Freshmen Drew Grimaldi, Jamie Firth, and Matyas Hilgert all came to Eastern from programs outside of Illinois.

Grimaldi comes from Heritage High School in Saginaw, Mich., while Firth and Hilgert are originally from Australia and the Czech Republic, respectively.

Even though these tennis players came in from programs outside of Illinois, each freshmen has already caught the attention of Eastern tennis head coach John Blackburn.

“So far, each freshmen has come in and started all of our matches,” Blackburn said. “All three of them have been able to improve on their mechanics in their swings as well as developing their tactics about getting points.”

Blackburn said with most freshmen there is always a learning curve, but so far each member has been able to come in and make an immediate impact.

“In tennis we typically only carry about six to eight players, so that really dictates how much playing time they get,” Blackburn said.

In singles competition, Firth and Grimaldi are both 5-5, while Hilgert is 4-6. While Hilgert’s record might not be where he wants it to be, his doubles record makes up for it.

Hilgert is 5-4 in doubles matches, including being 5-1 when paired with junior Jeff Rutherford.

Aside from their records this season, Blackburn has been impressed with the strengths that each freshman has displayed.

“(Firth) has an all-court game where he is able to play effective when he is close and away from the net,” Blackburn said. “(Hilgert) has a really good serve and a strong forehand swing.”

Firth, a business major, said while his season started off a bit slow for him, it has gradually improved with each match.

“It was understandable for me to start slowly, because tennis at EIU, in comparison, is a lot different than in Australia,” he said.

Firth said the way tennis is played at Eastern is a lot faster than his home of South Grafton, Australia.

He said since coming to Eastern, the coaching staff has really tried to help him develop his basic mechanics.

“We’ve been working a lot on my footwork, so I can get quicker,” Firth said. “We’ve also been working on ball placement and it’s starting to pay off.”

Heading into the rest of the season, Blackburn expects that, even though it is their first season at EIU, all of the freshmen on the men’s tennis team will continue to improve with each match.

“We’re hoping to see a big improvement over the next few matches, to build upon what they’ve already started,” Blackburn said.

Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or jnschneider@eiu.edu.

Junior Jeff Rutherford volleys the ball during practice on Feb. 26 in Lantz Fieldhouse. Eastern’s tennis teams will travel play Butler on Friday. (Erin Matheny/The Daily Eastern News)

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