After a week off, the Eastern men’s tennis team concluded its fall season schedule, and the extra time paid dividends.

The Panthers competed in two matches, splitting up the team at the Chattanooga Mocs Invite and the Illinois State Fall Invite.

In the Chattanooga Invite, Eastern played under a point system, which saw the Panthers rack up a handful of points.

Junior Logan Charbonneau began the weekend strong taking home two wins in doubles action and notching a win in singles play.

Charbonneau teamed with junior Daniel Hernandez for a 6-4 doubles win over Austin Peay. He also paired with senior Gertjan De Wilder, picking up a win as well, over the University of North Carolina-Asheville, 6-2, before dropping a match to South Carolina Upstate 4-6. 

Then, Charbonneau racked up a win in singles play over Thiago Noguiera of Austin Peay, 6-3, 6-1.

Despite the strong showing, Charbonneau still learned things about his game, which will help translate into the spring season.

“To be honest I didn’t feel like my play was out of normal, I had some good matches and a few that weren’t as strong,” he said. “I learned of some mental faults in my game this weekend and was able to correct them before the tournament was over so I’m happy about that. I want to keep those mental faults in check while transitioning into the spring and if I’m able to do that I’m confident I have a chance at a strong year.”

Since the season has come to a close, this is a time for De Wilder to relax and prepare for when it matters most.

“I’m going to practice with the team, and maybe go to the gym a bit more now,” he said. “Also, school is a priority now, the semester is almost over, and the finals are in a couple of weeks. When I’m back home I will make sure I train so I’m coming in and am ready to go.”

Another player in the field in Chattanooga was freshman Christos Kyrillou.

He compiled two wins in singles play, one being a three-set win 4-6, 6-1, 10-7 over Anton Damberg of Austin Peay, while grabbing another victory, 7-6 (4), 6-4 over Andres Hansen of University of North Carolina-Asheville.

Junior Mike Jansen and sophomore Luka Knieling were sent to Illinois State and they both earned wins in singles action as well.

Coming off the invite, Jansen stated he won all his singles matches and won another doubles flight.

For him, this fall is something to build upon.

“9-1 in singles, 5-4 in doubles, no wrist pain, no injuries, so I would say it has been a solid fall,” he said.

Jansen also stated the reason for his success was practicing a lot, staying fit, having confideEnce and staying healthy.

Now, into year two as the head coach, Tolson was pleased by what he saw from his team, which he hopes will correlate down the road.

“I thought we competed well throughout the fall,” he said. “We played several tough events and matches to try and push all our guys to another level. These next few weeks we will focus on getting everyone healthy, working on parts of their game that will make an impact in the spring season. But for the most part I see this fall as a success as we have a lot of talent on this team, this spring hopefully it will all come together.”

Vince Lovergine can be reached at 581-2812 or vplovergine@eiu.edu.