The 22nd-ranked Denison women's tennis team placed fifth at the 2014 Midwest Invitational following a 5-4 victory over Hope College on Saturday from the Nielson Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis.

In singles play, four of the six flights needed three sets to determine a winner.  At No. 1, senior Kelsey Geppner, who is ninth in the central region, faced off against Nancy Benda, ranked 14th in the Central Region. The DU senior took the early lead with a 6-4 victory in the opening set, but Benda answered with her own 6-4 win in the second.  In the third-and-final set, Geppner took control early en route to a 6-2 decision.

Sophomore Meg Chiumento also posted a three-set victory over Carli Capestany at third singles.  After suffering a 7-5 setback in the first set, Chiumento rebounded with back-to-back wins in the next two (6-2, 7-5). DU picked up the lone straight-set victories of the match.  Junior Heather Abzug defeated Kate Mader 6-1, 6-3 at fifth singles, while Sarah Torrence was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Anna Garcia at No. 6 singles.

The Big Red needed just one point to secure the win as the teams headed into doubles play.  Denison wasted no time earning the victory as Chiumento and Torrence defeated Claire Cooper and Garcia via 8-2 decision at second doubles.

With the win, Denison improves to 6-7, while the loss drops Hope to 7-4.  The Big Red returns to action on Monday when they host Wooster. Match time is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.