DC Men’s Tennis Has Five Honored by HCAC

GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Defiance College men's tennis programs earned four of the 15 possible spots on the All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Team and placed another on the All-Sportsmanship Team which was announced on Tuesday by the HCAC office.  [All-HCAC Teams]

The Yellow Jackets recovered from an 0-5 start to the 2010 campaign to win eight of their next 13 contests entering the HCAC Tournament. The strong finish propelled Defiance to an 8-11 overall record and a 5-2 clip in league action, tying the squad for second place in the HCAC regular season standings.

Will Draur, Tyler Ault, Austin Kleman and Trevor Ault held down the top four spots in Defiance's lineup all season and were each voted as All-HCAC performers. The four All-HCAC selections marked the highest total for any team other than the five netted by first-place Transylvania.

The foursome led DC all season, combining for 42 of the team's 49 victories in singles matches during the 2010 campaign and 25 of the 26 doubles victories. Draur, Ault, Kleman and Ault were especially efficient during the HCAC portion of the schedule, posting a collective 20-2 record in singles action and going 10-4 in doubles play.

Draur earned his first All-HCAC accolade after holding down the No. 1 singles and doubles positions for the Jackets throughout much of the season. The Toledo, Ohio, native posted a 21-15 overall mark during his sophomore season and went 9-3 in HCAC competitions. Draur was especially solid during conference singles play, boasting a 4-1 record at No. 1 singles.

Tyler Ault garnered his second All-HCAC honor in the last two years after going 25-11 overall and 10-2 in league matches. Ault turned in a 12-3 record at No. 2 singles for Defiance and won all five of his HCAC singles matches at the No. 2 slot.

Kleman also gained his second-straight All-HCAC nod after he played all but one of his matches at No. 3 singles and finished his season with a 21-16 overall record on the strength of a 12-7 mark at No. 2 doubles. Kleman went 10-3 in HCAC action, including a 5-1 clip at the No. 3 singles position.

Trevor Ault became a two-time All-HCAC performer while bolstering the Defiance lineup at the No. 4 singles and No. 2 doubles positions. The Oregon, Ohio, native went 25-11 on the season, including an unblemished 6-0 mark in HCAC singles play. Ault has now gone 26-2 during his two collegiate seasons in league play and holds a 14-0 record in HCAC singles matches.

Mark Vandevender was the fifth Yellow Jacket to be honored, as the junior from Westlake, Ohio, was named as DC's representative on the HCAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Vandevender played No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles for Defiance and ended the season with a 3-1 record at No. 6 singles in league contests.

DC will look for its third-straight finish among the top three in the HCAC in 2011 but will need to replace graduating seniors Tyler Ault and Kleman in the lineup. The Jackets are set to return five letterwinners, including Draur, Trevor Ault and Vandevender.