UTM continued its pre conference men's tennis schedule against ranked foes and against Southeastern Conference powers. Host Tennessee, ranked No. 13, blanked the Skyhawks 7-0 Saturday at the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center.

Despite the setback, the Skyhawks were able to accomplish some things. "Both Vanderbilt and Tennessee are extremely talented teams, but we went there to gain confidence and we did that," said Dennis Taylor, UTM's tennis coach.

Tennessee swept the doubles competition, but Taylor said he was especially pleased with how well his young team competed.

Mark Henderson and Simon Rea defeated the Skyhawk team of Gustavo Anzola and Marten Tamla, 8-2, while the Skyhawks' doubles team of Daniel McGuire and Lucas Tregansin challenged Mark Dietrich and Wade Orr. McGuire and Tregansin suffered an 8-5 loss. Rawl Martin and Vincent Perna completed the doubles sweep for the Vols as they defeated the team of Adolfo Anzola and Oltian Mollaymeri, 8-3.

"We were worried about our doubles play this fall because we were so young," Taylor said. "After playing Tennessee, we could tell our doubles have improved since this fall. "We feel more confident."

Tennessee also claimed all the singles points, but Mollaymeri battled Henderson in the first set. Henderson managed to post a 7-6, 6-3 victory. "Tennessee Tech and Murray State also played Vanderbilt and Tennessee and we fared much better then they did," Taylor said. "Both Murray and Tech are in our conference, so, with all of us playing the same two teams it serves as a good water mark of where we are compared to others in our conference." The Skyhawks fall to 0-2 on the season. A week ago the Skyhawks traveled to Nashville and suffered a loss to host Vanderbilt University.

Although this was the first big loss of the season, Voach Taylor still remains hopeful. Taylor says, “For the men the 2003 tennis season has started with two "David and Goliath" matches. Unfortunately "David" (our men's team) did not have the rocks to bring down the "Giants" (Vanderbilt and UT Knoxville).

Although we lost to both teams we gave them all the competition they wanted and we came away with lots of confidence.” Taylor is still full enthusiasm as the team gets ready for their next match.

The women's team will begin the season Saturday against Evansville on a down note. One of the freshmen that Taylor brought in this January will not be eligible in the U.S. to play for one year. The NCAA did not feel she had all of the required courses in High School. That leaves the team with only five players. That means they will have to forfeit their number three doubles and their number six singles every match this spring. It does not help that the OVC has several very strong teams this year. But don't be surprised if the girls still finish among the top teams in the conference again this year. “This is a tough bunch of girls and I haven't seen any signs of them backing down from anything” says coach Taylor.

For the men the 2003 tennis season has started with two "David and Goliath" matches. Unfortunately "David" (our men's team) did not have the rocks to bring down the "Giants" (Vanderbilt and UT Knoxville). Although they lost to both teams they gave them all the competition they wanted and came away with lots of confidence. With no seniors and only one junior, the guys need to play tough nationally ranked teams like Vanderbilt and UTK to gain the experience they will need to compete in the OVC. "Our men's team has gotten so much better in the last few months. They don't even look like the same team we had in the fall" says Taylor.

The team stilled gained confidence after their loss this past weekend and will continue to look hopeful. The Skyhawks will return to action Saturday, Feb. 8 when they travel to Evansville, Ind. Action starts at 6 p.m. Coach Taylor is on the lookout for a female walk on . If you are interested and have had some previous experience playing competitively either in college or high school, please contactCoach Taylor at 587-7683.