Wichita, Kan. - The McPherson College men’s tennis team took their undefeated record to Wichita to take on the Wichita State University Shockers, an NCAA Division 1 institution on Wednesday. The Bulldogs came away humbled taking their first defeat of the 2013 campaign.
The Shockers came out of the gate fast in the top two positions of doubles before the Bulldogs could start to put a dent in their opponent's armor. Mac was able to start rallying back but not before WSU was able to come away with the victory in the doubles point.
Wichita State led 1-0 going into singles; in NCAA Division 1 scoring, the doubles matches only counts for one team point.
In singles, the Bulldogs fought tough and played with heart but couldn’t get much to fall their way. Senior Slav Bukatin was the lone McPherson player to take a set against the Shockers. Sophomore Rafael Bulnes also played a very good intense match, but was denied by a late surge by his opponent, falling 6-2, 6-4.
“We played tough, but we needed to execute better if we are to top a team like Wichita State,” said Coach Benito. “Our execution was better than our opening week, but needed to be much crisper to win at this level.” However, I think we are in good shape. This match taught us a lot and we will build from it.”
MC has some time off before their next match which comes against Barton County Community College. It will be the home opener for the Bulldog tennis teams as they play on February 28th at McPherson High School, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Final Score:
Doubles:
1) Matheus Pereira/Tin Ostojic (WSU) def. Slav Bukatin/Sean Dullaghan (Mac) 8-2
2) Tomislav Gregurovic/Guillermo Nicol (WSU) def. Rafael Bulnes/Sean De Young (Mac) 8-4
3) Erick Reyes/Alvaro Guiterrez (WSU) def. Mark Mahan/Torsten Keil-Long (Mac) 8-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles:
1) Matheus Pereia (WSU) def. Rafael Bulnes (Mac) 6-2, 6-4
2) Tomislav Gregurovic (WSU) def. Slav Bukatin (Mac) 6-7, 6-2, 10-6
3) Gullermo Nicol (WSU) def. Torsten Keil-Long (Mac) 6-2, 6-1
4) Erick Reyes (WSU) def. Mark Mahan (Mac) 6-0, 6-1
5) Tin Ostojic (WSU) def. Sean Dullaghan (Mac) 6-3, 6-1
6) Alvaro Gutierrez (WSU) def. Sean De Young (Mac) 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 6, 4, 3, 1, 2
Match Notes:
McPherson College 6-1
Wichita State University 4-2
