Cole Named to NCAC 30th Anniversary All-Decade Team

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) announced on Friday that Allegheny senior Patrick Cole has been selected to the 30th Anniversary NCAC Men's Tennis All Decade team.

Cole, the only active player to be named to the list, has been a mainstay at top-flight singles for the Gators since his arrival in Meadville, when he won the NCAC Newcomer of the Year in 2011.

Selected for his singles prowess, Cole has been recognized as an All-NCAC First Team selection in each of his first three seasons for the Blue and Gold, posting a combined record of 46-10 in dual matches throughout his career. All but five of those matches have come in the first singles position. His overall record for the Gators in singles has been 69-18.

Cole holds multiple Allegheny records, including the program mark for combined victories in a season with 44, and is tied for single season doubles victories with 22. Cole currently sits second on the all-time Allegheny doubles wins list while also sitting third on the all-time singles list. A prominent fixture on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Region rankings, Cole has sat as high as number thirteen during his sophomore year. Cole has also won four NCAC Athlete of the Week Awards during his career.

A leader off the court for the Gators, Cole has served as a captain since his sophomore campaign and has also been an active part of the Allegheny Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), currently serving as its President. He also was the 2013 central region winner of the ITA Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship, and has been earned a pair of ITA Scholar Athlete plaudits.

The NCAC is celebrating its 30th season by selecting All-Decade teams in nearly every championship sport. Athletes from the first 10 years of play were selected in 1993, while players who competed from 1993-2002 were named to the 20th Anniversary All-Decade Team. All current head coaches, as well as select administrators and former coaches, were asked to vote on the 30th anniversary squad.

Gators Primed to Strike After Strong Fall

MEADVILLE, Pa -- Hoping to carry the momentum from an immensely successful fall, the Allegheny women's tennis squad looks to the impending spring season as an avenue to reassert their standing in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

The Gators kicked off the fall by winning the Nancy J. Heath Invitational on Sept. 7, sweeping Baldwin Wallace, 9-0, in their first round matchup before upending NCAA Division II member Edinboro, 6-3, to win the championship. Allegheny would start the season on a three-match winning streak, adding a 9-0 sweep over Grove City on Sept. 17 before dropping its first match of the 2013-14 campaign to Division II Mercyhurst. The Gators would end the fall with a 4-1 record, upending John Carroll, 7-2, to close out their fall match schedule.

"We had a great fall season and our only loss was to a Div. II school.," commented Allegheny head coach Jared Luteran. "We have a good mix of veterans and young players in the line-up and I was very pleased with how they performed in the fall."

Sophomore Sun Mo Koo posted a 3-1 record in second flight singles, looking to lead the Gators into the spring as a catalyst in singles play. Koo ended the fall with a 5-2 overall record, adding a pair of wins in tournament play. Fellow second year Andrea Brush and senior Laura Steele each grabbed a team-high seven wins during the fall as both players finished the early season 7-1, with a 3-0 tournament mark. Freshman Haley Meekhof opened her collegiate career with a 4-4 record in the fall, including three wins at fourth-flight singles.

"I think Sun Mo Koo is going to surprise a lot of people at the top of the line up," added Luteran. "She is playing some great tennis right now in practice and I think she will have a great year as long as she keeps staying relaxed on the court and swinging freely."

Koo and Meekhof finished the all with an unblemished, 5-0 record, picking up three tournament wins and a pair of wins at second-flight doubles. Allegheny combined for an impressive 20-9 overall doubles record with a 12-3 mark in dual meet doubles matches.

"Doubles is a big question mark for us right now. We have a few injuries so there will be some new teams, but once again I think the returners will help the younger players get acclimated quickly to doubles. "

The Gators kick off the spring 2014 season on Saturday, Feb. 15 against Denison in Erie, Pa. After battling Division II Slippery Rock on Feb. 28 and Case Western Reserve on Mar. 1, Allegheny will hit the road to Hilton Head, S.C. for the squad's annual spring break trip. The Gators will close out the spring with six home matches, including four matches in four days from Apr. 8-12, before heading to the NCAC Tournament in Granville, Ohio on Feb. 25.

