Feb. 10, 2005

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After facing four nationally-ranked opponents on their home courts, the University of Memphis men's tennis team (2-4) will return home to face a young Tennessee Tech team, Friday.

TTU has a roster that's made up of two juniors and six freshmen for the 2004-05 season and is off to an 0-4 start on a schedule that featured matches at No. 46 South Alabama, at No. 4 Ole Miss and at No. 18 Vanderbilt.

The Tigers are coming in with a two-match losing streak, that included a 5-1 loss at No. 26 Oklahoma State and a 6-1 loss at No. 44 Tulsa.

Senior Alex Bucewicz and junior Marten Tamla have split time atop the Tigers' singles line-up, with Spence bringing a 2-2 record at the top spot, while Bucewicz is 0-2 at No. 1, but 3-1 at the No. 2 slot.

Memphis is looking for some more points from the No. 3 and 4 singles spots, with two Tigers combining for a 2-4 mark at No. 3, while a quartet of Tigers are 3-3 at the No. 4 spot. Memphis is also at .500 at the No. 5 spot, where senior Scott Felsenthal (Memphis, Tenn./White Station) is 2-1 on the season. The Tigers are under .500 at the sixth slot, with freshman Bryan Bankester carrying a 1-1 mark, while Felsenthal is 0-3 after playing the sixth spot in three of the matches against top 26 competition. Alex Jago is 1-0 at No. 6 and No. 4 and is 1-3 at No. 3.

Jago and senior Mark Finnegan have anchored the Tigers' doubles line-up and have won five straight doubles matches. The duo is 4-0 at No. 3 and 1-0 at No. 2. Memphis is 2-3 at both remaining doubles slots, with the duo of Felsenthal and Spence 0-2 against ranked opponents at No. 1 through the first five matches, while Bucewicz has teamed with two different partners at the No. 2 slot. Bucewicz and Garrison Pilant are 0-2 at No. 2, while he and Marten Tamla are 1-1 on the season. Tamla's availability for matches is limited, however, as he is battling an arm injury that keeps him out of the day-in day-out line-up.

After the Tennessee Tech match, the Tigers will have an eight day break before traveling to No. 37 Mississippi State next Saturday for another match at a ranked SEC opponent.