LU) 8-1
3. Diego Snyder/Richard Filkuka (LU) def. Rupertsson, Alexande/Schneider, Neil (UL) 8-4
--Ragin'Cajuns--
