The men’s tennis team took their sixth shutout loss of 2015 on Feb. 28 to Temple University.
With this 7-0 loss, the Racers have yet to win a match this season and are now 0-8.
With wintry weather in the area, the men had few opportunities to practice over the three-week schedule break and struggled to knock off the rust as they returned to action in Memphis, Tenn. Of the nine matches – six singles and three doubles – the men won just one doubles match.
“I was disappointed because that was a match we could’ve and probably should’ve won,” said Head Coach Mel Purcell. “We had some tough matches to start the season, but I thought that was a winnable match.”
Murray State’s outdoor tennis courts have been unusable over the past few weeks because of snow-cover. Both the men and women’s tennis teams have been forced to practice at Kenlake, the nearest indoor tennis facility.
The men are still searching for that first elusive win of the season. The Racers were scheduled to play their first home match on the outdoor courts Friday, but the winter weather has forced them to move the match to Kenlake.
“We haven’t had much time to practice,” Purcell said. “But that’s no excuse. We’ve got to be more competitive.”
The playing order for the Racers has remained constant so far this season, with senior Max McLean playing in the top spot and fellow senior Aleks Mitric getting the second spot. On Saturday McLean lost 6-2, 6-2 and Mitric lost 6-2, 6-1.
As conference play gets closer, the men only have a couple more chances to start putting it all together, specifically against South Dakota State University and the University of Kentucky.
“We’ve got to do better once conference play opens up,” Purcell said. “That doubles point is awful important in college tennis, so we need the one and two team to play well on the same day.”
The Racers play at 2 p.m. Friday against South Dakota State at Kenlake, pending the weather and court conditions.
Story by Blake Bernier , Staff writer