WS Chronicle

The Winston-Salem State University Baseball team and Men’s Tennis squad took home CIAA championship trophies last week.The baseball title came after a 9-1 defeat of Chowan University 9-1 at Whaley Colbert Field at Virginia State University in Petersburg. It was the Rams third consecutive conference title. The Rams finished 3-0 during the tournament in order to hoist the championship plaque.

As a result of their dominant play, a number of Rams made the CIAA Baseball All-Tournament Team. The list included Levi

Ritsche

Grassley, third base; Tyler Hickernell, pitcher/DH; Aaron Jones, first base; and Rafael Gonzalez, second base. Hickernell was also named the tournament’s MVP. WSSU Head Baseball Coach Kevin Ritsche has also earned the CIAA’s top coaching honor, Coach of the Year, for leading his team to a 34-8 overall record.

The Men’s Tennis Team, which had a record of 18-11, won its championship with a 5-0 win over the Chowan Hawks. After entering the tournament as the lowest seed, the Rams took control early and finished their run to the championship with a dominant effort in the championship match.

“I’m proud of these guys. The 6 a.m. practices, they complained, but they fought through and that’s what it’s all about,” WSSU Head Tennis Coach Brian Coxton said. “It’s the championship and everybody has to come hard and that’s what they did today and I’m proud of them.”

The Rams opened the day with an impressive 8-0 win at #3 doubles with the duo of junior Chris Jeter and sophomore Drew Dunzweiler taking the win. The team continued to roll in #2 doubles when freshmen Corey Bonnette and Josh Aubrey took an 8-4 win and completed the effort with a #1 doubles win by junior Creighton Jones and sophomore Jonathan Aubrey.
In singles play, it was Jonathan Aubrey who set the stage with a 6-1, 6-0 win at #3 singles while Jeter completed the win with a 6-4, 6-0 win to finish the 5-0 win for the Rams.