JACKSONVILLE – Gamecock men's tennis hits the road this weekend for matches against three of the best programs in the Bayou and Lone Star States. Jacksonville State will take on Nicholls on Thursday afternoon before meeting Baylor and Incarnate Word on Saturday.
"This weekend, I want to see a group that's always looking to improve and get better," head coach
Trey Morris said. "Some of the things we'd been looking to fix were tactical, but a lot of it was intangible items. I feel that we've addressed those things, so I'm excited to see the guys bring those adjustments made in training and take them into these matches."
Jax State (1-2) split results in Tallahassee, Fla., on Jan. 13 and 14, falling 7-0 to ranked Florida State before cruising by Mercer, 6-1, the following day. Their trip to Tuscaloosa a week later produced a ranked doubles win by the freshman tandem of
Marko Milosavljevic and
Zach Murphy, but the team still dropped that match 7-0 to the Crimson Tide. After a week-plus off, the Red-and-White will return to action with a road trip across Louisiana and Texas this weekend.
"Our training block has been great," Morris said. "It was much needed because we jumped into the start of the season without having time with our guys leading in. We didn't have time to clean up things that were needed beforehand, so in the last ten days or so we've been able to get after it and take care of some of those details. The ultimate purpose of the season and our program is to have guys continuing to develop and improve, so that time was needed to make adjustments."
The Gamecocks will start the trip with a 2 p.m. bout at Nicholls (0-0) on Thursday afternoon. The Colonels will officially open their season on Wednesday night at Loyola New Orleans but have not yet faced Division I competition this Spring. The Southland Conference program is coming off a 10-win campaign last year in which they went 1-4 in league matches and lost in the first round of the SLC Tournament.
"Nicholls is always a team that's contending for the Southland title," Morris said. "They've had great programs throughout the years. While we did see them at ITA Regionals this Fall, it's a team that we haven't seen very often historically at Jacksonville State. I've never matched up with them as a coach in a duals match either, so there's a little bit of the unknown going in. The reality is that it's about us, though. We must take care of our business and attack the match with our quality."
After their match in Thibodaux, La., Jax State will travel west to Waco, Texas, for a pair of showdowns Sunday at Baylor (4-1). They will open action against the No. 24 Bears at 10 a.m., then finish with a 2 p.m. battle against Incarnate Word (1-0).
Baylor, a men's tennis blue-blood, had a sub-.500 year in 2023 and lost to FSU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. This Spring, they dominated early-season matches with Abilene Christian and Lamar at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center, then traveled to Arizona State and collected a slim 4-3 win over the Sun Devils on Jan. 18. After drubbing Tulane, 4-1, in the ITA Kick-off Weekend in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday, the Bears dropped a tight battle to No. 13 Arizona, 4-2, on Sunday.
"Baylor has a good reputation in men's tennis through the years," Morris said. "We're in the process of building ours as well. We have a unique and talented group and we're excited to attack them on Saturday. We expect a Baylor group that'll compete well at home. Coach Woodson has always generated great support from the community in Waco, so it'll be a hostile environment."
Before Baylor and Nebraska square off on Saturday evening in Waco, Jacksonville State will meet UIW at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. The Cardinals won 13 contests last Spring and upset second-seeded UIC in the SLC Tournament at season's end. They downed UTRGV, 5-2, on Jan. 20 in their season-opener.
"Incarnate Word is an unknown commodity," Morris said. "I've never seen them before, but they typically push for a title in the SLC. They have quality, they've had a lot of recent success, and we know they'll bring it. We expect a battle from the top of the lineup to the bottom."
Links to watch or follow along with live stats for this weekend's matches will be provided at JaxStateSports.com. Following this extended road trip, the Gamecocks will return to action at Kennesaw State on Sun., Feb. 11. The 2024 home opener is slated for Sat., Feb. 17, as Jacksonville State welcomes Troy to the Jax State Tennis Courts at 11 a.m.
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State Men's Tennis), Instagram (@JaxStateMTEN), and X (@JaxStateMTEN) accounts.
