Only three institutions in the North Coast Athletic Conference can claim a conference title in men's tennis. The College of Wooster is one of them and Doug Hart is a big reason why.
A championship pedigree was already in place when Hart arrived on campus, and the positive conversations with Hayden Schilling and Bob Nye during the recruiting process made Wooster a good fit. He worked his way into the starting lineup in soccer as a first-year, with Wooster beating nationally-ranked Ohio Wesleyan University 1-0 for the Ohio Athletic Conference title. In tennis, Hart made immediate contributions to Wooster's first team to finish the year ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association national poll. At the time, the conference tournament had a bracket for each flight and teams earned points based on how far their team members advanced within the bracket. Hart won his fifth singles flight to earn All-OAC honors and help the team finish three points shy of its first-ever conference title.
Wooster broke through for its first of three conference championships Hart's junior year, in what was also the debut year of the NCAC. Wooster went 17-4 and a perfect 6-0 in conference play during the regular season. Hart factored heavily in the team's success, going 15-5 in singles and 13-6 in doubles. Hart and Dave Baka were the second doubles champion at the conference tournament, rallying to take down Denison University's Alan Walker and Frits Hoffman 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1. Hart earned the third of his five all-conference laurels with the championship at No. 2 doubles.
Double-winner status was achieved by Hart as a senior. Seeded fourth at third singles for NCAC's, Hart dropped nine games en route to winning the flight. In the final, he thrashed Allegheny College's Dave Watson 6-2, 6-1. Hart and Baka avenged a regular-season loss to Denison's Brad Downing and Bill McLean to win the No. 1 doubles championship 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. The strong showing at conference enabled Baka and Hart to finish the year ranked 17th nationally in doubles, just missing out on a spot at the national championships.
The Monroe Manges Athletics Prize recipient earned three all-conference certificates in soccer and was named Academic All-Ohio by the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association as a junior.
After graduating from Wooster with a history degree, Hart earned a master's degree from Harvard University. He has held numerous roles in education in both independent schools and public high schools. At present, Hart is a middle school teacher at Loudoun Country Day School in Virginia.
Hart and his wife, Becky, reside in Virginia. Hart has two children, three step-children, and eight grandchildren.
