The men’s and women’s tennis teams fought their way to victories in the quarterfinal and semi-final rounds only to both fall in the finals to Kenyon College.
In the opening round of the men’s tournament, DePauw made a statement with their 5-0 win over Wittenberg University. Number one, two, and three doubles all took home convincing victories, while singles three and six also clinched hefty wins.
The Tigers then defeated Oberlin College 5-3 in the semi-final on Saturday. The matchup started with a bang for DePauw, who took a 3-0 lead after all three doubles teams won. However, with the top three singles matches all going to Oberlin, the 3-3 deadlock relied on singles four and five to carry DePauw to victory. It took a comeback effort from sophomore Greg Fraunheim at number four singles for the Tigers to regain control.
The Tigers took on Kenyon in the NCAC final with momentum on their side. After taking a 2-1 lead following doubles play, Kenyon tallied four straight points in straight sets. After the match, senior Patrick Farrel was pleased with how the team fought.
“I was proud of how well we competed this weekend and throughout the season,” Farrel said. “Obviously, I wish it would’ve gone our way but we left it all out there.”
Senior Nate Wallace was a bit more disappointed when it was all said and done.
“We went into the weekend expecting to win conference,” Wallace said. “So it’s disappointing to come up just short of our goal.”
The women started their tournament against Wittenberg and dominated as they did not drop a single set en route to a 5-0 rout.
Their road did not get any easier as they defeated Oberlin 5-0 as well. Seniors Maddie Lee and Gretchen Wilder won their no. 1 doubles match 8-4, first-year Meredith Breda and junior Alyssa Senevirante won the no. 2 flight and sophomores Megan Galle and Sarah Wilder won the third flight.
Lee and sophomore Ali Bush then won the first two singles flights, and the match was over.
The team finally took on their toughest matchup of the weekend in the championship in Kenyon.
Lee and Gretchen Wilder lost a tough tiebreaker loss in the no. 1 doubles match, and Kenyon took home the no. 2 flight as well. Sarah Wilder and Galle were able to take home the third flight cutting into Kenyon’s lead.
Galle, Bush and Senevirante were able to rattle off the first three singles matches to give DePauw a 4-2 lead, and one win away from a conference championship.
Kenyon, however, gained the momentum right back as they won the no. 1, no. 2 and no. 5 flights to give them the victory and the conference championship.
While the Tigers were competing, the biggest battle, was not even on the court. Team Coach Scott Riggle has been battling Parkinson’s, a progressive disease of the nervous system. With an easy excuse to leave or lose focus right in front of them, the team managed to stay focused, and battle even harder for something bigger than themselves. Senior, John Daeske says that Riggle was a huge motivation to the team heading into the championship.
“Coach Riggle will forever be an inspiration to his players, including me,” Daeske said. “The way he takes on his Parkinson’s one day at a time is truly incredible. His outlook on life and his positivity are uncanny, we have all learned so much from him.”
Daeske said that the team’s ability to battle with their back’s against the wall was evident, and that ability to battle starts with Riggle.
The losses end the seasons of both teams. The men finish with a record of 10-10, while the women finish at 15-7.