The adage says, “Experience is the best teacher.” Western’s men’s tennis team has already started putting that saying to the test.

Western’s men lost 7-0 to Louisville on Friday afternoon, but coach Jeff True said that experience contributed to Saturday’s 6-3 win over Bellarmine.

“Bellarmine turned out to be a much stronger team than last year,” True said. “Playing a tough team like Louisville definitely got us ready.”

The team faced Division-II opponent Bellarmine on Saturday. Senior David Bowman said the strength of Bellarmine’s team was a surprise.

“This is definitely the best Bellarmine team we’ve faced since I’ve been here,” he said.

Freshman Currie Martin said that because of its membership in Division II, Bellarmine scores matches differently than the Western players were accustomed to. In Division I, only one doubles point is awarded on a best-two-out-of-three basis, but in the lower division, every doubles match counts as a point.

After Bowman and Martin won the No. 2 doubles match, both Bellarmine’s and Western’s teams gathered around the third court to watch the last match of the doubles competition.

“Everybody was getting very pumped up, and it definitely carried over into the singles matches,” Bowman said.

Bowman also said that the team was mentally prepared for the Bellarmine match because they played a tough Louisville team the day before.

Louisville, ranked No. 58 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, won all three doubles matches and only dropped one singles set, when Krug picked up a set in the No. 2 singles match.

“We play all our matches with the intent to win,” True said. “We knew it would be a very difficult match.”

The men weren’t the only Western tennis team in action this weekend, however. The Lady Toppers lost 6-1 to Chattanooga on Saturday.

“Three matches went to three sets, so we were obviously very competitive,” True said. “It’s hard to tell if we’ve improved in just a week, but Chattanooga is a strong team.”

Junior Marija Djuran had Western’s only victory, with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 win in the No. 2 singles spot.

Both teams return to action this weekend at home at the Total Fitness Connection. The Toppers play Belmont at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Lady Toppers will play Murray State at 7 p.m. Friday.

Reach Sarah Hyman at sports@chherald.com.