Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Tennis Tigers Ranked No. 3

The Ouachita Baptist University Tiger men's tennis team has been voted third nationally in the first NAIA rankings of the 1996-97 academic year.

It is the highest ranking ever given to a state or private institution of higher education of any size in the field of men's tennis in Arkansas.

Coached by Craig Ward, the Tiger netters are ranked behind last year's NAIA champion, University of Auburn at Montgomery, and the University of Mobile (Alabama). In fourth place is Oklahoma Christian University from Oklahoma City, and fifth place is Freed-Hardeman University from Henderson, Tenn.

"I think it is a high honor for the team to be recognized in this manner," said Ward. "It really, though, doesn't mean a thing until those scores start rolling in during the spring matches. The top five teams are capable of beating any one of the others on any given date."

Ouachaita finished the 1995-96 campaign in a two-way tie for fifth place in the NAIA national poll and are set to contend for the national championship in this the team's last year as part of the NAIA structure.

For the current sports year, the Tiger tennis team had dual membership in both the NAIA and NCAA. For the 1997-98 season, all Ouachita sports programs will be exclusively part of the Lone Star Conference in NCAA Division II.

Ouachita's double team of Tim Oosterhous and Christian Wassmer is sixth among the nation's NAIA doubles team, according to the latest ratings. Wassmer is a junior communications major from Singen, Germany. Oosterhous is a senior sociology major from Texarkana, Texas.

At 19th place, Wassmer also holds the highest singles rating in the NAIA. Oosterhous is rated 24th in singles. Ouachita's Cristofer Johansson, a junior finance major from Linkoping, Sweden, is rated 28th in the nation among singles players.