Shane Hutton
The Wittenberg University men's and women's tennis teams are both generally young outfits expected to feature enough talent in the lineups to get back into the thick of the North Coast Athletic Conference races in 2004.
The Tiger men, which lost four starters from last year's team that ranked in the top 10 in the region and placed second in the rugged NCAC, are led by their lone senior, first singles and doubles player Duby Lakos (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage). A three-year letterwinner and two-time All-NCAC choice, Lakos takes over the top spot from All-American Casey Clagett after two years at the No. 2 singles position. The only other returning starter is sophomore Shane Hutton (Charleston, W.Va./Charleston Catholic), who played No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles in the 2002-03 season. Hutton has moved into the No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles positions.
Junior Ben Burkam (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes), a two-year letterwinner who has never previously cracked the starting lineup, and sophomores Matt Treblas (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora), Nick McLean (Port Clinton, Ohio/Port Clinton) and Brian Pierce (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) are the leading candidates for the other singles positions. Sophomore Steve Wilson (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) and freshmanJohn Shields (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) have worked their way into the mix for one of the doubles positions.