It was a fine week to wrap up a solid season for the Tiger women's tennis team. For the second straight year, Wittenberg finished third in one of the toughest NCAA Division III tennis conferences in the country.

The Tigers started out the week with a loss at Kenyon 8-1, a loss that dropped Wittenberg into the No. 4 position for the NCAC Tournament at Oberlin on Friday and Saturday. In the first day, the Tigers opened with a 6-1 win over Allegheny before succombing to eventual champion Denison 5-0. Then on Saturday, Wittenberg rallied to claim third place with a 5-0 win over the host Yeowomen.

For the regular season, the Tigers may have finished with a sub-.500 record as a team, but the top three players on the team and the No. 1 doubles tandem were all stellar. Freshman Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), who is in the running to be awarded one of eight individual berths into the NCAA Division III singles championship next month, wound up with a 19-4 overall record at first singles and a mark of 6-1 in the NCAC. Junior Shannon Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) finished 17-4 at No. 2 singles and a perfect 8-0 in the NCAC. And freshman Sarah Fassler (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) concluded her first collegiate campaign with an 11-10 record at No. 3 singles, including a 6-2 mark in the NCAC. In addition, the No. 1 doubles pairing of Figel and Oliphant was 13-6 overall and 5-2 in the NCAC.

Heading into the home stretch the Tiger women's tennis team is hoping to hold onto a spot in the first division of the NCAC and possibly qualify a player for the NCAA Division III tournament next month.

Last week, the Tigers lost to Division II power Northern Kentucky on Wednesday after waiting out two lightning/rain delays. The team may have lost the match, but freshman Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) and junior Shannon Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson), the team's No. 1 and 2 singles player respectively and No. 1 doubles team, both had perfect days. On Thursday, the Tigers rebounded to defeat visiting Otterbein and then on Saturday the Tigers ventured back into the NCAC to defeat visiting Wooster in a match that was moved indoors due to the threat of rain.

Figel is first in the NCAC at the No. 1 singles position with an 18-3 overall mark and 5-0 in the conference, while Oliphant is 14-4 overall and 5-0 in the NCAC, good for the third-best mark among conference competition. Both players were perfect last week.

The season comes to a close this week with a Tuesday match at defending champion Kenyon and the NCAC Tournament at Oberlin on Friday and Saturday. Wittenberg heads into the stretch run alone in third place in the NCAC.

Emily Figel	Shannon Oliphant

The Tigers split their week, falling to perennial title contender and likely NCAA participant Denison on Tuesday, April 9 and then rebounding for a 9-0 sweep of visiting Earlham on Sunday, a match that was suspended Saturday due to rain.

The loss to Denison wasn't without its Tiger highlights, however, as the top three singles positions all were won by Wittenberg players.

Wittenberg's top two players are both among the best in their respective NCAC flights currently. Freshman Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) is first at the No. 1 singles position with a 15-3 overall mark and 4-0 in the NCAC, while junior Shannon Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) is 11-4 overall and 4-0 in the NCAC, good for the second-best mark among conference competition.

This figures to be a busy and important week for the Tigers, who have nonconference matches on the slate for Wednesday against Northern Kentucky and Thursday against Otterbein. Then conference foe Wooster comes calling in a key NCAC match on Saturday, just one week before the tournament is set to take place at Oberlin. All three matches are at home at the Albright Tennis Courts.

It was a busy week for the Tigers that went fairly well. On Tuesday, neighboring rival Cedarville provided the opposition and Wittenberg was a 6-3 victor. Then on Thursday and Saturday, the Tigers split a pair of NCAC matches, falling on the road to Ohio Wesleyan 5-4 and then rallying for a win over Allegheny at home on Saturday by a 5-4 count.

Against Cedarville, sophomore Deana Nowakowski (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) had a singles and doubles win to key the win. Against OWU, the Tigers were swept in doubles and lost by the narrow margin despite winning the top four singles positions. And against Allegheny, the key to victory was provided by freshman Ellie Hazelbaker (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon), who was the team's only player to win in both singles and doubles.

Wittenberg's top two players are both among the best in their respective NCAC flights currently. Freshman Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) is second at the No. 1 singles position with a 13-3 overall mark and 2-0 in the NCAC, while junior Shannon Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) is 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the NCAC, good for the third-best mark among conference competition.

More important NCAC matches are on tap for the week, starting with a road date opposite Denison Tuesday. Earlham and Oberlin come calling this weekend for matches on Saturday.

The 2002 spring season home opener has been pushed back to Tuesday against Cedarville, with the Northern Kentucky match slated for last Thursday rescheduled for April 17.

The Tiger women's tennis team was off last week after going 2-3 in Florida on Spring Break the previous week. For the spring, Wittenberg is 3-4 against top-quality competition and for the year, the Tigers are also 3-4 against Division III competition. Leading the way for the team is No. 1 singles player Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), who was the runner-up in the regional tournament last fall and currently has a 10-3 record for the year, including an 8-2 mark against Division III competition. Also playing well is No. 2 singles player Shannon Oliphant (Columbus,Ohio/Hilliard Davidson), who is 6-4 with two three-set losses on her record this year. Things get cranked up again for the Tigers this week as they take on Northern Kentucky on Wednesday in their home opener.

Figel

Oliphant

Next:
3/27 vs. Northern Kentucky, 3 p.m.

Oliphant

The Wittenberg women's tennis team opened the second half of its 2001-02 season with a 5-0 loss at DePauw and a 6-1 win over Chicago in a tri-match at DePauw on Saturday. The Tigers swept the doubles matches and got singles wins from No. 1 singles Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), No. 2 singles Shannon Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) and No. 5 singles Valerie Allen (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) in defeating Chicago. The Tigers have a very different look in 2001-02 after a third-place NCAC finish last season. Gone are four players who earned letters in 2001, including first singles and All-NCAC standout Erin Beach. In their stead, second singles and All-NCAC player Oliphant leads a talented but inexperienced crew into action in 2002.

Oliphant, who went 17-7 overall last year and 6-1 in the NCAC, is once again slated to play the No. 2 singles position, and she will be joining up with Figel, a freshmen, at first doubles. Figel will play first singles this spring after advancing to the championship match of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association regional tournament.
Rounding things out, sophomores Megan Maher (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston), Deana Nowakowski (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) and Allen and freshmen Ellie Hazelbaker (Cincinnati, Ohio), Bonnie Egan (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) and Sarah Fassler (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) are battling for starting spots. Maher and Nowakowski were starters a year ago.

The Tigers kick things off in Florida next week. The home opener is slated for Wednesday, March 27 against Northern Kentucky.
Next:
3/10 vs. St. Cloud State @ Daytona Beach, Fla.