Hanover, N.H. - The third-seeded Castleton Spartans earned an upset over second-seeded Thomas in the semifinal round, shocking the Terriers 5-3 to advance to the NAC East Division Championship. The Spartans' hopes of a conference title were crushed by top seed Colby-Sawyer as the Chargers swept the Spartans 5-0 in the final.
In the semifinal match, the Spartans won two of three doubles matches to take an important 2-1 lead. Kyle Martin and Kevin Rosset defeated their No. 2 doubles counterparts Caleb Mora and Malcolm Marshall, 8-2. The No. 3 Spartan duo of Mike Divis and Matt Trombley served Jonte Roussel and Federico Trujillo a 9-7 defeat. Thomas' lone doubles point came from the No. 1 team of Tyler Small and Eric Morin. They defeated Mike Glaser and Adam McCaffery, 8-3.
The match was even at 3-3 after the first three singles matches. Small and Morin won in straight sets at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively for the Terriers, while Kevin Rosset won at No. 3 singles 6-3, 6-1. Kyle Martin defeated Mora 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4 singles, while Mike Divis came away with a 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 5 to give Castleton the semifinal victory.
With the win, Castleton avenged last year's semifinal loss to the Terriers. In last season's semifinal, Castleton had earned the second seed by was upset by Thomas, 5-4. This year the Spartans were sure to pay back the Terriers, dispatching them with a big win.
In the finals, the Spartans seemed fatigued as the Chargers steamrolled past them for a 5-0 victory. Colby-Sawyer swept doubles play in convincing fashion, dropping just one game.
Dean Boodakian gave Colby-Sawyer a 4-0 lead with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles. He was named to the All-Tournament team. Tournament MVP Myles Utell closed out the match with a 6-0, 6-2 victory at the No. 2 spot. Kevin Rosset dropped his first set at the third singles flight, but had rallied to take a 3-1 lead in the second set before the match was called. Rosset was Castleton's lone representative on the All-Tournament Team.
With their win, Colby-Sawyer earns their third straight NAC East title and will face Penn St.-Abington in the NAC/NEAC crossover match with a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Castleton's season ends with a record of 8-6. The Spartans will graduate five seniors, Adam McCaffery, Mike Divis, Matt Trombly, Joshua Dower, and Taylor Steele, this year. The squad will look to improve on this season as they continue to build a successful program, with three of their top four players scheduled to return next season.
NAC East Division All-Tournament Team
Myles Utell - Colby-Sawyer (MVP)
John Corey - Lyndon St.
Eric Morin - Thomas
Kevin Rosset - Castleton
Dean Boodakian - Colby-Sawyer