"We are pumped to play Denison so early in the season this February and we are also playing some other great teams this spring that we haven't played in a long time--including Div. II Slippery Rock. Our ultimate goal is to improve our results at the NCAC tournament, but we have a few months before we have to start thinking about that. It is a marathon; not a sprint."

Veteran Squad Primed for Success in 2014

MEADVILLE, Pa. -- With an experienced corps of players poised to make a decisive splash in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play, the Allegheny men's tennis squad hopes to continue the momentum from a strong fall season to continue the squad's rise to the top of the NCAC.

The Gators will return a slew of talent, entering the spring season ranked No. 20 in the pre-season Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III Central Region Poll. As a team, Allegheny finished 3-1 in the fall campaign, picking up dual meet wins over Division III members Grove City and John Carroll while also grabbing the program's seventh straight victory over Division II Mercyhurst.

"We had the kind of fall season I expected us to have," commented head coach Jared Luteran. "We have a lot of veterans on this team now and it should translate into good results.Our only loss was to nationally ranked CMU and they have a great team."

Junior Patrick Cole and sophomore Tyler Triolo, ranked as the No. 10 doubles pair in the DIII Central Region poll, closed out the fall with an 11-3 record. The pairing grabbed a No. 2 seed in the 2013 ITA Tournament, finishing the semester with a 9-1 mark in tournament play. Cole added an 11-3 record in singles, earning a No. 18 ranking in the region to end the fall semester.

The singles corps for the Gators combined for 57 wins in the fall. Junior Alexander Hurtuk picked up a 2-1 record at third-flight doubles as sophomore Thomas Manning ended the season winning eight of his nine last matches, including four straight to close out the fall, while picking up a 10-3 mark. Additionally, juniorDaniel Conroy (8-5) and senior Charlie Murphy (8-6) each finished above .500 on the season.

"We have no freshmen in the line up so I expect to see some of the other players step up and have a great season." added Luteran. "They are all hungry to compete and I love seeing that everyday in practice."

In doubles play, the pairings of Conroy and senior Frank Mosconi along with juniors Alexander Hurtuk andSam Stephenson earned identical 6-3 records during the fall, including 4-2 marks in tournament play. Conroy and Mosconi went 2-1 at second-flight doubles, winning their final two matches of the semester. The doubles team of Manning and Murphy closed the fall with an undefeated record, finishing 4-0, including three tournament victories.

"With our limited court space in the winter, we play a lot of doubles in practice and I think it helps prepare us well for matches. All of our guys can play with anyone on any given day because they all get along very well."

Allegheny will begin the spring on Saturday, Feb. 15 when the squad travels to Erie, Pa. to battle NCAC opponent Denison. The Gators will then take on Wabash and United Athletics Association (UAA) member Case Western Reserve before traveling to Hilton Head, S.C. for four matches between Mar. 16-21. Allegheny will then return to Robertson Complex for six of its final nine matches of the season before the NCAC Tournament on Apr. 25 in Granville, Ohio.

"We have never played a conference school so early in the season, so we are all pumped for the Denison match. Our goal is to improve upon our tournament results from last year, but we have a ways to go before we start thinking about the tournament. We have added some tough west division matches this year on the schedule to help prepare us for the NCAC tournament."

Allegheny Players Participate in Free Special Olympic Clinic

On February 1st, the Allegheny men's and women's tennis squad contributed to the Athletes Helping Athletes initiative, created by the Allegheny Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) to provide local Special Olympics groups the unique chance to work, play and enjoy quality time with Allegheny student athletes.  The tennis team was one of several Allegheny programs to spend time with the Special Olympics athletes, contributing to an outstanding and inspirational day.