Sarah Fassler
The Wittenberg men's and women's tennis teams posted finishes of sixth and fourth respectively at the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament last weekend at Oberlin College.
The men, playing without top singles and doubles player and two-time All-NCAC selection Duby Lakos (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage), were beaten in the first round by Oberlin, came back to defeat Wabash in the first round consolation match and then lost to Denison in the match to determine fifth and sixth place. They finished 9-6 overall.
On the season, sophomore Nick McLean (Port Clinton, Ohio/Port Clinton) posted the team's best singles record at 14-3, including 4-0 in the NCAC West during the regular season, while primarily playing in the No. 4 spot. Other winning records were turned in by sophomore Steve Wilson (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) at 9-6 (4-0 NCAC West) while primarily playing at No. 5 and junior Ben Burkam (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) finished at 10-4 while playing fourth, fifth and sixth singles. In doubles, the top tandem was sophomore Shane Hutton (Charleston, W.Va./Central Catholic) and Burkam, who finished at 6-4, primarily playing the No. 2 position.
On the women's side, the Tigers defeated Oberlin in the first round, lost to nationally ranked Denison in semifinals and then were beaten by perennial powerhouse Kenyon in the consolation to place fourth. Wittenberg had finished third in each of the last three seasons. For the 2004 campaign, the Tigers wound up with an 11-4 overall record.
All six singles players and all three doubles teams concluded the season with non-losing records. Junior Emily Figel (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) wound up 10-9 at No. 1 singles, junior Sarah Fassler (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) finished 12-3 at second singles, sophomore Kristyn Russell (Loveland, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame)wrapped things up at 15-4 at the third spot, freshman Emma Robinow (Yellow Springs, Ohio/Yellow Springs) ended at 13-6 at No. 4, senior Deana Nowakowski (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) concluded her career with an 11-7 record in 2003-04 at No. 5 and senior Megan Maher (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) finished 9-9 at the sixth position. In doubles, Figel and Nowakowski went 8-6 at No. 1, Maher and sophomore Mallory Meyer (Darien, Conn./Darien) went 10-8 at No. 2 and Robinow and Russell went 11-7 at No. 3.