Denison advances to NCAC semifinal
Denison opened the 2012 North Coast Athletic Conference Championship Tournament with a 5-0 victory over Allegheny College on Saturday evening in Granville.
The DU set the stage with a sweep at doubles competition. The team of Grant Veltman and Juan Guerra got things going with an 8-3 decision over Alex Hurtuk and Daniel Conroy at the third flight. The senior tandem of Tom Cawood and Tim Martin improved to 12-0 on the year following an 8-3 victory at No. 2 doubles.
Denison grabbed a 3-0 match lead when seniors Tyler Cempre and Matt McErlean doubled up Patrick Cole and Sam Stephenson at first doubles. With the win, Cempre and McErlean improved to 17-4 overall and 12-3 at the top flight.
The Big Red wasted no time wrapping up their opening round match with the Gators. Veltman upped his record to 13-4 after a dominating 6-1, 6-1 decision over Stephenson at No. 4 singles. Guerra locked up the victory with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Hurtuk at second singles. Guerra improved to 11-4 on the year with his fourth-consecutive victory.
Denison improves to 14-4 on the year, while Allegheny drops to 9-7. The Big Red returns to action on Sunday when they take on the winner of second-seeded DePauw and No. 7 seed Oberlin. The semifinal match is slated to begin at 11 a.m. in Gambier, Ohio.