Rain, cold and wind have forced Saturday's semifinal round of the 2005 C-USA Men's Tennis Championship inside the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center in Louisville, Ky. In the first semifinal, the host Louisville Cardinals have advanced to their first championship match since 2000 with a 4-2 win over TCU. In the other semifinal, Tulane has reached the championship match for the fifth consecutive year following a 4-1 win over USF.

Charlotte defeated East Carolina, 4-1 in the ninth place match.

Louisville 4, TCU 2
Third-seeded University of Louisville defeated No. 2 seed TCU 4-2 in a match that lasted nearly five hours in the 2005 Conference USA Men’s Tennis semifinals Saturday at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

Louisville rallied to clinch the doubles point to start the match. TCU’s Fabrizio Sestini and Rafael Abreu picked up an 8-3 win over Jakob Gustafsson and Jeremy Clark at the top spot. Louisville’s Slavko Radman and Jhonny Berrido edged Jordan Freitas and Jacob Martin 9-7 (2) at No. 2 to knot the doubles matches. The Cards’ Mark Kennedy and Damar Johnson outlasted Jacopo Tezza 9-8 (7-4) at the three-spot to clinch the point.

In singles action, Clark gave the Cards’ a 2-0 lead with a 6-4, 6-2 decision over Freitas at No. 5. Sestini pulled the Horned Frogs within 2-1 with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Damar Johnson at No. 1. Louisville’s Gustafsson defeated Tezza 7-6, 6-3 at No. 3 to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead. Abreu edged Berrido 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 at the six slot to make the score 3-2. Radman outlasted Martin 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 at No. 2 for the match-winner.

Tulane 4, USF 1
Top-seeded Tulane defeated No. 6 seeded South Florida 4-1 in the 2005 Conference USA Men's Tennis semifinals Saturday at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

The Green Wave took the doubles point to open the match. USF's Uli Kiendl and Federico Barton started things off with an 8-3 win over Dmitriy Koch and Alberto Sottocorno. Tulane's David Goulet and Jonah Kane-West defeated Juan Barragan and Dillon Brozyna 8-4 at No. 3. Ted Angelinos and Jacobo Hernandez beat Andreas Moroldt and Marc Jaeger 8-6 at the two-spot to secure the point.

In singles action, Goulet defeated Barragan 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 to give the Green Wave a 2-0 lead. The Bulls pulled within 2-1 when Kiendl defeated Koch 6-0, 2-6, 6-3 at No. 1. Sottocorno picked up another singles point for Tulane with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Jaeger at No. 5. Hernandez defeated Maroldt 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 4 to clinch the match.

Tulane advances to the finals of the championship to play third-seeded host Louisville at 11 a.m. at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Charlotte 4, East Carolina 1
Charlotte defeated East Carolina 4-1 in the ninth place consolation match of the 2005 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship Saturday at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

The 49ers took the doubles point as the team of Marlo Santoso and Jonathan Vencatachellum defeated Henrique Viana and Darren Mansell 8-4 at No. 2, while Jonathan Clark and Stuart Lynas topped Felipe Fonseca and Robert Stasch 8-6 at the three-slot.

In singles action, Charlotte's Santoso defeated Fonseca 6-3, 6-1 at No. 2 to make it a 2-0 match. East Carolina's Mansell posted a 6-1, 6-4 win over Host at No. 4 to put the Pirates on the scoreboard. Vencatachellum beat Florian Tremmel 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5 to give Charlotte a 3-1 lead. Lynas closed out the match with a 7-6 (6), 6-2 win over Rose at No. 6.


2005 C-USA Men’s Tennis Championship Schedule of Events

Thursday, April 21
(8) Southern Miss def. (9) Charlotte, 4-1
(5) UAB def. (12) Saint Louis, 4-0
(6) USF def. (11) Marquette, 4-0
(7) DePaul def. (10) East Carolina, 4-1

Friday, April 22
(3) Louisville def. UAB 0, 5-0
(2) TCU def. Southern Miss, 4-0
(1) Tulane def. DePaul, 4-0
USF def. (4) Memphis, 4-1

Ninth Place Consolation
Charlotte 4, Saint Louis 0
East Carolina 4, Marquette 1

Saturday, April 23
Semifinal 1 - Louisville def. TCU, 4-2
Semifinal 2 - Tulane def. USF, 4-1

Ninth Place Match,
Charlotte def. East Carolina, 4-1

Sunday, April 24
Championship Match - Louisville vs. Tulane, 11 a.m.

All Times Eastern