Lady Cougar tennis team qualifies for nationals

The Barton Community College women's tennis team finished third over the weekend at the Region VI Tennis Championships held in Liberal, Kansas.  Bringing home a second place and six third placings, the Lady Cougars qualified for a trip to Tyler, Texas, May 7-13 for the NJCAA Division I Championship for the second straight year after finishing 20th last season.   

Barton finished with four points to distance fourth place Hesston's one point.  Joining the Lady Cougars at nationals are the Region VI Champions Cowley College who accumulated fourteen points while runner-up and host Seward County finished with 12.5 points.

Daniela Sanz was the lone Lady Cougar to win a first round match on Saturday defeating Hesston College's Brooke Hershberger 6-1, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles bracket.  Returning to the court Sunday morning, the region's top seed and No. 5 nationally ranked player met up with Cowley College's Sarah Frendo.  With Sanz already having a 10-8 third set victory over the No. 8 ranked Frendo in their lone season meeting, the championship was all Frendo winning the title with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Juliana Seabra upset bid against the eventual champion fell short as No. 10 ranked Thalita Rodrigues of Seward County sent Seabra to the third place match with a 6-1, 6-3 loss.  In a match of redemption from a 10-8 loss earlier in the season, Seabra dispatched Hesston's Anna Miller 6-1, 6-3 on Sunday for third place.

Third seeded Idah Longwe held to her seeding dominating Hesston's Adrienne Derstine 6-0, 6-0.  Longwe was sent to the third place match dropping Saturday's match to second seeded Maminiania Rakotondrazafy of Seward County 6-3, 6-2.

Barton was sent to the third place match in the No. 4 and No. 5 singles by the host Seward County Saints as well.  Karli Beck lost her first round match 6-1, 6-0 to the Saints' Yennifer Delgado while Baylee Reade dropped a 6-0, 6-2 match to Nthabi Mogopodi.  Beck went on to win third with a 6-0, 6-4 decision over Hesston's Abby Byler while Reade was forced to retire after taking the first set over the Larks' Christy Swartzendruber 6-2.

In the No. 6 singles McKenna Hammeke recovered from her 6-1, 6-0 loss to Cowley's Logyn Williams by taking a 6-2, 6-0 win over Hesston's Becca Delp for the third place distinction.

With the exception of Sanz' victory, the doubles matches mirrored the singles results on Saturday for each of the three duos.  The Lady Cougars returned to the court Sunday taking two of the three matches for third place, with the lone loss coming due to a forfeited decision.  

The No. 1 tandem of Sanz and Longwe came up just short of pulling the upset over the second seeded Rakotondrazafy sisters of Seward County 6-3, 6-4 but rebounded to put away Hershberger and Miller of Hesston 6-2, 6-0.

Being blanked in its first round match against Cowley's Petric and Rajovic, the No. 2 duo of Seabra and Beck earned a hard fought 7-5, 6-3 win over the Larks' Swartzendruber and Byler.

Barton decided to forfeit the No. 3 doubles and not risk aiding to Reade's singles injury, giving Hesston's Derstine and Delp the third place award.

Final Region VI Women's Tennis Tournament results:
1. Cowley 14;  2. Seward County 12.5;  3. Barton 4;  4. Hesston 1