Grinnell College’s Dan LaFountaine ’09 and Nate Fox ’09 have been placed as an off-site doubles alternate for the tournament, which is slated for next week at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.

LaFountaine and Fox own a 25-3 doubles mark this season and won the Midwest Conference title in the top flight. They also guided the Pioneers to the NCAA Division III Team Tournament, where Grinnell won its first-ever match in tourney history with a victory over Westminster (Mo.) last Friday.

Washington entered the match ranked second in the nation and first in the Central Region, while Grinnell came in as the 13th team in the region. Washington improved to 17-4 with the victory while the Pioneers, who Friday won their first-ever NCAA Tourney match, finished their fine campaign with a 20-7 record.

Washington grabbed a 2-1 lead after doubles play, with Grinnell's victory coming from the No. 2 squad of Juan Carlos Perez '11 (left) and D.J. Warden '08 (right). They teamed up to beat Trevis Bowman and John Watts by an 8-5 score. In a doubles battle of regionally-ranked teams, Washington's Charlie Cutler and Chris Hoeland - who are rated first in the region - edged eighth-ranked Nate Fox '09 and Dan LaFountaine '09 by an 8-6 score in the No. 1 match. At No. 3 doubles, Isaac Stein and Max Woods worked past Daniel Malarkey '08 and Jordan Lee '08 by an 8-4 score.

Perez and Warden improved their doubles mark to 19-3 on the season, while Fox and LaFountaine are 25-3 and Lee and Malarkey are 15-6.

Washington then posted three singles wins to clinch the victory. Danny Levy defeated Fox 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 3 spot, Woods defeated Warden by consecutive 6-1 scores at No. 4 and Stein defeated Sam Raife '10 6-4, 6-1 at No. 6. Fox is 15-8 in singles, Warden is 5-7 and Raife 16-9.

"We played very well at No. 2 doubles, and Juan and D.J. executed a great volley and return game in order to win," said Grinnell coach Andy Hamilton. "It was exciting for us to be on the court with a national contender team as we continue to grow our program. It's evident by watching that we've gained ground and are moving forward in order to make Grinnell College a national-caliber program. I can't say enough about senior lineup players D.J. Warden, Daniel Malarkey and Jordan Lee. Their effort and team play really helped us to a great season.

Washington will meet the DePauw/Wheaton winner for the regional title Sunday at noon.
Washington University 5, Grinnell 1

The regional quarterfinal victory sends the Pioneers - ranked 13th in the Central Region - to a semifinal date against host Washington University at 10 a.m. Saturday. Washington is ranked first in the Central Region and second nationally. The other semifinal will pit DePauw, ranked fourth in the region and 19th nationally, and Wheaton, Ill., ranked 11th in the region. That match is at 2 p.m. Saturday. The semifinal winners meet in the title match at noon Sunday.

Grinnell, making its second-ever NCAA Tourney appearance, got off to a strong start by sweeping doubles play. Nate Fox '09 (left) and Dan LaFountaine '09 (right) won 8-2 at the No. 1 spot, while the No. 2 and 3 teams of Juan Carlos Perez '11-D.J. Warden '08 and Daniel Malarkey '08-Jordan Lee '08 won by 8-3 and 8-6 scores, respectively. Fox and LaFountaine are now 25-2 on the season, Perez and Warden own an 18-3 record and the tandem of Malarkey and Lee is 15-5.

The 20-6 Pioneers then sealed the win with singles victories by LaFountaine and Perez, who each won by 6-0, 6-1 scores at the No. 1 and 2 spots, respectively. LaFountaine is now 20-4 and Perez owns a 25-1 mark.

"It is gratifying for us to win Grinnell's first NCAA regional match in men's tennis," said Pioneers' coach Andy Hamilton. "All season I felt this was the best team I've coached in 13 years here, and we're seeing it play out with a Midwest Conference title and NCAA regional win. Our guys played well today, but in order for us to compete with a team like Washington University we have to be sharper. All in all, I'm pleased for our student-athletes, especially seniors D.J. Warden, Daniel Malarkey and Jordan Lee."

Westminster finishes its season with a 12-7 record.
Grinnell 5, Westminster 0

The winner of match will face host and top-seeded Washington on Saturday at 10 a.m.. The other half of the regional is made up of No. 2 DePauw and No. 3 Wheaton (Ill.), who will also meet on Saturday at 2 p.m. The title match is at noon Sunday.

Grinnell, 19-6 on the season and ranked 13th in the Central Region, is fresh off winning the Midwest Conference team title, as well as the singles-doubles team crown. The Pioneers have a .780 singles winning percentage, paced by the play of Dan LaFountaine '09 (19-4 record), Juan Carlos Perez '11 (24-1), Nate Fox '09 (15-7), Daniel Malarkey '08 (16-2), Sam Raife '10 (16-8) and Jordan Lee '08 (13-4). In doubles play, Fox and LaFountaine are 24-2, Perez and D.J. Warden '08 own a 17-3 mark and Lee and Malarkey are 14-5. LaFountaine is ranked 11th regionally in singles play, while he and Fox are sixth in doubles.

