University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Arthur Libaud Brings Energy To Ragin' Cajuns Tennis
2/16/2017 7:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Sophomore brings heart and hustle to top of Ragin' Cajuns lineup
Picking Arthur Libaud out of a crowd may be difficult.
Listed as a generous 5-foot-7 on the Louisiana Ragin' Cajun men's tennis roster, the 20-year old native of Les Chenevieres, France, is diminutive. He has short hair. No facial hair. No outstanding tattoos or body piercings.
Nothing in his physical appearance distinguishes him from any other college student at UL or any other university for that matter.
He does bounce a little when he walks, responding to the beat of French music pulsing from his ever-present head phones. He does like to wear his caps with the bill facing backwards.
Before Friday's tennis match against Sun Belt Conference rival Georgia State, Libaud bounces in the Ragin' Cajun tennis facility. He enters the tennis locker room at 1:15 p.m.
Shortly thereafter, Libaud and several teammates emerge. Libaud's fellow netters saunter, stroll if you will, onto the courts.
Saunter and stroll do not look to be part of Libaud's vocabulary. His entrance onto the courts has evolved into the initial phases of a strut. He is confident but has not crossed that oh-so-thin line into full blown cockiness.
He leaves the court for a moment, exploding up the stairs two at a time, into the second floor of the Culotta Tennis Center and explodes back down the stairs with a pre-match snack in hand.
The snack is soon consumed and Libaud, along with teammate Pearse Dolan, lead the squad for a leisurely lap around the six-court complex.
This will be the slowest Libaud moves for the next several hours.
And now, with tennis racquet in hand, Libaud no longer becomes difficult to distinguish in a crowd.
Although there is nothing remotely suggesting that Libaud's teammates are sluggish, it seems that he is moving and bouncing at a different speed. The way he moves forward, backward, left, right - all suggest that he is where he is meant to be on this Friday afternoon. Moving at warp speed with tennis racquet in hand.
As pre-match warm-ups continue, the head phones stay on. He lip synchs to the music in his ears. He does a few dance moves.
Clearly he is enjoying himself.
Eventually the head phones come off. But his exuberance continues. Even in warm-ups, he celebrates a good shot from a teammate with a fist pump and a jig.
As Pharrell's "Happy" blasts from the facility's PA system, Libaud mouths the lyrics and does indeed clap his hands.
Warm-ups continue. The actual match is still 15 minutes away. Head coach Mark Jeffrey speaks briefly to Libaud, who is now not moving but is listening.
As Europe's "Final Countdown" signals the impending start of the 2:30 p.m. match, Libaud exchanges one racquet for another.
The Georgia State squad is watching the Cajuns finish their warm-ups. A few lobs and overheads in the blustery 20-mile per hour wind are completed.
Libaud actually sits down for a few minutes and re-grips a racquet handle.
The doubles portion of the match begins with Libaud teaming up with Australian freshman Jamie Fraser on the number 2 court. Â
Their 6-3 victory helps the Cajuns secure the doubles point. The set is rather contentious. When Libaud begins to leave the court to retrieve a ball that has bounced over the fence, one of the Georgia State players yells at him to stay on the court.
Cooler heads eventually prevail after the competitive juices take a short break between serves. Amid shouts from the crowd of, "stay hot Art," and, "Dance and move Art," Libaud and Fraser close out the set, as Libaud holds serve and Fraser puts away the final point.
The six singles matches soon begin. On the number one court, an impressive challenge awaits Libaud. His opponent is Zackery Kennedy, the 85th-ranked collegiate player in the latest International Tennis Association's rankings.
Kennedy is every bit of 6-5 and 222 pounds. A senior from Atlanta, Kennedy returned home after spending part of his career at Atlantic Coast Conference school Clemson. Â
He is a force to be reckoned with ... and he may never face a player with Libaud's tenacity. Libaud is up to the task, winning the first set 6-4, at one point frustrating Kennedy with 20-plus shot rallies, getting balls back that he has no earthly chance of getting back, and pushing Kennedy into throwing his racquet in disgust onto the court.
Kennedy takes the initial punch thrown by Libaud and rallies to win the second set, 6-4.
In the final and decisive set, Libaud, by his own admission, "ran out of gas." Â At one juncture during the final set, Kennedy speaks to several of his Panther teammates sitting nearby. Â
"His legs are gone," Kennedy says in a hushed tone. He follows that comment up with a drop shot that Libaud simply cannot get.
As the 6-0 score indicates, Libaud is done for the day.Â
He and Kennedy shake hands at the net and converse for a few minutes. Despite the ultra-competitive tone of the match, one that you usually won't see unless some guy named McEnroe was involved, there is no ill will between Kennedy and Libaud.
"I've known him for a while," Libaud says of Kennedy after the match.Â
"He's a tough kid," is Kennedy's assessment of his opponent.
Tough kid indeed ... Libaud is all of that and more.
The bounce in his step has lost a little of its luster as Libaud leaves the Cajun tennis facility and heads into the evening with his teammates.
But it is not difficult to imagine that bounce returning the next time he puts a tennis racquet in his hand and transforms from Arthur Libaud, typical UL college student, to Arthur Libaud, UL Ragin' Cajun tennis player.
The strut in making will continue to develop. And those encountering Libaud will know what distinguishes him, what makes him happy, what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a blistering groundstroke.
