Review: Conference titles, All-OAC picks and school records highlights Men's Tennis's 2011 season
By: Andrew Korba
ADA — The 2010-2011 season proved to be yet another successful one for the Ohio Northern men's tennis program.
Not only did the Polar Bears sweep the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles for the second-straight season, they also made another appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championships and advanced to the second round.
Under third-year head coach Bob Rohan, Northern finished 18-4 overall and finished a perfect 9-0 in the conference for the second straight season. The team also tied a school record by recording 12 shutouts and its 18 wins were third most in team history.
Ohio Northern had five of its members named All-OAC, while Rohan was named OAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year.
Sophomore Joey Frank was named OAC Player of the Year and earned his second First Team All-OAC award. Frank finished with a 37-16 record on the year, including an 8-0 record at No. 1 doubles in OAC play and an 8-1 record at No. 1 singles.
Joining Frank as First Team All-OAC were junior Michael Kathary and freshman Do Thai.
Kathary set the ONU single-season singles wins record at 26 (only losing 6 matches) and single-season overall wins record at 48.
Thai went a combined perfect 18-0 in OAC play, seeing most of his action at the No. 2 doubles and No. 3 singles slot.
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Junior Nick Kowalczyk notched a Second Team All-OAC selection, his third consecutive All-Conference honor. He notched his 100thcareer win April 21 in a match against Walsh.
Senior Jeff Carter earned an Honorable Mention selection for his work in his final collegiate season. Carter went 38-11 on the year and notched his 100th career win against Augustana (Ill.) on March 2.
Carter ends his career with 125 wins, placing him fourth all-time in Ohio Northern's program history.
Freshman Josh Saunders posted a solid 12-4 record on the season, including a perfect 8-0 mark in OAC play.
Junior Andrew Korba posted a 29-7 record on the season, including a 22 wins at No. 3 doubles.
After dropping just one match during the fall portion of the season, the Polar Bears went 3-1 on their annual Spring Break trip to Florida capped off by a 7-2 victory over regionally-ranked Augustana.
At the Kerry Seward Invitational with three regionally ranked teams, Northern grabbed a second-place finish, which was its highest ever at the tournament.
Northern continued rolling, winning nine straight matches, six coming by a 9-0 shutout.
The Polar Bears were the top seed in OAC Tournament and defeated Muskingum in the quarterfinals, Baldwin-Wallace in the semifinals and John Carroll in the finals giving Northern its second-straight berth into the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Tournament.
In the first round, Ohio Northern defeated Wilkes (Pa.), 5-0, before falling to nationally ranked No. 6 Kenyon by a 5-1 score.