Tigers Pull Out Narrow Win Over ONU

Sergio Fishkin

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers came up with a big win over a regionally ranked opponent, pulling out a tense 5-4 victory over visiting Ohio Northern.

The win moved the Tigers to 4-0 in the fall portion of the 2011-12 schedule. The match is the lone head-to-head competition on the fall schedule for the Polar Bears, champions of the Ohio Athletic Conference a year ago.

ONU got the best of the doubles competition by the narrowest of margins. Wittenberg pulled out a 9-7 win at No. 2 doubles behind the duo of freshman Ian Streicker (South Lebanon, Ohio/Loveland) and sophomore Tyler Strong (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual), but the Polar Bears won at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions.

In the singles competition, the Tigers turned the tables, taking four of the six matches, including two of the three decisions that went to three sets. The rally started with a win by Streicker at No. 1 singles and a win for Strong at No. 6. The Polar Bears took the second and third courts, however.

That's where sophomore Sam Wilke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) and junior Sergio Fishkin (Minsk, Belarus) came up with the big wins to secure the one-point team victory. Wilke split the first two sets at No. 4 singles before crushing his opponent 6-0 in the third. Fishkin had a similar result at No. 5, splitting the first two sets before winning the decisive third set 6-1.