Last Saturday, the University of Maryland (4-0) served the men’s tennis team (0-2) its second loss of the season. The nationally-ranked Terrapins blanked the Wildcats, sweeping the contest with a 7-0 win.

Villanova was unable to take a point or force a third set in any of the six singles matches. The most competitive matchup came between the No. 1 singles players. ‘Nova sophomore Brian Maher nearly had the first set in hand, serving for the set at 5-3. However, Maryland freshman standout David Kwon fought his way back into the match, eventually finishing off the Wildcat sophomore, 7-5, 6-4. Also playing singles for the Wildcats were juniors Sean Daly, Charlie Farmer, Scott Fahrendorf and Dimitri Chimerakis, along with freshman Brett Tobin. Each match ended in straight sets.

Maher found success in his next match against Kwon, however, teaming up with doubles partner Fahrendorf to record the only Villanova victory of the day. Fahrendorf and Maher defeated the Maryland pairing of Kwon and Boris Fetbroyt with a score of 8-5. In spite of this win, Villanova’s first and third doubles pairings were not able to overcome their Maryland counterparts.

Despite the slow start to the season, the future looks bright for the ‘Cats. The return of Assistant Coach Aaron Kusza and newly-appointed Head Coach Brad Adams, both graduates of Villanova, have put together a revitalized team. The roster is made up of four juniors, four sophomores, four freshmen and no seniors, giving the team opportunities to grow together and improve over the next two seasons. Along with their youth, this year’s Wildcats possess a desire for victory.

“Even when losing, we have this desire to climb back,” Maher said. “We’re the definition of optimism, which will help us win the tough games later on.”

Next on the itinerary for the men’s team is the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship, a semi-pro event in which the Wildcats will compete against other collegiate teams. The competition will be held on March 2-4 at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in La Jolla, Calif. Among the squads participating in the event are nationally-ranked teams including Rice, Texas A&M, California, Stanford, UCLA, Southern California and Pepperdine.