Sergio Fishkin

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Wittenberg Tiger men's tennis team came away from the 2009 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region Tournament with a 1-4 record for the event, but received some heartening performances from the four competitors who traveled to the event.

Freshman Sergio Fishkin (Minsk, Belarus) led the charge with a first-round singles victory, coming back from a one-set deficit to win by scores of 2-6, 7-5 and 6-1. He moved on to the second round, the only Tiger to do so, and ran into some stiff competition. He bowed out after falling 6-0, 6-0.

Junior Bobby Fisher (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) and sophomore Stephane Antwi (Rosedale, NY/McClancy Memorial) also played in the singles competition, losing in the first round but making some noise in the consolation bracket. Antwi won by disqualification in the first consolation round, and after a bye in the second, lost in the third by scores of 7-5, 4-6 and 0-1 (5). Fisher also won in the first, skipped the second and lost in the third, both decisions coming on 6-1, 6-0 scores.

Antwi and senior Craig Lods (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) teamed up for the doubles competition, and gave their opponents a run but ultimately fell by the narrow margin of 6-8. In the consolation bracket, the pair lost in the first round 8-1.

In the concurrent but separate St. Louis Tournament, Lods and freshman Stuart Zorn (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming) competed in the singles competition. Zorn went to the third round of the consolation bracket on byes before a close 7-5, 7-6 loss. Lods won two matches in the singles draw before losing the third.

Fisher and Zorn teamed up for the St. Louis doubles bracket and made a strong run, winning two matches against teams from North Coast Athletic Conference foe Ohio Wesleyan and Principia before exiting after an 8-5 loss to a team from Westminster in the semifinals.

The Tigers travel down the road to University of Dayton for their last match of the fall slate Friday, Oct. 2, and Saturday, Oct. 3.

Written by: John Strawn '07