The Skyhawk men's tennis team will open its 2004 spring season with a trip to Knoxville this weekend.

The Skyhawks will open at 3 p.m. Saturday against Memphis. UT Martin will then play the University of Tennessee at Knoxville at 6 p.m.

"Both matches are going to be extremely tough," said Dennis Taylor, UT Martin head coach. "We have only been practicing for about a week, and our conditioning may be a factor because we are playing two matches in one day."

The Skyhawks will be playing in the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center. "This will give us a chance to play on a true tennis surface," said Taylor.

"Our guys have been working really hard," said Taylor. "This weekend will give us a good idea of where we stand and what we need to work on when we get back."

The Skyhawks finished up the 2003 season in the Region III International Tennis Association (ITA) Division I Region Championships, in October, at the Racquet Club in Memphis, Tenn.

Tennessee-Martin's Gustavo Anzola, Oltion Mollaymeri and lone senior Lucas Tregansin all competed in the regional championship. Anzola and Mollaymeri both finished in the top 32. Anzola lost to Trey Brower of the University of Memphis. Mollaymeri lost to Colt Gaston of Louisiana State.

"We wanted to let our players gain some experience against some of the top players in the country," said Taylor.

"The regional championships feature some of the best players in the country, and when you get an opportunity to play that type of talent, you want to take advantage of it. If nothing else it gives you a chance to learn a lot, and I feel like we did that."

Teams that competed in the championships with Tennessee-Martin included Tennessee Tech, Middle Tennessee State, Murray State, and Jacksonville state, all in the Ohio Valley Conference. Other teams included Mississippi, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Troy State, Jacksonville, Georgia, Southern Mississippi, Georgia State, Alabama, Central Florida, Memphis, Vanderbilt, Miami, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Tulane, Florida A & M, and UAB.

The Skyhawks, as a team, picked up wins over Southern Indiana, Lipscomb and North Alabama this past fall.