The men’s tennis team was swept in both of their matches this weekend against Valparaiso and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 7-0. The Panthers’ record now sits at 2-6 on the year.

The Panthers had a tough match against Valpo, which coach Sam Kercheval said was arguably the best team that they would see all year because of their depth and strength.  After the loss to UIC, Kercheval addressed the team about having better energy for the entire match, and he said the team did that this weekend.

“The energy was good and we stayed positive and competitive as evidenced by closer sets in five of six singles matches,” Kercheval said.

At the No.1 position, senior Robert Skolik was defeated by Jeffery Schorsch 6-3, 6-0. Senior Ryan Henderson at the No.2 spot had a strong showing but fell to Dave Bacalla 6-0, 7-6 (7-4). Senior Rui Silva lost to Chad Kissell 6-2, 6-3. Freshman Ognjen Jevtic was beat by Charlie Emhardt 6-0, 6-1. Sophomore Grant Reiman lost 6-2, 6-3 to Michael Savaglio. Sophomore Jared Woodson lost 6-1, 6-4 to Lucas Waak.

For doubles matches, they were close, but the Panthers could not come away with a victory. The duo of Silva and Skolik were defeated 6-1 to Emhardt and Schorsch. Henderson and Jevtic lost to Bacalla and Garrett Gardner 6-2. Reiman and senior Jacob Wendell were beat by Kyle Dunn and Danny Oakes 6-1.

For the match against SIUC, the Panthers had a better showing despite the loss. The Panthers made the matches close with having three matches taken to three sets.

At the No.1 spot, Skolik took his match to three sets but lost to Jonny Rigby 5-7, 7-6, 6-4. At the No.2 spot, Henderson also took his match to three sets but fell to Wilder Pimentel 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Reiman, at the No. 4 spot took his match to three sets but was defeated 6-2, 1-6, 11-9 to Peter Molloy. Silva lost 7-5, 6-1 to Piotr Baranski who was down 5-2 earlier in the first set. Jevtic lost to Alex Pozo 6-2, 6-4. Woodson was beat by Daniel Martinez 6-2, 6-4.

“A lot of guys played their best tennis of the season. Grant, Rob, and Ryan were all just a couple points away from winning their respective matches,” Kercheval said. “But we know how well we played and will continue to build on things.”

For doubles, Skolik and Silva lost to Rigby and Baranski 6-4. Jevtic and Henderson lost 6-0 to Pozo and Pimentel. Trent and Grant Reiman lost to Molloy and Martinez 6-4.

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t get a point on the board because we definitely felt it was much closer than the 7-0 score indicates,” Kercheval said.

The Panthers are off this weekend but coach Kercheval said that the team is going to hit practice hard this week and attack some areas in doubles play and in returns.

The Panthers will head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face Marquette Saturday, March 5th at noon.

Tyler McCluskey can be reached at 581-2812 or trmccluskey@eiu.edu