“Progress” is the message the men’s tennis head coach is preaching to his team heading into the Met Collegiate Indoor Invitational this weekend in Houston.Head coach Dave Borelli said he wants the team, which has a preseason national ranking of No. 36, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, to put more of an emphasis on progress instead of just winning.

“Sometimes, winning doesn’t come all the time, but those experiences will help you later down the line,” Borelli said.

Even though the tournament includes two of the top three teams in the nation – the No. 2 Baylor Bears and the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes, freshman Mike Donovan said the team is eager to get the spring season under way. Graduate student transfer Chris Biro said the team’s chemistry has been very upbeat heading into Houston.

Donovan said he agreed with Biro that the team has come together.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys,” Donovan said.

No matter what the result may be for this weekend, this season will have a different feel for Borelli as it will be the first time in his TCU career that he will be exclusively coaching the men’s team. Borelli said that while it may be a different game compared to the women, the men’s game has the same type of hardworking, respectful players the women’s team has had.

“You appreciate the value of working for something when they work hard,” he said.