Gambier, Ohio - In a battle of top 30 teams, 23rd-ranked DePauw fell to 27th-ranked Kenyon by a 5-3 score in the semifinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship. The Tigers dropped to 10-11 on the season, while Kenyon improved to 15-9 after a match which ended after 3:30 a.m.
DePauw gained a 2-0 advantage after the number-one doubles duo of Maddie Lee and Gretchen Wilder topped Samantha Murphy and Alyssa Moreau by an 8-3 score and the second doubles tandem of Alyssa Seneviratne and Ali Bush were 8-4 winners over Grace Winslow and Maggie Sweeney.
Kenyon's third doubles team of Diana Aboubakare and Jenna Murray battled back for a 9-7 win over DePauw's Colleen Morris and Megan Galle to cut the Tigers' lead to 2-1 after doubles.
Murphy evened the match at 2-2 with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Bush at fourth singles, but Wilder's 6-3, 6-3 victory at third singles over Murray put the Tigers back in front.
Sweeney and Seneviratne battled for three sets at second singles before Sweeney took a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win to again even the match at 3-3.
Aboubakare took a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Lee at first singles and Annie Reiner clinched the win at sixth singles with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Galle.
DePauw faces Oberlin in the 2 p.m. third-place match later today, while Kenyon faces Denison for the NCAC title. The loss snapped DePauw's streak of eight straight conference titles including four consecutive in the NCAC.
