Any Marquette basketball fan can tell you that high expectations do not necessarily equal positive results. This year, the men's tennis team enters the season with the former, hoping that the latter will follow.

Over the weekend they got off to a good start in their first tournament of the year.

At the Ball State Fall Invitational, freshman Mario Lopez advanced to the finals of the Singles Flight B Consolation Championship, while freshman Eric Fleming and sophomore Brett Binkley played in the Doubles Flight B Championship.

"I was really nervous because it was my first tournament," Lopez said. "I had to show coach and the other players how I can play."

Lopez put on a pretty good show. After losing his first match to Djordje Uskokovic of Illinois State, he came back to win three straight matches and advance to the consolation finals. He lost the match to David Katz of Northern Illinois, 6-1, 6-4, but said he gained a lot of confidence.

"I was kind of sad I could not win my final, because I thought I could have won it, but I fought," Lopez said.

Fleming and Binkley had a similar match in the doubles finals against Illinois State's Yohann Nograbat and Djordje Uskokovic, which the Redbirds won 8-6.

"The match was pretty fun to play in, because it was a pretty high-level match," Binkley said. "We were playing at a high level and made them beat us, which they actually did."

Although it was the first time Binkley had teamed up with Fleming as Golden Eagle teammates, the two have played together in junior circuits before. Binkley said he knew that Fleming was very athletic and a good doubles player.

The play of the two freshmen was welcome, but not surprising to their teammates. Binkley said head coach Steve Rodecap, as well as the team, know that this year's freshmen bring a lot of talent to the Golden Eagles. But with talent comes pressure to succeed.

Rodecap "has told me that he expects me to train and take my game to the next level," Lopez said.

After a successful first weekend, the team's next test will be the Milwaukee Tennis Classic at the Western Racquet Club in Elm Grove. The tournament begins Friday and goes through Sunday.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 20, 2005.