Marquette University Athletics
Men's Tennis Season Preview
9/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
?I was lucky last season to have such strong leadership from my seniors,? Rodecap said. ?Raj and Creighton have great work ethics and provided a good example for the younger guys.?
Set to begin his second year at the helm of the program, Rodecap is ready to take the team to the next level and continue building the foundation required for a competitive tennis program.
Rodecap has continued the building process by adding matches against more competitive programs including Michigan State, Notre Dame and South Florida.
?There are definitely going to be some tough matches,? Rodecap said. ?Playing them all on the road doesn?t make your schedule any easier, but it will be good for these guys to get in to Notre Dame and see how a successful Big East program is run.?
The 2004-05 team is highlighted by the return of lone senior Troy Delmege and juniors Ian Kawas and Eigis Vedrickas.
Delmege ended the 2003-04 dual match season with an 8-6 overall record, playing the majority of his games at the No. 3 position. He enjoyed a five-game win-streak through the middle of the season including a three-set victory over University of Wisconsin-Madison?s Alex Conti.
When paired with Kawas for doubles play, the duo posted a 5-5 mark, highlighted by an 8-2 No. 1 win over Amit Wadhwani and Danai Samuriwo of Chicago State on March 26.
After winning the first three matches of the spring season at the No. 6 singles spot, Kawas struggled through the middle of the season, posting a 6-11 dual match record. After his early successes at the No. 6 position, Kawas was moved up in the lineup and captured a win at No. 3 over Dejan Avramovic of Chicago State in straight sets.
Consistently playing at the No. 2 singles spot, Vedrickas faced tough competition continuously through the dual-match season and finished with a 5-13 record. Vedrickas notched back-to-back victories in March over St. Mary?s (Texas) and Xavier.
Rodecap is looking to Delmege, Kawas and Vedrickas to take a bigger role with this year?s team.
?I feel these guys made a big jump last year and building is a slow process?you have to build from the bottom up,? he said.
There are three new members to this year?s team?freshmen Brett Binkley, Greg Sirotek and Pete Van Lieshout. Returning to the squad is junior Ricky Servoss and sophomore Tomek Czernuszewicz
The upcoming season is also highlighted by the 29th annual Milwaukee Tennis Classic, which runs from Nov. 3-8, as well as the inaugural Marquette Invitational, Oct. 16-17.
The Golden Eagles? home court advantage grew stronger in the off-season as the courts at the Helfear Tennis Stadium received a new look. Moving away from the traditional red or green indoor courts, Marquette will now face its opponents on royal blue courts with ?We Are Marquette? printed across the baseline.
Rodecap is excited about both the changes to the schedule as well as the changes to the courts.
?It?s good to see some vision,? he said. ?The courts add a little spirit to the school. It gives us a sense of family and a sense of team spirit and that?s what we?re about here. Plus, it definitely gives us a sense of home court advantage.
?It?s also great to be hosting two tournaments. Anytime you play at home provides you with a great way to build fan support, let friends and family come see you play and also build a great awareness around campus.?
Rodecap knows that it takes more than new courts to build a winning program and is counting on the eagerness of his players to take the team to the next level.
?I think these guys are hungry and they want to get better and make progress?hopefully we?ll be able to take another step this year. We?ll put out a group of guys who want to compete.?
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