Shaking off the dust and getting back in the swing of competing against real opponents, the men's tennis team won all nine of their matches against Marian College yesterday to kick off its fall season.
As the team returned to the court for the first time since spring, senior Michael Rardon said it learned this season's main challenge will be continuing to improve upon fitness conditioning.
"As a team, just coming back after the summer, everyone doesn't necessarily come back in the best shape," Rardon said. "But it's just getting back to competing again, everyone needs to find their rhythm so when we face the tougher opponents in a couple weeks we will be ready to compete better."
The win, according to Rardon, gives the team some confidence as it competes in the DePauw Invitational next week. Even though Marian was not a very challenging opponent for the Tigers, the team was able to pinpoint aspects of its game in preparation for the invitational next weekend.
Sophomores Sam Miles and Ben Kopecky, junior Noah Swiler and seniors Eric Hubbard and Rardon returned to the court this season off 17-7 record and second-place finish last year in the SCAC championships.
Miles said yesterday's matches helped the team to figure out their strokes and find a rhythm on the court.
"It was a little rough because it's the first match of the season. I was a little rusty," Miles said. "But it was good to get back out there to compete again since spring season ended."
Last season, Miles had a 26-8 record in what was his first year of collegiate competition.
"I had a bit of a rough start to the season," Miles said. "I just need to keep finding my rhythm a little bit and getting into better shape to move on the court better."
The Tigers have served up a wave of momentum and are ready to start a new week of training with confidence.
But to succeed this season, the team will need to work on overall conditioning and movement on the court.
"It's nice to get a win under our belt to start the season," Rardon said. "It's good to go on a trip with everybody and compete as a team."