CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton advanced to the North Atlantic Conference East Division Championship this afternoon with a 7-2 victory over the second-seeded Thomas Terriers in a semifinal matchup at Castleton University. 

The Spartans dropped both top-flight matches, but won the remainder of the games to capture their 11th win of the season. The Terriers, meanwhile, finish the regular season at 8-8 overall.

Castleton got off to a quick start with a pair of wins in doubles play to take an early 2-1 lead. Soren Pelz-Walsh and Quentin Barthe took down Ross Munn and Nathan Philbrook in the second-flight with an 8-0 result, followed by an 8-2 victory in third doubles by the tandem of Ryan Mulder and Andrew Overton. Thomas' Zachary Disch and Tyler Small won the top-flight match, 8-4.

Small maintained his stellar play for the Terriers into singles, recording a straight-sets (6-1, 6-1) win to even the score at 2-2. Rosset picked up a vital point for Castleton in the second-flight match with a 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 6-1 victory. Pelz-Walsh notched a 6-2, 6-1 victory in third singles, and Barthe secured the Spartan victory with a come-from-behind, three-set (2-6, 6-1, 6-3) victory in the No. 4 spot. Overton and Trevor Hanna closed out the match with back-to-back wins for Castleton to bring the match to its final score, 7-2. 

Four-time defending champion Colby-Sawyer took down the fourth-seeded MCLA Trailbalzers in the other semifinal match, 9-0. The Spartans and Chargers will face off in the final at 3:15 pm.