Tigers' Winning Streak Comes to an End

Duby Lakos

Rob Postma

In what can only be described as a near-miss, the Tiger men's tennis team finally had its perfect season come to an end last week, losing heartbreakers to Division II Northern Kentucky and NCAC favorite Denison.

Wittenberg won its first 11 matches of the year and entered last week unbeaten in two NCAC West Division matches. Following a 7-0 win over Otterbein last Monday, the Tigers fell 5-2 to Northern Kentucky in their final home match of the season. Following a lengthy rain/lightning delay, the match finally got started and the Tigers lost the doubles point 2-1. Then two of the six singles matches were extended to three sets, with both No. 1 junior Casey Clagett (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs) and No. 2 sophomore Duby Lakos (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) falling.

Then on Friday at Denison, the Tigers' NCAA tournament bubble may have burst. The Big Red, the defending NCAC champion and a perennial national title contender, may have thwarted Wittenberg's bid for a first-ever trip to the national tourney with a hard-fought 4-3 win over the Tigers. Clagett, Lakos and No. 3 junior Eric Cusick (Lima, Ohio/Senior) all registered singles wins, and Lakos paired with No. 6 singles court senior Rob Postma (Tallmadge, Ohio/Tallmadge) for a doubles win. But No. 5 singles court junior Ben Hodgkiss-Lilly (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) lost a three-setter in the deciding match.

With the NCAC tournament on the horizon, the Tigers have three players in possession of the top marks at their singles flight positions. Clagett is tops with a 21-3 mark at No. 1 singles, junior Mike Herzog (Springfield, Ohio/Northwestern) shows the way at No. 4 singles with a 14-4 record and Postma is the best currently at No. 6 singles with a 12-2 mark. The current lineup of Clagett and Hodgkiss-Lilly at No. 1 doubles,  Lakos and Postma at No. 2 doubles, and Cusick and Herzog at No. 3 doubles have combined for an 18-5 overall record and a mark of 10-2 in the NCAC.

Clagett is ranked among the top players in the region heading into Tuesday's important nonconference dual match against Kenyon. In order to make the national tournament as an individual, however, he likely will need to win the rest of his matches on the season. April 17, 2002-

Casey Clagett

Mike Herzog

Things just keep getting better for the Tiger men's tennis team. They hope the best is yet to come.

Wittenberg is riding an 11-match win streak and is unbeaten in two North Coast Athletic Conference West Division matches this year heading into a pivotal week. Thanks to rainouts earlier in the season, the Tigers played and defeated nonconference foe Otterbein on Monday at the Albright Tennis Courts, the first of four matches on the week. Northern Kentucky comes calling on Wednesday, followed by the two biggest matches of the season - at Denison on Friday and home to Wabash on Saturday. The Big Red are the defending NCAC champion and a perennial national title contender - making them a team the Tigers must defeat if they hope to advance to the NCAA tournament as a team for the first time ever.

Over the last week, the Tigers continued to roll forward, defeating NCAC West rivals Ohio Wesleyan and Earlham 7-0 and 6-1 respectively. They also tacked on a nonconference win over NCAC participant Oberlin and yesterday's win over Otterbein. Perhaps most encouraging, the Tigers' were perfect in 12 doubles matches during that time.

With the NCAC tournament on the horizon, the Tigers have three players in possession of the top marks at their singles flight positions. Junior Casey Clagett (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs) is tops with a 19-2 mark at No. 1 singles, junior Mike Herzog (Springfield, Ohio/Northwestern) shows the way at No. 4 singles with a 13-3 record and senior Rob Postma (Tallmadge, Ohio/Tallmadge) is the best currently at No. 6 singles with a 10-1 mark. In doubles, Wittenberg's pairings have been moved around, but the original No. 3 tandem of junior Eric Cusick (Lima, Ohio/Senior) and junior Ben Hodgkiss-Lilly (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) has the best record of 10-3. The current lineup of Clagett and Hodgkiss-Lilly at No. 1 doubles, sophomore Duby Lakos (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) and Postma at No. 2 doubles, and Cusick and Herzog at No. 3 doubles has not lost a match, combining for a 14-0 record.