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OBERLIN, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers split a pair of matches on opening day of the 2011 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament, losing to Allegheny before defeating Wooster.
The opening loss to the Gators relegated the Tigers to the consolation bracket, with the best possible result fifth place in the eight-team tournament. Wittenberg, the third-place finisher in the NCAC West Division, earned the right to play for fifth with a sweep of Wooster — the Tigers will take on Oberlin at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.
Against Allegheny, the No. 2 finisher in the NCAC East Division during the regular season, the Tigers lost two of the three doubles matches to fall behind early. The lone Wittenberg win came at No. 2 as sophomore Sergio Fishkin (Minsk, Belarus) and freshman Sam Wilke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) claimed an 8-3 decision.
The Tigers were unable to make up ground in the singles competition, losing three of the five matches that reached a conclusion. Wilke won in straight sets at No. 4, while freshman Tyler Strong (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) turned in a standout performance at No. 3 with a three-set victory. However, Fishkin's three-set loss at No. 2 ended the match in the Gators' favor.
Wittenberg bounced back to beat Wooster, the fourth-place finisher in the East Division, by a 5-0 count. The match was stopped as soon as the Tigers had an insurmountable five victories, thanks to singles wins from senior Rob Lehner (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) at No. 5 and freshman Jonathan Mueller (Bexley, Ohio/Hartley) at No. 6.
Those followed a trio of doubles wins, all by 8-4 scores.