Western Courier

Issue date: 3/9/05 Section: Sports

Freshman Mike Tiu has been a bright spot for the men´s tennis team this season, compiling a 13-4 record.

It was a tough weekend for the Western Illinois University men's tennis team as it fell to 3-6 by losing to the University of Marquette and Northern Illinois University.

Saturday against the Golden Eagles, the Leathernecks were defeated 7-0, but looked strong in several of their matches. Even though the Leathernecks failed to score a point, there were a couple positives for the team.

In No. 2 singles, sophomore Justin Junck won the first set, 6-4. He then went on to drop the next two sets, 6-2, 10-8, to lose a close match. Junior Sisay Selassie played well but was defeated in straight sets 7-5, 6-3.

"Now we know that we can play a good school on their home turf and compete," said coach Dann Nelson. "It was their senior day, and it was a great atmosphere and we were able to compete with them."

On Saturday, the Leathernecks took on Northern, losing 4-3. The match started off on a positive note with Western taking the doubles point. Freshman Mike Tiu and Selassie took care of their opponents, 8-5, in No. 2 pairs.

The No. 1 doubles match resulted in an 8-1 defeat for Junck and senior Sean Moran. The No. 3 doubles match was forfeited by the Huskies.

"Winning the doubles point against a really good team was big," Nelson said. "We also won a singles match, which is a big improvement from last year when we were defeated 7-0."

Tiu took care of business in his No. 4 singles match. He defeated his opponent in straight sets; 6-3, 6-4. Senior Rob Coventry was competitive in his match, falling 6-2, 6-2.

Sophomore Drew Forsberg fell 6-4 in the No. 5 singles match. Then in the second set he was defeated 6-1. Moran also fell 6-2, 6-2. While Junck was beaten 6-1, 6-1.

"The fact that we scored against Northern Illinois University was very big," said assistant coach Matt Kinst. "It has been about four years since we scored a point against them."

There will be no matches this week for the Leathernecks as they will rest up and head to Orlando, Fla. on Saturday. Next week Western will participate in three contests against Illinois Wesleyan, Rhode Island and Wynona State universities.

"We are looking forward to spring break to get back in the swing of things," Nelson said. "We have three matches as we try to get back into rhythm, and this trip will be a good time for our team to bond and get closer together for the rest of the season."

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