The Marquette men's tennis team rebounded from a tough loss last week against Old Dominion with two momentum-building wins against Valparaiso and Northern Illinois.

"A few loose sets got away from us, but we're just happy to get wins," Marquette coach Steve Rodecap said.

Play began Saturday for Marquette as it made short work of Valparaiso, disposing of the Crusaders, 7-0.

Despite the absence of senior ace Trent Hagan, who sat out with a wrist injury, the team performed well and got off to a great start in doubles, winning all three matches. The No. 1 Marquette duo of senior Stephen Shao's power and the finesse of junior Dusan Medan proved too much for the overmatched team of Alex Lau and Tom Litscher, as the Golden Eagles won, 8-4.

"It's familiarity," Shao said of his 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 was just as kind for Marquette, as the team cruised with singles wins by Medan, Niko Boulieris, Shao, Mark Rutherford, Jonathan Schwerin and Drake Kakar.

Sunday's 7-0 win over Northern Illinois might look similar to Saturday on the scorecard, but the palpable tension in the Helfaer Tennis Stadium made the stakes a little higher and the victory a bit more satisfying.

"There were a couple tricky situations where things might have gotten out of control," Rodecap said. "And I felt like our guys handled them the way we expect them to."

Headlining the afternoon was the return of Hagan from his wrist injury. Despite the yelling and racket-throwing of the Huskies' Jurica Grubisic, Hagan maintained composure and won his No. 1 match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0.

"Trent has come a long way," Rodecap said. "A couple years ago he might have struggled with the controversies during the match. But he stayed focused and didn't let it affect him too much, which is good to see him grow that way."

The Golden Eagles also benefited from outstanding play at No. 6 singles from freshman Jonathan Schwerin, who dominated his opponent, 6-0, 6-1.

"I felt great about it," Schwerin said. "Not much went wrong, and I hit every shot the way I wanted to hit it."

Rodecap stressed the importance of solid play at the back end of his lineup.

"The key is having the freshman playing at six, and we need that freshman to be solid," he said. "(Schwerin) went out and took care of business. It was the most complete match of the year for him."

Next, the Golden Eagles face in-state rival UW-Green Bay Wednesday at 3 p.m.

"Green Bay is always a tough match," Rodecap said. "Those guys are typically pretty excited to play us."