This weekend the men's tennis team will play in the familiar Milwaukee Tennis Classic, but with a completely new format.

The tournament, which will be held at the Western Racquet Club in Elm Grove, a new site, has been an individual event for the past 29 years. This year, it is a team event that will feature four men's and four women's teams.

To have a team event in the fall is not common, but has its advantages, men's head coach Steve Rodecap said.

"A good thing about an event like this in the fall is we don't have to keep the same lineup from match to match," Rodecap said.

Rodecap said if he does not like what he sees in the first match, he will probably change some of the doubles teams.

The event's new format provides a good opportunity for the team to prepare for the spring season, when Marquette will play team matches against other universities.

"The fall is important to get playing matches under your belt and get ready for the spring," sophomore Brett Binkley said. "Not to underlie the importance of the fall."

The Classic begins Friday at 9 a.m. and runs through Sunday. The other participating men's teams are Illinois state, Northern Illinois and IPFW.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 22, 2005.