The Michigan men's tennis team began its fall season this weekend with the Tom Fallon Invitational in South Bend, Ind. The team is young and the lineup is wide open, which will make the fall interesting for everyone.

"The fall season gives us a chance to mix and match the players in both singles and doubles," said assistant coach Dan Goldberg said, who went to South Bend with the team while Mees stayed in Ann Arbor to meet with recruits. "This is a young, relatively inexperienced team and we will use the fall to find a lineup that works."

The weekend began with doubles matches on Friday, and the Wolverines met stiff competition, losing four matches to Harvard and two of three against Brown before winning two of three against Purdue.

Michigan recovered and played better in singles on Saturday, winning all eight matches against Maryland and splitting eight with host Notre Dame. The Wolverines also lost three doubles matches to Williams and Mary on Saturday.

"It had been a while since some of the guys last played, and on Friday rustiness showed on the big points, which is why we lost some close doubles matches," Goldberg said. "I was pleased, however, by the improvement I saw in singles on Saturday when we won three of four third set tiebreakers."

Michigan was scheduled to play singles against Purdue yesterday morning but rain cut short the weekend as there was not enough time for all 11 teams to play on the available indoor courts.

Team records are not recorded during the fall season. The Michigan coaches' goals are for the players to get practice and experience and for the team to find a lineup to use beginning in January, when the new season begins. Michigan lost four of its top six players from last year, so this task is more important this year than in previous years.

"This year our depth will be a strength," Goldberg said. "Our Nos. 6, 7 and 8 players played well this weekend, which leads me to believe our doubles play will be better than last year."

Junior Anthony Jackson, who spent time playing No. 4 singles last year, went 2-0 in a singles, including a win over No. 85 Matthew Scott of Notre Dame. Senior Chris Shaya, sophomore David Anving and freshman Carey Rubin all went 2-0 in singles as well.

The ITA All-American Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. are up next for the tennis team starting Oct. 4. Three players from Michigan will participate in the singles tournament.