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Emily Figel

The Wittenberg men's and women's tennis teams put the finishing touches on the 2004-05 season last weekend at the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at Denison. The tournaments were completely moved indoors as the snow swirled around outside in high winds and unseasonably cold temperatures.

The Tiger women finished fifth for the second straight year, losing their opening round match to eventual fourth-place finisher Kenyon, 5-2, as a pair of three-set singles matches went against Wittenberg and two others were suspended as soon as the clinching point was earned by the Ladies. Wittenberg, which finished with a 13-5 overall record, rallied to defeat eighth-place Earlham and sixth-place Wooster to finish fifth.

Freshman Emily Okerson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) and senior Emily Figel (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) enjoyed the best weekends overall. Okerson, potentially the Tigers' No. 1 singles player next year due to graduation losses, won twice and lost a three-setter to Kenyon in singles, while Figel, the Tigers' No. 1 player four straight years, won her match against Kenyon but didn't finish either match against Earlham or Allegheny.

In doubles, Okerson and Figel teamed up at the No. 1 position to sweep three straight matches over the weekend. For the season, Figel, who studied abroad during the fall semester, finished up 6-6 overall, while Okerson had the team's best singles record at 19-4. The tandem, one of the best doubles pairings in recent years for the Wittenberg program, finished 12-3 overall.

On the men's side, Wittenberg wound up sixth for the second consecutive year, losing to Oberlin in the opening match, defeating Earlham and then losing to Allegheny. The Tigers, who checked in with a 12-9 overall record at season's end, came into the tourney as the runner-up in the weaker West Division.

Without question, the best weekend was had by the doubles tandem of juniorsShane Hutton (Charleston, W.Va./Catholic) and Nick McLean (Port Clinton, Ohio/Port Clinton), who swept their three matches. That performance, in combination with a 5-2 record in limited time together, was enough to earn them second-team All-NCAC honors. Hutton, who went 6-16 while battling illness in his first year as the team's No. 1 singles player, made second-team all-conference in singles.

The Tigers' best singles record was turned in by freshman Ryan Snyder (Trotwood, Ohio/Madison), who went 17-1 overall, with his only loss coming last week at No. 4 singles against Sinclair Community College. Sophomore John Shields (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) tied Snyder with 17 wins while playing at the Nos. 4 and 5 positions primarily. He won his last nine matches.