The Michigan men’s tennis team is as athletic and talented as any team in the country.

But it's struggling with head games.

“The thing that separates (us) is the mental toughness," Michigan associate head coach Sean Maymi said. "Tennis is a very mental sport and if you aren't ready to play each point, then you’re going to lose."

The 40th-ranked Wolverines (6-9) have learned this the hard way. After starting the season with five straight wins, everything started to go south.

In just more than a month, the team has faced six top-25 teams and lost all but one of its matches. Michigan is in the midst of its longest losing streak since the 2003-04 season.

“Since we've lost a couple, the guys are starting to have some doubt," Maymi said. "They need to get that doubt out of their minds."

That doubt has been even more evident in singles competition. After struggling with doubles play earlier in the season, the Wolverines have won the doubles point in three of their last four doubles matches.

But Michigan has won just one singles match in each three of those dual matches.

The coaching staff has reiterated during the course of the Wolverines' losing streak that they need to find confidence if they want to accomplish their goal of winning the Big Ten Championship.

This year, the Wolverines are still waiting for someone to take charge and restore Michigan's poise and focus on the court.

Part of Michigan's issues stem from a lack of leadership.

Last year, then-senior Matko Maravic was the defining leader of this team.

“Definitely losing Matko was a huge loss for us, not only on the tennis court because he was our best player, but he was probably our best competitor,” Maymi said. “He set the tone for the guys, and this year I don’t think we’ve had that leader yet to step up.”

Maravic's teammates looked to him as an example of how to handle the intense pressure of match play, and he displayed a mental toughness often absent from this year's squad.

This season, no one has established themselves as Michigan’s leader on the court. Some players have shown signs of “taking the reins,” according to Maymi, but none the way Maravic did.

Maymi mentioned redshirt freshman Drew Daniel and junior George Navas as two possible players looking to take control of this year's team, but neither have done so yet.

Although the Wolverines still don't have a definitive player like Maravic, now is the perfect time for a leader to emerge. With the start of Big Ten play a few days away, Michigan can forget about its previous 15 matches, its past failures during singles matches and its lack of mental toughness to this point.

“They're working hard and working together,” Maymi said. “They're a strong group but I would like to see them stronger individually when they're in the matches. ... As a coach, you just got to stay with it, and it takes one good win to turn the corner.”