The pressure is rising for The University of Memphis men'stennis team.
The Tigers (9-9, 2-3 in Conference USA) are nearing the end oftheir season as they prepare for a crucial match against MurrayState today at 2 p.m.
Senior Lee Taylor Walker said close losses and negativeattitudes have been the Achilles' heel for Memphis this season.
"It's been tough," Walker said. "We've got a lot of new guys andwe've lost a lot of games that have really been close. It's hard toconvince the new guys we're just as good as any other team. Thesecret's just to get positive and have a good attitude going intothe tournament."
Walker was candid in his criticism of the Tigers' performancethus far.
"To be honest, it's been a very disappointing season," Walkersaid. "A lot of the teams we've lost to this season, we've beenexpected to beat them and have beaten them in the past. I guessit's necessary for the new guys to understand they can't just walkon to the court without the hard work. We're obviously expected tobeat (Murray State) and it's important for everyone to go out therefocused."
The team added four new faces this season, and the inexperienceis bringing some frustration.
The team still needs seven more wins to match last season'stotal of 16.
Turning the season around was the mission this past weekend, andthe Tigers stomped Jacksonville State and Georgia State for a quickboost of morale.
Heach coach Phil Chamberlin hopes the boost in morale means theTigers will play with more confidence.
"We better take 'em," Chamberlain said about today's matchagainst Murray State. "We've played some good tennis these past twomatches and it should continue."
In retrospect, Memphis hasn't had much in the way of troublewith the Racers. Last year the Tigers knocked them out of the way,sweeping all matches in a 7-0 victory.
Marten Tamla, a No. 2 doubles player for Memphis, doesn't thinkthings will change this year.
"They used to be a good team," said Tamla. "But we looked at theresults for their season and we think we shouldn't have a problemagainst them."
The Tigers may be without freshman Sam Withell, who went downwith an injury a week ago. Withell suffered some disc damage to hisback and is still questionable for the match today.
One positive note for the team is the upcoming C-USA Tournament.The Tigers will have home-court advantage as the event is beinghosted in Memphis. The tournament will be held April 14-18.
