r-- --- Tennis Love the game T1 he Bisons finished their ~pring season in a three-way tie for the · ~ Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference tennis championship and . earned a runner-up position in the NAIA District 17 Tour- ~ 'nament. For the second year in _a row the Bisons tied with Arkansas Tech and Southern Arkansas with a 5-1 conference record. Their overall record was 21-8. "In the past 12 years," said coach David Elliott, "we have only placed · third once. Other than that it's always been first or second." The tie situation was not frustrating for Elliott, rather he said, "We were thrilled to get a tie. It was so close. We were fortunate." This was Elliott's seventh AIC title. Elliott felt that the team played "above their potential." We had an excellent year playing one of the hardest schedules since I've been here," he said. Freshman Vernon Lewis won the district singles championship and teamed with Senior Nigel Liverpool to sweep the doubles championship. They were then qualified to play in the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City, Mo. Lewis and Liverpool, both from the West Indies, were named All-AIC. Donnie Wallis, a junior from Searcy, received Honorable Mention. All three were placed on the NAIA District 17 men's tennis team. At the national tournament, Lewis and Liverpool defeated doubles teams from Northern State College in South Dakota and Lasker College in South Carolina, before losing to the top-seeded team from Southwest Baptist in Missouri. "Lewis, as a freshman, is an outstanding player," said coach Elliott. Although this year's team lacked experience, Elliott mentioned the unity and determination that br~ught the Bisons _a share of the AIC title. J1t 1985 AIC MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS Arkansas Tech University ... . .................. 5-1 Harding University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 Southern Arkansas University .................. 5-1 Ouachita Baptist University .................... 3-3 Hendrix College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 University of Central Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5 Henderson State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-6 120 Tennis Tennis team. Front row: Wood , Paul , Ward, Woog, Barden, Dismuke; back row: Coach Elliot , Neil , Reyes-Varela , Thomas, Liverpool, Wallis , Lewis. - photo by P.R. Office.
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