UPDATED 4-21-22: Barton's final tune-up and last home match of the season scheduled for Thursday hosting Ottawa University has been canceled due to impending weather. The Cougars' next matches come April 29-30 at Maize South High School in the KJCCC/Region VI Championships.
The 6th ranked Barton Community College men's tennis team faced its third straight nationally ranked conference opponent on Monday, battling in most of the matches but having nothing on the scoreboard as 3rd ranked Seward County Community College registered the 9-0 victory.
Barton needed a point here and there in the doubles action at Great Bend's Shannon Schartz Tennis Courts to turn the early tide but were outpointed just enough to fall in all three matches by 8-6 scores. The No. 1 tandem of Gustavo Campos and Eduardo Morais took the tough loss to the 3rd ranked Saints team of Luciano Fisicaro and Karlo Krolo, the No. 2 duo of James Kaoma and Barnabas Kalaba fell to Luke Quaynor and Jonas Mathiasen, while the No. 3 team of Samyak Bajracharya and Tsholofelo Tsiang fell to 10th ranked Juan Gonzalez and Franco Vecchia.
Five of the Saints' six singles players are ranked in the top-27 of the fall rankings but the Cougars battled point-for-point throughout the day.
Morais had the closest of upset opportunities, taking the first set 6-1 but the 10th ranked Gonzalez fought back to tie the match with a 6-3 win before winning the tiebreak with a 10-8 score.
Two of the matches were decided by identical 6-3 straight set scores, Campos falling to 7th ranked Fisicaro in the No. 1 slot with Kalaba dropping the No. 4 to 12th ranked Krolo.
Kaoma fell 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 2 flight to 8th ranked Quaynor as Bajracharya fought hard in the first set 6-4 before taking a 6-0 loss in the No. 5 slot second set to 27th ranked Martins Abamu. Tsiang took a 6-0 twin set loss in the No. 6 match to currently unranked Seb Holden.
The Cougars finish conference play at 1-2, winning over 11th ranked Pratt with losses coming to top ranked Cowley and the 3rd ranked Saints. Barton rejoins the trio April 29-30 at Maize South High School for the KJCCC/Region VI Championship with national tournament bids on the line for a May 16-20 trip to Tyler, Texas.
Singles Results:
#1 Gustavo Campos lost to #7 Luciano Fisicaro 6-3, 6-3
#2 James Kaoma lost to #8 Luke Quaynor 6-3, 6-1
#3 Eduardo Morais lost to #10 Juan "Mauri" Gonzalez 1-6, 6-3, 10-8
#4 Barnabas Kalaba lost to #12 Karlo Krolo 6-3, 6-3
#5 Samyak Bajracharya lost to #27 Martins Abamu 6-4, 6-0
#6 Tsholofelo Tsiang lost to Seb Holden 6-0, 6-0
Doubles Results:
#1 Gustavo Campos/Eduardo Morais lost to #3 Luciano Fisicaro/Karlo Krolo 8-6
#2 James Kaoma/Barnabas Kalaba lost to Luke Quaynor/Jonas Mathiasen 8-6
#3 Samyak Bajracharya/ Tsholofelo Tsiang lost to #10 Juan "Mauri" Gonzalez/Franco Vecchia 8-6