"It's good to get a win, but I didn't feel like we played our best tennis. Valpo probably had something to do with it," said coach Steve Rodecap.,”It was a solid afternoon of play for the Marquette men's tennis team, as they won a competitive match against Valparaiso, 7-0.
"It's good to get a win, but I didn't feel like we played our best tennis. Valpo probably had something to do with it," said coach Steve Rodecap. "We played without our best player today, so anytime you do that, you're more vulnerable. But our guys competed pretty well."
Despite the absence of senior ace Trent Hagan, the team performed well and got off to a great start in doubles, winning all three matches and the point. The No. 1 Marquette duo of senior Stephen Shao's power and the finesse of junior Dusan Medan proved too much for the overmatch team of Alex Lau and Tom Litscher, as they won 8-4.
"It's familiarity," Shao said of the chemistry with Medan. "Last year we played all year together, so we know what we're going to do without telling each other. It's a big comfort level."
Singles play proved just as kind for the Golden Eagles, who won in every match-up. After the doubles contest, Medan and Lau met up again in No. 1 singles. After cruising in the first set, Medan faced some resistance in the second set, which went all the way to a tiebreaker. But his tactical play was superior, and he won 6-1, 7-6.
"(Lau) didn't move really well, so I thought I should bring him to the net a little more," Medan said. "It's always good to play No.1, but I don't really care, it's just important to earn a point for the team."
Playing excellent tennis, Shao cruised to his No. 2 victory, 6-1, 6-1. Also earning singles wins were Jonathan Scherwin (No. 3 singles), Niko Boulieris (4), and Mark Rutherford (5). Freshman Drake Kakar dropped his first set, but came back to win the next two, as he won, 0-6, 6-2, 7-6.
The Golden Eagles don't have a lot of time to rest before competing tomorrow afternoon against Northern Iowa. Rodecap emphasized not looking past this match-up.
"They're battle tested, so we're going to have to be ready to play," he said.
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