The Daily Campus

Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Matt Lin The last time the men played at home was Oct. 8 against Bryant.

The sun is setting on February, and March Madness is on the horizon. While most of the UConn campus will be following the men's and women's basketball teams' tournament run, a sleeping giant in Storrs may have to work harder to get noticed. That team is the UConn men's tennis team, and with their fall record carrying over into the spring they are already 6-1.

They finished the fall with a record of 4-1 in dual matches, which included wins over Sacred Heart and Salve Regina, while competing in five invitationals. They started the spring season last Sunday with wins over Patriot Conference powerhouse Lehigh and New England Conference foe Mount St. Mary's. Last season, UConn finished the year 9-7-1 with a 0-4-1 Big East Conference record. Their one tie was against Villanova. Although last year's team qualified for the Big East Championship, this year's squad has their sights set higher.

"The results in the fall lead us to believe we will be successful in the spring season. The fall results certainly carried over in the two matches Sunday," said coach Glenn Marshall.

The main reason the Huskies may be so successful this year is their youth. Of the 10 players on their roster, five are freshmen. Joey Michaels and Ben Schueler are the only two seniors on the team. But the presence of so many rookies does not faze Marshall.

"We had the best fall results individually in the last five years. So it's one of our strongest teams we've had in a while," he said.

Throughout the early spring, the Huskies will be road warriors. Their first home match is in late March due to the lack of an indoor tennis facility on-campus. So until then, all matches will be on the road in indoor courts. After the home schedule starts, things really heat up. They have home games against Big East rivals Villanova, St. John's and Georgetown ahead.

And with so many freshmen, Coach Marshall can't help but to believe the future is bright as well.

"With five freshmen we're very optimistic over the next four years," he said.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools