OBERLIN, Ohio  – Weather altered the schedule for the final day of the 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference Tennis Tournament, but the wait was well worth it for Kenyon College. The Lords battled DePauw University late Sunday evening and captured their seventh straight NCAC championship with their 5-1 win over the Tigers at the John W. Heisman Field House. The win also propels Kenyon into the NCAA Division III Championship.

Kenyon (23-3), the tournament's top seed, won three singles matches to help clinch this year's conference title. After taking a 2-1 lead into doubles play Paul Burgin, Michael Razumovsky, and C.J. Williams were the first three Lords to claim singles  victories, clinching the match. Burgin offered up a 6-2, 6-3 win over Sam Miles in the top-flight match. Razumovsky clashed with DePauw's Ben Kopecky in the No. 2 singles match and continued the Lords' winning ways with a 6-2, 6-4 decision. Williams earned the third and final win in the No. 4 singles match, shutting out Reid Garlock in straight sets.

DePauw (10-13), the No. 2 seed in the tournament, spoiled a third night of perfection for Kenyon with its 8-5 win in the No. 1 doubles matchup. Miles and Kopecky teamed up to defeat Burgin and Tim Rosensteel, 8-5. The Lords rebounded with a pair of 8-6 wins in the second and third flights of doubles play from the teams of Razumovsky and Williams plus Kevin Ye and Wade Heerboth.

Sunday night's victory gave the Lords their seventh straight NCAC Tournament championship. The previous six championship matches were all played between Kenyon and Denison University, marking the first time the two teams had not met in the final round since 2004. It is also the Lords' 16th NCAC championship since joining the conference in 1984-84 academic year. It's also the Lords' 12th under head coach Scott Thielke.

By being crowned conference champion, Kenyon earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship. It will mark the Lords' 17th overall appearance at the national tournament, dating back to 1991, and their 12th straight trip. Last year, the Lords finished as national runners-up signifying their highest finish in program history. Kenyon will enter next month's championship just as they exited last year's event, ranked second in Division III and first in the Central Region.

The final rounds of the Division III Championship will be hosted by Kalamazoo College at Stow Stadium from May 20-25. The team championships will be held from May 20-22 while the individual matches will take place from May 23-25. The early rounds of the tournament will be held on campuses of selected higher-seeded participants.