Washington Clinches CC Tournament Berth

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- Host Washington College clinched the fourth and final Centennial Conference Tournament berth and downed visiting Dickinson College, 5-4, in a conference men's match this afternoon at Schottland Tennis Center. The Shoremen improved to 12-5 overall and 6-3 in conference play, while the Red Devils fell to 10-9 and 4-5.

The Shoremen scored the first point of the match when junior Adam Cranford (Bel Air, MD/John Carroll) and sophomore Kevin Papen (Dover, DE/Caesar Rodney) bested Andrew Kastner and Matt Wood, 8-3, at No. 2 doubles. Dickinson evened the score as Ross Anstaett and Will Golinkin downed senior Timothy Parks (Geneva, Switzerland/College du Leman) and freshman Josh Hedrick (Dover, DE/Dover), 8-3, at No. 1. Washington took a 2-1 lead following a 9-7 win at No. 3 by sophomore Aaron Ellison (Largo, FL/St. Petersburg) and sophomore John Menzione (Chadds Ford, PA/Kennett) over Pavel Hejsek and Hunter Holbrook.

The Red Devils knotted the score at 2-2 when Hejsek downed Hedrick, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 4 singles. Papen beat Holbrook, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 2 to put WC back in front, 3-2. Ellison then downed Golinkin, 7-5, 0-6, 6-0, at No. 3 to push the lead to 4-2 in favor of the Shoremen. Dickinson trimmed the lead to 4-3 when Chris Mueller-Wolf beat sophomore Kyle Lisco (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North), 6-3, 6-3, at No. 5. Cranford clinched the win for the Shoremen when he completed a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, victory over Anstaett at No. 1. Wood beat Menzione, 6-1, 2-6, 11-9 at No. 6 to provide the final margin.

The Shoremen will play host Johns Hopkins in a semifinal match next Saturday. Swarthmore and Franklin & Marshall will play in the other semifinal.