The Denison men's tennis team continued the fall season at the Oberlin College Fall Invitational last weekend in Oberlin, Ohio.
Five individuals finished the invitational with a record of .500 or better led by senior Jeffrey LoDuca and freshman Jonathan Harrison. LoDuca and Harrison both finished the two-day tournament with perfect 3-0 records in singles play. LoDuca opened the event with a come-from-behind victory over Juniata's Dean Polisena (2-6, 7-6, 11-9) in the first round. The senior followed that up with straight-set wins over Ataman Billor of Case Western (6-2, 7-5) and Wooster's Milo Saurman (6-4, 6-2) in the second and third rounds, respectively.
Like LoDuca, Harrison also needed three sets to secure his first win of the weekend. After losing the first set 6-1, the freshman rebounded to defeat Wooster's Harrison Suttle via 6-4, 10-5 scores. In round two, Harrison knocked off Juniata's Sho Sato (7-5, 6-3), while the third round featured a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over Allegheny's Alexander Hurtuk.
Freshman Costas Alevizopoulos also went undefeated in two matches over the weekend. In the opening round, he won a three-set decision over Daniel Conroy of Allegheny (3-6, 6-2, 10-5). In the third round, the DU freshman posted another three-set victory, this time over Allegheny's Jai Redkar (3-6, 7-5, 11-9).
Also picking up a pair of victories were senior Grant Veltman and sophomore Owen Smith, who both finished with 2-1 marks. After tasting defeat in the first round, Veltman rattled off back-to-back victories over Case Western Reserve's Adam Collins (6-0, 6-1) and Wooster's Will Nelson (6-1, 6-1) in rounds two and three, respectively. Smith was victorious in the first round after surrendering just one game to Allegheny's Alexander Hurtuk (6-1, 6-0). The sophomore rebounded from a second-round loss with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Oberlin's Soren Zeliger in the final round.
In doubles action, the senior tandem of Veltman and Casey Cempre went a perfect 3-0, while the rookie duo of Harrison and Ryan Brown posted a 2-1 record. Veltman and Cempre posted a pair of 8-4 victories over teams from Case Western Reserve in the opening two rounds before logging an 8-2 decision over a duo from Wooster. After suffering an 8-3 setback in round one, Harrison and Brown registered an 8-1 decision in the second round and an 8-4 win in the third.
The Big Red's final tournament will take place this weekend in Indianapolis, Ind. Denison will kick off the four-day ITA Central Regional on Friday (Sept. 26).
