TOPEKA, Kan. – The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) hosted the semifinals of both the Men's and Women's Tennis Championships in the state capital of Topeka on Friday. The women's matches were played at Kossover Tennis Center, before the weather took a turn for the worse, forcing the men's semis to be moved indoors at Genesis Health Club in Topeka. Southwestern College's top-seeded (RV) women earned a 4-1 win over fourth-seeded Tabor College to move on to the final against No.2-seeded McPherson College on Saturday. In the late stages of the evening, the second seeded (RV) Builder men finished off a 4-2 triumph over No. 3-seeded Kansas Wesleyan to move on to the final against the No. 1 seed, McPherson College.

The Moundbuilder women earned wins from their top two doubles pairings to earn them the doubles point to get things started. Samantha Loving and Catherine Coe took a hard-fought 7-5 victory in the first match, while Monalisa Chakraborty and Jasmin Hauska cruised to a 6-2 win in the second battle.

Then, in singles, matches number one and two did not factor into the final decision. Match number three, which was won by Coe, ended in a 6-3, 6-1 triumph to make it 2-0 SC. Match No. 5 and No. 6 ended up finishing things off after match No. 4 went the way of the Bluejays. Ella Hartnett won the fifth match in singles by a tally of 6-2, 6-2. Then, Mariana Ochoa easily defeated her opponent by a 6-1, 6-2 final in the last singles bout. It was a 4-1 win to send the Builder women on to the final on Saturday.

Southwestern's men had a crazy day, where their match was originally scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at Kossover, but they had to adjust their start due to severe weather. They ended up playing indoors and not beginning their match until a little more than four hours after its original start time. Finally, though, the Moundbuilders had their doubles get under way with relative ease. Both match No.1 and No. 3 ended up finishing first, and each went in favor of SC. David Moral-Tebar and Ryan Kitchin earned the win in the first match by a final of 6-4, while Federico Poi and Emanuel Azam were the victors in the third battle by a 6-2 margin.

Things started nicely for the men in singles, as well, as Moral-Tebar took the opener in three sets by a final of 2-6, 7-6, 6-4. Then, though, both match No. 2 and No. 3 went the way of KWU, meaning the Builders would have to win two of the final three tilts. In the fourth match, Benjamin Erdmann snagged a victory by a score of 6-3, 6-2, before Jonathan De La O sealed the deal with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win. The 4-2 triumph sets the Moundbuilder men up with a rematch with the top-seeded No. 24 Bulldogs of McPherson College, who SC fell to on the final day of the regular season.

Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, as Southwestern looks for a clean sweep of the KCAC Tennis Championships in Topeka over McPherson. The women's match is set to begin at 9 a.m., while the men will play at 2 p.m. Both of the matches will take place at Kossover Tennis Center.

--buildersports.com--