Trojan Men's Tennis Opens with Cardinal Stritch

UPLAND, Ind. - The Taylor men's tennis team prepares to host Cardinal Stritch on Friday at 3:00 pm, and will be looking for a quality performance to start the 2014 season.

Head coach Don Taylor, entering his 20th season at Taylor University, hopes to make it a memorable one. The Trojans aim to improve on a 2013 fall season in which they finished with a record of 3-10, 7th overall in the Crossroads League.

"We lost a lot of starters from last year's team and have six freshmen," said Taylor. "The Crossroads League has got a lot tougher in recent years, but the goal is always to be one of the top four teams."

Key returnees for the team include sophomore Juan Ramirez, senior Carlos Guarin, junior Carter Perry, sophomore Chris Robbins, and sophomore Jonathan Forte.

Ramirez played his first matches for Taylor in the spring of last season and was slotted at the No. 1 doubles spot with Guarin. The two players also split time at the top two singles flights. Ramirez played well against quality competition and was named the Crossroads League Player of the Week for his play from April 14 - April 20.

"Juan will certainly help us and showed last spring that he can be very competitive," adds Taylor. "He will be playing either No. 1 or No. 2 singles and will also be at the top of our doubles lineup.

Guarin, a senior, played No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles for the Trojans in the fall and will be a key contributor in his third season at Taylor after transferring from Division II Shaw University. Perry and Robbins each have experience as a part of the Taylor lineup, possessing skills that translate well for both singles and doubles play, where they will likely play together at the No. 2 position. Forte will look to have an increased role in both singles and doubles as well in his second season, after seeing limited match play in 2013.

The 2014 roster will be made up of many new faces, as six freshmen join the other seven returning players.

"We need to make some improvements in doubles play to more consistently come away with points," states Taylor. "Most of the new freshmen are skilled in doubles and many played doubles at a high level in high school, so they'll have the opportunity to make immediate contributions for us."

Much of preseason camp is focused on match play, as the players compete with each other to establish the lineup for the opener against Cardinal Stritch.

"There have been a lot of very close matches, and it has been competitive all-around," said Taylor. "It's always a very hard week, and we try to have them play as much as possible leading up to the opener."

Marian, the defending Crossroads League tournament champions, will be the first Crossroads League opponent on the schedule for the Trojans. The two teams are slated to play on August 30 at 10:00 am in Upland.

In other dates of note, ITA Regionals will take place in Grand Rapids, Michigan and run from September 11 until September 13. Rival Indiana Wesleyan is on the schedule for September 20 at home beginning at 9:00 am.

"I am excited and cautiously optimistic for what the season may hold," said Taylor. "The team has bonded well so far, the upperclassmen have lead by example, and hopefully we'll continue to develop as players and play our best tennis."