The season is still young, but the Eastern men’s tennis team went through perhaps its toughest stretch of the season last weekend. 

That should be put aside because the Panthers have just one match this weekend on the road against Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  

Eastern comes into the match at 7-3 but have faltered recently, losing its last two matches and going 2-3 since a 5-0 start. The Panthers could add to their win total against the Golden Eagles who are just 1-4 on the season. 

This will be the first home match for the Golden Eagles, while Eastern has a 5-2 record on the road.  

Last season, the Panthers finished 9-12 on the road.  

Senior Freddie O’Brien noticed the schedule having just one match, which is a relief.  

“It’s nice to have one match this weekend,” O’Brien said. “Everyone is quite drained after the last couple of weeks, so that’s good that we can just go all out for this match. The main focus is for us to have a killer mentality and be confident in the way we play.”

It is clear that Eastern is a pretty balanced team, and the OVC is recognizing that because junior Daniel Hernandez was named the OVC Male Player of the Week.  

Hernandez has been a huge spark for the Panthers, and has paced Eastern to arguably its best start in school history. 

In singles play, he boasts a 5-2 record playing between No. 2 and No. 3 spots. His No. 2 record is 2-0 on the year while he has a 3-2 record at No. 3 singles.  In doubles play, Hernandez has compiled two wins as well. 

One player whose been off his game lately is junior Mike Jansen, but his recent slump does not bother him. 

“It isn’t anything technical but it’s confidence in playing,” he said. “If I get that right the results will follow.”  

The same goes for junior Logan Charbonneau who wasn’t satisfied with last weekend results and said the team aired some things out.  

“We had a good talk after the Ball State match and we’re getting better at prioritizing our goals as we progress,” he said.

The lower workload will continue throughout the next several weeks until about mid-March where matches will ramp up again. 

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