The goal for the men's tennis team in the fall season is to continually improve in preparation of the spring season.
With that in mind, this weekend's Milwaukee Tennis Classic was a great victory for Marquette. Each day brought a better performance than the last.
The Golden Eagles opened the tournament on Friday with a poor showing, losing all but one of the six singles matches to Northern Illinois, and getting swept in the three doubles matches by Illinois State. Sophomore Greg Sirotek took the sole Marquette victory in three sets over David Katz, the only three-set match of the day.
"We had some adversity the first day when we didn't play to our potential at all," said sophomore Pete Van Lieshout.
Knowing they could play better, the team came back the next day and did just that. This time, they found themselves on the other end of a doubles sweep, winning all three matches over Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. In singles play, the Golden Eagles were only able to win two matches against Illinois State, but head coach Steve Rodecap was quick to point out that his team played with more energy and lost some close three-set matches.
On the final day of the Classic, it finally all came together for the Eagles. Sophomore Brett Binkley led off with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Nabil Mourad Filho, and the rest of the team followed suit, winning all seven singles matches over IPFW. Marquette won one of the doubles matches and lost another close one 9-8(5).
"It felt good (to win). I was telling (Rodecap) that I was anxious to get a win on Sunday," Binkley said.
The highlight of the weekend was the play of sophomore Eigis Vedrickas, Rodecap said.
"You can really credit our team's success to him," he said.
Vedrickas led the weekend off for Marquette against Mark Tate, one of Northern Illinois' top players. He lost that match 6-4, 6-1 but played tough, Rodecap said. Vedrickas then teamed up with senior Ian Kawas in a tight 8-6 doubles loss.
He did not taste defeat the rest of the weekend, winning both his singles and doubles matches the next two days.
Rodecap emphasized his concern with his player's effort more than the outcome of matches.
"We need to get better and be more consistent with our competitive level," Rodecap said.
"I think the team's committed. They work hard."
The 30th Milwaukee Classic also had a new format, which Rodecap had pushed for, that gave the teams a chance to play as a team, rather than individually. Rodecap said the tournament was extremely well run and a first-class event.
The Classic also provided moments during the weekend to be less intense. On Saturday night, players teamed up with ball boys, who were about eight or nine years old, and played some friendly tennis.
"It's more than just the game," Van Lieshout said. "It's more of a community thing."
This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 27, 2005.