TULSA, Okla. -- Southwestern Christian (Okla.) bested the John Brown University men's tennis team for the second time this season, this time it was a 7-2 decision for SCU (7-7) at the Unaffiliated Group Regional Tournament held April 24 in Tulsa, Okla.
John Brown did marginally better the second time around against the Eagles, having fallen 8-1 to SCU back on April 16. JBU ends its season with a 2-8 record.
The match, which started out with singles play, was decided once one-on-one action had completed. Alistair Sandercock moved past senior Alex Baker at the top spot, 6-1, 6-2, similar to Rodrigo Reyes, who posted a 6-4, 6-1 win over junior Colton Cheek at the second flight.
Freshmen Kumhal Fulghem put up a valiant effort against Isaiah Island, but Island secured a 6-3, 6-2 win at third flight. As the flights progressed, JBU came closer to picking up its first point of the match.
Down 3-0, senior Darwin Silva and Lucas Spitaleri battled and required a tiebreak to decide the match. Spitaleri narrowly defeated Silva in the first set, 7-5, before Silva pushed Spitaleri to the brink in the second set. Deadlocked at six apiece, the two played a second-set tiebreak. Neither player could win the regulation tiebreak at seven, but finally Spitaleri captured a win-by-two tiebreak, 10-8.
Senior Luke Pascoe finished his collegiate career with a victory, grabbing a convincing 6-0, 6-3 win over Will Long at No. 5. Finally, freshman Andrew Turner fell in straight sets at the sixth slot to Jose Nino.
Despite the match already having been decided, the two groups elected to play doubles action. Baker and Silva pushed Sandercock and Reyes to an 8-6 decision at the top flight, but couldn't prevail. Cheek and Fulghem finished the season with an 8-3 loss at No. 2 to the hands of Island and Spitaleri. However, the Golden Eagles picked up its second point of the match at the third slot as junior Luke Reimer and senior Blake Zoellner completed an 8-5 win over the tandem of Zachrey Owens and Alex Eakers.
Sports on 05/03/2015