As the 2010 Great Lakes Colleges Association Tournament opened play in both Granville and Gambier, the Big Red found themselves on the losing end of a closely contested second-round match with No. 19 DePauw.  Denison, who entered the match with a 13-1 record and was coming off a morning victory over Allegheny, suffered a 5-3 loss to the Tigers on the indoor courts at Denison's Mitchell Center.

The doubles team of Nate Hobrath (Strongsville, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) and Matt McErlean (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) topped DePauw's Scott Sandager and Will Gates, 8-5 at No. 1 doubles to tie the match at 1-1 early on.  DePauw would take the final doubles point in the third flight to take a 2-1 lead into singles play.

At No. 2 singles, McErlean won his 17th consecutive match and improved to 20-1 on the season by making short work of DePauw's Michael Rardon, 6-1, 6-0.  At No. 4, Evan Verbofsky (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) dispatched Noah Swiler 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 but Sandager edged Denison's Tom Cawood (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) in a thrilling three-set match, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.  The clincher was provided by DePauw's Hunter Schouweiler who defeated Hobrath, 6-0, 6-1.

Denison falls to 13-2 overall with the loss and will take on Hope College in Saturday's back draw at 10:30 a.m. from the outdoor courts on Denison's campus.

In Denison's first-round morning match, the Big Red handled Allegheny, 5-1.  Jared Connolly (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest), Hobrath and McErlean all won in singles play.  In doubles action, Hobrath and McErlean won for the 12th time this season at No. 1 and Connolly and Tim Martin prevailed 8-3 at No. 2 doubles.