For the Marquette men's tennis team, it was deja vu.
Last year, the team opened the spring season with 7-0 shutouts of the University of Illinois-Chicago and IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis).
Saturday, the team opened the spring season with 7-0 shutouts of the University of Illinois-Chicago and IUPUI.
The Golden Eagles did not lose a set in either match.
Head men's tennis coach Steve Rodecap said the matches should help the team prepare for the rest of the season.
"With these two matches, I think it was good to get out of practice [mode] and and into competition mode," Rodecamp said. "We haven't competed since the beginning of November, so it was important to come out and get things started right."
The highlight of the first match against UIC was 7-6, 6-2 victory in 1 singles play for Marquette senior Trent Hagan over the Flames' Bastian Harbo. A key turning point in the match was a solid cross court drop volley from Hagan in the tie-breaker of the first match. Hagan said its a shot he's been working on.
"I've been working pretty hard on my volleys," Hagan said. "Its a part of my game I've been struggling with a lot lately. I was pretty happy with the way I was volleying in that match."
Marquette also had solid performances from junior Niko Boulieris at 2 singles, also winning 7-5, 6-2, and senior Stephan Shao, who notched a 6-4, 6-1 victory at 3 singles.
In the day's second match against IUPUI, the team remained solidly in control in singles play, winning 6-0, 6-3 in 1 singles with junior Desan Medan, 6-1, 6-1 in 2 singles with Boulieris, and 6-2, 6-0 in 3 singles with freshman Jonathan Schwerin.
Along with Schwerin, freshmen J.T. Christian and Drake Kakar saw action in doubles play. Hagan said he was impressed with the effort of his younger players.
"The more those guys are in tight situations for us and get experience playing, the better it is for us," he said.
For Marquette, the day was a solid start for a team with its eyes on a bigger prize, a Big East title. Shao said while the team wasn't perfect today, they know they can compete with the best in the conference.
"I think all the guys know it's a reachable goal," Shao said. "This is the best team I've played with at Marquette hands down."
Hagan agrees that his team has the potential to win a conference title.
"I feel that we definitely have the tools to do that," he said. "There's a lot of good teams in our league and we still have to get better. I think its a long year, it's a process, and our guys understand that."