Tigers Have a Strong Season Going into Daunting Stretch
The Wittenberg men's and women's tennis teams are both off to solid starts to the 2005 spring season as the stretch run begins with tonight's matches against perennial powerhouse Denison at the Albright Tennis Complex.
The Wittenberg men's and women's tennis teams are both off to solid starts to the 2005 spring season as the stretch run begins with tonight's matches against perennial powerhouse Denison at the Albright Tennis Complex.
The women, who face the more daunting task Tuesday with the top-10 ranked Big Red, are 6-2 overall and 0-1 in the very tough North Coast Athletic Conference, which boasts at least five top-quality teams. The Tigers won their only fall match, defeated Manchester in an indoor match in February and then went 3-1 in Orlando, Fla. Since returning for their spring season in Ohio, the Tigers have a 7-2 loss to conference rival Oberlin on March 19 and an 8-1 win over Ohio Dominican on March 31.
Four of the team's six singles players have winning records for the 2004-05 season, led by freshman Emily Okerson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson), who leads the NCAC with an 11-2 record at No. 3 singles. Senior Emily Figel (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) has returned to form at No. 1 singles with a 4-3 record after missing the fall season due to study abroad commitments. Rounding things out, junior Kristyn Russell (Loveland, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) is 7-4 at No. 4 and freshman Ashley Schnedl (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) is 7-4 at No. 6.
The men's team is off to a 6-4 overall record, including a win in the first NCAC West Division match of the spring season, a 7-0 victory over Wabash on Saturday. After a win in the fall season and a Feb. 5 victory at Otterbein, the Tigers lost for the first time to Oberlin in an indoor match on Feb. 27. In Florida, Wittenberg went 2-2. Since returning home, the Tigers finished fifth of eight teams at the Wabash Tournament on March 19-20, and since then they have won two of three games on outdoor courts.
Three Wittenberg players have .500 or better records in 2004-05, led by the surprise of the season, freshman Ryan Snyder (Trotwood, Ohio/Madison). Since joining the team in the winter, Snyder has compiled a 10-0 record while playing mostly sixth singles. Senior Ben Burkam (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes), who has split his time between fifth and sixth singles, is 7-6, and sophomore John Shields (New Kensington, Pa./Radnor) is 8-8, primarily at the No. 4 singles spot.