Men's Tennis | 3/19/2014 1:06:00 PM
La Mirada, CA – The McPherson College Men's Tennis team kicked off their Spring Break Tour in Southern California with a rematch from last year's trip. The Bulldogs played a much improved Biola University team and were able to edge the Eagles 5-4 in a very competitive match.
In doubles, MC jumped out to early leads at number one and number three doubles;while number one doubles continued to dominate, number three doubles let the lead slip and lost the match. Number two doubles struggled and weren't able to right the ship in time before dropping the match to a very good Biola squad. McPherson headed into singles play behind 1-2.
In singles play, McPherson got two quick wins from their two top dogs. Rafael Bulnes (Rosmalen, Netherlands) had little trouble with his opponent taking the point quickly for Mac with a 6-1, 6-0 win. Freshman Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez (Olot, Spain) continued to show his metal by winning in quick fashion as well 6-3, 6-0. The Eagles got on the board with a quick win of their own against Bulldog number three Allen Darmawan (Mission Viejo, Calif.). Senior Mark Mahan (Fullerton, Calif.), making his return to the singles line up after some injuries, played quite a tough opponent for his first match back and unfortunately fell in three sets. Senior Sean De Young (Anaheim, Calif.) played steady and aggressive to win his match 6-3, 6-3 at the number five singles position.
With the match tied up at 4-4, Jaime Roman (Santa Ana, Calif.) held the fate of the Bulldogs on his heads. Roman, a junior, was behind the entire first set before breaking the serve of his opponent to eventually cash in the first set for the 'Dogs 7-5. The second set was even more competitive than the first as Roman fell down early but forced a tie-breaker for the second set. A few errors cost Roman the tie-break and Biola forced a third set. In the final set Roman jumped on some early mistakes by his opponent and cruised to a 6-1 victory defeating his opponent and securing the overall match for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs face their toughest test this season when they meet No. 3 ranked Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California on Wednesday, March 19.
Final Score:
McPherson College 5, Biola University 4
Doubles:
1) Bulnes/Fajula (Mac) def. Pekary/Townsend (BU) 8-3
2) Lee/Mountain (BU) def. De Young/Stewart (Mac) 8-3
3) Pence/Evans (BU) def. Schafer/Darmawan (Mac) 8-3
Singles:
1) Rafael Bulnes (Mac) def. Issaiah Pekary (BU) 6-1, 6-0
2) Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez (Mac) def. Lucas Mountain (BU) 6-3, 6-0
3) Tayven Townsend (BU) def. Allen Darmawan (Mac) 6-0, 6-3
4) Brandon Chang (BU) def. Mark Mahan (Mac) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
5) Sean De Young (Mac) def. Roderick Pence (BU) 6-3, 6-3
6) Jaime Roman (Mac) def. Chris Evans (BU) 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1
