Bae finishes as national runner-up in six singles, Tigers place fifth

With freshman Juwan Bae finishing as the national runner-up at the NJCAA Division I Tennis Championships in Florence, South Carolina, the Cowley College men's tennis team placed fifth.

Bae advanced to the finals of No. 6 singles before losing a three-set battle against Collin College's Luke Stula (6-4, 4-6, 2-6). This marks the seventh straight top-five finish at the national tournament for the Tiger men's tennis team.

Tyler Junior College made it back-to-back national championships and 19 overall in its program's history. Tyler finished the tournament with a team score of 42 points. All three of the Apaches doubles pairs won their respective flight championships, while Daniel Maurico Marincas won the #5 singles flight for Tyler.

Pratt (KS) won the No. 3 and No. 4 singles flights while Jones (MS), Barton (KS), and Collin (TX) each won a singles flight. Cowley finished fifth as a team with 31 points and was only two points away from finishing second.

"It was a great tournament, finishing only two points behind second place," Cowley head coach Marcel Miasato said. "The tournament was competitive, we fought until the end, and any team could have won."

Top-10 team scores: (1) Tyler, 42; (2) Barton, 33; (3) Collin, 32.5; (4) Pratt, 32; (5) Cowley, 31; (6) East Florida, 28; (7) Seward, 27; (8) Wallace, 26.5; (9) MS Gulf Coast, 22; (10tie) Harford, 20; (10tie) USCS, 20.

Cowley Results:

DOUBLES

*No. 1 – Juwan Bae/Dan Hosono (CC) defeated Vincente Faria/Moritz Stroebel (MS Gulf Coast) 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 in the round of 32; defeated Alexandr Achour/Zakaria Achour (E. Florida State) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in the round of 16; lost to Jose Castillo/Minjae Kim (Collin) 4-6, 1-6 in the quarterfinals.

*No. 2 – Valentin Greco/Felipe Garla (CC) defeated Sam Barclift/Luke Emerson (Bevill State) 6-1, 6-0 in the round of 32; defeated Pablo Galan/Seth Lampkin (College of Lake County) 6-0, 6-1 in the round of 16; lost to Cem Atlamis/Enrique Doldan (Collin) 3-6, 6-4, 1-6 in the quarterfinals.

*No. 3 – Pedro De La Riva/David De Hoyos Rodriguez (CC) received a bye in the first round; defeated Omar Hamzaoui/Christopher Schlossmann (Weatherford) 6-4, 6-4 in the round of 16; defeated David Gimenez/Alvaro Velasco (Coastal Alabama) 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals; lost to Mohammed Abuzed/Oliver Naude (Barton) 4-6, 4-6 in the semifinals.

SINGLES 

*No. 1 – Garla (CC) lost to Joao Teixiera (Iowa Central) 4-6, 6-1, 4-6 in the round of 32; won by forfeit in consolation quarterfinal; defeated Blake Roberson (Coastal Alabama) 8-3 in the consolation semifinal

*No. 2 – De La Riva (CC) received a bye in the first round; lost to Sebastian De Las Salas (Seward) 3-6, 6-3, 2-6 in the round of 16; defeated Ethan Moeller (SW Illinois) 8-0 In the consolation quarterfinal, defeated Knox Waterer (Itawamba) 8-1 in the consolation semifinal.

*No. 3 – Greco (CC) received a bye in the first round; defeated Holden Cooke (NW Mississippi) 6-1, 6-0 in the round of 16; defeated Filip Sormaz (E. Florida State) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals; lost to Abubakari Yakuba-Lea (Seward) 6-7, 4-6 in the semifinals.

*No. 4 – Hosono (CC) received a bye in the first round; defeated Ryland Buford (MS Gulf Coast) 6-4, 6-2 in the round of 16; defeated David Roseler Caballero (Seward) 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals; lost to Enrique Doldan (Collin) 3-6, 6-7 in the semifinals.

*No. 5 – De Hoyo Rodriguez (CC) received a bye in the first round; defeated Ridge Jones (Jones College) 6-0, 6-2 in the round of 16; defeated Oliver Naude (Barton) 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 in the quarterfinals; lost to Daniel Mauricio Marincas (Tyler) 5-7, 2-6 in the semifinals.

*No. 6 – Juwan Bae (CC) received a bye in the first round; defeated Aaron Gutierrez (USC Sumter) 6-0, 6-1 in the round of 16; defeated Nick Dulaney (MS Gulf Coast) 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals; defeated Konstantin Kukaras (E. Florida) 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in the semifinals; lost to Luke Stula (Collin College) 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 in the finals.