SAN ANTONIO ? The UTSA men's tennis team return from an 11-day layoff to host a pair of non-conference matches this weekend at the UTSA Tennis Center. The Roadrunners (2-4) will face Marquette (4-2) at 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13, and No. 63-ranked Nebraska (3-1) at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Admission is free to all home tennis matches.
The Roadrunners haven't seen any action since they beat St. Edward's, 5-2, on Feb. 1.
"We changed up a few things over the break," head coach Dr. Oliver Trittenwein said. "We've altered the weight routine, so now they are doing a little more lifting on their own rather than doing a team lift. We are still doing the running, sprints, and agilities as a team.
"The proof is in the pudding, as they say. The practices have been good. The guys are working on the things I've been asking them to work on. It just comes down to when the pressure is on to see if the hard work paid off."
Friday's match-up against Marquette brings a little history along with it. The only previous time UTSA faced Marquette, they did so with only four players on March 25, 2006. The Roadrunners were ahead in both of the doubles matches and about to seal the doubles point when the rains came. The match could not be completed.
"Marquette is a pretty comparable team to what we have here," Trittenwein said. "They're just a bunch of blue-collar, hard-working guys that go out and get the job done. It's going to be a good test to see where we are starting off the conference season next week."
The weekend will wrap up on Sunday when the Roadrunners square off against No. 63 Nebraska (3-1) at 10 a.m. Last season, UTSA traveled to Lincoln, Neb., to take on the Cornhuskers, falling 6-1. Trittenwein thinks playing on the home court might be to his team's advantage this time around.
"Nebraska is a step up from most of the teams we've played so far," he said. "But they are a beatable team. They are strong. They're an indoor team, and they are coming from the cold weather. Hopefully we can get a little heat and some of the elements this weekend...a little wind...a little dust. I've seen indoor teams go down when they are not used to playing outdoors.
"It's a good weekend for us...two tough matches to really guage where we are."
