One up, three down for men’s tennis

By Max Orenstein
Collegian Reporter
September 27, 2006

“We just need to start playing better.”

Honest and blunt, that’s the only remedy coach Ed Colfer could think of to reverse the recent slide of La Salle’s men’s tennis team.

After two wins in a row against West Chester University and Cabrini College, La Salle went on to lose three straight matches this week against Villanova University, the University of the Sciences and the University of Rhode Island. The Explorers were swept by both Villanova and Rhode Island.

The way La Salle handled Cabrini with ease may not have entirely set the tone for the rest of the week, and co-head coach Stan Shoemaker summed it up.

“Cabrini was a confidence builder, and the confidence dropped against Villanova,” said Shoemaker.

Villanova, much like the Lafayette team the Explorers faced in the season opener, has an extremely talented team. La Salle’s coaching staff was generally happy with their team’s play.

“Matt Rivera played well, but lost in three tough sets,” Colfer said. The coaches think that Chris Butera has been playing particularly hard as well.

The Explorers were able to get a win in a doubles match against the Wildcats. Even though La Salle wasn’t able to win the overall doubles point, Matt Rivera and Eric Glick did win their doubles match, 8-7.

After a strong but unsuccessful performance against Villanova, La Salle gave a disappointing showing against the University of the Sciences. Because of sporadic rain in the morning, the start time for the match was moved around multiple times.

When all was said and done, however, the match was played as originally scheduled. In a close match, the Explorers were not able to pick up the doubles point, and lost overall, 4-3.

“We should have won that doubles point, … It was a little bit of a letdown,” Colfer said.

The coaching staff did not want to downplay the win by the University of the Sciences, because their team is definitely on La Salle’s level. The coaches just seemed to feel like it was a match that they should have won.

The diagnosis for this string of losses is nervousness. Coming out mentally tight caused slow starts in the last few matches. The coaching staff thinks that the freshmen are doing well; they just need some more experience.

“It’s a big transition from high school tennis to the college level,” Colfer said.

If they didn’t know beforehand, the Explorer freshmen are quickly finding out that Division I tennis is no walk in the park.

La Salle has an opportunity to snap the losing streak this Saturday at 11 a.m. against Delaware State. “Playing better” would definitely be a step in the right direction.

orensteinm1@lasalle.edu