The 2001-2002 NIU men’s tennis team may look young on paper, but don’t tell that to coach Steven Rodecap.

While the roster features only three upperclassmen, Rodecap says the Huskies have more than enough experience.

“We’re not that young,” said Rodecap, who enters his third year as coach of the Huskies. “We have our top two guys returning as well as our four, five, and six guys returning. We only lost one guy in the starting lineup [Brent Sitarski].”

The top two Rodecap refers to are junior Raymond van Wasbeek, coming off a 19-10 mark last season, and sophomore Juan Barriga, a native of Mexico who joined the Huskies last January and put up a 13-10 record.

“I feel stronger right now than I did last year,” said van Wasbeek. “That’s the most important thing; if I feel strong I can do a lot on the court.”

Joining the Huskies this season are freshmen David Pickel, Erick Martinez and Paul Glendenning. Ball State graduate Rodecap has high hopes for the trio.

“The three of them will contribute in some way,” said Rodecap. “They’ll all get a chance to play. We need them to step for us to have a good year.”

Van Wasbeek’s outlook echoes that of his coach.

“If Juan and I can keep our record up and the young guys play the way they’re able to, we definitely have a shot to improve,” said van Wasbeek.

With a good part of the lineup returning and the addition of the three freshmen, Rodecap feels the Huskies have no excuse not to be a force in the MAC.

“We’re a lot more balanced this year, a lot thicker,” said Rodecap. “We’ve added a lot of depth to the team.”

But that doesn’t mean Rodecap will let his team rest on their laurels.

“We’ve worked hard and put ourselves in a position to have a good year,” Rodecap said. “But we have to go out and do the job.”

Also returning for the Huskies are sophomore Aaron Forsberg, a 18-13 overall performer last year, senior Jon Perlman (9-13), senior Tim Freesen (15-13) and sophomore Ryan Schnack (8-5).

“I think the older guys can sense we have more players and are a little bit stronger,” said Rodecap. “They’re definitely excited about the season.”