Hilton Head, SC - An emphatic sweep of doubles led the Allegheny Gators men's tennis team to a 6-3 victory over Carleton College at Hilton Head High School on Friday.
The win was the first in program history for the Gators (7-4) over Carleton, which entered the match ranked 10th in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III Central Region Rankings. It also avenged a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to Carleton in the 2012 campaign.
The match, which started with singles, was tied 3-3 after the completion of singles play. Allegheny was led by sophomore Tyler Triolo's 6-0, 6-4 win at second singles. Carleton then evened the score with the Gators at 1-1 with a win at sixth singles. Senior Patrick Cole put the Gators back ahead with a 6-4, 6-2 win at first singles. The win marked the 74th in Cole's singles career, tying the Allegheny school record held by David Howell.
Carleton, however, climbed back into the match with a win at the fifth singles position, but senior Charlie Murphy put the Gators back ahead with an exciting three-set victory, eventually prevailing 6-0, 4-6, 10-5 in the third set superbreaker. Carleton would even the match once again with a win at third singles, setting up a dramatic doubles portion of the match.
The Gators came out in the doubles competition firing on all cylinders to quickly take a lead on all three courts, and never looked back. Allegheny was led by the third doubles combo of juniors Sam Stephensonand Alexander Hurtuk, which took control early in their match and carried the momentum to an 8-1 victory.
After the number one duo of Cole and Triolo clinched the match for the Gators with an 8-3 win, the doubles sweep was completed by the number two team of junior Daniel Conroy and sophomore Thomas Manning, who finished off the Knights with an 8-5 victory, and leave Hilton Head undefeated in doubles with a 4-0 mark.
Allegheny (7-4) will now have a short break until their next match, when they take on the Lords of Kenyon College in Meadville on April 3rd at 5:30 p.m. The Lords will be the second straight ranked opponent the Gators will face, as they are currently ranked ninth in the ITA Division III National Rankings.
