By: Daniel Bremmer
Daily Sports Writer
Published September 16th, 2002
The lineup for the Michigan men's tennis team is wide-open heading into this weekend's Tom Fallon Invitational in South Bend.
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But as far as Michigan coach Mark Mees is concerned, having his lineup up in the air may not be a bad thing.
"It really gives everybody an opportunity to compete for a spot, to work hard and to hopefully get in there and contribute," Mees said.
Last year, entering the fall season, it was clear that the team's most experienced and talented player were its returning seniors, No. 1 Henry Beam and No. 2 Ben Cox. But now, with Beam and Cox both graduated, this year's squad is "totally up in the air."
But that won't matter much because the Tom Fallon Invitational - like the majority of all the other fall season events - has no team scoring.
Michigan's players will square off against players from other programs, but the outcomes will not count towards any school's record.
The format of these fall events benefits players by giving them time to focus on individual areas of their games, rather than focusing their attention on the overall team's score.
It also provides a good opportunity to get back into the groove that players may have fallen out of over the summer.
"Quite a few of the guys played tournaments over the summer, but there's a break between the end of the summer (and now)," Mees said.
More specifically, the fall season allows players to hit a lot of balls on the court, to regain their competitive edge and to compete with a high level of intensity.
While several members of last year's squad are returning this season, Mees does not expect anyone in particular to step up; instead, he expects "high things from everybody."
"We're going to be young, and we're going to have some people in there who are not incredibly experienced, but got a little taste of it last year," Mees said. "I hope that they will feel comfortable coming in."
Among returning players, junior Anthony Jackson has the most experience at singles, spending time at No. 4 last spring.
Seniors Chris Shaya and Chris Rolf, along with junior Brett Baudinet, all were in the doubles lineup last year.
