Scots Hosting Nationally-Ranked Kenyon, Then Wittenberg

Dave Albrechta

Two of The College of Wooster’s three remaining dual matches for the 2008 season will be this week, as it continues preparing for next week’s North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. With seedings still on the line for the league’s eight-team postseason tourney, the Fighting Scots are set to host No. 7 ranked Kenyon College (15-1, 2-0 NCAC) on Tuesday, April 15, at 4:30 p.m., and rival Wittenberg University (3-7, 2-5 NCAC) on Saturday, April 19, at 11 a.m. The meetings both ended up in 9-0 decisions last spring, with Kenyon getting the better of Wooster and then the Scots sweeping Wittenberg.

Last Week: On April 11-12, Wooster served as the host school for the highly-competitive, 11-team Great Lakes Colleges Association Men’s Tennis Tournament, which featured four schools among the top-30 in NCAA Div. III and several others ranked within the region.

In the opening round, the Scots were matched up with conference foe Denison University, and in their first meeting of the year, the Big Red took a 5-0 sweep. In the back draw, Wooster got two more matches in, dropping 5-0 and 5-2 decisions to Michigan schools Calvin College and Albion College, respectively. All three of the Scots’ opponents were among the top-14 in the latest ITA Div. III Central Region rankings.

Denison, which would go on to upset nationally-ranked Kalamazoo College 5-4 in the quarterfinals, won all three doubles matches versus Wooster and then at No. 4 and No. 6 singles.

The Calvin-Wooster match was much more competitive than the final score indicates. Grant D’Augustine (Cincinnati, Ohio / Turpin) and Pat Grab (Erie, Pa. / Cathedral Prep) nearly scored at second doubles, falling by an 8-6 count. Then, D’Augustine pushed his opponent at No. 2 singles deep into the second set before falling 6-1, 7-5. The Knights also won at No. 1 singles.

Albion jumped out to a 3-0 lead, giving up just four games in the doubles matches, but then the Scots came back to make a match of it in singles. Dave Albrechta (Fremont, Ohio / Fremont Ross) earned a straight-sets victory at No. 1 (6-2, 7-5) and Grab produced a similar triumph at No. 4 (6-3, 7-5), however, the Britons clinched the match with wins at the second and fourth spots.