Recap via buildersports.com:
The final regular-season matchups for the Southwestern College men’s and women’s tennis squads were played on Sunday afternoon in McPherson against the Bulldogs of McPherson College.
The Builder women took care of business, nabbing a 5-2 win to clinch the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title. The SC men could not pull off a victory against the No. 20-ranked Bulldog men, as McPherson snatched the KCAC regular-season title on the men’s side, 6-1.
Women’s doubles were dominated by Southwestern, as Catherine Coe and Mariana Ochoa easily defeated the top doubles grouping for the Bulldogs by a final of 6-2. Jasmin Hauska and Grace Roberts were in for a bit of a more difficult bout, as the Builder pairing eked out a 7-5 win in the second matchup, clinching the point for SC. Finally, Ella Hartnett and Emily Feihle won 6-1 to round out the three-victory day in doubles.
On the men’s courts, Ryan Kitchin and Pablo Rodriguez suffered a loss in the top doubles match, falling 6-1. Then, Logan Engela and Benjamin Erdmann were swept by their opposition in match number two. Thought the point had been clinched by McPherson, Federico Poi and Albert Modol did win the last doubles match by a final of 6-4, salvaging one of the three bouts.
Coe was bested to begin singles play, as she fell 6-1, 6-1 in the first one-on-one match of the afternoon. Hauska staved off a furious effort from her opponent in the first set to crush her spirits and win 7-6 (4), 6-1. Then, Ochoa handily defeated the number three player for the Bulldogs by a final tally of 6-2, 6-1. Roberts continued the strong efforts with a 6-1, 6-2 win, and Hartnett picked up a 6-4, 6-2 triumph. Feihle was forced to retire due to injury prior to the start of her match, but Southwestern ended up with a 5-2 win to become conference champs.
Facing a top-level opponent, Poi was dispatched 6-2, 6-1 by his opponent to begin singles for the men. Kitchin would follow that up by putting together one of his most solid performances of the season. He won 6-4, 6-3 to give SC a point early. Rodriguez could not quite come away with a first-set win, as he dropped the tiebreaker. Ultimately, he would drop his tilt by a final score of 7-6 (3), 6-1. Modol would then fall by a 6-3, 6-2 score, and Erdmann dropped his bout 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-4), though he gave a thorough effort to earn the win. Engela won one game out of 13 in his 6-0, 6-1 loss.
Southwestern’s women (10-1, 9-0 KCAC) earned their second regular-season title in a row, and are looking to earn their third straight tournament championship.
The men were the runner-up in the KCAC for the third straight year, but will look to reverse their fortunes in the conference tourney, which will be held from Apr. 27-29 at campus sites and in Topeka, Kan. at Kossover Tennis Complex.
