Tigers Rally To Take Key NCAC West Showdown With Ohio Wesleyan

Sergio Fishkin

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — With their season's goals hanging in the balance, the Wittenberg Tigers stepped up for a 6-3 win over North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) West Division rival Ohio Wesleyan.

With just four teams in the NCAC West, the team that finishes last faces a first-round conference tournament match-up with nationally ranked Kenyon and the prospect of finishing no better than fifth in the final standings. The win moves the Tigers to 11-6 overall and 1-2 in the NCAC West, while the Battling Bishops dropped to 7-8 overall and 0-3 in the division.

What makes the win impressive is the come-from-behind manner in which the Tigers accomplished it. Ohio Wesleyan won two of the three doubles matches to take the momentum into the singles portion. But that's where Wittenberg came up big, winning five of the six contests, including a three-setter at No. 4 by freshman Sam Wilke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) and a 7-6, 6-4 decision at No. 6 by freshman Jonathon Mueller (Bexley, Ohio/Hartley).

Wilke was one of two double-winners on the day as he teamed with sophomore Sergio Fishkin (Minsk, Belarus) to claim the Tigers' lone doubles win at the No. 3 position. Senior Bobby Fisher (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) won a key match at No. 1 singles, while senior Rob Lehner (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) rounded things out with a win by a comfortable margin at No. 5.

The Tigers are off for more than a week before capping the 2010-11 regular season with a match at Wooster on Thursday, April 21. Start time is 4:30 p.m.