WINFIELD, Kan. – On Monday afternoon, the Southwestern College tennis squads played host to the Braves of Ottawa University at the T.H. Vaughan Tennis Complex in Winfield. Two evenly-matched tilts took place, as the Builder women triumphed 4-3 over the Braves, and the SC men fell by the same tally to the Ottawa men.
In the women's doubles competition, Catherine Coe and Mariana Ochoa were able to take down their opponents to get SC started on the right foot with a 6-4 triumph. The doubles pairing of Jasmin Hauska and Grace Roberts fell 6-0, though, as the point was up for grabs with the final doubles match. Ottawa had just five players available, meaning that they forfeited the final doubles battle, giving SC the point to start the bout.
Men's doubles followed a bit of a different path, as the Moundbuilders' top pairing of Ryan Kitchin and Pablo Rodriguez fell by a final tally of 6-3 to open things up. The second doubles match was a triumph for Benjamin Erdmann and Logan Engela, as they compiled a 6-2 win. Finally, Federico Poi and Albert Modol snagged the final doubles match by a score of 6-3, earning the point for Southwestern.
On the women's side of singles, the battle of the number ones resulted in a 6-4, 6-3 loss for Coe, as she dropped her first singles match since March 6 against Barton CC. Hauska would make up for it with an important 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory in the second match of singles. Ochoa would fall in battle number three, after a strong effort against her foe, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Additionally, Roberts would drop her battle by a score of 6-4, 6-4 to put SC down 3-2 with only two matches left. Ella Hartnett managed to net a clean sweep of her opponent, winning 6-0, 6-0 to tie the score. Emily Feihle did not have an opponent, however, as Ottawa was forced to forfeit the final point to SC, as the Builders managed to win 4-3.
When looking at the men's singles matches, there were some all out brawls, as five of the six matches ended in three-set decisions. The opening tilt for Poi was one of those, as he dropped his battle 6-7 (8), 7-5, 7-5 to begin the competition. Then, Kitchin took the middle set of his battle, but fell victim in the encapsulating stanzas. He dropped his battle 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to make it 2-1 for Ottawa. Unfortunately, the next two tilts for Rodriguez (6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-2) and Modol (7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-6 (14)) also ended in defeats for Southwestern, s they kept coming up on the short end of each fracas. Erdmann would become the only two-set winner of the day on the men's side, as he triumphed 6-2, 6-4. Then, Engela managed a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory to end the day. It would not be enough to climb out of the hole, though, as SC fell 4-3 to the Braves.
More than half of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) slates remain for the Moundbuilder squads, as they play next against a non-conference opponent in Seward County CC on Friday, March 31 at T.H. Vaughan Tennis Complex.
--buildersports.com--
