Eastern men’s tennis is back in action Tuesday as they return to conference action at Belmont after six days off.

The squad comes in after a 4-3 loss at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Wednesday where the match came down to the last round of singles matches.

The Panthers next match against Saint Louis, which was originally scheduled before their conference season began, was postponed again Saturday due to the weather for a date to be announced.

Eastern, who has had six days off now, will look to get back into the winning column against a team that sits at 7-8 overall.

The match was originally scheduled for March 14 but was also postponed due to weather issues as well.

The Bruins come in losing three out of their last five matches.

Doubles matches have been the story all season for the Panthers who have struggled mightily with an 8-27 overall doubles record.

The duo of freshman Preston Touliatos and junior Robert Skolik have carried the team in the No. 1 spot with five of the eight victories Eastern has received.

The No. 1 duo earned their fifth win of the season last Wednesday with the only doubles victory the Panthers had.

Skolik said the team has recognized that they have been passive in doubles, especially at the net and have done quite a few drills in the six days off, which emphasize getting to the net and finishing there.

Singles matches have been where Eastern has improved mostly since the first match of the season. Skolik has won seven matches in a row and looks for eight-straight wins against Belmont’s best player, senior Mauricio Antun.

“Playing high in the lineup has really made me more focused,” Skolik said. “Knowing that I’m playing the other teams’ best player at first made me feel a little uncomfortable but once I realized I could hang with them, gave me a reason to start mentally preparing a lot earlier than I normally would have in previous years.”

Antun has a 9-4 record in the No. 1 spot on the season for the Bruins and 4-0 in OVC matches as well.

Marko Lovrinovic has been been solid for Belmont as well with a 10-2 record in the No. 2 spot, but is only 2-2 in conference games.

Eastern, who sits at 2-2 in conference play, looks to get their third conference win at 2 p.m. at the Centennial Sportsplex Center in Nashville, Tenn.

Cody Delmendo can be reached at cddelmendo@eiu.edu or 581-2812.