The No. 4 ranked Barton Community College men's tennis team concluded its postseason run with a fourth-place finish at the Region 6 Championships held in Pratt.
The Cougars finished with 4 team points, trailing champion and No. 2 ranked Pratt (12.5 points), No. 5 Cowley (8.5), and No. 7 Seward County (6.5) in a tightly contested, top-seven nationally ranked field
Barton's strongest push came through singles play, placing three individuals into championship matches. Top-seeded Raphael Ankrah led the charge at No. 2 singles, opening with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Seward County's Theo Cabre before falling in the finals to No. 16 Dan Hosono of Cowley 6-4, 6-1.
Esi Molefe added a runner-up finish at No. 5 singles, cruising past Cowley's Guilherme Coelho 6-0, 6-1 to reach the championship before dropping a 6-1, 6-1 decision to Pratt's No. 21 Tiaan Clark Nelson. Kristian Tesevic rounded out Barton's finalists at No. 6 singles, earning a 6-4, 7-6(9) victory over Cowley's Vaughn Smith prior to a 6-2, 6-0 loss in the title match to No. 49 Edward Westfall of Pratt.
In the No. 4 singles, Armando Sigauque rebounded from an opening loss to Pratt's No. 2 nationally ranked and eventual champion Kenta Kawada, before being awarded a forfeit victory in the third-place match.
At the top of the lineup, No. 29 Charles Alipoe was part of one of the tournament's most competitive matches, battling Pratt's No. 8 ranked Daniel Blinov to three sets before falling 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. Alipoe later dropped another tight 6-4, 7-6(8) decision to Cowley's No. 4 Haruki Okude in the third-place match. Santiago Villarroya also competed in the third-place match at No. 3 singles after an opening-round setback to the eventual champion, ultimately falling in straight sets to No. 48 Luca Laurindo of Cowley.
In doubles action, Barton's closest bid for a finals appearance came at No. 1, where the second-seeded tandem of Alipoe and Ankrah pushed eventual champion Sam Dinneen and Kenneth Rabinad Vila of Pratt to the brink in a marathon match, winning 6-7(11) in the first but dropping the second 7-6(5), to eventually retire trailing 3-0 in the third. The duo later fell in three sets in the third-place match to Seward County.
The pairing of Villarroya and Molefe dropped a hard-fought identical 6-4 set losses to eventual champion No. 3 Kenta Kawada and Thiofhi Tshivhase of Pratt, before rallying for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Seward County to claim third place at No. 2 doubles. At No. 3, Sigauque and Tesevic were edged in a tightly contested opening match, falling 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-6(3) to Seward County, before coming up short in straight sets for third place to the nation's No. 4 ranked duo Daniil Blinov and Edward Westfall of Pratt.
Barton concludes the season May 11-15 at the NJCAA Division I Championships in Plano, Texas.
Singles
No. 1: Charles Alipoe (3rd Seed, No. 29 ranked) Lost to No. 8 Daniel Blinov (Pratt) 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
3rd Place: Lost to No. 4 Haruki Okude (Cowley) 6-4, 7-6(8)
No. 2: Raphael Ankrah (Top Seed)Won over Theo Cabre (Seward County) 6-1, 6-3
Championship: Lost to No. 16 Dan Hosono (Cowley) 6-4, 6-1
No. 3: Santiago Villarroya (4th Seed) Lost to Meryl Genevrier (Seward County) 6-0, 6-3
3rd Place: Lost to No. 48 Luca Laurindo (Cowley) 6-3, 7-6(5)
No. 4: Armando Sigauque (4th Seed)Lost to No. 6 Kenta Kawada (Pratt) 6-3, 6-4
3rd Place: Forfeit win over Eytan Miessen (Seward County)
No. 5: Esi Molefe (3rd Seed)Won over Guilherme Coelho (Cowley) 6-0, 6-1
Championship: Lost to No. 21 Tiaan Clark Nelson (Pratt) 6-1, 6-1
No. 6: Kristian Tesevic (Barton) Won over Vaughn Smith (Cowley) 6-4, 7-6(9)
Championship: Lost to No. 49 Edward Westfall (Pratt) 6-2 6-0
Doubles:
No. 1: Charles Alipoe/Raphael Ankrah (2nd Seed) Lost to Sam Dinneen/ Kenneth Rabinad Vila (Pratt) 6-7(11), 7-6(5), 3-0 Retired
3rd Place: Lost to Theo Cabre/Gaspard Bicrel-Bantegny (Seward County) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
No. 2: Santiago Villarroya/Esi Molefe (4th Seed) Lost to No. 3 Thiofhi Tshivhase/Kenta Kawada (Pratt) 6-4, 6-4
3rd Place: Won over Diogo Borges/Meryl Genevrier (Seward County) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
No. 3: Armando Sigauque/Kristian Tesevic (2nd Seed) Lost to Juan Luzuriaga/Lucas Barriga (Seward County) 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-6(3)
3rd Place: Lost to No. 4 Daniil Blinov/Edward Westfall (Pratt) 6-4, 6-1
Team Results:
1st Pratt (12.5pts)
2nd Cowley (8.5pts)
3rd Seward County (6.5pts)
4th Barton (4pts)