Feb. 29, 2008

Milwaukee - The Marquette University men's tennis squad will host Connecticut Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Helfaer Tennis & Recreation Center in Milwaukee, Wis.

The Golden Eagles (7-4) have won five of their last seven matches, with their two most recent losses coming at the hands of ranked foes in No. 37 Arizona State and No. 28 Wisconsin.

"I think the guys are excited about getting back to competition," head coach Steve Rodecap said. "We have used the break to focus on the areas we need to get better at as we hit the midway point of the dual match season."

Marquette last took to the courts on Feb. 20 at Wisconsin.

Connecticut (1-2) is led by senior Aaron Ribchinsky, who is 2-1 on the season. The No. 2 doubles pair of senior Christian Malerba and junior Joey Michaels has won two of its matches as well. Against Stony Brook, the combination of Malerba-Michaels was the only duo to win its match, but Connecticut could not secure the doubles point and was swept 7-0.

For MU, No. 3 singles junior Stephen Shao picked up the lone victory against No. 28 Wisconsin last Wednesday. Shao is now 12-7 overall, and has most recently partnered with Brett Binkley at the No. 1 doubles spot. The doubles duo of Brett Binkley and Mark Rutherford boast a 19-7 record (5-3 dual) to lead the Golden Eagles. Sophomore Dusan Medan has dominated his singles opponents by recording an overall record of 22-7.

"It's always a challenge when you are facing a BIG EAST team at home and we are looking forward to it," Rodecap said.