San Antonio – Marcin Marczewski and Guy Rutten had only teamed up once before on the tennis court, creating a tall order for St. Mary’s newest doubles team over the weekend.

That’s because the nation’s sixth-ranked team, Rollins College, which also features the No. 4-ranked doubles tandem, came to town Saturday afternoon.

But for what Marczewski and Rutten lacked in chemistry, they more than made up for in fearlessness and ability.

Undaunted by the opponent – and by the high winds that plagued the match – the two took down Rollins’ Neil Clausen and Jeff Morris, 9-7, at St. Mary’s Tennis Courts.

“Since this is our first win together, it is very important to us,” said Rutten, whose Rattlers lost the overall match, 8-1. “We know we can compete with the best in our division now. The most important thing looking forward is trying to become even more consistent and reach a high level every match.”

Rutten (Sr., Almelo, Netherlands) said a good week of practice was key to their success.

“After a week of hard work we got a bit more consistent on everything and learned more about how to play with each other,” Rutten said. “The key to beating this team was dealing with the wind first. We did a good job and they did not, and they got frustrated. We also made them work by putting in a lot of returns and playing offensive.”

St. Mary’s will return to the court on Wednesday, when the Rattlers will finally get to play St. Edward’s in “Battle of the Saints.” The match, originally slated for Feb. 2, was twice postponed because of weather. The match will begin at 2 p.m. at St. Mary’s Tennis Courts.

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