A first place finish by Nathan Mullendore at sixth singles helped Wabash to a fourth place finish at the annual Kerry Seward Memorial Tennis Tournament. The two-day event was held at the Collett Tennis Center on campus and at Crawfordsville High School.
Mullendore opened the tournament with a 6-1, 6-1 win at sixth singles over Earlham's Owen Coursin Saturday morning. He advanced to the finals with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Wittenberg's Tom Burkam. Sunday afternoon Mullendore took the tournament title with a decisive 6-2, 6-0 win against Paul O'Connor from Augustana.
The Little Giants also added four second place finishes. Paul Prosinski won his two Saturday matches at number four singles --- a 6-4, 6-3 decision in the first round over Ryan Eckstein from Wittenberg and a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win against Shiro Fukuzawa from Earlham in round two. He fell 6-4, 6-0 to Oberlin's Arthru Zeyda in the championships round.
Freshman Sean Clerget took second at fifth singles, losing in three sets in the championship round. He won 7-5, 6-0 in opening round play versus Rose-Hulman's Kyle Erikson. Clerget moved into the finals with a 6-3, -6,3 win against Ezra Goldman from Oberlin before losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to Greg Ruth from Augustana.
Jay Horrey and Adam Van Zee combined to finish second at number one doubles. The pair were 9-8 (7-4) winners in the first round, followed by an 8-3 victory in round two. They lost 8-4 to Vincennes' Marius Tangen and Renato Costa in the finals.
Prosinski and Daniel Petrie played third doubles, grabbing second place with a 2-1 tournament record. They won 8-3 and 9-8 (8-6) Saturday before falling 8-2 to Oberlin in the finals.
Horrey finished third at number one singles with a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the finals over Earlham's Scott Miller. Adrian Starnes was fifth at number three singles.
The Little Giants finished with 42 total team points to take fourth place. Vincennes and Oberlin tied for first place with 45 points. Vincennes earned the team title by virtue of five flight championship titles compared to two for Oberlin. Augustana was third with 43 points.
Wabash returns to action next weekend with a trip to Waverly, Iowa for two dual matches. The Little Giants will play Wartburg and Coe Colleges Saturday morning and afternoon.