Men's Tennis: No. 26 Big Red upset No. 25 Chicago 5-4

A clean sweep in doubles action and a pair of singles victories pushed the 26th-ranked Denison men's tennis team to a 5-4 upset win over No. 25 University of Chicago on Friday night at the Mitchell Recreation and Athletics Center in Granville. The victory evens the Big Red's record to 1-1 on the year.

The first doubles team of seniors Jordan Beuhler (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) and James Davis (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) scored an 8-6 decision over Chicago's Garrett Brinker and Steve Saltarelli. In No. 2 doubles action, the duo of sophomore Nate Hobrath (Strongsville, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) and first-year Tyler Cempre (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) cruised to an 8-3 victory over the Maroons' Lado Bakhutashvili and Jan Stefanski. In the third and final doubles match rookie Tim Martin (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park & River Forest) and sophomore Jared Connolly (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park & River Forest) teamed up to claim an 8-6 win over Troy Brinker and Mark Bonner.

Notching victories in singles action for Denison were Cempre and sophomore Evan Verbofsky (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel Area). In a three-set battle at No. 4 singles, Cempre faced off with Stefanski for the second time that night. Cempre pulled out a 7-5 victory in the opening set but dropped a close 7-6 nod in set two. However, the freshman rebounded in set three with a 6-3 mark to earn the win.Verbofsky helped seal the win with a straight set decision over Bonner at sixth singles 6-3, 6-2.

The Big Red return to action on Feb. 21 when they host Division foe Youngstown State at 1 p.m.

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