Men finish in eleventh place at NAIA national toumament Although the men's tennis team had a mediocre regular season, the 1996 team enjoyed great success in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA) national tournament. With the breakup of the AIC in 1995, the Bisons competed against top competition without a regular season championship to shoot for. The motivation to play hard and to win came from within each team member and coach. Harding scored team victories over Western Kentucky, Hendrix and Lyon College during the regular season, finishing with a record of 4-3. Guillermo Hernandez and Arturo Rodriguez reached the fourth round of the doubles tournament and finished in 8th place. Rodriguez was the number one player for the Bisons in 1996. He finished the singles tournament in 45th place, a very good showing against the best players in the country. The Bisons played their best tennis when it counted the most - at the NAIA national tournament. "We didn't do as well during the regular season, but we had a good showing at nationals," Coach David Elliott said. In the team competition, the Bisons finished the NAIA national tournament in 11th place. Rodriguez, Hernandez, Reuben Gonzalez, Daniel Valesco and Leoncio Dominguez all returned home with AllAmerica honors. Oscar Andrade, Blane Covert, Andrew Garner, Juan Carlos Hernandez and Nathaniel Israel also competed hard, contributing to the team's success. "We tried our best and we had a good year," Rodriguez said. "We have gone to the national tournament for 15 straight years, and we made a good showing once again," Elliott said, calling attention to Harding's longstanding winning tradition. - Lance Lemmonds Men's Tennis. First row: Juan Carlos Hernandez, Oscar Andrade, Daniel Velasco. Second row: Coach David Elliott, Nathaniel Israel, Guillermo Hernandez, ArturoRodriguez, Andrew Garner. Photo by Jeff Montgomery. Men's Tennis 253
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