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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 40th-ranked Virginia Tech men’s tennis team suffered a 4-3 defeat to the 48th-ranked Louisville Cardinals in a non-conference match at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center in Louisville, Ky.

The Hokies (5-3, 1-0 ACC) earned the doubles point to jump out to an early 1-0 lead. Louisville grabbed the first win in doubles as Van Damrongsri and Sebastian Stiefelmeyer defeated Jai Corbett and Joao Monteiro 8-4 in No. 2 doubles. Tech responded with a win in No. 3 doubles as Amerigo Contini and Florian Nicoud topped Eric Bonfre and Alex Gornet 8-4.

Virginia Tech clinched the doubles point in the No. 1 match where Andreas Bjerrehus and Hunter Koontz used a tiebreaker to edge Chris Simich and Albert Wagner 8-7 (8-6).

Louisville’s (7-2) Simich tied the match at 1-1 with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Monteiro in No. 4 singles. Luis Elizondo then put the Cardinals up 2-1 as he defeated Tech’s Aaron Gomez 6-3, 6-3 in No. 5 singles. Michael Lippens, in No. 6 singles, extended the Louisville lead to 3-1 with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Corbett.

In No. 1 singles, the Hokies’ 38th-ranked Contini defeated Wagner 6-1, 6-2, putting Tech within one.

The Cardinals clinched the match in No. 2 singles, as Stiefelmeyer used three sets to edge Virginia Tech’s 94th-ranked Bjerrehus. Stiefelmeyer took the first set 7-6 (7-3) before Bjerrehus grabbed the second set 6-4. The Louisville junior won the third set 6-3, giving the Cards the win.

In the final match of the evening, Tech’s Koontz topped Louisville’s Gornet 6-4, 6-7 (6-4), 4-3 (7-5) in No. 3 singles, putting the final score at 4-3 in favor of the Cardinals.

The Hokies will be back on the court for a home doubleheader against James Madison and St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Va. Tech takes on James Madison at 2 p.m. before facing off against the Bonnies at 7 p.m.

Singles
1. #38 Amerigo Contini (VT) def. Albert Wagner (LOU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Sebastian Stiefelmeyer (LOU) def. #94 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT) 7-6 (6-3), 4-6, 6-3
3. Hunter Koontz(VT) def. Alex Gornet 6-4, 6-7 (6-4), 4-3 (7-5) (LOU)
4. Chris Simich (LOU) def. Joao Monteiro (VT) 6-0, 6-3
5. Luis Elizondo (LOU) def. Aaron Gomez (VT) 6-3, 6-3
6. Michael Lippens (LOU) def. Jai Corbett (VT) 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 4,6,5,1,2*,3

Doubles
1. Andreas Bjerrehus/Hunter Koontz(VT) def. Chris Simich/Albert Wagner (LOU) 8-7 (8-6)
2. Van Damrongsri/Sebastian Stiefelmeyer (LOU) def. Jai Corbett/Joao Monteiro (VT) 8-4
3. Amerigo Contini/Florian Nicoud (VT) def. Eric Bonfre/Alex Gornet (LOU) 8-4
Order of Finish: 2,3,1*

For updates on Virginia Tech men's tennis, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MTennis