Men's Tennis | 4/26/2014 11:13:00 PM
Wichita, Kan. – The McPherson College Bulldogs traveled to Wichita this past Friday for a chance to win a bid to the NAIA National Tournament. The 'Dogs came across a very determined Bethel College team before eventually succumbing to rival Bethany College.
In the day's opening match, the Threshers came out with a lot of fire and energy. The Bulldogs struck first however, by capturing the number three doubles position 8-2 to take a 1-0 lead. The Threshers responded by taking down the senior duo of Mark Mahan (Fullerton, Calif.) and Sean De Young (Anaheim, Calif.) 8-5 at number two doubles. At the number one doubles position, MC maintained a slim lead until the end where Bethel was able to force the tie-breaker; Bethel prevailed in the tie-breaker 8-6 to take a 2-1 lead going into singles play.
In singles, the Threshers again came out and pushed the Bulldogs to the brink. The Threshers took a 3-1 lead by winning number three singles 6-1, 6-3. It took some time, but Mac was able to respond by taking the top two singles positions. McPherson's Rafael Bulnes (Rosmalen, Netherlands) fought the wind and a pesky opponent but stayed strong and focused to defeat his opponent 7-5, 6-3. Freshman Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez (Olot, Spain) went the distance against a very talented Clinton Chlumsky and had to dig deep in his match to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. The two singles wins tied the overall team score at 3-3. Junior Jaime Roman (Santa Ana, Calif.) dispatched his opponent quickly 6-2, 6-0 to give the Bulldogs a slight 4-3 lead; however it was short lived as the Threshers took #5 singles. With the score tied at 4-4 the match came down to senior De Young. De Young had to come back from 1-4 in the first set to claim it 7-5. Already leading a set, the veteran broke a stalemate at 2-2 in the second set to reel off four-straight games to claim the match and the team victory for the Bulldogs.
"The Threshers were quite determined and I commend them and their coaches for pushing us to the very limit; however, I'm glad that we were able to settle down and got the match victory to send us to the finals," said Coach Benito.
In the finals against the Bethany College Swedes, McPherson came out with a lot of fire as they attempted to take a quick advantage. At number three doubles the young pair of Michael Irwin and Connor Schafer came out swinging as they stayed toe-to-toe with a very big Bethany number three doubles team. The Swedes were able to finally take control and take the match 8-3. At the number one doubles position, MC stayed close with the Swedes but found themselves in a hole after a break of serve and lost the match giving the Swedes a 2-0 lead. The senior duo of Mahan and De Young were up the entire match against the Swedes number two pair; the match got tight at the end but the senior duo was able to take the tie-break with a 12-10 victory to keep the Bulldogs in the match.
In singles, the Bulldogs showed the same fire and deep desire to try to take the match from the Swedes. McPherson's top player Bulnes avenged his only singles loss in the conference by defeating Manuel Raga; Bulnes won the first nine games before Raga mounted his comeback. He stayed on pace and was able to take the match in a second set tie-break to tie the match 2-2. The Swedes were able to take the lead again as senior Mahan fell at the number three singles position but not without his chances to force a third set and prolong the dual match. KCAC Freshman of the Year Fajula Rodriguez showed true grit as he was able to gut out his match against a very talented Swedes Edguardo Tapia 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. That victory tied the score once again at 3-3. The rest of the matches however did not go McPherson's way as Bethany was able to capture the number four and five singles position to seal the team victory and the automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
"Overall I am very proud of how this team responded to the match today," said Benito. "Although we won our first match I know the team was a little down on themselves for having to go the distance. Against Bethany though, they really showed a lot of fire and passion and left it all out on the tennis court. The match was quite intense between both schools but definitely respectful.
I am extremely proud of my two seniors in Mark Mahan and Sean De Young. These two extraordinary young men have been with me all four years of their collegiate careers and I am saddened to see them go but at the same time extremely excited and proud of them both for their upcoming graduation. Both Sean and Mark dug very deep in their last matches as collegiate tennis players. Rafael Bulnes impressed me tremendously today with his demeanor and leadership of this team and also being able to avenge his only conference loss in two years. I'm disappointed that the team wasn't able to earn a bid to the National Championships but with what they've had to deal with this season, they still accomplished quite a feat."
Final Scores:
McPherson College 5, Bethel College 4
Doubles:
1) Chlumsky/Voth-Gaeddert (BC) def. Bulnes/Fajula (Mac) 9-8
2) Palenske/Soosalu (BC) def. De Young/Mahan (Mac) 8-5
3) Michael Irwin/Connor Schafer (Mac) def. Kingsley/Taylor (BC) 8-2
Singles:
1) Rafael Bulnes (Mac) def. Logan Palenske (BC) 7-5, 6-3
2) Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez (Mac) def. Clinton Chlumsky (BC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
3) Jesse Voth-Gaeddert (BC) def. Mark Mahan (Mac) 6-1, 6-3
4) Sean De Young (Mac) def. Chris Soosalu (BC) 7-5, 6-2
5) Jenson Kingsley (BC) def. Allen Darmawan (Mac) 6-3, 6-2
6) Jaime Roman (Mac) def. Dovian Lighthouse (BC) 6-2, 6-0
Bethany College 5, McPherson College 3
Doubles:
1) Raga/Tapia (BY) def. Bulnes/Fajula (Mac) 8-5
2) Mahan/De Young (Mac) def. Owusu/Moses (BY) 9-8
3) Rahbar/Van Den Bogaert (BY) def. Michael Irwin/Connor Schafer (Mac) 8-3
Singles:
1) Rafael Bulnes (Mac) def. Manuel Raga (BY) 6-0, 7-6
2) Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez (Mac) def. Edgardo Tapia (BY) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
3) Menford Owusu (BY) def. Mark Mahan (Mac) 6-2, 7-6
4) Michiel Van Den Bogaert (BY) def. Sean De Young (Mac) 6-2, 6-4
5) Amir Rahbar (BY) def. Allen Darmawan (Mac) 6-2, 6-2
6) Jaime Roman (Mac) vs. Aaron Moses (BY) DNF
