Unexpected harsh weather conditions hampered the efforts of SIUC’s men’s tennis team at the Grand Geneva Fall Invitational in Lake Geneva, Wis., last weekend.

The Dawgs traveled north with hopes of improving on their performance at the Illinois State Fall Invitational on Sept. 22-24. Mother Nature put an end to the squad’s expectations.

Rain forced play to be moved indoors on the first day of tournament. All matches of the six-team tournament were held on four courts, causing delays between games. SIUC had difficulty adjusting to the increased time between matches.

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There were only four courts, and we had to wait, senior Bojan Vuckovic said. There was no way to practice.

This was the first time the squad played on indoor courts this season. The surface of indoor courts leads to much faster play. This was another change SIUC needed to overcome.

Head coach David Paschal said players should have handled the move better than they did.

We played on some indoor courts that were really fast, he said. But it is the same for everybody.

On the second day of the tournament, SIUC was greeted by temperatures in the 50s. Matches were played outside, and the cold proved tough for the Dawgs to manage as well.

Paschal said the team did not use the cold weather to its advantage.

The guys did not come ready to play and let conditions affect them, when they should have used it to their advantage, he said.

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Tough competition also contributed to the squad’s problems.

The tournament was very strong, Paschal said. Marquette and DePaul are strong teams.

Paschal also said competition caused Vuckovic to struggle in singles play.

Bojan had a tough draw, he said. He probably played one of the toughest players in the tournament. He was fighting out there, it just wasn’t his day.

The Dawgs travel to Wichita, Kan., for the Rolex Regional Tournament Oct. 27-29.

SIUC will focus on doubles in practice as preparation for the tournament.

Our doubles are slowly improving, Paschal said. We still have a lot of work to do. Right now, doubles is our weakness.