SPORTS NOTEBOOK: Men's tennis tunes up against Rice alumni

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by Torrey Folk

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The reunion is a fundraiser tournament featuring Rice's current tennis line-up against any tennis alumni who choose to compete.

"It's primarily for fun," said Head Coach Larry Turville.

"Although we haven't lost to the `exes' yet, and we don't want to start this year."

The exhibition of five doubles matches begins tomorrow at noon at the Jake Hess Tennis Courts.

It is followed by another fundraiser on Sunday at the Lakeside Country Club where the Rice tennis team competes against people from the community.

"We usually get about 10 to 15 alumni to come back," said senior Justin Hogan. "It's a chance for them to stay in touch with the guys who are playing now."

The Rice Reunion prepares the men for the fall season, in which they focus on tuning their skills for the spring.

In the fall, there are no team standings at tournaments, only individual awards. The players compete solely on an individual basis.

"Fall is our individual season," commented Turville. "It establishes the level of the team, so when we go into the spring, it helps determine the line-up."

"Basically we're using the fall to work on our game," Hogan said. "We want to win in the fall, but the spring is the season that counts."

Last spring, the men had a losing season, but finished third in the Southwest Conference.

Turville said the losing record was due to top 20-ranked schools on the Owls' schedule.

The men lost Juan LaValle, ranked number one last year, and Matt Berry to graduation.

The team recruited three freshmen and a transfer student.

Justin Reizes joins the men as a second-year transfer from Southwest Missouri State University, where he was ranked number one.

"He should fit highly into the line-up," Turville said.

"The freshmen look pretty good," said senior Jose Medrano. "With the experience of the rest of the team, we should have a pretty good year."

--by Torrey Folk

This item appeared in the Sports section of the September 10, 1993 issue.

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