Nearly three weeks ago, the men's tennis team was 3-4 and reeling after giving up two leads in three matches. Since then, the Golden Eagles have won three straight by a combined score of 18-3, their latest victory a 6-1 decision over Wright State Saturday night at the Helfaer Rec Center.
"The main thing we need to do is come out and compete at every spot, and if you look at the last few matches everyone's coming out and giving themselves chances to win," assistant coach Raj Gill said.
According to freshman Mark Rutherford, the team's ability to compete consistently has improved.
"I think everyone on the team believes we should have a few more wins, but even against the better teams, we're competing in every match," Rutherford said.
During Friday's match against Southern Illinois, Marquette's inability to win tight matches also was a concern. Greg Sirotek lost to SIU's Nick Bauer in No. 6 singles.
"It was a little disappointing there with Greg in the end, because we've gotta be able to be put in a tough situation and prevail," head coach Steve Rodecap said.
Competing in and winning tight matches aside, the M.O. for Marquette's season has been its dedication to improvement.
"We're a much better team right now than we were even a week ago and we'll continue to get better," Rodecap said. "I've told these guys all year it's a process and we want to be playing our best tennis going into the conference tournament, and I feel like we're continuing to get better."
Marquette shuffled its lineup for the second time in three matches Saturday. Junior Pete Van Lieshout saw his first singles action of the season, winning 6-0, 6-1 at No. 5. Sirotek also made his season debut in doubles when he and Stephen Shao won 8-2 at No. 3.
Almost halfway through the season, Marquette's record is 6-4, with five of those wins coming at home. Its next seven matches are on the road.
Marquette will travel to the South Florida in its first outdoor match of the season Saturday.
