Men's Tennis Southern Conference

Wofford Men's Tennis Begins 2003-04 Season

The Wofford men's tennis team will hit the court for the first time in
2003-04 as it travels to Boiling Springs, N.C., for the Gardner-Webb
Tournament this weekend.

"We're really going to focus on our doubles side of the game," said
fourth-year head coach Rod Ray. "We will also be spending a lot of time
on returns, especially with our doubles players. Our team is not a big
team so we will emphasize quickness. That's the direction I would like
to take the program. We'll play a lot of matches this weekend, which
will enable everyone a chance to get some time. Most of the guys should
have a chance at playing two singles and two doubles matches. This
weekend is just the first phase of evaluating where we are, which is
hard to do in practice. It will be good to see where our confidence is
on the court - are we going to take charge or are we going to react to
what our opponent is doing?"

Both of last season's captains (Jason Mengel and Brandon Smith) return
to the court as part of five of six returning starters. In 2002-03, the
Terriers won their most matches ever since turning Division I in
1995-96, as they posted an 8-9, 4-5 SoCon record to finish fifth in the
league.