2007 Season Recap

Whittier College men's tennis is coming off of one of their most successful seasons in years. Despite a humble 6-19 overall record, the Poets went 3-7 in conference and finished 6th overall, their best effort in over a decade. Also, their strength of schedule was second to none with over half of their opponents ranked within the top thirty in the nation.

Long considered one of the toughest Division III conferences in the nation, the Poets struggled against nationally ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (3rd) and Redlands (7th), but more than held their own against the other five teams in the middle to lower half of the standings. The team scored wins over LaVerne and Caltech, both of which swept the Poets a year ago, and passed them in the overall standings. They also avoided shutouts from nationally ranked Cal Lutheran and Occidental losing both matches 7-2.

The team was anchored by top two singles players and number one doubles team, freshmen Justin DeLong and Sean Robertson. The pair led the team in overall singles and doubles victories. DeLong also reached the round of 16 at the season ending tournament in Ojai. He was just two match wins away from qualifying for nationals and achieving All-American status. Justin was awarded Whittier College's freshman athlete of the year award. The poets also scored key wins throughout the season from freshman Danny Benesch and senior Joseph Choi.