HILTON HEAD, S.C. – The Wittenberg men's tennis team finished off a highly successful spring break trip with a 9-0 defeat of Northwestern College (Minn.) to finish 5-1 for the trip and move to 9-1 on the season.

The Tigers were strong throughout the match, the toughest competition coming at No. 1 singles, where sophomore Ian Streicker (South Lebanon, Ohio/Loveland) battled to a 7-5 win in the first set and took the second 6-2.

At No. 2 singles, Sasha Topolyanskiy (Moscow, Russia/School 712) took a 6-3, 6-2 win, and at No. 3, sophomore Sam Wilke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) was a 6-1, 6-4 winner. Senior Sergio Fishkin (Minsk, Belarus/Gymnasium 55) was a 6-2, 6-0 victor in fourth singles, followed by wins for junior Tyler Strong (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) and freshman Mitchell Patterson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) in the fifth and sixth slots, respectively.

Wilke and Strong paired up for an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles, followed by a pair of 8-2 wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. Sasha Topolyanskiy and junior Joe Marra (Great Falls, Mont./Great Falls) won in second doubles, and sophomore Alexey Topolyanskiy (Moscow, Russia/School 712) and freshman Dennis Gleason (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles) found victory in third doubles.

The Tigers now return to Ohio, where the next action for the team will be at Ohio Northern at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 16.

John Strawn '07