NORTH NEWTON, Kan. – On Saturday morning, the Southwestern College tennis squads went north to battle the Threshers of Bethel College in North Newton, Kan. A day with ups and downs ended in two wins for the Builders. The SC women won their tilt 4-3, whereas the men were able to bring home a 5-2 triumph.
In the women's doubles competition, Catherine Coe and Mariana Ochoa fell to the number one pair of the Threshers team, 6-1. Jasmin Hauska and Grace Roberts were the second doubles pair for the SC women and were able to get their match into a tie break. Unfortunately, they could not overcome the Threshers and lost their match 7-6, with a 10-8 loss in the tiebreak. Ella Hartnett and Emily Feihle started as the third doubles pairing and won their matchup 6-3, but could not save the doubles point for the Builders.
The men's match started in a similar way. Ryan Kitchin and Pablo Rodriguez fell by a final tally of 6-2 to open things up. Up next were Benjamin Erdmann and Logan Engela, who dropped their match 6-4. Finally, Federico Poi and Albert Modol triumphed in their match as they won the bout, 6-2.
On the women's side of singles, the battle between the Builders and the Threshers continued. The first tally went to Bethel, as Coe lost her match by a final of 6-2, 6-0. Next, the matchup turned in favor of the Builders as Hauska won her game in an exciting fight, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Back on track, Ochoa snagged her singles match win by a score of 6-2, 6-2. Her teammate, Roberts, followed in her footsteps and triumphed in her 6-3, 6-1 win over her opponent. The Builders showed how to fight back and would not stop, as Hartnett added her tally to the train. A 6-1, 7-6 win clinched the victory for the Builder women. Feihle, who won her first set, had to retire in her singles match, however, the Builder women were able hang on to win the battle, 4-3.
The opening tilt for the men's singles was lost by Poi 6-2, 6-1 to start things off. Looking for improvement, the Builders had to change the direction of the game to walk away with a Builder win. That's exactly what happened. Kitchin, who played the second singles match, won his tilt in three sets by a final of 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 to get the Builders back on track. Additionally, Rodriguez added another win after he triumphed in his three-set match, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Back even, the Builders continued to shine, as Modol snagged a win in his match, 7-6, 6-3, to go ahead in the matchup. To round things out, Erdmann (7-5, 4-6, 10-2) and Engela (6-2, 6-3) both added two more wins to finish the day in a Builder 5-2 triumph.
The Builders are back with more action on Thursday, Apr. 6, when they face the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kan. The men's team will be the only squad in action, as the Spires do not currently have enough players on the women's side to field a team.
--buildersports.com--
