The 9th ranked Barton Community College women's tennis team picked up a pair of 5-4 victories this past weekend in the Stueder Contractors' Cougar Classic defeating NCAA Division II Fort Hays State University and Newman University.
The Cougars won the top two of the three doubles matches against each opponent at the two-day event held at the Shannon Schartz Tennis Courts in Veterans Memorial Park before splitting decisions from the six singles contests.
The victories improve Barton to 8-2 on the season with two weeks from competition in preparation for its biggest match of the season coming Saturday, March 30, in welcoming top ranked Cowley College. Simultaneously, the 4th ranked Barton men will also have its hands full in taking on the nation's top ranked Cowley men's squad. Matches begin at 1:00 p.m. with the women competing on the East courts while the men will tangle on the West courts.
Barton's nationally ranked individuals each won their singles matchups as three of their four contests went to a tiebreaker.
18th ranked Luciana Braga played three frames in both her No. 1 matchups, on Friday prevailing 10-5 in the breaker after splitting 6-2 and 3-6 sets against FHSU's Shreethika Vangala, then on Saturday winning 10-4 by battling back from a 2-6 first set loss to Ani Zeikidze to force the third defeating the Jet 6-3.
In the No. 2 slot, 39th ranked Andjela Mrvaljevic came out on top 10-7 in the third after trading 6-3, 2-6 scores with FHSU's Irina Alfonso before dispatching Newman's Sofiko Zeikidze in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday.
Braga also added a pair of doubles victories to go 4-0, teaming with Carmen Lyons for an 8-1 win over FHSU's Vangala/Fiorella Mendez tandem then paired with Ana Vasilis on Saturday to earn a hard fought 8-6 victory over Newman's A. Zeikidze/Nicole Bono.
Lyons, who did not compete on Saturday, followed her doubles win with a 10-5 tie break victory in the No. 4 singles slot, taking the first set 6-2 over Grace Unruh only to have the Tiger force the breaker with a 6-3 second set win.
Going 3-1 on the weekend, Mrvaljevic took her lone loss in Friday's doubles match with Andrea Pulido in coming up short 9-7 to the Tigers' Alfonso/Yone Pereiro pairing. The tandem bounced back on Saturday in being on the right side of another 9-7 score to knock off Newman's Luna Feillon/Antonia Ramos.
Pulido dropped both of her No. 3 slot singles matches, a 7-6, 6-3 defeat to FHSU' Unruh and twin 6-1 losses on Saturday to the Jets' Marie Brunet.
Getting the victory in Saturday's No. 1 doubles, Vasilis was teamed in her normal No. 3 tandem pairing with Ana Alice Tosetto on Friday in picking up an 8-5 win over FHSU's Unruh/Bethan Gill.
Vasilis went 1-1 in No. 4 singles play dropping a 7-5, 6-2 decision to the Tigers' Mendez before wrapping up the weekend with a 10-7 victory having swapped 6-4 and 5-7 sets with Newman's Feillon. Tosetto dropped both No. 6 matches, a 6-1 twin sweep to the Tigers' Ines Steeman and a 6-1, 7-5 loss to the Jets' Martina Lolli. Lolli/Brunet earned the Jets a victory in the earlier No. 3 doubles by defeating Tosetto and Diana Souza 8-0. Filling in for Lyons on Saturday in the No. 4 singles, Souza dropped a 6-1, 6-3 loss to the Jets' Bono.