DC Falls in HCAC Semifinals to Rose-Hulman

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The 2009 season came to a close for the Defiance College men's tennis team on Sunday at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. The Jackets pushed the No. 2 seeded Rose-Hulman team to the brink, before the Engineers pulled out a 5-4 victory.

DC earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament by going 6-2 in league matches during the regular season and advanced into the semifinals with a 7-2 win against sixth-seeded Anderson on Saturday.

The Jackets could not keep the HCAC Championship hopes alive on Sunday however, and saw the season come to an end. The action started with Rose-Hulman winning the doubles competition and taking a 2-1 lead into singles play. Tyler Ault and Adam Fausey scored Defiance's only doubles victory with an 8-4 win at No. 2.

The Engineers then sealed the match victory by winning the top three matches in singles play. Defiance countered by winning the bottom three contests with victories from Adam Fausey, Trevor Ault and Lachmond Bratton but it was not enough to overcome the deficit.

Defiance ends a successful 2009 campaign with a 15-8 overall record and is poised to build on that record by returning seven players from this year's squad, including four starters.

Rose-Hulman def. Defiance; 5-4

Doubles
No. 1 – Grubbs/Schoumacher (RH) def. Kurtz/Kleman; 8-3
No. 2 – Ty. Ault/Fausey (DC) def. Becerra/Gumz; 8-4
No. 3 – Burton/Hendrickson (RH) def. Tr. Ault/Bratton; 8-3 

Singles
No. 1 – Scott Grubbs (RH) def. Tim Kurtz; 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 – Michael Schoumacher (RH) def. Tyler Ault; 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 – Alex Gumz (RH) def. Austin Kleman; 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
No. 4 – Adam Fausey (DC) def. David Becerra; 6-0, 2-6, 6-4
No. 5 – Trevor Ault (DC) def. Seth Hendrickson; 6-7, 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 – Aaron Cottos def. Brent Frizzell; 7-6, 7-6