Although the results suggest otherwise, Men's Tennis Coach Jan Bortner is somewhat worried.

The team appeared to have opened its dual-meet season with two strong road wins. On Saturday, the team defeated University of Akron, 6-0. Sunday, the Lions breezed by Mercyhurst, 9-0, without losing a single set.

But looks can be deceiving.

"Coming into the meets, I don't think we were (very) intense, and that worried me," Bortner said. "A couple players didn't start out quickly, but they started to respond when the matches got close.

"We have to try to get off to a quicker start. Some of the guys have to realize they've got to get up for the match early. They can't coast through the first couple games -- they've got to get on top early. They can't save it for the big matches. If we want to hang in against Northwestern (Feb. 22), it's imperative to get off to a good start."

Eduardo Abril said the slow start may have been a result of faster courts.

"When I went home for the winter break I only played on clay courts, which are slower," he said. "Their courts were fast and I think it took a little while to adjust."

Bortner said another deceiving factor was the quality of the teams. Mercyhurst, typically a tough team for the Lions, was not as talented as it has been in the past. And the University of Akron coach was very unhappy with the way his team played.

Despite the lack of intensity early in the matches, Bortner was not unhappy with the play of the team. He noted Greg Gaunt for his intensity and said some players and the doubles teams performed well.

"Considering the emphasis in practice has been on singles play we looked pretty good," he said. "We dominated the middle, and that's what you try to do in doubles."

The team did not play doubles against Akron. Against Mercyhurst, the team of Gaunt and Marc Price soundly defeated Phil Clark and Patrick O'Keefe, 6-2, 6-3. Abril and Chad Skorupka trounced Jason Hervoyanich and Greg Dickson, 6-2, 6-3. The freshman pair of Brett Englesberg and Ivan Spinner defeated Andy Davidson and Jamie Pilkington, 7-5, 6-4.

"It was time to prove what we can do as a team," Abril said. "Now we have an idea (of dual meet play), but this weekend was nothing compared to what the Big Ten is going to be like. I'm just glad everything went OK, and we were able to win our matches, and maybe the next time (the competition) will be better."