Conference Champs

GAMBIER, Ohio (April 27, 2005) Dropping just one doubles match point during the course of the two-day championship tournament, the Kenyon men's tennis team put together three straight wins and captured its fourth straight North Coast Athletic Conference title. The Lords went through Earlham, Oberlin, and Denison to claim the championship.

Because of unfavorable weather conditions, the tournament had to be moved indoors to the Advantage Club. The change of scenery, however, proved no problem for the Lords, who whipped up identical 4-0 wins over Earlham and Oberlin in Friday's quarterfinal and semifinal matches, respectively.

When Saturday rolled around, the Lords were pitted against rival Denison in the championship final. The KC men dropped two of the three doubles matches to the Big Red but bounced back to take four straight singles matches and the title.

Throughout the championship tournament, Kenyon senior Mike Herrick won all three of his singles matches. He took the number-one match against his Earlham opponent and then swiped a pair of wins at number two against Oberlin and Denison. Teamed with classmate Borko Tesic, Herrick also went 2-1 in his doubles matches in the number one spot.

Tesic won twice at number-one singles, improving his overall season record to 17-2. Joe Freeman also chalked up two singles victories and was a perfect three-for-three at number-two doubles with his partner Sean Stewart.

The championship win increased the likelihood of Kenyon earning another berth in the NCAA Division III Championship. Eight teams from the central region are awarded berths. The Lords are currently ranked number 23 in the nation and number 6 in the central region.