Sunday, September 29, 2013

Manning, Cole Advance to Round of 16 at USTA-ITA Tourney

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 KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Two Gators advanced to the round of 16 in their respective brackets to cap Allegheny's successful tenure at the United States Tennis Association (USTA)-Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Tournament, hosted by Kalamazoo College.

Senior Patrick Cole advanced to the round of 16, winning three matches in two days at the tournament. After defeating a member of North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival Wittenberg in his first match on Friday, Cole upended an opponent from Washington University, 6-1, 6-1, to advance to the round of 32. The senior earned his spot in the round of 16 after a three-set match against a member of the University of Chicago, winning, 6-1, 4-6, 6-0.

Entering the tournament as the No. 2 overall seed, the doubles pairing of Cole and sophomore Tyler Triolo won a pair of matches, upending Elmhurst, 8-2, before defeating a pair from NCAC rival Kenyon 8-5. The grouping of juniors Alexander Hurtuk and Sam Stephenson won a 9-7 decision over Denison in the first round, as fellow third year Daniel Conroy and sophomore Thomas Manning won their first round match, 8-5.

In the Kalamazoo Collegiate Championship doubles bracket, sophomore Andreas Landgrebe and senior Charlie Murphy won a 9-7 decision in their first round match.

Hurtuk won his first round singles match, 6-4, 6-4, in the main draw as Manning won three matches in the Kalamazoo Collegiate Championships draw. Manning won his first match, 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (7), before picking up 6-4, 6-3 and 6-1, 6-0 decisions in his second and third matches, respectively, to advance to the quarterfinals.

Closing their fall schedule in Kalamazoo, the Gators will next take the courts on Feb. 15 against Denison.