Men's Tennis Releases 2006-2007 Schedule
8/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Aug. 28, 2006
Click Here for 2006-2007 Men's Tennis Schedule.
MILWAUKEE--With a young squad and a more challenging schedule, head coach Steve Rodecap and his Marquette Golden Eagles look to improve on their 16-9 record from last season. Rodecap, now in his fourth season, has improved Marquette's record each year and hopes to turn some heads in the BIG EAST Conference.
"Last year's schedule was developed to teach our guys how to be winners," Rodecap said. "This year we have upgraded the strength of schedule by design. Part of the reason we want to do that is because our guys want to compete at that level nationally, and we need to be able to go into tough places, against good teams, and find ways to win."
Ball State and Western Michigan are among the tournaments the Golden Eagles will compete in this fall. The team will also host the Milwaukee Tennis Classic and the Marquette Fall Invitational. Rodecap and his squad will use the fall as a warm-up before traveling to Wisconsin-Madison, Texas and Michigan in the spring. DePaul and South Florida will be the only BIG EAST opponents the Golden Eagles will face.
"I feel like we learned a lot last year and we were starting to really play well at the end of the year, which is what good teams do. I'm hoping that our experience and confidence plays into this year."
Marquette will look to their upperclassmen for leadership this season. Tomek Czernuszewicz will be the Golden Eagles only senior and Rodecap expects him to continue to lead and support this team on its quest for a BIG EAST Conference title. Juniors, Brett Binkley, Pete Van Lieshout and Greg Sirotek will also play a vital role in the success of the 2006-07 squad.
"I think Tomek has always been a good comfort system for the guys as our lone senior. He is probably one of the most unselfish guys that I have ever coached, and that is an important quality in a good leader. Brett, Pete and Greg who I think were leaders even last year, now can be a little bit more vocal. It really is those four guys that need to see it as their team. They are going to have a lot of control now because they have played for me at least two years," said Rodecap of Binkley, Van Lieshout and Sirotek. "They have a pretty good idea how things are going to work, how things are going to run. They can really be a support system for our young guys."
Marquette will also return three sophomores, Eric Fleming, Trent Hagan and Stephen Shao. Each made large contributions last season, finishing with a combined record of 45-28 overall in singles play. Shao, as a freshman, tied teammate Binkley for the most wins, with 17. The Golden Eagles also add the talents of freshmen, Nick Boulierus of Lake Forest, Ill., and Mark Rutherford of Calgary, Alberta. Rodecap expects both men to make an immediate impact on the lineup.
"I've spent a lot of time around Nick Boulierus this summer watching him compete in tournaments. He's really vocal and I think his game is at a level that I didn't think it would be at, at this stage coming in. His game is pretty powerful and he's extremely athletic. He's a good doubles player and a good partner. I think he's going to add a lot of stability to the team. Nick is always playing at 110% and always doing the right things on game day. Most freshmen lack that, they are a little bit more up and down, but with him you know what you are going to get when you put him out there, which is comforting from a coaches stand point."
"Mark is a guy who knows a lot about college tennis because he has had a brother and sister play." Boulierus' sister, Leanne played at University of Michigan while brother Scott played at University of Wisconsin-Madison. "He certainly has played at a very high level," Rodecap said. "He's the first international guy that I've brought to Marquette. He's a left handed guy with a lot of fire power. Mark's had a lot of success at doubles and I think that he's going to come in and have an immediate impact on our team at both singles and doubles."
"I feel that for both Mark and Nick, their best tennis is down the road, but the one thing about both of those guys is that they want Marquette to be good, that's the bottom line, and that's why they came here. They know how committed we are to making them better."
Players Mentioned
