April 19, 2006

Tampa, Fla. -

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The Marquette men's and women's tennis teams are set to play in the BIG EAST Championships hosted by USF in Tampa, April 20-23. The men who are seeded third will face sixth seeded Rutgers on Friday, April 21, at 9 a.m. EST, while the women, who earned the ninth seed, will also open the tournament against Rutgers on Thursday, April 20 at 9 a.m EST.

With a strong finish to their regular season, the Marquette men's tennis team looks ahead to make an impact at the BIG EAST Championships. The Golden Eagles received the #3 seed, the highest seed Marquette has received in the Steve Rodecap era.

"I think we are a lot closer as a team and our seniors are doing a good job of being effective leaders," Rodecap said. "They can see how far the program has come in a few years and take pride in that. They want to see how far they can go in this conference tournament and are excited to see the team do well."

Seniors, Ian Kawas, Eigis Vedrickas and Ricky Servoss were freshmen when Rodecap took over the program and have been an integral part of this year's success.

"These three know my expectations and have set an example for out younger guys all season both on and off the court," said Rodecap.

Marquette will play #6 seeded Rutgers on Friday at 9 a.m. The Golden Eagles defeated the Scarlet Knights just two weeks earlier on April 8, 6-1.

"We played them a couple of weeks ago and they are very good and we know they played us a tough match," head coach Steve Rodecap said. "We are going to have to come prepared and play well."

Should the Golden Eagles defeat the Scarlet Knights, they will the winner of the #7 DePaul/#2 Louisville match, Saturday at noon EST.

The women's tennis team who also face Rutgers in the opening round, are ready for the challenge they face as the ninth seed in the tournament.

"We are where we thought we would be at the ninth seed in this tournament," explained head coach Jody Bronson. "Our players are ready to compete and play. We have been practicing while we have been down here, just acclamating ourselves to the conditions, but we are ready to play. We definately have our work cut out for us when playing Rutgers. "

The Golden Eagles suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Scarlet Knights in Marquette's conference opener earlier this season on February 19 at the Helfaer Tennis Center. Marquette will be looking to avenge that loss and move on in the tournament but the Golden Eagles have their work cut off for them as Rutgers boasts a new player in its lineup who will likely play at the third singles spot.

"Our last match with them was close," said Bronson. "Now they have a new player in their lineup who will likely play at the no. 3 spot. so their lineup is stronger. We have to play up to our potential. We are definately looking forward to this rematch with Rutgers."

Marquette saw the second half of its spring season bring success in the form of five consecutive wins, but hit a four-match skid to end the regular season.

"Our play this season hasn't been completely consistent, but we are finding ways to win. So I would say we are definitely improving across the board. We just need to get everyone on the same page playing wise on the same day."

Should the Golden Eagles pull off the win over Rutgers, Marquette would face top-seeded and reigning BIG EAST Champion Notre Dame on Friday, April 22 at 9 a.m. EST.

"Right now, we aren't even thinking about who we play if we were to win. We just need to pull the match out against Rutgers and go from there."

The conference champions will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The men's national championships will be held May 12-29 with the first and second rounds being held at campus sites and the finals held at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif. The women's championship will also be held at Stanford, May 12-28. First and Second rounds for the women's tournament will also be held at campus sites.