(Great Bend, KS) Sweeping all nine events, the top ranked Cowley College men's tennis team captured its second consecutive Region VI title on Saturday at Great Bend's Veteran's Memorial Park.
Winning all but one of their matches in straight set victories, the Tigers piled up 18 points in arguably the nation's toughest region with all four teams in the Top-15 of the national poll. 7th ranked Barton placed seven of their nine entries in the championship matches to place second overall, 6th ranked Pratt earning a pair of region runner-ups in the No. 6 singles flight and No. 3 doubles, with 15th ranked Seward County earning its lone point with a 3rd place finish in the No. 1 singles flight.
In rolling to their titles, the Tigers did face a couple of high stress matches, at least by score indication by a pair of matchups with Barton.
Takeshi Taco continues to prove he's the man to beat in the top singles bracket as the nation's year-long top ranked player was pushed by the Cougars' 15th ranked Gustavo Campos but prevailed in straight sets 7-6(6), 7-5.
The lone other scoreboard threat came in the 4th flight of singles, 19th ranked Hanamichi Carvajal bouncing back from a 4-6 first set loss to Barton's Barnabas Kalaba with 6-2, 6-1 final two set scores for the title.
Next: May 15-19 at the 2023 NJCAA Division I Championships in McKinney, TX
Cowley Championship Match results:
1 Singles: #1 Takeshi Taco defeated #15 Gustavo Campos (Barton) 7-6(6), 7-5
2 Singles: #4 Boruch Skierkier defeated #41 Sebastiao Vilas (Barton) 6-0, 6-2
3 Singles: #6 Bruno Nhavene defeated #48 Fernando Andre (Barton) 6-3, 6-2
4 Singles: #19 Hanamichi Carvajal defeated Barnabas Kalaba (Barton) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
5 Singles: #23 Reiya Komagata defeated Tsholofelo Tsiang (Barton) 6-1, 6-0
6 Singles: #47 Taiyo Hirano defeated Valentino Iveli (Pratt) 6-1, 6-4
1 Doubles: #2 Takeshi Taco/Bruno Nhavene defeated #19 Sebastiao Vilas/Fernando Andre (Barton) 6-1, 6-3
2 Doubles: #21 Hanamichi Carvajal/Taiyo Hirano defeated Barnabas Kalaba/Tsholofelo Tsiang (Barton) 6-1, 6-3
3 Doubles: #22 Boruch Skierkie/Reiya Komagata defeated Alex Ballinger/Nathaniel Moore (Pratt) 6-1, 6-3
Final Team Standings
#1 Cowley (18 points)
#7 Barton (8 points)
#6 Pratt (5 points)
#15 Seward County (0.5 Points)
For complete results, photos, and videos, visit the Region VI Tournament website