This Week's Outlook: The College of Wooster men's tennis team is off to Denison University for this week's North Coast Athletic Conference Championships. Wooster (11-7, 2-1 NCAC East), which earned the second seed from the NCAC East Division opens play at 1:30 p.m. on Friday against archrival Wittenberg University (6-10, 2-2 NCAC West). The winning team advances to Saturday's semifinal matches while the losing team plays in Saturday's fifth- or seventh-place matches. The NCAC Tournament runs through Sunday, April 24.

Media Coverage: Fans can follow the men's tennis team's Twitter account @Wooster10s for periodic updates and check WoosterAthletics.com for end-of-day recaps.

Last Meeting: Wooster took down Wittenberg in a down-to-the-wire 5-4 decision on April 3. The match was tied 4-4 with the No. 3 flight left to be decided. In the only flight to reach three sets, junior Alex Drewes (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) downed Joe Patton 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Wooster won four of the six singles matches in the come-from-behind victory.

A Look-Back at Wooster's Last NCAC Tournament Appearance: Wooster last played in the NCAC Tournament in 2019, as the 2020 event was canceled due to COVID, and 2021 featured a modified tournament with just the winner of the East and West Divisions squaring off. In 2019, alumnus Joaquin Abos Amo downed Ohio Wesleyan University's Jack Hibbard 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to clinch the fifth-place match for Wooster, 5-3. The Scots improved a spot from their pre-championship seeding with the win over the Battling Bishops, and the fifth-place showing marked the program's best since Wooster was fifth in 2008.

Scots on Mission for Return to Top Four: Wooster is one of three teams to ever win a NCAC title in men's tennis (Denison and Kenyon College are the other two). Wooster has four NCAC titles to its name, with the most recent coming in 1996. A win on Friday will secure at least a top-four finish for Wooster at the conference tournament, and the Scots are seeking a top-four showing for the first time since 2007.

Eleven Again: Wooster sports an 11-7 record on the year, thanks to Saturday's 9-0 rout of Ohio Wesleyan. With Saturday's victory, Wooster secured an 11th win for the first time since going 15-8 during the 2006-07 campaign.

Scots Break Into Regional Rankings: Wooster's men's tennis team jumped into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region rankings in late March, and the Scots are still in the rankings as of the start of this week. Individually, senior Alon Liberman (Montevideo, Uruguay) is regionally-ranked as of the start of the week.

Nationally-Ranked? No Problem for Liberman: Liberman's signature win came against University of Wisconsin Whitewater on March 21. In that match, Liberman downed Cole Lindwall 6-1, 6-0. Lindwall came into the match ranked 16th nationally by the ITA. Earlier in the team's spring trip, Liberman beat Lawrence University's Andrew Larson 6-4, 6-1 for his seventh straight win in the top flight, the longest run since alumnus Titas Bera rattled off 14 consecutive wins at No. 1 during the 2017-18 season.

Minassie "Mr. Flexible" for Scots: Senior Nebyou Minassie (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/Lycée Guebre-Mariam & Heritage Academy) has provided a lot of versatility for the Scots this year. The senior has played at third, fourth, fifth, and sixth singles this year, as well as first and second doubles. Overall, the senior has 17 wins on the season.

Hanna Gives Scots Formidable One-Two Senior Punch: Senior Austin Hanna (Seville, Ohio/Cloverleaf) has been holding down the second flight in singles and enters the NCAC Tournament with a 7-6 overall record. The Scots' one-two punch – Liberman and Hanna – have enjoyed much success in doubles with a 10-4 record heading into the league tournament.

First-Year Brings Winning Formula to Team: Patrick Johnson (Simpsonville, Ky./St. Xavier), who prepped for state power St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky, and was part of two state championship teams, has brought a winning mentality to the Scots' lineup. Johnson sports a 14-6 record in singles and has 23 wins overall on the year.

Drewes, Dewan Round Out 20-Win Club: Drewes and sophomore Shivam Dewan (San Jose, Calif./California Connections Academy at Ripon) round out the four Scots who have at least 20 wins on the year. Drewes has 11 singles wins and nine doubles wins, while Dewan has 11 in doubles and nine in singles.