Men's Tennis: Final warm up for conference tournament
Men's team plays Salukis
Neil Schneider / Staff Reporter
Issue date: 4/14/09 Section: Sports
The Eastern men's tennis team travels to Carbondale today to face Southern Illinois University.
The matches at Carbondale will be the last chance for the Panthers to get ready for the upcoming Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, which takes place in Paducah, Ky. on April 17-19.
The Eastern men are coming off Saturday's close loss to Murray State, where they were defeated by a score of 4-3 at the Darling Courts.
The Panthers are currently 10-11 on the season, including 3-5 in conference play.
The Salukis are currently 12-6 on the season, as well going 3-1 in conference matches.
Despite the loss over the weekend, Eastern tennis head coach John Blackburn said the men's squad played very well.
"We played really well in doubles," he said. "Even though we lost the doubles point, I felt that we played pretty well and hopefully we can use our confidence as we move forward."
Heading into the last match, Blackburn said for the men's squad to be successful against SIU they must work to finish matches.
"We need to remain competitive throughout the matches," he said. "When we find ourselves behind in a match we need to work a little harder to finish the matches strong."
Freshman Drew Grimaldi said that for the squad to be successful it will take a complete team effort.
"On any given day a player can come out and take a match," he said. "If we can all show up and have one group effort we should do well. We need to be able to come out and play loose and play well."
Grimaldi is currently 12-9 on the season, including 5-3 in conference matches.
Blackburn said it would be beneficial for the men's tennis squad to perform well against SIU heading into the OVC Tournament.
"It would be very beneficial for us to play well against SIUC," Blackburn said. " At the very least we need to play well, even if we don't win. Southern is having a really good year, so it will be important for us to play well against them heading into the OVC tournament."
Following the matches with SIU, both Panthers squads will begin preparation for the OVC Tournament where the men will play against No. 3 Tennessee Tech and the women play against No. 3 Murray State.
Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or jnschneider@eiu.edu.
The matches at Carbondale will be the last chance for the Panthers to get ready for the upcoming Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, which takes place in Paducah, Ky. on April 17-19.
The Eastern men are coming off Saturday's close loss to Murray State, where they were defeated by a score of 4-3 at the Darling Courts.
The Panthers are currently 10-11 on the season, including 3-5 in conference play.
The Salukis are currently 12-6 on the season, as well going 3-1 in conference matches.
Despite the loss over the weekend, Eastern tennis head coach John Blackburn said the men's squad played very well.
"We played really well in doubles," he said. "Even though we lost the doubles point, I felt that we played pretty well and hopefully we can use our confidence as we move forward."
Heading into the last match, Blackburn said for the men's squad to be successful against SIU they must work to finish matches.
"We need to remain competitive throughout the matches," he said. "When we find ourselves behind in a match we need to work a little harder to finish the matches strong."
Freshman Drew Grimaldi said that for the squad to be successful it will take a complete team effort.
"On any given day a player can come out and take a match," he said. "If we can all show up and have one group effort we should do well. We need to be able to come out and play loose and play well."
Grimaldi is currently 12-9 on the season, including 5-3 in conference matches.
Blackburn said it would be beneficial for the men's tennis squad to perform well against SIU heading into the OVC Tournament.
"It would be very beneficial for us to play well against SIUC," Blackburn said. " At the very least we need to play well, even if we don't win. Southern is having a really good year, so it will be important for us to play well against them heading into the OVC tournament."
Following the matches with SIU, both Panthers squads will begin preparation for the OVC Tournament where the men will play against No. 3 Tennessee Tech and the women play against No. 3 Murray State.
Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or jnschneider@eiu.edu.
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