Men's tennis team sets sights on a top-four GLIAC finish

SAULT STE. MARIE - The Lake Superior State men's tennis team is gunning for a top-four finish in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. 

That's a lofty goal considering the Lakers finished 7-11 overall and 2-5 for a sixth-place tie in the GLIAC in 2009. Plus the league includes national caliber teams such as Wayne State, Grand Valley State, Ferris State and 15-time defending GLIAC champion Northwood.

"We have the depth, experience and talent to be one of those top-four teams," LSSU first-year coach Tom Linhart said. "It's realistic. Last year we had the talent and we underachieved. The guys know that and feel that, and they have the mentality that they want to prove something this year."

LSSU returns sophomore Razvan Mag, who was 8-9 in singles and earned All-GLIAC First Team honors in 2009, along with junior Pawel Wegrzyn, who was 8-8 and received All-GLIAC Honorable Mention last season. Mag and Wegrzyn were 9-8 in doubles. Wegrzyn has a career singles record of 16-21.

Other returnees include senior Steve Demps, juniors Brandon Clayton, Robert Nelson and Jack Miller, and sophomore Travis Toth. Newcomers are Sergiu Laza, Dane Fosgard and Collin Kuoppala.

The Lakers open the 2010 season at 1 p.m. Friday at Michigan Tech and play Lewis at 10 a.m. Saturday in Houghton. Both matches are non-conference. They play five non-league matches in Orlando, Fla., beginning Feb. 28.

Laza, Mag and Wegrzyn are slated to fill the top three singles spots for LSSU, while Clayton, Toth and Nelson will fill positions four through six.

"Sergiu is a true freshman, but he plays like a senior right now," Linhart said. "He comes in having played five or six-plus years of high-level competition in Ontario. He has more match experience than some of our upperclassmen."

Mag and Wegrzyn both have experience at No. 1 singles.

"Pawel will probably play No. 3 this year," Linhart said. "He's going to be a huge part of our success. He can win a lot of matches that will help us win a lot as a team. It will be a crucial spot all year and he's excited for that.

"(Serge, Raz and Pawel) are all pretty even. Realistically, any combination of them could make up the top three. We will probably tweek it a little, as we have some good non-conference matches going into the season. It's a dangerous three to have."

Toth, who sat out last season due to an injury, played regularly as a freshman. Clayton has played just about every position in the lineup, and Nelson has played as high as No. 3 singles.

Linhart added that Demps and Miller are contending for spots in the lineup. He described Fosgard and Kuoppala as the "Rudy's" of the team and players who add to the team's competitive atmosphere.

"Everyone is really competing, going all-out every day," Linhart said.

Doubles partners will be Laza and Mag, who played junior tennis together, Clayton and Nelson, and Wegrzyn and Toth.

"They've seen what can happen if they don't push themselves and don't have that discipline," Linhart said. "None of them want to feel like that again...A bad finish for us would be fifth place with four guys making all-conference. A great season would be a top-four finish and all of us getting honorable mentions."