MAIZE, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College tandem of
Ahmed Lahlou (Casablanca, Morocco, Groupe Scolaire Anfa) and
Hector Carrillo Perales (Barcelona, Spain, Bon Salvador) captured the men's doubles title, while three other Bulldog entries advanced to the finals Sunday at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central-West/Southwest Regional Championships presented by Oracle at Maize South High School.
Lahlou and Carrillo now advance to the 2017 ITA Oracle Cup slated for Oct. 11-15 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, where they will face other NAIA regional champions. If they win that tournament, they will have the unique opportunity to compete against the ITA national champions representing NCAA Division II and III and Junior/Community colleges to become the overall small-college champion.
Men's Doubles
Lahlou and Carrillo, the No. 2 seeds, defeated unseeded McPherson teammates
Jacob Turley (Milton Keynes, England, Cedars Upper School) and
Andreas Huber (Forstinning, Germany, Franz-Marc-Gymnasium) in Sunday's final by a 6-2, 6-2 score.
En route to the final, Huber and Turley upset the No. 1 and No. 9 seeded teams in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals before topping Midland's Sasha Borel and Jack Fryer in the semifinals. Lahlou and Carrillo's route to the finals included an 8-4 win over the seventh-seeded team of Michael Moody and Felix Diaz ifrom Kansas Wesleyan in the quarterfinals and a win over the third-seeded team of Karlo Skvorc and Ronald Rufyikiri of Ottawa in the semis.
The title is the fourth straight for a McPherson doubles tandem and the second straight for Carrillo, who paired with Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez for the 2016 title.
Men's Singles
Three Bulldogs - Lahlou, Turley and
Juan Alejandro Jimenez (Pereira, Colombia, Liceo Taller San Miguel) - advanced to the semifinals in the ITA singles draw. Lahlou, the top seed in the draw, reached the final four with wins over Juan Camillo Mira Rua of University of the Southwest and ninth-seeded Gavin Beach of Texas A&M-Texarkana on Saturday before falling to Jimenez, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5), in one of Sunday's semifinals.
Jimenez topped fifth-seeded Skvorc in straight sets before dispatching fourth-seeded Alejandro Oviedo of Texas A&M-Texarkana in a marathon three-set match in the quarterfinals. An unseeded Turley was the third Bulldog in the semis, advancing with a win over 11th-seeded Teodor Antelj of Bethany in the quarters before falling to second-seeded Cole Guy of Texas A&M-Texarkana, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, in the other semifinal.
In the final, Jimenez was defeated by Guy by a 6-1, 6-1 score.
Carrillo, who was seeded sixth, and unseeded
Julien Bodin (Cartagena, Spain, Las Salinas) were eliminated in the Round of 16 on Saturday morning.
Women's Singles
Brittany Zipf (Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, Emmaus College), the No. 3 seed, posted straight-set victories over College of Saint Mary's Katie Golka and No. 11-seeded Wendy French of Texas A&M-Texarkana on Saturday to advance to the semifinals.
On Sunday, she survived a three-set match with second-seeded Kelsey Brown of Hastings, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2, before falling to Jessica Emoto of Tabor, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-3, in the final in a rematch of the 2016 ITA regional final. With the victory, Emoto became a three-time regional champion.
Ninth-seeded
Besa Bwalya (Hoisington, Kan., Hoisington HS) was eliminated from the main draw with a 6-3, 6-3 loss in the Round of 16.
After bowing out of the main draw Friday,
Zoë Bouwmeester (Zutphen, Netherlands, Isendoorn College) posted a trio of victories Saturday in the consolation draw. She advanced all the way to the final, which was not contested due to time constraints.
Women's Doubles
Zipf and Bwalya, the top seeds in the ITA women's doubles draw, advanced to the semifinals with a pair of 8-2 victories before falling to the fifth-seeded tandem of French and Daejia Lynch of Texas A&M-Texarkana in a 9-7 score.
SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Men's Singles
Round of 16
(1) Ahmed Lahlou def. Juan Camillo Mira Rua (U. of the Southwest), 6-2, 6-0
Juan Jimenez def. (5) Karlo Skvorc (Ottawa), 6-3, 7-5
Jacob Turley def. Kevin Tsati-Onla (Texas A&M-Texarkana), 6-0, 6-4
(11) Teodor Antelj (Bethany) def. (6) Hector Carrillo, 6-2, 7-6 (7)
(2) Cole Guy (Texas A&M-Texarkana) def. Julien Bodin, 6-3, 6-1
Quarterfinals
(1) Lahlou def. (9) Gavin Beach (Texas A&M-Texarkana), 6-2, 7-5
Jimenez def. (4) Alejandro Oviedo (Texas A&M-Texarkana), 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
Turley def. Antelj, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Men's Doubles
Round of 16
Huber/Turley def. (1) Guy/Oviedo (TAMUT), 8-1
(2) Carrillo/Lahlou def. Sheldon Hawthorne/Tomas Yacuzio (Southwestern), 8-4
Quarterfinals
Huber/Turley def. (9) Teodor Antelj/Edward Sengai (Bethany), 8-5
(2) Carrillo/Lahlou def. (7) Michael Moody/Felix Diaz (Kansas Wesleyan), 8-4
Semifinals
Huber/Turley def. Fryer/Borel (Midland), 8-5
(2) Carrillo/Lahlou def. (3) Karlo Skvorc/Ronald Rufyikiri (Ottawa), 8-3
Women's Singles
Main Draw
R16: (8) Brooke Barnard (Baker) def. (9) Besa Bwalya, 6-3, 6-3
R16: (3) Brittany Zipf def. Katie Golka (College of Saint Mary), 6-0, 6-1
QF: (3) Zipf def. (11) Wendy French (Texas A&M-Texarkana), 6-4, 7-5
Consolation
R16: Zoe Bouwmeester def. Emily Rodriguez (Texas Wesleyan), 9-8 (5)
QF: Bouwmeester def. Keeley Hipp (Sterling), 8-5
SF: Bouwmeester def. Nicole Robbins (Ottawa), 8-2
Final not contested
Women's Doubles
R16: (1) Zipf/Bwalya def. Ellie Bender/Brianne Kempel (Doane), 8-2
QF: (1) Zipf/Bwalya def. (8) Brown/Fortunato (Hastings), 8-2
SF: (5) Lynch/French (Texas A&M-Texarkana) def. (1) Zipf/Bwalya, 9-7
SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Men's Singles
>>Semifinals -- Lahlou def. Jimenez, 6-2, 6-4; Guy def. Turley, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
>>Final -- Guy def. Jimenez, 6-1, 6-1
Women's Singles
>>Semifinals -- (1) Jessica Emoto (Tabor) def. (4) Paola Vargas (Kansas Wesleyan), 6-2, 6-1; (3) Zipf def. (2) Kelsey Brown (Hastings), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2
>>Final -- (1) Emoto def. (3) Zipf, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4
Men's Doubles
>>Final -- Carrillo/Lahlou def. Huber/Turley, 6-2, 6-2
