Tigers Make it to Finals at the NCAC Championship Tournament

Shane Hutton

The Tiger men's tennis team saw its season come to a bittersweet conclusion last weekend at Denison in the NCAC Championships. After winning the West Division title for the first time ever, the Tigers reached the NCAC Championship match, only to be denied by nationally ranked Kenyon 4-0. Matches in the tourney are only played until an insurmountable lead is attained - all other matches are abandoned without a conclusion.

The disappointment of losing in the championship match deepened Monday when the Tigers learned they had been denied a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament for the second straight year, despite ranking among the top teams in the loaded Central Region. Thus, Wittenberg concludes its 2003 season with a sparkling 15-5 dual match record and can only now await word on individual qualifiers to the national tournament next month.

In the NCAC Tournament, Wittenberg defeated East Division No. 4 seed Allegheny 4-0 in the quarterfinals and then East Division No. 2 seed Wooster in the semifinals to reach the championship match.

For the regular season, senior No. 1 player Casey Clagett (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs) was one of five singles players to post a winning record, finishing at 22-9 overall and 4-0 against NCAC West competition. Senior No. 3 player Eric Cusick (Lima, Ohio/Senior) also topped the 20-win plateau, finishing 23-6 overall and 4-0 in the NCAC West. Senior No. 4 player Mike Herzog (Springfield, Ohio/Northwestern) finished 17-10 and 4-0, senior No. 5 player Ben Hodgkiss-Lilly (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) wound up 16-7 and 3-1 and freshman No. 6 player Shane Hutton (Charleston, W.Va./Catholic) rounded things out with a 13-12 mark overall.

All three Tiger doubles teams posted winning records as well, with winning percentages all topping .600.