Feb. 1, 2004

Carson, Calif. - Loyola Marymount men's tennis defeated Cal Poly (7-0) and Redlands (6-1) Sunday afternoon at the Home Depot Center. Junior Beau Berglund and a trio of freshmen led the Lions to the wins in Carson, which is serving as the February home of LMU men's tennis during the construction of LMU's tournament court.

Freshman Matt Phillips defeated his Cal Poly and Redlands opponents in straight sets. "Matt played some pretty scrappy players today who made him earn every point, but his confidence grew game by game," LMU Head Coach Nik DeVore said.

Despite battling injuries, Berglund and freshman Nico Terrien were able to adapt their game styles and strategies and also secure victories for the Lions.

Freshman Linas Cincenas played his first two collegiate matches at the No. 1 spot. "Linas really stepped up his game in his first two matches at No. 1, " DeVore said. "He was feeling a little bit of pressure, but was able to work through it and play some very confident tennis."

The Lions, who had dropped two tough contests last week, rebounded by playing with more confidence this week. "The overall attitude and competitiveness were much better this week," DeVore said. "I think our young team learned a lot from last week's losses: most importantly, not to take any team lightly."

The Lions will next hit the road to take on WCC opponents San Francisco and San Diego in San Diego on February 7-8.

"We still have a lot of work to do if we are going to be successful against some of the tougher teams coming up on our schedule," DeVore said, "but this is a step in the right direction."

-GO LIONS-