Evan Verbofsky

Trailing 4-3 entering the final two singles matches Denison's Evan Verbofsky (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) and Matt McErlean (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) gutted out victories in three sets to lead the No. 19 Big Red to a 5-4 win over Case Western Reserve in a match which lasted nearly six hours from the Mitchell Center in Granville, Ohio.

The win extends Denison's winning streak to eight matches and improves their overall record to 9-2 overall.  The Big Red got their after James Davis (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) and Jordan Buehler (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) got the Big Red back into the match after their straight-set singles victories. 

With the Spartans needing just one of the two remaining singles matches to go their way things looked bleek after Case's Adam Erickson took the opening set from McErlean at No. 6 singles.  McErlean rebounded with a 6-1 win in the second set and slammed the door with a 6-0 victory in the third set.  The match was decided by Verbofsky who took a 1-0 lead following a 6-3 first set win.  He dropped the second set 5-7 but rallied with a strong 6-2 win to cap off the come-from-behind win for DU.

The Big Red (9-2) will return to the courts this weekend when they travel to Crawfordsville, Ind. for the 2009 GLCA Tournament.

View Results [htm]