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."
