The 6th ranked Barton Community College women's tennis team picked up an 8-1 win Friday over Fort Hays State University in the first day of the Stueder Contractors' Cougar Classic.
Playing just the one match on the opening day due to cool and breezy weather conditions forcing a revision of the Classic schedule, the Cougars led 2-1 after doubles action before sweeping all six singles and a pair of exhibition matches.
Barton improves to 8-0 on the season heading into Saturday's lone match at 11:00 a.m. against Iowa Central Community College. Weather permitting, the match will be held at Veteran's Park, the Lady Cougars at the east tennis courts with the 6th ranked Cougar men taking on the 8th ranked Tritons on the west courts.
Victories in the doubles play came from the No. 1 and No. 2 tandems, 10th ranked Clara Penido and Tshegofatso Tsiang winning 8-3 over the Tigers' Irina Alfonso and Maria Paz Diaz while 20th ranked Luciana Braga and Azul Barrios dispatched Fiorella Mendez and Grace Unruh 8-2.
The lone loss of the day came in the No. 3 slot as Carmen Lyons and Ana Vasilis fell in a hard fought 8-6 decision to Stefany Stemmer and Kylie Aufdengarten.
The top three singles matches were straight set victories with the last three slots in the lineup needing the tiebreak set to decide the winner.
In the top spot, 12th ranked Penido defeated Alfonso 6-3, 6-1, with 20th ranked Brago nearly blanking Stemmer 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 2 spot. In the No. 3 matchup, 30th ranked Tsiang was almost as impressive with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Mendez.
The No. 4 singles of 36th ranked Barrios versus the Tigers' Diaz was even after trading 6-2 sets with Barrios prevailing in the tie break 10-5.
Lyons in the No. 5 spot also won 10-5 in the third but needed a comeback after dropping the first 5-7 and recovering with a 6-1 win.
Vasilis also needed a similar comeback in the final 6th singles slot, down a set 6-2 but returning the favor with a 6-2 win in prevailing 10-8 third set tiebreak battle completing the Cougars' sweep.
Ana Alice Tosetto chalked up a pair of 6-0 exhibition wins over Hope Lubbers then a short time later over Heidi Lubbers.
(REVISED) MEET SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
BARTON CAMPUS
11:00 a.m. (Women) #6 Barton Community College vs Fort Hays State University
2:30 p.m. (Women) Iowa Central Community College vs Fort Hays State University
VETERAN'S PARK – WEST
3:00 p.m. (Men) Newman University vs #8 Iowa Central Community College
VETERAN'S PARK – EAST
(Men) Iowa Central Community College vs Kansas Wesleyan University
Friday's Cancelled Matches:
(Women) Newman University vs Iowa Central Community College
(Men) Barton Community College vs Newman University
(Women) Barton Community College vs Newman University
SATURDAY – 11:00 a.m.
VETERAN'S PARK – WEST
(Men) #6 Barton Community College vs #8 Iowa Central Community College
VETERAN'S PARK – EAST
(Women) #6 Barton Community College vs Iowa Central Community College