Sunday at 3 p.m., the men and women’s tennis teams commence their spring season against cross-town rival, Greensboro College. Last season the women’s team beat Greensboro 6-3, and the men’s squad beat Greensboro 5-4 during the 2006-07 season. Coach Eddie Luck thinks that both teams have a good chance at winning again this year.

Greensboro College returns four women starters from last season, and the men’s team has a solid number-one player, David Sutton.

“Greensboro has some good players at the top but I don’t know about their depth,” Luck said. “We should be geared up and ready to go.”

Luck is the third coach in four years to lead the men’s team. Last season he coached just the men, and this past fall he took the coaching position for the women’s team as well.

“He is a great coach, I really like what he’s done with the program,” junior Alec Chase said. “He has a lot of experience and showed what he could do with the guys last season.”

Senior Hilary Routon has also been receptive to Luck’s coaching style.

“He (Luck) is awesome,” Routon said. “I feel like (practices) are a lot more productive this season, he is more disciplined.”

Luck has been instrumental in marketing the tennis program and their new facilities in the Guilford community. The new courts are located on the northwest side of campus.

“We really needed new courts,” Chase said. “We had those eight courts before but four of them were almost unplayable; it was a liability and a little embarrassing.”

Guilford received a donation last year of over $450,000 from trustee Dalton McMichael Jr. and his wife Susan to build six new courts for the teams. As the season begins, the courts are complete, but the landscaping and restrooms are still unfinished. The facility is a much-needed upgrade for the team.

“They (the old courts) were really rundown and falling apart; the surface was coming off,” junior Will Mason-Deese said.

Many of the women on the team played on the old courts the past few seasons; the team only lost two players and gained three new girls this year. The men’s team only has three remaining players from 2007-08.

Since last season, the varsity men lost five seniors to graduation but have gained a slew of new players.

“The guys have a lot of new people, a lot of learners,” Routon said. “Half the (players) are experienced and the other half are beginners in a sense.”

One of the new first-year players, Ben Lewis, is projected to play second doubles with junior Patrick Childs.

Chase, Mason-Deese and Childs played along side Jose Ortiz ’08 and Caleb Kimbrough ’08 last year in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), and helped lead the men’s team to a fourth-place finish in the conference tournament. The number one player for the men, Chase, has played tennis since eighth grade. Last season he played in the number two seat for singles.

“I think Alec’s chances are good for a solid season, he is a really strong player,” sophomore Nina Bollag said. “As number one, you do feel a lot of pressure, however.”

Bollag is a co-captain for the women’s team with Liz Killion. She is also the number one player for the team.

“As a freshman I was number one and I lost every match, which sucked,” Bollag said.

Last season the women’s team posted a 3-7 conference record and placed eighth in the ODAC.

This year, joining the women’s seven returning players are first-year Paulette Wyatt, transfer Mary Simpson and senior Sarah Gehring.

Luck believes that aside from the top players, the team has enough depth for a strong season.

“I think we can use this as a building year,” Luck said. “This is my first full year here and it will be a good bonding year.”

Along with bonding, the team is searching for a fan base to support them.

“It’s fun when people are cheering and yelling,” Chase said. “It really makes you want to play harder and better, I know I always play better when I have people supporting me.