Grinnell faced three NCAA Tournament qualifiers during the 2008 regular season. The Pioneers were edged by Luther and UW-Whitewater by identical 5-4 scorers, while also falling to Regional host Gustavus Adolphus by an 8-1 tally.

Grinnell was the recipient of the MWC's automatic berth to the NCAA tourney after its win on Friday. The MWC received its annual AQ status last year, making Grinnell the second to earn the AQ and the third team in MWC history to qualify for a chance to compete for a National Championship. Grinnell was edged by Luther 5-3 in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

Westminster (12-6), located in Fulton, Mo., enters the NCAA Tournament via automatic qualifier status after winning the SLIAC conference tournament and is making its second straight NCAA tourney appearance. Blue Jays are not ranked in the region nor do they have any regionally-ranked singles or doubles entries.

Myles Yokeley, the team's top player, is 5-7 no the season while second seed Andrew Darkow is 9-6 and No. 3 Chris Claypool is 13-4. Rounding out the lineup are Josh Brown (8-5), Parker Stanza (14-3) and Josh Ray (11-5). In doubles, Claypool and Darkow are 9-7, Yokeley and Stanza are 8-1 and Brown and Joseph Yoeller are 4-1.

For more information, see: http://bearsports.wustl.edu/releases/2008NCAAMen'sTennis.html

Two days later, the Pioneers also staked claim to the league’s singles-doubles championship. Grinnell, which won five of six singles titles Saturday in Madison, Wis., won all three doubles crowns on Sunday. That gave Grinnell 105 points, well ahead of runner-up Lake Forest College’s total of 63.

Winning titles, at No. 1 through 3, respectively, were the teams of Dan LaFountaine ‘09-Nate Fox ‘09, Juan Carlos Perez ‘11-D.J. Warden ‘08 and Jordan Lee ‘08-Daniel Malarkey ‘08. Warden and Lee won their third conference doubles titles each, LaFountaine and Fox have won two each while Perez and Malarkey were first-time MWC doubles champs.

LaFountaine and Fox beat Monmouth College’s Kevin Kamenjarin and Kyle Korb 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 1 doubles title match, while Perez and Warden defeated Jon Flaksman and Andrew Fretter of Lake Forest 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 2 doubles title match. At No. 3 doubles, Lee and Malarkey sailed past Lake Forest’s Joe Campagna and Chris Paterakos 6-0, 6-1 in the championship match.

Grinnell’s next action will be NCAA Division III regional tournament action against a foe to be determined. The opponent will be determined early in the week.

“Strong doubles play will fuel our potential success in the NCAA regionals,” said Grinnell coach Andy Hamilton. “Coming out of the Midwest Conference flighted tournaments, all of our guys are hitting the ball well. This weekend should be a great conditioner for us. It’s hard for me to single out any individual - I’m proud of all of our players. In Sunday’s doubles matches, the guys were dominant all day but were particularly stellar in their championship matches.”
No. 1 Doubles
No. 2 Doubles
No. 3 Doubles

Singles champs, in the No. 2 through 6 divisions, were Juan Carlos Perez (6-1, 6-0 over Alex Pressman of Lake Forest), Nate Fox '09 (6-7, 6-1, 7-6 over Jon Flaksman of Lake Forest), Daniel Malarkey '08 (3-6, 6-3, 6-0 over Andrew Fretter of Lake Forest), Sam Raife '10 (6-2, 6-3 over Eric Koppman of St. Norbert) and Jordan Lee '08 (2-6, 6-4, 6-0 over Chris Paterakos of Lake Forest). Fox won his third singles title in a row, while Raife won his second straight title.

Dan LaFountaine '09 took second at No. 1 singles behind Lawrence University's Ryan Dunn.
No. 1 Singles
No. 2 Singles
No. 3 Singles
No. 4 Singles
No. 5 Singles
No. 6 Singles

The Pioneers posted two wins in doubles play with victories by the teams of Dan LaFountaine ‘09-Nate Fox ‘09 and Juan Carlos Perez ‘11-D.J. Warden ‘08. LaFountaine and Fox improved to 21-2 and Perez and Warden are 14-3. Both won by 8-2 scores.

In singles play, wins were collected by LaFountaine, Perez and Warden. Perez lost just two games in two sets and LaFountaine four games.

The win was No. 201 for coach Andy Hamilton ‘85, who posted win No. 200 earlier in the day with a semifinal victory.

Grinnell improved to 19-6 with the win and Lake Forest fell to 16-6.

Midwest Conference Tournament action continues with singles and doubles play this weekend.
Grinnell vs. Lake Forest