Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Saluki Men Conclude Fall Season at Louisville Invitational
03/13/2001 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
October 5, 2000
On October 6-8, the Southern Illinois University Carbondale men's tennis team will try to make a name nationally for the program with a trip to the Louisville Invitational Tournament in Louisville, Ky.
"I'm real excited about the tournament, Louisville's ranked 39th in the nation. One of my goals is to get us ranked and only one of their players has an NCAA individual ranking, but it'll be a good opportunity for us as a team. We've got nothing to lose and if we can pull off some wins against Louisville it's a good start toward getting our own ranking," said Missy Jeffrey, Saluki men's tennis coach. "It's our last tournament this fall as a team and the host is ranked. In order to get ranked we have to beat somebody ranked. We've got nothing to lose and everything to gain."
The Louisville Invitational Tournament will be the third and last team event for the fall season. Despite its short length, the fall will conclude a very important time for the Salukis and their coach.
"It's a short season. For me, the fall has been a time to get to know the guys and get to know each other before the spring starts. I've learned a lot in the first two tournaments about how the guys play, what patterns and style they use, as well as what they need to work on and what they do really well. I've gotten a much better profile about who these guys are and what they can do," Jeffrey added. "The fall has been a great opportunity because it's the first time I've worked with these guys, and it's been a quick crash course. You have to understand your players to know what they need to work on and how much they're progressing, are they progressing sufficiently, are they not reaching their potential and why, are they reaching their potential and why, and what do they need to do to reach beyond where they are now. All of those things are really important to us having a really good spring."
The fall season has provided one major strong point for Coach Jeffrey in the team's growth.
"One of our big priorities this season in competition has been working as a team. These guys give 110% but when you have teammates that are supporting you, you can give even more than 110%. Not only can you give more, it's like a home court advantage in basketball or football. If your teammates are really supporting you it makes it really tough on your opponent. It helps us and is a disadvantage to the opponent," stated Jeffrey. "That hasn't been done here in the past and even though tennis is considered an individual sport, you have to work together when you?re competing. I'm not concerned with how well they get along off the court, but during competition they must support each other and they've really come along in that area."
After the Louisville Invitational, the Salukis have a week off before the top SIU singles player and doubles team plays in the Mid-American Regionals in Tulsa, Oklahoma, October 19-22.
