246 II athletics .' :~~TOURNAMENTfor ~ ~ third consecutive year Although the Bisons were ousted in the NCAA Division II National Tournament in Pensacola, Fla., the team finished w ith four All– Gulf South Conference players. The team made its fourth appearance at the South Regional Tournament May 2. The appearance marked the Bisons' third consecutive bid to nationals. Harding, ranked as the No.5 seed going into the tournament, matched up with the No.4 seed Lincoln Memorial. Losing 5-3, the Bisons racked up one double victory in the No. 2 seed with sophomores Andrew Giron and Stephen Paine defea ting Linus Johansson and Francois Naude 8-6. Singles' victories came from senior Klaus Schmidt at No.3 and Paine at No.5. Schmidt and senior Artur Sikora received second-team honors. Giron and sophomore David Ferreira were first-team honorees. " It felt nice to be recognized as a part of the Harding teIUlis team, not just as a student," Giron said. Giron also found his name on the 2003 Verizon Academk All-District VI At-Large Team. He finished the year with a 15-4 singles record, including a win over the No.3 singles player in the nation, Ouachita Baptist's Guillame Coubard, April 14. ..\ never really expected to beat that kind of a person [while at Harding]," Giron said. "I just tried my best. You can't do anything more than your best." Joining Sikora, Schmidt, Giron, Paine and Ferreira on the courts were sophomore Derek Bullington and junior Taylor TInsley. Although the team lost the match against Ouachita Baptist 8-1, it finished the year 18-6. Despite the loss of a 2002 star, senior Jacobo Martinez, head coach David Elliot said the team did well. "Everybody has improved despite the loss o Jacobo Martinez/' Elliot said. Bullington said he was pleased wi th the 2003 season. ..\ think we did a really good job and we had one of the best teams we ever had." Bullington said . 'This year [2004] is going to be even better." - Renee Lewis
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