Bulldogs win 5-4 at Rival Bethany

Men's Tennis | 4/3/2019 11:52:00 PM

Box Score Photo by Micah Gilbert

Lindsborg, Kan. – The McPherson College men's tennis team improved their conference record to 2-1 with an important win over intra-county rival Bethany College on Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs defeated the Swedes by a narrow 5-4 margin, winning two of the three doubles matches, and splitting the six singles matches.

The Bulldogs picked up their doubles wins at the no. 1 and no. 2 lines. The no. 1 team of Jacob Turley (So. Milton Keynes, England) and Julien Bodin (So. Cartagena, Spain) got things started with another dominant performance. They quickly dismantled the Swedes, shutting them out 8-0. At no. 2, it was a much tighter match, but Nicolas Wahl (Jr. Koenigstein, Germany) and Rick Sakamoto (Fr. Melbourne, Australia) were able pull away in the end and win 8-5. The Swedes picked up their only doubles win at no. 3, defeating the Bulldog team of Juan Jiminez (Sr. Pereira, Colulmbia) and James Lee (So. Cambridge, England) 8-4.

In singles, the Bulldogs were strong in the middle of the lineup, winning their points on the 2, 3, and 4 lines. Bodin and Wahl didn't lose a game, with Bodin winning 6-0, 4-0 (ret.), and Wahl defeating his opponent 6-0, 6-0. Turley picked up the fifth and final point needed to win the dual at no. 2. He won a tight first set 6-3, then finished off his opponent 6-2 in the second, to clinch the dual.
For the women, Bethany was forced to forfeit the match. They only have three players on their roster this spring, but on Wednesday only one of the three was available to play. In the scorebook it will go down as a 7-0 win.

Coach Bulnes commented on the men's performance saying, "This was a good win today against a good opponent. We are moving in the right direction as a team and we are starting to play better every match."
 
This is a busy week for the Bulldog netters. They will play twice more this week, traveling to Ottawa University on Saturday for a 9:00 am match with the Braves. Then they will turn around and host the Missouri Valley Vikings on Sunday morning at 10:00 am out at the McPherson High School courts.