Lady Cougar Tennis blanked by No. 13 Seward County

The Barton Community College tennis women's team got shutout by No. 13 Seward County Community College 9-0 Saturday at Great Bend's Veteran's Memorial Park tennis courts.  Barton had some chances to pick up a few match wins but the Lady Saints were too deep and talented for the young Lady Cougar squad.  With the loss Barton drops to 0-3 on the season while Seward County improves to 4-2.  Next up for the Lady Cougars will be a trip to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for two days of tough competition at the Seminole State College Trojan Classic being held April 4-5.

In doubles play the Lady Saints were dominant in the No. 1 and No. 2 but the Lady Cougars made it close in the No. 3.   Karina Ono and Barbara Codognotto were simply overmatched against the No. 5 nationally ranked doubles team of Paula Lopez and Paula Coyos, falling 8-1 in the No. 1 doubles.  The No. 2 doubles team of Omelia Thomas and Kelly Brauer didn't fare much better as they fell 8-2 to Seward's Jackie Arnold and Kathyrn Roohan.  The closest of the three doubles matches came in the No. 3 match as Seward's Naomie Bukassa and Grace Golden outlasted the Lady Cougars' Courtney Irwin and Brittanie Eskut 8-6.

The Lady Saints' Lopez, the nation's No. 5 ranked player, easily defeated Barton's Ono 6-0, 6-1 while her fellow ranked teammate Coyos lived up to her No. 32 ranking dispatching Codognotto 6-1, 6-2.  The match of the day came in the No. 3 singles as Barton's Thomas let one slip away to Seward's Roohan.  Winning the first set by a decisive 6-2 score, the wheels came off for Thomas as Roohan battled back to take the second set 6-6 (7-5).  Carrying the momentum into the super tiebreaker, Roohan outlasted Thomas for a hard fought 12-10 decision.   In the No. 4 match, Seward's Arnold defeated Barton's Brauer 6-2, 6-1.  The Lady Saints' Bukassa knocked off Barton's Irwin 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 5 singles while the Lady Saints capped off the undefeated day by Golden's 6-4, 6-2 victory over Barton's Eskut.