OBU Men's Tennis Ranked 6th Nationally
November 11, 2009

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The national and regional tennis rankings for the fall have been released with the Ouachita Baptist University men’s team ranked sixth nationally and fourth in the South region.

The Tigers are one of three Gulf South Conference teams ranked inside the top 10, with Valdosta State fourth and West Florida eighth. Holding the top spot nationally is Armstrong Atlantic, with Barry University second, Lynn third, and Hawaii Pacific fifth. Rounding out the final five are Ouachita, West Florida, Columbus State, Concordia, and Rollins.

In the South Regional Rankings, Barry and Lynn are first and second, respectively. Valdosta is third, followed by Ouachita in fourth and West Florida fifth. Rollins is sixth, while West Florida Southern is seventh, Florida Tech (eighth), Palm Beach Atlantic (ninth) and North Alabama is 10th.

Nationally in singles action, OBU’s Jan Plewinski is ranked thirteen. Teammates Till Heilshorn and Jean Charles Diame are ranked 35th and 50th respectively.

The doubles team of Heilshorn and Plewinski is ranked 10th in the country.

With eight regions in the nation the South region dominated the national rankings placing twenty singles players in the top 50.

Tigers Finish Winning Fall Season
November 2, 2009

The Ouachita Baptist University men's tennis team wrapped up their fall campaign Saturday at the Apache Invitational hosted by Tyler Junior College at the JoAnn Medlock Murphy Tennis Center.

The tournament field of singles consisted of five flights and 80 players and in doubles there were two draws of 40 teams.  Ouachita Junior Jan Plewinski won the first flight of singles over TJC sophomore Pier Piercianni 6-2, 6-1. Earlier in the day Plewinski partnered with teammate Till Heilshorn to win the first flight of doubles over Mick Plum and Jordan Rozenfeld of Collin County.

Competing in the second flight were sophomores Jean Charles Diame and Peirre Tafelski. After winning his first match Diame retired with an injury. Tafelski was defeated in his second round match. After winning two rounds in the doubles first flight Tafelski and Diame had to retire to due Diam’s injury.

Daniel Moser and Cristian Ceparu both dropped their first round matches in the third flight but came back to win their next two. They then teamed together for doubles and finished winning three matches and losing one.

Earlier in the season Till Heilshorn and Jan Pelwinski competed in ITF futures events in Austin and Fort Worth, Texas.

In Austin Till won three qualifying matches and advanced to the main draw. In his next match he lost a close match to Dennis Zikovic (USA) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(6). Jan won his first round but lost his second round to Matt Kuzdub (Canada).

The next week in Fort Worth Jan made it to the final round of qualifying with two wins and a loss to Jordan Cox (USA) 6-4, 6-4. Till lost in the first round.

September 11-13 saw the Tigers competing in the Rajin Cajun Collegiate Invitational on the campus of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. On the first day of play everyone advanced in the draw winning their matches. Due to weather the remaining two days were canceled.

OBU men's tennis team ends 2009 season ranked No. 8 nationally
June 8, 2009

After compiling a 20-2 record in 2009, the Ouachita Baptist University men’s tennis team finished the season ranked No. 8 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Also announced by ITA were the final season individual rankings, which included three Tigers in the top 50 players in Division II singles play.

"Any time you finish in the top 10, it is a very successful season," noted tennis coach Craig Ward. "We have the core of the team returning for next year. If we stay motivated, work hard and have fun then we will again be one of the best in the country."

The Tigers had a perfect regular season run, finishing at 18-0 heading to the Gulf South Conference tournament. After victories over Alabama-Huntsville and No. 10 West Florida in the first two rounds of the GSC tournament, the Tigers faced No. 4 Valdosta State in the GSC finals for a second straight season, losing to the Blazers 5-0 and finishing as runners-up in the conference final.

The remarkable season came to an end with a loss to No. 9 West Florida, 5-2, in the second round of the semifinals in the 2009 NCAA Division II Men's Tennis South Region I Tournament at Miami Shores, Fla.

"The guys were disappointed after the loss, but I was not disappointed in their efflort."

In the midst of the season’s success, the team developed a balanced core that led to victories from six singles spots and three doubles teams, Coach Ward said.

“The key to our team is that everybody is willing to play any position to help us be successful,” Ward explained. “We have eight guys that completely trust their teammates to give 100 percent day in and day out. That’s been the difference in this season and in seasons past.”

While the team was extremely successful, a number of individual accolades also were earned. The Tigers swept the GSC Men’s Tennis All-Conference awards, including GSC West Player of the Year and GSC West Freshman of the Year. For the first time in his career, Coach Ward won GSC Coach of the Year honors. While it was his first time to be honored by the GSC, Ward received the 1995 Intercollegiate Tennis Association NAIA Collegiate Coach of the Year award.

For the fourth consecutive season, Ouachita swept the individual awards for the West Division. Sophomore Jan Plewinski garnered Player of the Year honors a season after being named Freshman of the Year. Plewinski was ranked No. 14 in the nation in singles play with a 13-4 record, and No. 14 in doubles play with sophomore Till Heilshorn with a 17-3 record. Heilshorn finished the season ranked No. 31 in the nation in singles play.

Freshman Jean Charles Diame was tabbed the GSC top newcomer, gaining Freshman of the Year accolades. Diame was ranked No. 49 in singles play while playing in the three spot for the Tigers and had an undefeated record at 20-0. Diame also recorded a 16-6 doubles record with freshman Pierre Tafelski

Heilshorn and Tafelski also received honors, making the All-GSC West Division Team, giving the Tigers four players on the eight-player team.

“We started the year ranked #14 and it was supposed to be a re-building year. ” Ward said. “I could not be more proud of the hard work and effort these guys put into making this seaons such a success. I am already looking forward to next year .”