Sept. 25, 2005

MILWAUKEE - With a new lineup and a renewed confidence the Marquette men's tennis team was able to sweep singles against IPFW in their last day of competition at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic.

Sophomore Brett Binkley got things going for the Golden Eagles when he defeated Nabil Mourad Filho at No. 1, 7-5, 6-3. Freshmen, Stephen Shao and Eric Fleming were able to come away with wins in their matches at no. 2 and no. 6. Shao defeated Landry Nzudie, 7-5, 6-3, while Fleming took care of Matt Muns, 6-2, 6-2.

Sophomore Eigis Vedrickas had a convincing win over IPFW's Tony Mitson at no. 3, winning the match 6-3, 6-2.

"We played well in singles and played well at no. 1 doubles," head coach Steve Rodecap said. "Eigis deserves all the credit for the last two days. He's done a good job of taking a leadership role and played back to back days at a high level."

Vedrickas also walked away from tournament with the Milwaukee Tennis Classic sportsmanship award.

Marquette was able to get a win against NIU in doubles action but came up a point short from winning the doubles point. Ian Kawas and Vedrickas defeated Mark Tate and Brian Livingston at no. 1, 8-3. Pete Van Lieshout and Shao took on David Katz and Diego Zagarra-Balloon at no. 3, but lost the match 9-8(5).

"We served for the match at 7-6 to close it out," Rodecap said of the no. 3 doubles, "and played a sluggish game and missed our chances there. NIU picked up their level after that missed opportunity. We need to put ourselves in a better position. We are a young team. It's a matter of being at the right level each time we come out to play."

Marquette will have the next two weeks off before heading to Madison, Wis., for the Wisconsin Fall Invitational, October 7-9.

Marquette 7, IPFW 0 (Singles)

No. 1-Brett Binkley (MU) def. Nabil Mourad Filho (IPFW) 7-5, 6-3
No. 2-Stephen Shao (MU) def. Landry Nzudie (IPFW) 7-5, 6-3
No. 3-Eigintas Vedrickas (MU) def. Tony Mitson (IPFW) 6-3, 6-2
No. 4-Pete Van Lieshout (MU) def. Daniel Jackson (IPFW) 6-3, 6-0
No. 5-Ian Kawas (MU) def. Michael Chase (IPFW) 6-1, 6-0
No. 6-Eric Fleming (MU) def. Matt Muns (IPFW) 6-2, 6-2
No. 7-Mario Lopez (MU) def. Scott Beasley (IPFW) 8-2

Northern Illinois 2, Marquette 1 (Doubles)

No. 1-Kawas/Vedrickas (MU) def. Tate/Livingston (NIU) 8-3
No. 2-Ford/Friesen (NIU) def. Binkley/Fleming (MU) 8-4
No. 3-Katz/Zagarra-Balloon (NIU) def. Van Lieshout/Shao (MU) 9-8(5)