WINFIELD, Kan. – On Saturday, the Southwestern College men's and women's tennis squads concluded competition at the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Fall Individual tournament, which was hosted by the KCAC in Winfield at T.H. Vaughan Tennis Complex. Individuals from both Builder squads impressed, as the women had a top-three placer in all but one of the singles flights, while the men boasted a couple as well.
Starting in the women's singles, the No. 1 flight was a huge victory for the Moundbuilders, as Catherine Coe was able to go the distance in the bracket to earn the championship. She won her quarterfinal bout against Fatima Nemi from Bethel College by a final of 9-8 (7-5), before ousting Isidora Hrnjak of Ottawa with an 8-7 (9-7) triumph. She would finish off her run through the tourney with a win over Cori Campbell of Oklahoma Wesleyan by a decisive 6-1, 6-1 margin.
Mariana Ochoa was able to turn in a strong showing in the second flight for the women, as she won her quarterfinal match prior to falling 8-5 in the semifinals. She then was able to win the match for third place to get onto the podium with an 8-2 victory.
Jasmin Hauska followed Coe's lead and took the championship in the No. 3 bracket, as she cruised through the flight with 8-1 (QF), 8-3 (SF), and 6-1, 6-1 (F) wins over her competitors. It was the Builders second champion out of a total of six brackets for singles.
The winning would not stop there, though, as Ella Hartnett kept the trend going with a win in the No. 4 singles flight. She took a pair of simple wins in her first two matches, but was faced with a tough 6-2 loss in the opening set of the final bout. She rallied to win 7-6 (7-3) in the second set and won the first-to-10 tiebreak by a final of 10-3.
Singles group number five was filled by Grace Roberts for SC, as she ended up finishing second after dropping the finals match. She was one of five Builder women in singles that finished among the top three in their flight.
Paetn Mitchell finished the squad's day in singles with a fourth-place finish, just narrowly missing a top-three standing. She competed in the No. 6 flight.
Each of the Builder women's doubles pairings also finished in the top three, as Coe/Ochoa came in third in the No. 1 doubles bracket, while Hauska/Hartnett earned victory in the second flight. The final bracket in doubles ended up being a third-place finish for Mitchell/Roberts.
On the men's side of things, Ryan Kitchin and Benjamin Erdmann were the top two singles players for the Builders. In Kitchin's case, he easily handled his opening match, but could not hang onto the momentum in match number two. He was eliminated in the quarterfinal round. Erdmann earned a bye with his seeding, but also could not advance past the quarters.
In flight No. 3, though, Federico Poi showed his skill with a runner-up finish, going 2-1 in the bracket with simple 8-4 wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals. In the finals, though, he fell by a tally of 6-3, 6-1.
Logan Engela nearly came away with third-place honors in the No. 4 bracket, as he played a close 8-6 loss in the third-place match. He had great success in round one and the quarterfinals, but fell 8-2 in the semis before closely dropping the match for third.
In the fifth bracket, Santiago Marin made it all the way to the final match, looking for the individual championship, but would have to settle for second place. He fell 6-3, 6-3 in the title match, but took care of his opponents by a final of 8-3 in both the quarters and semis.
Vicente Tricio would fall in the quarterfinals for the No. 6 flight by a final of 8-2. It was the lone match he would play in singles for the tourney.
Men's doubles got a boost from their No. 2 pairing of Poi/Engela, as they came in second place in their flight, though Kitchin/Erdmann lost a donnybrook by the final of 9-8 (13-11) in the quarters of the No. 1 bracket. Marin/Tricio had a great runner-up performance as well, as they came just an 8-4 loss short of the title in the No. 3 flight.
Southwestern will now look ahead to next weekend, when they will battle at the ITA Individuals in Wichita on September 30 and October 1. That will be another great chance for SC individuals to improve their rankings as we creep ever closer to the spring team season.
--buildersports.com--
