The Wittenberg men’s and women’s tennis teams both enjoyed fine seasons in the 2001-02 school year. The Tiger men won the first 11 matches of the year en route to a 14-4 overall record and a third-place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
For most of Wittenberg University's student-athletes, the summer vacation has arrived and they are already busying themselves with a variety of other endeavors. Their absence from campus hasn't slowed the stream of postseason honors and awards, however.
Another banner spring sports season has reaped rich rewards for 41 Wittenberg University athletes who were selected to All-North Coast Athletic Conference teams over the last two weeks.
It was a fine week to wrap up a solid season for the Tiger women's tennis team. For the second straight year, Wittenberg finished third in one of the toughest NCAA Division III tennis conferences in the country.
Heading into the home stretch the Tiger women's tennis team is hoping to hold onto a spot in the first division of the NCAC and possibly qualify a player for the NCAA Division III tournament next month.
The Tigers split their week, falling to perennial title contender and likely NCAA participant Denison on Tuesday, April 9 and then rebounding for a 9-0 sweep of visiting Earlham on Sunday, a match that was suspended Saturday due to rain.
It was a busy week for the Tigers that went fairly well. On Tuesday, neighboring rival Cedarville provided the opposition and Wittenberg was a 6-3 victor. Then on Thursday and Saturday, the Tigers split a pair of NCAC matches, falling on the road to Ohio Wesleyan 5-4 and then rallying for a win over Allegheny at home on Saturday by a 5-4 count.
The Tiger women's tennis team was off last week after going 2-3 in Florida on Spring Break the previous week. For the spring, Wittenberg is 3-4 against top-quality competition and for the year, the Tigers are also 3-4 against Division III competition. Leading the way for the team is No. 1 singles player Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), who was the runner-up in the regional tournament last fall and currently has a 10-3 record for the year, including an 8-2 mark against Division III competition. Also playing well is No. 2 singles player Shannon Oliphant (Columbus,Ohio/Hilliard Davidson), who is 6-4 with two three-set losses on her record this year. Things get cranked up again for the Tigers this week as they take on Northern Kentucky on Wednesday in their home opener.
The Wittenberg women's tennis team opened the second half of its 2001-02 season with a 5-0 loss at DePauw and a 6-1 win over Chicago in a tri-match at DePauw on Saturday. The Tigers swept the doubles matches and got singles wins from No. 1 singles Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), No. 2 singles Shannon Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) and No. 5 singles Valerie Allen (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) in defeating Chicago
The Wittenberg University women's tennis team has a very different look in 2001-02 after a third-place NCAC finish last season. Gone are four players who earned letters in 2001, including first singles and All-NCAC standout Erin Beach.