It feels happy to encounter Arthur Libaud. Clap your hands if you feel the same.
Listed as a generous 5-foot-7 on the Louisiana Ragin' Cajun men's tennis roster, the 20-year old native of Les Chenevieres, France, is diminutive. He has short hair. No facial hair. No outstanding tattoos or body piercings.
Nothing in his physical appearance distinguishes him from any other college student at UL or any other university for that matter.
He does bounce a little when he walks, responding to the beat of French music pulsing from his ever-present head phones. He does like to wear his caps with the bill facing backwards.
Before Friday's tennis match against Sun Belt Conference rival Georgia State, Libaud bounces in the Ragin' Cajun tennis facility. He enters the tennis locker room at 1:15 p.m.
Shortly thereafter, Libaud and several teammates emerge. Libaud's fellow netters saunter, stroll if you will, onto the courts.
Saunter and stroll do not look to be part of Libaud's vocabulary. His entrance onto the courts has evolved into the initial phases of a strut. He is confident but has not crossed that oh-so-thin line into full blown cockiness.
He leaves the court for a moment, exploding up the stairs two at a time, into the second floor of the Culotta Tennis Center and explodes back down the stairs with a pre-match snack in hand.
The snack is soon consumed and Libaud, along with teammate Pearse Dolan, lead the squad for a leisurely lap around the six-court complex.
This will be the slowest Libaud moves for the next several hours.
And now, with tennis racquet in hand, Libaud no longer becomes difficult to distinguish in a crowd.
Although there is nothing remotely suggesting that Libaud's teammates are sluggish, it seems that he is moving and bouncing at a different speed. The way he moves forward, backward, left, right - all suggest that he is where he is meant to be on this Friday afternoon. Moving at warp speed with tennis racquet in hand.
As pre-match warm-ups continue, the head phones stay on. He lip synchs to the music in his ears. He does a few dance moves.
Clearly he is enjoying himself.
Eventually the head phones come off. But his exuberance continues. Even in warm-ups, he celebrates a good shot from a teammate with a fist pump and a jig.
As Pharrell's "Happy" blasts from the facility's PA system, Libaud mouths the lyrics and does indeed clap his hands.
Warm-ups continue. The actual match is still 15 minutes away. Head coach Mark Jeffrey speaks briefly to Libaud, who is now not moving but is listening.
As Europe's "Final Countdown" signals the impending start of the 2:30 p.m. match, Libaud exchanges one racquet for another.
The Georgia State squad is watching the Cajuns finish their warm-ups. A few lobs and overheads in the blustery 20-mile per hour wind are completed.
Libaud actually sits down for a few minutes and re-grips a racquet handle.
The doubles portion of the match begins with Libaud teaming up with Australian freshman Jamie Fraser on the number 2 court. Â
Their 6-3 victory helps the Cajuns secure the doubles point. The set is rather contentious. When Libaud begins to leave the court to retrieve a ball that has bounced over the fence, one of the Georgia State players yells at him to stay on the court.
Cooler heads eventually prevail after the competitive juices take a short break between serves. Amid shouts from the crowd of, "stay hot Art," and, "Dance and move Art," Libaud and Fraser close out the set, as Libaud holds serve and Fraser puts away the final point.
The six singles matches soon begin. On the number one court, an impressive challenge awaits Libaud. His opponent is Zackery Kennedy, the 85th-ranked collegiate player in the latest International Tennis Association's rankings.
Kennedy is every bit of 6-5 and 222 pounds. A senior from Atlanta, Kennedy returned home after spending part of his career at Atlantic Coast Conference school Clemson. Â
He is a force to be reckoned with ... and he may never face a player with Libaud's tenacity. Libaud is up to the task, winning the first set 6-4, at one point frustrating Kennedy with 20-plus shot rallies, getting balls back that he has no earthly chance of getting back, and pushing Kennedy into throwing his racquet in disgust onto the court.
Kennedy takes the initial punch thrown by Libaud and rallies to win the second set, 6-4.
In the final and decisive set, Libaud, by his own admission, "ran out of gas." Â At one juncture during the final set, Kennedy speaks to several of his Panther teammates sitting nearby. Â
"His legs are gone," Kennedy says in a hushed tone. He follows that comment up with a drop shot that Libaud simply cannot get.
As the 6-0 score indicates, Libaud is done for the day.Â
He and Kennedy shake hands at the net and converse for a few minutes. Despite the ultra-competitive tone of the match, one that you usually won't see unless some guy named McEnroe was involved, there is no ill will between Kennedy and Libaud.
"I've known him for a while," Libaud says of Kennedy after the match.Â
"He's a tough kid," is Kennedy's assessment of his opponent.
Tough kid indeed ... Libaud is all of that and more.
The bounce in his step has lost a little of its luster as Libaud leaves the Cajun tennis facility and heads into the evening with his teammates.
But it is not difficult to imagine that bounce returning the next time he puts a tennis racquet in his hand and transforms from Arthur Libaud, typical UL college student, to Arthur Libaud, UL Ragin' Cajun tennis player.
The strut in making will continue to develop. And those encountering Libaud will know what distinguishes him, what makes him happy, what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a blistering groundstroke.
It feels happy to encounter Arthur Libaud. Clap your hands if you feel the same.
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