The University of Washington men’s tennis team started off the season with resounding wins over Eastern Washington and Idaho. Younger and more experienced players alike made their presence known, with three new players making their debut as Huskies.

The UW doubles teams got the momentum going in front of good-sized home crowds. On court one, Alex Slovic and Andy Kuharszky came out strong in both matches. Against Eastern Washington, Slovic and Kuharszky came back from a 1-3 deficit to prevail 8-6, and in the next day’s match the duo rolled over their Idaho opponents 8-1. Slovic’s 71 wins tie him for second on the UW career doubles win list.

The UW mixed up the lineup at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to give two of the rookies their first taste of college tennis. In Friday’s match, sophomore Patrik Fischer paired with senior Mike Ricks at No. 2 doubles to start off his collegiate tennis career on the right foot with an 8-2 win.

Freshman Derek Drabble also notched his first win as a Husky this weekend against Idaho, playing No. 3 doubles with senior Daniel Chu.

“Playing my first match was awesome,” Drabble said. “It was tough at first, since I was a little nervous, but it got better. I owe a lot to Daniel.”

The Huskies were equally strong in singles, relying heavily on their upperclassmen. Kuharszky was particularly dominant in his first match at No. 3 singles, losing the first game of the first set, then rattling off 28 straight points before closing out the match 6-1, 6-1.

“Our upperclassmen were really solid this weekend,” said coach Matt Anger.

Chu’s performance at No. 2 singles was also strong. Chu faced a mental challenge in his opponent, Kyle Schraeder, who was quite vocal in expressing both his frustration and his excitement throughout the match.

“It’s always interesting to play someone fiery,” Chu said. “You can break them mentally, but you also have to watch out for when they start making their shots and get pumped up.”

Equally solid was Daniel’s younger brother, sophomore David Chu.

“We were really impressed by David this weekend,” Anger said.

An 8-4 win with his brother at No. 3 doubles on Friday, coupled with wins at No. 6 and No. 5 singles against Eastern Washington and Idaho respectively, allowed David Chu to show how much he has improved during the off season.

“I felt really good today,” David Chu said. “Playing in my first match last year, I was really nervous, but this time I was calm. I felt much more solid.”

Freshman Holden Ching demonstrated mental fortitude in his Husky tennis debut, staying calm to prevail in a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) battle against Idaho at No. 6 singles.

“It was good to get Holden into the match,” Anger said. “He showed a lot of poise.”

Anger came out of this weekend with a positive outlook for the team.

“We were eager to play,” he said. “We have a good habit of winning the first match of the season, but we also have a bad habit of losing the last one, in the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully we will be able to end this season as well as we started.”

Reach reporter Risa Pavia at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.