The Chuck Merzbacher era is set to begin this weekend at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
He, for one, is more than ready.
The new men's tennis coach and his young team get their first taste of competition this weekend, when they travel to Macon, Ga., for the Mercer Gridiron Classic. There are 14 teams in the field, with the Mocs and the host school the lone representatives from the Southern Conference.
Merzbacher came to UTC after a long tenure coaching Big Ten women's tennis - most recently at Minnesota, where he was 70-58 in five seasons. He also worked at Ohio State (1997-2012) and Kansas (1993-96) after starting his career coaching the men's team at Northern Illinois.
The transition back to coaching men has been a smooth one.
"It's almost like I never left that side of tennis," Merzbacher said after Wednesday's practice. "It felt really natural, jumping in and working on the things we're working on."
When he took over, he handed each player a notebook and implored each one to write things they wanted to work on. The Mocs are coming off a five-win season and have more freshmen on the roster (three) than seniors (one), so there's been a lot of time for instruction and getting better.
"They really want it," Merzbacher said. "We're just all about getting better every day. I know it's cliché, but these guys have been working, so it's good."
There are no expectations for this weekend. No thoughts of wins or losses or championships, just the desire and expectation to get better.
Merzbacher even joked that he hopes "they're tired of playing each other."
"They've really worked hard," he said. "They deserve success, and I'm just ready to turn them loose and let them play. They've given me a really good fall."
Around campus
The UTC volleyball team starts a three-match home stand tonight at 6 against Samford and hosts Mercer at 1 p.m. Saturday, prior to the homecoming football game at 4. Travis Filar's Mocs (9-9, 2-2) split last weekend on the road, sweeping The Citadel before being swept at Furman. ... After a month of road matches, the soccer team hosts Virginia Military Institute tonight at 7 at Finley Stadium and plays UNC Greensboro there Sunday. Coach Gavin McKinney has said his team is "close" after a 3-1 loss at Samford last weekend, and the Mocs are 3-7-3 overall and 1-2 in the league.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.